Moving Parts, Too Many?

Date: 1/12/23

QIC: Chappie

YHC jumped in to fill the gap as requested by Bunt who was out of town. 23 PAX won #thatfirstbattle and posted for yet another multi-station workout, which YHC confesses may have had too many moving parts. Nonetheless, those who did the work got “gassed”–says Quattro. Several PAX dressed in red to honor Cardinal from F3Knoxville, who actually collapsed and died during his VQ just yesterday, 1/11. (Forgive Streudel’s laughter in Name-O-Rama, he wasn’t aware why the PAX next to him announced “Cardinal!“) Cardinal leaves behind his M, Andrea, and 2 young children, Clay and Evie. Our hearts go out to the family and F3 PAX who were with him when he died. There are no guarantees that we’ll have our next breath…let’s live like it! And let’s be prepared for eternity!

As mentioned, there may have been too many moving parts. Still, here’s how it all went down…

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH – 51 IC
  • Imperial Squat Walker – 15 IC
  • Tempo Merkins – 10 IC
  • Italian Night Club – 51 IC
  • Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

>>>>>>Mosey to H.O.B.

THE THANGITY THANG: (WORKOUT RULES below)     

PAIR UP for Stations: Run counter-clockwise aroun stations, stopping to do the workour (if bags are available)

CONE #1 • 40lb sandbags – 40 OH Presses, then go to next station; if there’s no sandbag, keep running all the way around…

CONE #2 • 40lb sandbags – 40 Sandbag Curls, go to next…

CONE #3 • Long Sit/Cross Legs – 30 reps, Single Count (Grab a card, do exercise, before moving on. KEEP YOUR CARDS!)

CONE #4 • 40lb GORUCK BAGS – 10 Sandbag Burpees (clean & toss), go to next…

CONE #5 • 20lb Medicine Balls – 10 OH Squat Thrust & Catch or Slams, go to next.

CONE #6 • X’s & O’s – 25 Single count (Grab a card, do exercise, before moving on. KEEP YOUR CARDS!)

CLOSING GAME OF WAR:  2 lines/2 teams: I. De. Clare. War! Winners: No exercise Losers: Exercise on winning card.

OVERALL WORKOUT RULES:

  1. Move in Pairs
  2. Spread out among 6 stations/directions are in chalk at each CONE.
  3. GOAL: Keep moving! Rule: If you see a PAX walking you may Grab a card from the deck, charge them with it (they do exercise) AND you get to exchange it with and keep the highest card from their hand (no exercise charged to you!)
  4. If there’s no bags at a station, rock on! (Keep running till you’re able come around and complete all stations.)
  5. After each time at the ab stations (3&6), grab card from deck, do the exercise, but keep your cards to the end. Try to get 3 cards.
  6. Once you’ve done a station you’ve completed that station. By-pass it if already done. DO NOT throw down actual sandbags!

Bonus: RETURN TO AO WITH ALL THE COUPONS, AND WITH WATER IN MOUTH (Spit it out/Swallow it no Burpees!) Due to time no Burpees were rewarded, however, several PAX did them after BOM. Growing success—most of the PAX succeeded at this crazy exercise invented by the Apache Indians (who ran great distances while holding water in their mouths)

Wait a second! 23 PAX/24 Waters…who didn’t drink up?

3rdF shared prior to the round of I Declare War:

Navy Seal, Admiral McRaven, told this training story during a commencement address:

He said, “Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events. Long runs. Long swims. Obstacles courses. Hours of calisthenics, something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards, times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those times, those standards, your name was posted on a list. And at the end if the day those on the list were invited to a circus.

A circus was 2 hours of additional calisthenics, designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, and to force you to quit. No one wanted a circus. A circus meant for that day that you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue, and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult, and more circuses were likely. But at some time during training everyone, everyone, made the circus list.

An interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list: Over time those students who did 2 hrs. of extra calisthenics got stronger and stronger; the pain of the circuses built inner strength and physical resiliency.

Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD—don’t be afraid of the circuses!”

In 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul used this kind of physical training as an illustration to tell of something of greater importance—living for Christ.

Don’t you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (More important.) Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I beat my body [discipline] and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

The Bible gives this allegory to tell us that to cross the finish line effectively it’s going to take work. Not to earn it, but it just takes work AND because, like any athlete or any man, there will be times when we just don’t feel like putting in the work [out]. T.D. Jakes reminds us, “Your feelings will never cooperate with your dreams. Beat your feelings into captivity. Because when you beat your feelings into captivity, that is what discipline is!”

