We lost a few pax to graduation. We wish them the best and know a few are going to post at their new AOs.
5 pax and a single 2.0 posted today at Carmel High.
Disclaimer given.
15 Armies IC, 100 Moroccan Night Clubs… yes, 100. 5 SSH and then 10 OYO in silence. If you don’t stop exactly on 10 you do 5 burpees. The Q was the only one that messed up the count and had to do 5 burpees while the rest of the Pax watched. Windmill IC and the ground was wet again and the Q didn’t want to get wet so on to hillbillies IC.
The Thang:
In honor of Burgundy we did a KSBW workout. It is hard to find an exercise that starts with a K so we did planK jacKs for the K.
12 plank jacks, run 1/4 track, 12 SSH, run 1/4 track, 12 Burpees, run 1/4 track, 12 Wheel of Merkins…. repeat 11… 10…. etc. Oh,,, and the Q brought a tire that one of the Pax had to carry on the runs.
When we got lower in the count we moved over to the hill and ran up backwards, and then back down doing KSBWs.
3 PAX posted for a frozen morning!: Rocky, Flintstone, HK Hershey Kiss (Q)
WARM UP -Mosey up stairs, around parking lot to shovel flag -Windmill 10ic -Quarter Merkins 12ic -Al Gore 30seconds -Side Straddle Hop-15ic
Mosey uphill, around top field, across top path, & back down to Shovel Flag:
-Mosey 1 minute – Every other minute (start w 1 rep & increase by rep each time until the exercises take the full minute): Burpees Air Squats Merkins WWII sit-ups Hold High Plank
Held at 4 reps each exercise so we could fit all 5 of them into 1 minute Total of 33 minutes
Stretch legs & calves for 5 minutes
COT Prayers for resolution to Rocky’s car situation & for group to grow!
Twenty-three degrees at O-Gawd-Thirty? No problem! F3 HIM are principled men, and 4 of them upheld the F3 principle “always outdoors rain or shine, hot or COLD” at The Grit Mill in Milford this Gloom. Rumor has it a dirty dozen posted in Milton at the CHOP–that makes 16 on the day who are principled men.
Here’s how it all went down, rather, up and down, and up and down, at the Grit Mill:
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH– 20 IC
Imperial Walker – 18 IC
CrabFlipper – 20 IC (Variant: Left, Middle, & Right flippers)
Tempo Merkin – 18 IC
SwartzJacks – 18 IC
ArmCircles – 10 forward, 10 backward OYO
Calf Raises – 30 OYO
THE THANG:
Mosey all the way around the library to steps on back parking lot side. Figured to be a good place to start since a little extra clatter in the lot might ‘rouse Chilly from his sleep to what’s the matter. It didn’t work, but here’s what did:
Back Lot 2-Story Steps:
PAX Planked, while in turn each ran to the top and back down, swapping out with next PAX in plank line. 4 rounds
PAX did Plank Jacks, while in turn each ran to the top and back down, swapping out with next PAX in Mountain Climber line. 4 rounds
Mosey to front library steps
Front Library Steps:
PAX in line did Low Slow Squats, while in turn each ran to top on left steps, back down middle steps, back to top on right steps, and back down the middle steps to swap out with next PAX in line. 4 rounds
Mosey to side, lower entry steps
SideLower Entry Steps:
PAX rotated from BTTW, to running up, then back down the steps to swap out with next PAX. 4 rounds, on final round the PAX added the side steps for extra credit
Then PAX rotated from standing High Knees, to running up, then back down both main steps and side steps, 4 rounds
YHC Shared the following 3rdF to get PAX thinking about the amazing part of Christmas–the INCARNATION–the fact that God became man for our salvation:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory. This is John’s version of the Christmas narrative. While it is not really a narrative, it does tell us about the most incredible truth ever told. God the Son, who was eternal God Himself, put on flesh and dwelt among us. Another word for this is: I-N-C-A-R-N-A-T-I-O-N
The Bible is literally 66 books, ranging from Genesis to Revelation. Forty different writers authored it’s books, over a period of 1500 years. Despite all of this, a consistent, complete message unfolds across its pages.
It’s easy to forget the Bible predates the printing press by over a thousand years. It was laboriously written on papyrus. Very few owned the manuscripts, usually only religious officials. Over centuries, the Jews nurtured and preserved the writings, carefully recording each letter and punctuation mark — In fact, if a letter or a syllable was wrong, the copying had to start over! The early Christians continued the practice of precision, passing the written Word along carefully from generation to generation.
WHY WAS THE BIBLE WRITTEN? Think about this relate-able picture: Late on Christmas Eve, a frustrated father sits on the floor. Stray parts of a new toy litter the room. His wife surveys the mess, and says, “When all else fails, read the instructions.”