This sounds like Admiral McRaven, except that it stretches across the spectrum from physical training to the things we face in our everyday world… “Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.”  IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR HOME, YOUR WORKPLACE, YOUR COMMUNITY, AND YOUR WORLD—IF YOU WANT TO BE A H.I.M., don’t be afraid of the circuses!” [Anticipate and expect to do the extra work]

COT:

  • Name-O-RAMA – 23 PAX
  • Announcements: SLT Meeting tonight @ Tequila Real, 6:30 pm; Roving RuckF3st Friday stepping off at Georgetown Circle in the Gloom; Quattro need girls clothing and school supplies for trip to girls orphanage
  • Prayers: Quattro as he’s preparing for mission trip to El Salvador; Cardinal’s M and children and the PAX with Cardinal when he died during the workout.

Honored to stand in for Bunt in his absence, thankful for the opportunity to Q

Chappie, out!

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“LID” UP

Date: 01/07/2023

AO: Aegis, Georgetown, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down.  15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats.

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Hydraulic Squats – 10 (6 Count)   

The Thang

Round #1 – Karaoke around the circle switching directions at halfway and complete 10 hand release merkins.  Round #2 – Nur around the circle and complete 20 LBC’’s.  Round #3 – ass kickers around the circle and complete Aiken legs – 10 squats, 10 box jumps, 10 lunges (5 each Leg), 10 Mike Tyson’s (5 each Leg).  Round #4 – high knees around the circle and complete ATM’s – 10 alternating “merkin” shoulder taps, 10 tempo merkins, and 10 fast merkins.  Round # 5 – Lieutenant Dan around the circle and complete 10 four count mountain climbers.  Round #6 – Toy Soldier march around the circle and complete a set of 11’s.  1 big boy to 1 merkin, two big boys to 2 merkins ascending to 11 of each.  Round #7 – mosey 10 laps around the circle and complete ascending Burp & Merks up to 10 merkins.  The twist is we are going to repeat each of the previous exercises before starting the next lap around the circle.

F3 Message 01/07/23

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.   


GOD ALL OVER YOUR DAY – #8016

Monday, October 2, 2017
 
When I’m on the road and staying in a motel, I’m often leaving pretty early that day for the responsibilities I have. But by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made and I didn’t make it! I’ve got new, clean towels! I didn’t find them. Everything’s straightened and neat. I even get these cool little soaps now that are in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! Now, I know that not because I’ve seen the maid (actually I haven’t), but because I can see the results of her work all over the place.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “God All Over Your Day.”
He is, you know. It’s not unlike that maid scenario. You may not see the one who made the difference, but you can sure see the difference that He made, if you’re looking for it.
If you’ve ever been to one of those church meetings where they ask people to share their favorite verses, you’ve probably heard somebody mention our word for today from the Word of God. It’s a lot of people’s favorite verse. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Notice what’s the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your heart: trying to figure it out for yourself, doing what you think is best – leaning on your own understanding.
Now comes a formula for finding out what God wants you to do in any given situation. Well, we need that. Verse 6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Now, God says, “If you want to know My heart for you, acknowledge Me in every situation you’re in.” You know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you’ve gone totally un-greeted, un-noticed? Well, you were saying to yourself, “Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice I’m here.” See, God knows that feeling. He shows up all through our day, and we often never notice Him. We don’t acknowledge Him.
The other day I was really blessed in a place not normally associated with blessing-the dentist’s office. I was in the waiting room and I saw an old friend with his wife-they’re both in their 90’s. He’s working very hard to care for his wife because her health is deteriorating. Because it had been raining when they came in, my friend asked the dentist if he could help him get his wife out to the car. My dentist came back in, really touched by what had happened in those two minutes-so touched that he brought it up two more times. He said, “When I went out with George and his wife, it wasn’t raining. And George said, ‘Isn’t it great that the Lord stopped the rain long enough for us to get out to the car?’ Then he just looked heavenward and said, ‘Thanks, Father.'”
Now that’s acknowledging Him. That’s noticing God’s working in the details of your day. And that’s where praise comes from, where joy comes from, where a victorious attitude comes from in the toughest of times. But you have to go into your day looking for God at work. If you don’t, you’ll miss God and you’ll miss the joy. But if you do train your heart to go on a daily God-hunt (God-sightings, you know), you’ll experience what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon talked about when he said, “He who looks for providences (or God-actions) will never lack a providence to observe.”
If you haven’t been seeing God a lot lately, it’s because you haven’t been looking. You may have been focused on your circumstances, or other people, or yourself or what’s stressing you out. You’ve missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies, the small miracles, the interventions, the protection, the encouraging surprises, the bad things that didn’t happen. I know there’s never a day where He doesn’t show up because the Bible says His “mercies are new every morning!”
In those transformed motel rooms, I seldom see the maid, but I see the results of her work. In the little and big moments of your day, you may not see God, but you can see the results of His work on your behalf because you’re His much-loved child. You’ll see God all over your day if you’re looking for Him.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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That’s Not a Hill

Date: 12/08/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE.