Maybe you’re the type who typically skips the manual. Most of us definitely don’t like to stop and ask for directions either. But think further about this: God knew we would frequently need to “read the instructions” — perhaps before we even find ourselves in a mess!
THREE PURPOSES FOR THE BIBLE:
1) For an infinite God to reveal Himself to a finite people
2) To reveal to people how to live. In Deuteronomy 4:1 God said, “Hear my Word and follow my decrees and statutes that you may LIVE….”
3) To reveal how God interacts with people through history
Roman’s 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have HOPE.”
This Christmas season, would you commit to taking the time to read the first few chapters of the Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of Luke? (The Christmas narratives of the birth of our Savior.) Read the instruction manual and share it with your family to see just what it says about Christmas and the hope it brings to us in Christ. Merry Christmas!
At this point PAX mosey’d all the way around the building and returned to the Back Lot 2-Story Steps:
PAX in line did Mountain Climber, while in turn each ran to the top and back down, swapping out with next PAX in Mountain Climber line. 4 rounds
PAX in line did Seal Jacks, while in turn each ran to the top and back down, swapping out with next PAX in line. 4 rounds
Time called. Mosey back [just] around the corner to AO starting point for…
NUMBER-RAMA: One! Two! Three! And YHC’s golf game, Four!
COT/BOM:
Announcements: YHC shared briefly about the potential/goal for F3 First State to take on official Region Status. It’s within reach and leadership (Nantan, Site-Q’s, & Comz, etc.) will have further discussion on this. It’s a great year to do so, since the year to come is all about 2020. So, let’s work together soon to get some 20/20 on Region status in 2020. More to come…
Prayers: Prayers lifted for several: Aaron (YHC’s nephew deployed), homeless family (ministered to by Gump), April & Faith and their family members (Waterfall’s extended family)
What a brisk morning it was! Lots of leg smoke, but a leg-day never hurts. Well, actually, it does! But that’s the point. Check? Check!
Always honored to lead the men in Milford at our newest AO, The Grit Mill. get the word out in and around Milford, men. Own the mission to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups of men for the invigoration of male community leadership! Even if you don’t regularly post there, if you’d like to Q it, contact Site-Q Ruxpin. The place is a workout goldmine. YHC knows one thing for certain…there are plenty of steps. And we didn’t even leave the AO!
12 men braved the 16 degrees for a 12 days of Christmas beatdown. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Warm up – IC
SSH- 15
Arm circles – 15 fwd. 15 back.
Squats – 15
Cherry picker- 15
Imperial Walker- 15
The Thang-
Mosey around block and come back to CHOP. ParkingLot
For 12 days of Christmas …(do in format of the timeless classic Christmas song )
1- side shuffles from pole to pole and mosey back to start for 1-6 , lt Dan back for 7-12..
2- burpees 1
3- hand release merkins 2,1
4- side straddle hop IC 3, 2,1
5- tricep dips- 4,3,2,1
6- mountain climbers ….5,4,3,2,1
Break for 3rd F
7- American hammers ….
8- good form merkins …
9- little baby crunches ….
10- alternating lunges ….
11- big boy sit ups ….
12- deep squats …
A little surprise for round 12….. we finished with 12 of EACH exercise
Name A Rama
COT
3rd F-
Duty Is Yours, Results Are God’s
By Jason Benham, Jul 10, 2019
John Quincy Adams once said, after losing case after case after case in a seemingly hopeless cause to set the slaves free, “Duty is mine, results are God’s.”
This sums up what every person should believe concerning the thing God wants them to do. We can’t focus on results, otherwise we’ll deal at the level of the mind and not the heart – we’ll try to figure out how to make the thing happen, when God wants us to just put our faith in Him and trust Him with our hearts.
A statement from the Apostle Paul in Acts 20:22 echoes this – “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there….”
Check this out:
“And now I am on my way to building this business, not knowing how it’s going to turn out.”
“And now I am going to have another baby, not knowing how I’m going to feed her.”
“And now I am going to tell the truth, not knowing if it’s going to cost my job.”
“And now I am going to expose the lie, not knowing what’s going to happen to my reputation.”
“And now I am going to stand and fight, not knowing if I will win or lose.”
See how this works – all we have to do is our duty, the one given to us by God. Let Him handle the rest. He’ll take care of the results.
When you keep your focus on God you will continue to operate at the level of the heart, which is where faith is found. You can trust Him, you don’t ever have to worry about the results.
Complete in descending order from 11- each of the following: Dips, Squats, Merkins, and Big Boys. After each set mosey around the middle circle of the parking lot. 10, 9, 8, 7… you get the idea.