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

Bolt 45’s – 15 squats full up to halfway down, 15 squats halfway down to full down, & 15 squats full motion.  All completed IC as a 4 count.

Hydraulic Squats – 17 IC (6 Count)

Mosey @.5 miles to Holy Hill and took a brief break for the F3Message…see below

The Thang

1st & 10 Routine per the Exicon…Well sort of….:)…..Perform 10 merkins and 1 burpee.  Nur up the hill and run down.  Perform 9 merkins and 2 burpees.  Nur up the hill and run down.  Perform 8 merkins and 3 burpees.  Nur up the hill and run down.  You recognize a pattern developing here.  Rinse and Repeat until you complete 1 merkin and 10 burpees followed by your final Nur up the hill and a run back down.   

Mosey @.5 miles back to CHOP. 

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 12/08/22

REMOVING A MOUNTAIN, MAKING A ROAD – #8714

June 4, 2020

The Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri are known for their rocks. They make for some hard farming, some beautiful views, and some challenging road building. Like this one stretch of highway from Branson, Missouri, to Springfield, Missouri, that they widened. As you slowed down through those construction zones, there were some pretty impressive changes that were taking place. Some places were nothing but solid-rock mountain, but somehow they managed to blast away at those mountains and they literally made a road where a mountain used to be!

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Removing a Mountain, Making a Road.”

Now if human engineers can do that, don’t you think God can? In fact, God’s mountain-moving ability may be your only hope right now.

Let’s remember the miracle Jesus promised to us, as recorded in our word for today from the Word of God. In Mark 11:23, He says, “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Obviously, it’s not the power of your word that removes mountains; it’s the power of God. The words immediately preceding these dramatic promises are these: “Have faith in God.”

But we have a God who does remove mountains that appear as if they could never be moved – in answer to the faith-believing prayers of His children. This might be one of those times when the only way there’s going to be a road for you is if God blows away the mountain that stands in the way. But you can ask Him, you can trust Him to do just that, within the boundaries of His perfect will of course.

Our mountains don’t usually come in the form of some huge rock formations. For you, what blocks the way might be a person whose heart is hard; whose heart needs a miraculous change. God does those. According to Proverbs 21:1, “The heart of the king is in His hand.” Maybe your mountain is seemingly impossible financial obstacles.

That’s the kind our ministry has faced a number of times, and we were facing that as it became clear that God wanted us to build our own headquarters to better carry out His orders. We didn’t have one dollar in a building fund. We had no reserves and no clear idea of where an amount like that would come from. But in less than a year, there was the headquarters, totally debt-free. There was this mountain, and then by God’s power and grace, there was a road.

Maybe it’s going to take a change of leadership in order for there to be a way, a miraculous recovery, or seemingly impossible breakthroughs. But God does all of those. God’s allowed you to run up against this mountain so you would run to the end of you. All our lives, we underestimate and under trust the God we have. There’s way too much of us and way too little of God. And then there it is – that massive mountain looming in the way, so huge there’s nothing you can do to move it. There’s nothing any human solution can do to move it.

Well, praise God! You what? Yeah, praise God! You’ve just reached the end of you and possibly you are at the beginning of unleashing your Lord as never before. I love the promise in Ephesians 3:20, “He is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine according to the power that works in us.” I call that a 320 in Ephesians 3:20.

Looking at that mountain, you’d have to say, “No way.” But looking at your all-powerful God, don’t you ever say, “No way.” He blows away mountains and makes a road where you could have never dreamed there would be one, and then you know what? He gets all the glory!

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Clear View

Warm-Up- Side straddle hops , Cherry Pickers, Moroccan Nightclubs

The Thing!

Mosey to the courthouse- Split into 2 groups. From starting point one at a time, Alligator Merkin to the staircase. Bunny Hop up each step, squats on each step coming down, then jail break back to starting point. While waiting for group member to return all other members doing 50 American Hammers, 20 Big Boys, 50 LBC’s.

Patriot Run to the School.

11’s- Start at line with 10 Merkins and 1 Burpee. Mosey to next line and do 9 Merkins and 2 Burpees. So on until reach 1 Merkin and 10 Burpees.

Patriot Run back to Courthouse

Get back into groups. Bear Crawl to steps, Merkin up each step, Run down next set and back to group. While waiting for group member to return all other members doing 50 American Hammers, 20 Big Boys, 50 LBC’s.

Mosey Back to Start Point

3rd F– Story, A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean,” she said. ” She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comment. About a month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?” The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3

Our perspective of other as well as the world varies according to how clean we keep our windows.

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Hill, Yeah!

DATE: 11/17/22

QIC: Chappie

F3 First State doesn’t have hills by comparison to some other regions, we’re on the coast of Delaware and it would be nothing short of proper to call us “flat-landers.” Nonetheless, what hills we have we try to utilize. One location was fondly dubbed “Oh Hill No!” a number of years ago; its a grassing hill that rises to the Milton, DE water tower. Another is the hill on the street adjacent to it, aptly referred to as Merlot Hill–yes, that’s the reason why–and yes, the FNG was promptly given that nickname. Anyway, today it wasn’t “Oh, hill no!” it was “Oh, hill yeah! Like YHC said, we don’t have many [real] hills, so it was simply time to embrace the suck. But…it all started with a VQ Warm-O-Rama by the one and only Deez.

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Moroccan Night Club – 26 IC
  • Merkins – 10 OYO
  • Cherry Pickers – 21 IC
  • Merkins – 10 OYO
  • SSH – 20 IC
  • Merkins – 10 IC
  • Chairman Lap

Great job by a self-confessed very anxious Deez on his first time ever Warm-O-Rama

THE THANG:

PAX prepared to mosey to Merlot Hill, YHC divvied up some restrictor plates (1 40lb sandbag/2 20lb sandbags) among the normally faster PAX for making our .5 mile trek to the hill. Cool thing happened, PAX passed them around the entire journey there and back. In an act of genuine camaraderie every HIM embraced the suck.

Once at the base of the hill YHC set us up for a set of 11’s (i.e. not enough time for 21’s). Sandbags? Well, grab one whenever it becomes available either on your way up the hill or on your way down. They were vying for these things! Crazy PAX! Sandbags are for kids.

Big Boys at the bottom, 1 – Merkins at the top, 10 (Keep going until the numbers are switched 10 – 1)

For the PAX on teams participating in the @F3Alliance Merkins & Miles Challenge, the wrap up was an additional 10 Merkins to get to a total of 100 during the workout.

Midway through the set of 11’s YHC circled-up PAX for the following 3rdF:

If you’ve ever had a long year then you can probably relate to the lyrics of Toby Mac’s song titled Faithfully. Lyrics:

It’s been a long year

It almost took me down, I swear

Life was so good

I’m not sure we knew what we had

I’ll never be the same man

I’ll never feel like I felt before

It’s been a hard year

It almost took me down

Refrain But when my world broke into pieces

You were there faithfully

When I cried out to You, Jesus

You made a way for me

I may never be the same man (YHC’s commentary: Hard times change a man, for better or worse, depending upon who or what we depend…)

But I’m a man who still believes

When I cried out to You, Jesus

You were there faithfully

The song goes on to for several more verses… Refrain, Refrain, Refrain… Check out the full song here…

If you don’t know; the story behind the song is that Toby Mac and his wife lost their oldest son, Truitt, to an overdose in Oct. 2019.

I’ve never lost a child, and I won’t even pretend to know the pain of that experience. But he does say that Jesus was there faithfully. And I don’t know if anybody in this circle has experienced losing a child, but I can tell you this: Whatever the cause, we’ve all experienced, or will experience, some REALLY long/hard years.

  • I’ve pastored a church where for the first few years a small group of people wanted my head on a platter…non-stop! They were hard years!
  • I inexplicably went through 2 years of depression where I was immobilized, then tormented, daily, by plans of ending it all. (Thank you to Ruxpin for speaking about this recently…guys find it extremely difficult to broach this subject, but it has to be talked about.)
  • I’ve faced long years with each of my boys, wondering if they’d ever turn the corner

And I’m certain you’ve had long years too! Regardless of whatever it was that made that year (those years) long, the truth that matters most, and the one we sometimes need to look for to see is that…

(Refrain adapted) …when my world broke into pieces God was there faithfully | When I cried out to You, Jesus | You made a way for me | I may never be the same man | But I’m a man who still believes | When I cried out to You, Jesus | You were there faithfully

That’s Toby Mac’s testimony, and it’s so relatable because it’s ours too! Yet it’s not the promise of the song that captures us, but rather it is the promise of Scripture:

  • In Deut. 31: 6-8 Moses told Joshua 2x, “Be strong and courageous…God is the One who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” (Comment: Sometimes we need to hear it from someone else.)
  • In 1 Chron. 28:20 David said to Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; Do not fear nor be dismayed…for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” (Comment: Promises of God also have to be passed down from generation to generation. Others must hear it from us that “My God, the One true God, the God in whom I have come to trust, is with you.)
  • The promise is found also in 1 Kings 8:57 “May the Lord our God be with us…may He not leave us nor forsake us.” (Comment: Here it a blessing we’re calling down upon ourselves.)
  • And in Joshua 1 God spoke directly to Joshua and promises him 2x in the first nine verses: “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” And, “For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (vv.5, 9) (Comment: While we may need to hear it from others, or while we may be speaking forth this promise to someone who needs to hear it; the greatest moments are when we hear God speaking directly to us. BUT…that means we have to be listening. These promises are for those listening and longing to hear from God, to walk with God, and to trust Him and pursue Him with their whole heart. They are not for those pursuing a life without Him. …long silent pause…)

We find the same promise(s) in the NT:

  • In a passage referred to as the Great Commission, in Matt. 28:20 Jesus’ parting words to His followers included the same promise, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth, “Go therefore [in My authority] and [as you are going] make disciples [followers of Christ] of all nations [people groups], baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you,” and here it is: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
  • One last place the promise is found is Hebrews 13:5 “…for He [Jesus] Himself said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”

Anytime something is repeated, it’s because we need to hear it [again!]. And I don’t know who needs to be assured of this today, or who will need to hear this promise’s echo in the future, but it is God’s promise to us; one that we can all likely attest is true, that when everything breaks into pieces, when we’re in our darkest hour, and when we’ve come to a place of pain that we’ve never felt before, or when it has just simply turned into a long year, Jesus will be there with us faithfully. For “He will never leave us nor forsake us.” HIM rely on the Lord [especially] during those times.

After PAX wrapped their remaining rounds of 11’s, we grabbed the restrictor plates and headed back to the AO. Again, in a genuine display of camaraderie PAX were vying over the sandbags. Gimme, gimme, gimme…in a very unselfish and selfless way!

COT:

  • Number-Rama – 19 PAX won THAT FIRST BATTLE and posted in yet another glorious Gloom
  • Name-O-Rama
  • Announcements: Turkey Day workout will be a full hour (05:15 – 06:15 hrs.), followed by Coffeeteria at Quattro’s, followed by a few hours of killing targets. (BYOG – Bring Your Own Guns & BYOB – Bring Your Own Bullets, or just show up and get a feel for shooting. Ah…I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning! …sorry, there will be no Napalm.)
  • PRAYERS: For Rob; for the family who lost their 21-yr-old son to a heart attack; for a couple of other requests slipping YHC’s mind as of the writing of this Backblast. Nonetheless, God knows, He remembers)

Always a privilege to Q. Honored.

Chappie out, Aye!

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Humpty’s Hill

Date: 11/09/2022

AO: Gritmill, Milford, DE

Warm up

  • Side straddle hop
  • Cherry pickers
  • American Hammers
  • Squats 20

The Thang

  1. Patriot run with shovel flag to dog park
  2. Count off, one guy does shoulder taps while the other dragon crawls to top of hill 50 yds.
  3. Third f
  4. Switch elevated Merkins, while other guy bear crawls 2x with a merkins
  5. 10-1, diamond Merkin, baby crunches

Sherlock Shuffle, high knees until man calls down- goes around circle once.

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.

F3 Message 11/09/2022

We shouldn’t care too much about how strangers view us. Life is too short. Our outcome is never guaranteed, but the process is yours. The outcome you worked so hard for can be taken from you in many ways.

You can work hard and get robbed, fall in love and get cheated on, or do well without getting any recognition. When you do things for the outcome, you care about something that’s beyond your control.

It’s in the name. The outcome, as in outside of you. People’s approval is outside of you, but the process of working on yourself is internal.

Focus on proper execution and discipline demands attention and dedication. These are the elements of the process. A focus on the process makes it difficult to worry about what other people will think of the outcome.

The process is immune to other people’s opinions. It’s the private place to make mistakes, grow, and take care of the only thing that matters: what you can control.

Yes, other people can critique what you’re doing, but not what you’re thinking and your objectives. Your focus is on the process. The process is your own style of learning, development, and exploration.

Another way to look at the idea of “focusing on the process” is only doing what’s important to you. When you only focus on the things that matter to you, you naturally focus on the process anyway. This is because you’re more concerned with getting better than getting attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LkxoO1vrGQ&list=UUFsNghvoSeZOCjYiOB2jC0Q&index=1

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“Oh Hill No”, It’s Election Day

Date: 11/08/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE.