Two (Flintstone and Rocky [from Kansas City])pax for a "warm" and wet WO
Warmup: mosey
15 IC SSH
20 imperial walkers
Mosey
The THANG
15 IC MERKINS
15 AIR SQUATS
1 MIN WALL SIT
15 IC LBCS
10 IC MERKINS
10 IC AIR SQUATS
1 MIN WALL SIT
10 IC LBC
5 IC TEMPO MERKINS
5 IC TEMPO SQUATS
1 MIN WALL SIT
5 IC LBCS
MOSEY
10 IC MERKINS
10 IC SQUATS
1 MIN WALL SIT
10 IC LBS
5 IC TEMPO MERKINS
5 IC TEMPO SQUATS
1 MIN WALL SIT
5 IC TEMPO LBCS
MARY
ABC OF ABS
20 FREDDY MERCURY
5 ARM CIRCLES IC
We had 3 PAX for a wet beat down.
Warm up:
15 IC hillbilly high knees
20 IC SSH
10 IC Snow Angels
The Thangs:
6 rounds of Bill Murray
Mary:
10 IC snow angels
20 IC Freddy Mercury
20 IC SSH
32 Pax posted today… a record for Saturday. Keep it up Monterey!
…well, it seemed like it because the 2 Pax that did show did the work of 32 in one of the most grueling workouts of the year.
Armies IC, Cherry Pickers IC, Wind mills IC, Hill Billies IC and a lot of chatter between so the two pax lost count on all the cadences.
5 SSH IC and then 10 OYO in silence and stop exactly after the 10 (4 count). If you don’t stop exactly than 5 burpees for you. One PAX stopped, then 1 x4 count SSH later the other stopped. And neither knew if they got it right so we passed on the burpees.
The thang:
Mosey to ping pong table. Ping Pong tournament! Double elimination. Best of 3 points. While playing the rest of the Pax – oh, wait. There were no other pax. We will keep that for next time.
Mosey to get brick. “Race to…” excercise. First Pax to count calls recover.
100 Overhead Presses After every 25 overhead Presses, drop and do 10 leg raises.
Bear and brick to 50
Repeat for 200 Curls and do 10 Squats every 25.
Bear and brick back to goal line.
Repeat for 300 mountain climbers and do 10 SSHs.
Brick Clean up. Carmel High maintenance workers repairing fence so we ran with all the bricks up to Sharkbaits truck for safekeeping.
The Thang – 12 Days of Christmas or Doce dias de Navidad to keep with the “Quattro” theme…..:)…. Exercise set courtesy of Quattro’s M….
Each exercise was completed and repeated in descending order just as the Twelve days of Christmas Song would be sung. You get the idea. After reaching the eighth exercise, we took a break for the third F provided by Quattro….see F3 Message below…. Once the beatdown resumed, we jumped to the twelfth exercise and worked our way down to #1 after-which we jogged our block back to the pile.
1– 30 sec Plank with a run around the Church before adding the next exercise on the list of twelve.
2 – 4 count Mountain Climbers
3 – Overhead block presses
4 – Glute Bridges
5 – Burpees
6 – Donkey kicks
7 – Split jacks
8 – 4 count SSH
9 – Curtsy lunges
10 – Block swings
11 – Full motion squats
12 – Block dead-lifts
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Prayers were offered for multiple needs within the attending PAX, but please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message – Quattro
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Prayers were offered for multiple needs within the attending PAX, but please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
The Twelve Days of Christmas – True Meaning Behind the Lyrics
Ace Collins – from crosswalk.com
To many people, the lyrics of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” seem strange beyond belief. The odd carol’s words might make one think it is a novelty song, in the vein of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” or “My Favorite Things.” Though a host of modern internet sites and some magazine articles have tried to reduce “The Twelve Days of Christmas” to a little more than a silly Christmas carol, most scholars of the Catholic Church deem it a very important surviving example of a time when that denomination used codes to disguise their teachings. Originally a poem written by Catholic clerics, this song was transformed into a carol at a time when celebrating the twelve days of Christmas was one of the most important holiday customs. By understanding the meaning the clerics chose the twelve days as wrapping for their poem, the full impact of the tradition of the twelve days of Christmas can be understood.
The 12 Days of Christmas – True Meaning
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . a partridge in a pear tree.
The partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on the first day of Christmas. Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge, the only bird that will die to protect its young.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . two turtledoves.
These twin birds represent the Old and New Testaments. So in this gift, the singer finds the complete story of Judeo-Christian faith and God’s plan for the world. The doves are the biblical roadmap that is available to everyone.
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . three French hens.
These birds represent faith, hope, and love. This gift hearkens back to 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter written by the apostle Paul.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . four calling birds.
One of the easiest facets of the song’s code to figure out, these fowl are the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . five gold rings.