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 25 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down.  15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats.

Windmills – 15 IC

Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO

Mosey @.5 miles to “Oh Hill No”

The Thang

The Super Sheldon Cooper on “Oh Hill No”.  Inch worm with a merkin up the hill, Crawl Bear down and complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. Dragon Crawl up the hill, Crawl Bear down and complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. For the final round, complete a  Bear Crawl up the hill, Crawl Bear down and complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. F3 Message and Dragon Crawl @ 50ft. before moseying back to the CHOP.  

Mosey @.5 miles back to CHOP. 

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.

F3 Message 11/08/2022

SO MANY PROMISES – #8849

December 10, 2020

Politicians – promises. They’re almost synonyms. And, man, we’ve been through the election campaigns. And, of course, you know, we’re probably on promise overload! You get it from the time they declare their candidacy. “He broke his promise!” “He can’t keep that promise!” “If I’m elected, I promise…”

Elections raise hopes. Reality often crushes them, doesn’t it? The promises often seem to get swept away and trashed with the victory celebration confetti. Fact is, no politician keeps all their promises. Sometimes, well, because they never meant to, sometimes because of unforeseen circumstances, and often just because he/she simply doesn’t have the power to deliver what they promised.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “So Many Promises.”

Now, it’s not just politicians. Look, we parents make a lot of promises – too many of which we either forget, neglect or just fail to keep. The promis-er may forget. The promis-ee never does. Most of us can still remember, like years later, the parents’ promises that never happened.

We make promises at work, at church, to friends. Raising expectations, and then dashing them by never following through. We lose what takes years to gain and just a day to lose – trust. We shake our heads in disgust at the politicians’ words that seem so hollow in light of their broken promises. Forgetting the “trail of tears” that we ourselves have left with the things we said but never did.

I stood before an altar years ago and made some of the biggest promises of my life. I told the woman I loved – and, more importantly, I told God – that I would love and care for her and be committed to her “’til death do us part.” She staked her life on my promise, and the Lord, in the Bible’s words, was “acting as the witness” of my “marriage covenant.” That’s what the book of Malachi says (Malachi 2:14). I found myself listening again and then again to those promises I made that day to try to be sure I was keeping them.

I learned the hard way, that in every relationship, you think before you promise. And do whatever it takes to deliver when you do promise. Now, our word for today from the Word of God, Ecclesiastes 5 beginning in verse 5 says this: “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.” King David described the man God will honor as one who “keeps his oath even when it hurts” (Psalm 15:4).

After so many soaring speeches in political campaigns, I wrote these words in my personal journal: “A political season shows that humans promise what they ultimately lack the power to deliver, and hopes are dashed. But my hope is based on a Savior who, by beating death, has shown me He can do anything and everything He has promised!” Man, that’s awesome!

Well, He promised, “My God will supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19). And in a thousand amazing ways, He always has. He said, “Your strength will equal your days” (Deuteronomy 33:25), and there’s never been a day He didn’t deliver. He promised “they who honor Me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30), and He’s come through every time I’ve risked to do the right thing. He told me, “I am the Lord your God who directs you in the way you should go” (Isaiah 48:17), and He’s done it at every crossroads.

I’m sure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that He will keep the promise on which my eternity rests, “God has given us eternal life, this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life…you who believe in the name of the Son of God…know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).

I have no fear of death. I have no doubt about heaven, because I’ve put my trust in the only One who can forgive my sins – the One who died for them. I trust in the only One who can give me eternal life – the One who walked out of His grave. And He waits to do that for you. In a world of littered promises, this Jesus will deliver the life and eternity He promised if you’ll grab Him today with all your trust like a drowning person grabs a lifeguard.

Our website is there to help you do that. I hope you’ll go there today. It’s ANewStory.com. You can plant both your feet on His promises and you’ll know He’ll deliver. He has no unforeseen circumstances. He cannot lie. And nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Bean 1, Bean 2

DATE: 10/18/22

QIC: Chappie

Kudos to Beeker (Hospital name: Corbin Bean) for getting in his VQ Warm-O-Rama. Great job brother; it was awesome for YHC (Hospital name: Todd Bean) to tag-team with you and get you into the Q rotation.

Here’s how it all went down this Gloom:

WARM-O-RAMA:

Um…yeah, YHC has little recollection of everything we did, but it was well executed and sufficient for getting our heart rates up and warming up the PAX for the following

THE THANG:

Had to start with a Bearcrawl across the freshly resealed parking lot. Boom! After years of complaints by those who have soft and supple hands, it has to be said: That thing is clean. PAX just couldn’t wait to use it!

PAX grouped up in gaggles of 5–couldn’t have planned it better; there were 20 PAX and we needed 4 groups for 4 stations:

  • Station #1: At this station groups had to Prison Break to Willow St, and Mosey back. This was the time-setter station, as after PAX went down a back groups would move to the next station.
  • Station #2: Swerkins AMRAP. How about that? 5 PAX in each group and 5 swings for Swerkins.
  • Station #3: Curb-Stop Leg-lifts AMRAP How about that? 5 PAX in each groups and 5 curb stops for Leg Lifts
  • Station #4: The follow done w/our girl Cindy: Curls AMRAP, Round 1; Overhead Press AMRAP, Round 2; Overhead Squat Press, Round 3.

Back to station #1, Rinse & Repeat AMRAP. PAX rotated through the stations 3x, taking a 3rdF breather mid-way, after which YHC got in the old stand-by Side-Straddle-Hops, then Seal Jacks, before resuming the workout. Somewhere in there we snuck in a Chairman Lap, before closing out with a short round of Mary: 4-Count Freddies – 25 IC, courtesy of YHC, and Superman/Banana, courtesy of Quattro

The following 3rdF shared by our Q, Chappie:

In the year 1519, Hernán Cortéz arrived along the Yucatan Coast off of Veracruz, Mexico with 600 (300?) men and, upon arriving and disembarking their ships, Cortés sounded the order to “burn the ships!” Before moving inland Cortéz destroyed 10 of his 11 ships, cutting off he and his men’s only hope of retreat and leaving them with no option but to conquer.

We can use this as a metaphor today to venture into new territories, to explore the unknown, and to take what we might see as potentially hazardous risks (followers of Christ cannot help but to take faith-filled risks). Sometimes, even when there is uncertainty we must burn the ships, we must lead others to burn the ships. I.e. we need to eliminate the off-ramps in our own lives, or maybe in our workplaces, our churches, our teams, etc., so that we can make certain we’re not avoiding the challenges, and make certain there is no turning back. (That’s a great hymn btw.)

In whatever the case may be the story of burning the ships is as relevant a metaphor as ever; for in many cases if you leave the ships in the harbor, you’re not fully committing to whatever the task, or mission, or vision might be.

We workout at O-Gawd-Thirty just about every morning because it’s part of the physical, mental, and spiritual challenges we’ve accepted. Why? Because F3 workouts increase your ability to be an asset in your home, your workplace, and the communities in which you serve. We do this “fitness, fellowship, and faith” stuff so that we’re more capable physically, mentally, & spiritually to lead our families & solve problems, etc. If we live in accordance with the mantra “burn the ships” it will serve as a metaphor for eliminating the excuses we’re prone to, and the backup plans we usually have in place. “Burn the ships” says the only option is to conquer, the only option is victory, the only option is to succeed! Burn the ships and you will have no other option!

There’s another man who said that. Well, actually, He said it a little differently: In Luke 9:23 Jesus said “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” You know, right after that in vv. 57-61 Jesus actually turned 3 people away, who said they would follow Him wherever He’d go. Each had excuses and Jesus called them out on it: One realized they’d be without a place to lay their heads, another wanted to wait until his after father died, and the third wanted to spend some time at home first. The context tells us they took the off-ramp; it implies they turned back instead of following Jesus. Then in v. 62 Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Gentlemen, HIM put their hand to the plow and never look back! (Ask the farmers…)

HIM take up their cross daily and follow Jesus.

Gentlemen, HIM “burn the ships!” Excuses are not an option.

YHC is always grateful for the opportunity to lead at @f3firststate. We have more and more PAX being added to the Q list (men are stepping up), so opportunities are becoming more sparse–a good problem to have! Hey, that’s what we’re about…planting, growing, and serving.

COT:

  • Announcements: Shirt order down to last day, 10/19 at midnight. 2.0 Workout this Saturday at the Aegis AO.
  • Prayers: Semi’s 2.0 traveling back to college; Quattro’s family fighting “the big green monster”; Fireplex’s Dad; and Ruxpin’s M; etc.
  • BOM

Chappie, out!

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Ruxpin’s Revenge

A little moist this morning at the CHOP for Ruxpin’s Revenge

Date: 10/04/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 20 IC

Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down.  15 squats halfway to full down.  15 full squats.

Hydraulic Squats – 10 IC (6 Count)

Bataan Death March – A Patriot run with the last PAX completing 2 burpees before running to the front.  It took two chairman laps for all 17 HIM to complete their opportunity to do the burpees.

The Thang

The Super 21 as it appears in the Exicon.  1 Merkin to 1 Big Boy Sit up.  2 Merkins to 2 Big Boy Sit-ups.  3 Merkins to 3 Big Boy Sit-ups, etc., etc., etc.  But wait there is a twist….after each set completed of #1 though #5 you will do 21 Imperial Walkers.  After each set completed of #6 through #10 complete 21 Mountain Climbers.  After each set completed of # 11 through #15 complete 21 Monkey Humpers.  After each completed set of #16 through #20 complete 21 Prisoner Squats.  After the final set of #21 Merkins to 21 Big Boy Sit-ups, then finish strong with 21 Burpees.  All PAX were asked to complete the remainder at home if they did not complete the entire set.

Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust.  Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.  

F3 Message 10/04/22

THE SURPRISING SECRET OF GREATNESS – #9292

August 23, 2022

The book is called Good to Great. It’s a thought-provoking book on management written by Jim Collins and a research team that he headed. They identified eleven of the most effective companies in the United States, and then they pursued this question: “What specifically makes these companies so different?” This research actually challenged many of the author’s preconceptions. There were actually lots of surprises. Interestingly, the first thing Collins and his team point to as common to every one of these consistently successful companies is this, and it is a surprise – the modesty of the various CEOs who led them. They suggest that the starting point of a great company is a humble leader – highly focused, sometimes driven people – but known for being gracious, self-effacing, understated. I guess in a word, humble.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Surprising Secret of Greatness.”

If you’ve listened much to what Jesus says about leadership, those recent “discoveries” shouldn’t be a great surprise to you. In Mark 10, beginning with verse 42, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus presents what most people believe about being a leader – and then the truth according to Jesus.

He says: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them…not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Then Jesus backs it up with the way He lived His own life: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus believes that you can earn your authority in people’s lives by serving them, by putting them first, by helping them succeed. And, sure enough, the most contemporary research only reinforces the importance of humility in leadership. The Good to Great authors illustrate their conclusions in this area with what they call windows and mirrors. When these successful CEOs do something right, they walk over to a window and point to all the reasons out there (especially all the other people) that are the reasons for their success. When they do something wrong, they walk to a mirror and they assume the blame themselves. Less effective leaders? Well, the authors say they do it just the other way around – when things go wrong they point out the window and point to excuses and explanations. When things are going right, they go to the mirror to admire the one who deserves the credit they think.

Whether you’re in a position to lead your children, or lead a business, or a staff, or a church, a class, a project, a ministry, don’t fall for the popular lies about leading people – that success means being pushy or punishing, pulling rank, playing politics, manipulating, promoting yourself. No, it’s humble servanthood that is the surprising secret of success. That’s humility as in always being teachable, and courteous, vulnerable, willing to accept responsibility rather than place blame; caring about the person, not just the project.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s godly father tried to prepare him for life in the nation’s Capitol after his son had gotten elected to the United States Senate. Listen to what he said, “John, the culture of Washington is a culture of arrogance.” (By the way, most power-centers are.) He said, ” But the culture of Jesus is a culture of humility. Don’t get sucked into the culture of arrogance.”

That’s good advice for any of us who have someone to lead. Remember, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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We kept running and running

QIC had his chance to bring it on this beautiful Gloom for the 1st time in a few months. IT was a great morning and thank you to all the HIM thgt made it out.

Warm o Rama

20 ssh

20 cherry pickers

15 windmills

The Thang

  • Mosey over to HOB front parking lot for a little bit of Running

10 burpees 1 lap

10 burpees 20 merkins 1 lap

10 burpees 20 merkins 30 Bobby Hurleys 1 lap

Insert 3rd F message here details below

10,20, 30, 40 squats, 50 LBC 1 lap

Return back to AO for COT Announcements and prayer requests

3rd f message

QIC GUMP announced that last week he and his M celebrated their 20th anniversary. There is no real secret to the success in this endeavor. Basic Biblical principals have led to years of success in our marriage. Beginning with forgiveness. QIC shared that 26 years ago his father found out that his mother was cheating on him and in a jealous rage turned a gun on his family and shot us. Years later, and a restored relationship with his dad, QIC gump needed some advice and asked his dad what he would have done differently, other than not picking up a gun of course. His father replied, ” I would have forgiven her and let her go in hopes that she would return”. With this said every successful relationship needs a foundation in Christ. Both partners need to practice forgiveness, and grace in order for the relationship to work and mature, and once you get thru the tough times the relationship is stronger than ever. Here are a few scriptures I found to back up my message:

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Colossians 3:12- 13

Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

Colossians 3:19

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was

brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and

came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Matthew 18:21-35

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