The gift of the rings represents the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . six geese a-laying.
These lyrics can be traced back to the first story found in the Bible. Each egg is a day in creation, a time when the world was “hatched” or formed by God.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . seven swans a-swimming.
It would take someone quite familiar with the Bible to identify this gift. Hidden in the code are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion. As swans are one of the most beautiful and graceful creatures on earth, they would seem to be a perfect symbol for the spiritual gifts.
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . eight maids a-milking.
As Christ came to save even the lowest of the low, this gift represents the ones who would receive his word and accept his grace. Being a milkmaid was about the worst job one could have in England during this period; this code conveyed that Jesus cared as much about servants as he did those of royal blood. The eight who were blessed included the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . nine ladies dancing.
These nine dancers were really the gifts known as the fruit of the Spirit. The fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . ten lords a-leaping.
This is probably the easiest gift to understand. As lords were judges and in charge of the law, this code for the Ten Commandments was fairly straightforward to Catholics.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . eleven pipers piping.
This is almost a trick question, as most think of the disciples in terms of a dozen. But when Judas betrayed Jesus and committed suicide, there were only eleven men who carried out the gospel message.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . twelve drummers drumming.
The final gift is tied directly to the Catholic Church. The drummers are the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed. “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.”
The Context & History Behind “The 12 Days of Christmas”
Teaching the Catholic faith was outlawed in sixteenth-century England. Those who instructed their children in Catholicism could be drawn and quartered. Thus, the church went underground. To hide the important and illegal elements of their teaching, clerics composed poems that seemed sill to most people. But these verses were veiled works that taught the church’s most important tenets. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is said to be one of these teaching tools.
Most people today believe that the twelve days of Christmas start on December 12th or 13th and run through Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. But in fact, the first day of Christmas is December 25th and the final day is January 5th. Thus, for hundreds of years the Christmas holidays didn’t begin until Christmas Eve and didn’t end until Epiphany.
Why were these twelve days important? These dozen days were tied to more than just the teaching of the Catholic Church. A host of other denominations also celebrated the twelve days of Christmas. Some denominations celebrated Christmas in January and began to count the twelve days then. But whenever they began, the counting of the days became an important facet of each holiday season. Even in the Dark Ages, in some Eastern European churches, the twelve days of Christmas meant attending daily church services. For Christians who lived during this extremely difficult age, the twelve days were a time of rededication and renewal. It was also a period when small, simple, and usually symbolic gifts of faith were given to children. Thus, in both coded poems and public worship, the twelve days were considered a holy period.
For many Christians today, even the recognition of the twelve days of Christmas has been lost . . . for two reasons. The first is that when Epiphany lost out to Christmas as the day of giving gifts, many simply quit celebrating the twelve-day observance. The other reason is based more on the change in the fabric of culture than on overlooking the Christian holiday of Epiphany.
In ancient times, when most societies were rural, few people worked in the dead of winter. It was a time when many were spending long, dark days inside their homes, looking forward to winter’s chill giving way to the spring thaw. So devoting a dozen days to prayer, reflection, and attending church was not a huge undertaking. Yet with the coming of the Industrial Age and the regular year-round work schedules it brought, finding time to continue the activities that had been traditionally associated with the twelve days of Christmas became all but impossible for most people.
So the passing of the twelve-days custom probably had as much to do with “progress” as with anything else. As fewer and fewer churches and families participated in the tradition, it was all but lost. Yet in the obscure poem that was later turned into a popular carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” live on. And the twelve days described are actually a wonderful and complete picture of the Christian faith.
The “true love” mentioned in the song is not a sweetheart but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents anyone who has accepted Christ as the Son of God and as Savior. And each of the gifts portrays an important facet of the story of true faith.
So, just a silly song? On the surface maybe, but in reality, a refreshing reminder of the essential elements of Christian faith. The twelve days of Christmas may no longer be a widely recognized holiday tradition, but the days were an important bridge that connected persecuted believers of the past with the whole story of God’s plan. In the complicated world of today, a trip back to the not-so-distant past when Christians celebrated the twelve days of Christmas would only enhance the meaning of Christmas for everyone.
Ace Collins is the writer of more than sixty books, including several bestsellers: Stories behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, The Cathedrals, and Lassie: A Dog’s Life. Based in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, he continues to publish several new titles each year. Ace has appeared on scores of television shows, including CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, and Entertainment Tonight.
This article is part of our larger Christmas and Advent resource library centered around the events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ. We hope these articles help you understand the meaning and story behind important Christian holidays and dates and encourage you as you take time to reflect on all that God has done for us through his son Jesus Christ!
YHC Shared the following 3rdF to get PAX thinking about the amazing part of Christmas–the INCARNATION–the fact that God became man for our salvation:
