16 HIM posted in the gloom to attend a Block Party! Warm-O-Rama: 20 SSH I/C, 20 Windmills I/C, 20 Smurfjacks I/C, 20 Cherry Picmers I/C, Toy Soldier Set (50/25/15)OYO. Mosey to the Firehouse. The Thang “Block Party”
All HIM grab a block. 10 Blockees OYO. Lt. Dan with an Overhead Press across the parking lot. 26 American Blockhammers I/C. Bear Crawl Block Drag across parking lot. 25 Big Boys with Block OYO. Mosey around the block carrying your block. 10 BTTW Merkins OYO. Lt. Dan length of building. 15 Offset Merkins each arm alternating between Merkins. Crab Crawl with block on stomach across parking lot. 20 Gas Pumpers I/C. Shared Third F. NUR across parking lot with block. 30 Jump Ups onto Block. Duck Walk carrying block. 15 Merkins OYO. Wosey to truck with block overhead. Replace blocks into truck.
Mosey back to circle. 5 Pretzel Merkins each arm OYO.
With Turkey Season coming in and training events causing some PAX to absent themselves from today’s beatdown, YHC wasn’t sure anyone was going to show. Not to worry, 10 PAX won THAT FIRST BATTLE and posted for an ABSolute Saturday morning. I.e. we focused on the abs…a little bit. It went a lil’ something like this:
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 18 IC
Swartzjacks – 18 IC
Imperial Squat Walker – 18 IC (Squat didn’t work in public as well as it worked at home. Next time)
Cherry Picker – 17 IC
Windmill – 10 IC
Wheel of Merkin – 10 OYO Merkins each PAX, around the ring
Sealjacks – 40 IC (In honor of Hideous)
THE THANG:
Mosey around the circle, between the courthouse and the admin building, and around to the double steps on the S. Bedford St. side of admin building:
Abs Station #1: Admin Building steps
Gas Pumpers – All PAX do Gas Pumpers continuously until each PAX has run steps
Merkins – 2 mins., AMRAP
Mosey to armory…
Abs Station #2: National Guard Armory steps
LBC’s – 5 sets of 100, run to top step & back (500 total)
Big Boys – 2 mins., AMRAP …because Biddie requested them 😉
Mosey to School (side lot)…
Brief breather for the 3rdF:
Back on March 20th Spencer Lee won his 3rd individual National Championship as an NCAA wrestler for Iowa. Then in his after-match interview he dropped some crazy news on the college wrestling world. He’d been wrestling with a torn ACL! This was not the first time. He finished his high school career with the same injury sat out a portion of his first season at Iowa, before taking off his red-shirt and winning his first National title.
When questioned further after his March 20 win about why he would continue with such an injury, he said “Excuses are for F’n wussies!“
Fact is, there are times in sports and there are times in life when we might actually have a legitimate excuse to step away from competition, off the battlefield, or from something else. Spencer Lee had a legit excuse to withdraw from competition. Everybody would’ve understood if he had. And many would’ve said he should step aside. But he didn’t. Why? Well, yes, he wanted to win his 3rd NCAA individual title, but he also had an even greater goal in mind, a goal beyond himself: He wanted stay in the battle for his team to win the National Championship title. And they did!
A disclaimer: I’m not suggesting you and I continue with an injury that we may further aggravate or only cause worse injury if we keep going (like my foot). You know your own body, so be your own advocate. Just don’t make excuses. Not in competition. Not in family. Not in work. Not in battle. And to add the double negative… “Not nowhere!”
Of course, this mindset goes way beyond our workouts (a “mindset microcosm” of real life and facing hard things). So what I am suggesting is that you NOT take the easy road; that you not take the “out” even when everyone else expects it or okays it or even offers it. What I am suggesting is that you be stronger than your excuses. What I am suggesting, as Navy Seal, Marcus Luttrell put it, is that you, “Find an excuse to win.”
When we find an excuse to win, it will almost always be in direct proportion to the prize pursued (whatever that may be). But with that, we’ve got to stop thinking of ourselves alone. We’ve got to stop making excuses, and stop doing so for the betterment of our family, of those in our workplaces (on our teams), and for those in the communities in which we serve. Excuses serve YOU well (not really), but they almost never serve well those around you who may be part of some of the bigger picture stuff. We make excuses in daily life because we can. We make excuses because we’re able to get away with it with no accountability…we make excuses because we lose sight of our goals or THE [bigger picture] goal(s).
A few statements to be adopted by those who want to develop the mindset of being a HIM:
EXCUSES ARE FOR WUSSIES!
BE STRONGER THAN YOUR EXCUSES!
FIND AN EXCUSE TO WIN!
Whatever you commit to, make sure you carry that commitment to completion, to the end goal. Don’t make excuses and DFQ! Be it a workout, or a war; be it a wakeup or walk, a wrestling match on a mat or with a foe unseen–be a no-excuse warrior for your family, your friends, your team, your co-workers, yourself! Whatever it is, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” (Jesus in Matthew 5:37) Excuses are for wussies!
Abs Station #3: Parking lot, the looooong lot…
Freddie Mercury – 5 sets of 50, run length of lot and back between sets (250 total)
LAST TRANSITION: Bearcrawl/Crawlbear back to start from far end of lot (canceled due to time)
Mosey back to AO to call it a day.
COT:
Number-Rama – 10 PAX
Name-O-Rama – a Happy Birthday to Woodstock, hit the big “4-2”
Announcements – Today is the day: Commit to the F3 Paintball outing (Sat. April 24 @ 3 pm). Commit today by getting your deposit of $25 to Jay Baxter (Quattro). Did YHC mention to do it today? Today it is then!
Prayers – Prayers lifted for PAX and families traveling home following Spring Break. Prayers for the Brown family and Cape students grieving the tragic loss of Maggie Brown and for other girls involved in the gator accident this past week.
ABSolutely honored to Q at the Aegis, it’s been awhile.
#1 – 100 Jump Squats-20 Merkins Lt Dan across parking lot – Plank til 6
#2 – 100 LBC-20 Merkins Standing long jump across parking lot- Al Gore til 6
#3 – 100 Lunges (50 each leg)-20 Merkins Duck walk across parking lot- Plank til 6
#4 – 100 Calf raises-20 Merkins Bear crawl across parking lot-Crab plank til 6
Mosey back to circle
#5 – 100 Crab jacks – 10 Burpees
COT:
Number Rama
Name O Rama
Name FNG (TRex pronounced T-Rex…welcome to F3 brother!)
Announcements, Prayer Request and Prayer
Greenhouse Effect Coffeeteria: IF you have to ask: The local “Blackwatering” watering hole is closed to indoor coffeeteria’ing, so we moved to one of Aegis Site-Q, Quattro’s, greenhouses. Perfect location
3rd F (between rounds #3 & #4):
Reputation and character have been recently discussed on group me. Reputation is what people think of us while character is what we really are, what we do when no one is looking. Listen to the following and think about them, do they reflect your character?
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean, and
Reverent
On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Be prepared
Many boys learned these, the Boy Scout Law, Oath and Motto. I recited them almost every Thursday from 6th grade to age 21. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, these words were becoming part of my character. At age 39 I can still say that these words help to guide me. As a parent I can’t help but think about what I am doing to instill values in my kids as they grow to shape them into good and productive people. Throughout the next day or two think about the words that help to guide you and make you who you are? What do they say about your character? Are you happy with that answer? If not, what are you going to do about it?
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Windmills – 20 IC
Toy Soldier Set – 50 LBC’s, 25 E2K’s (each side), 15 Big Boys
Mosey .47 miles to the School.
The Thang
PAX completed the Hindenburg BLIMPS routine from the exicon. We modified the sprint portion to a straight line between FOUR light poles that were approx. .02 miles apart. Perform exercise at pole #1, sprint to pole#2 & perform exercise, sprint to pole#3 & perform exercise & lastly to pole #4 & perform exercise. Plank it up until all PAX are in. That completes Round #1. Reverse directions and perform the second exercise working back to the pole where it all started. Rinse and repeat until all 6 Rounds are complete. Round # 1 – 10 Burpees, Round #2 – 20 Lunges (10 each leg). Round #3 – 30 Imperial Walkers. Round #4 – 40 Merkins. Round #5 – 50 Plank Jacks. Round #6 – 60 Squats.
F3 message –The 3rd F was shared after completing round #4.
Mosey .47 miles back to the Aegis.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers. Welcome to FNG F3 Klick.
F3 Message 01/09/21 – Gleaned From Ron Hutchcraft Ministries
WHEN THE RAIN JUST WON’T STOP – #8870
January 8, 2021
Every once in a while the sun just decides to take a vacation for a few days. Not too long ago, we had one of those stretches of weather when we didn’t see the old boy for the better part of a week. It was just like one rainy day after another. Everyone around here and everything around here was soaked. I was running into our headquarters one morning on a day like that, as one of my co-workers was, and we were both trying to avoid getting drenched in the process. I made some comment about the relentless rain, but he was looking at a little bigger picture than I was. Remembering last summer’s withering drought, he said, “This is going to be good for us later on.”
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “When the Rain Just Won’t Stop.”
You might be going through one of those seasons in your life when the “rain” never seems to stop. It’s been stress, bad news, struggle, disappointment, grief, confusion. We all take our turn facing those seasons when we keep waking up to another rainy day.
Our word for today from the Word of God has been, for 2,000 years, a bright light for dark days. The well-worn words of Romans 8:28 have helped millions of believers see a bigger picture when it seemed as if it would never stop raining. As familiar as you might be with these words, they may literally have your name on them for this particular season of your life. So, listen to them with your heart; “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
One great saint described Romans 8:28 as “a soft pillow for a long night.” I hope you will let it be that for you. Because it gives you God’s ironclad assurance that there is meaning in what you’re going through; there is a holy purpose for God either sending or allowing those things in your life. His purpose for our dark times is seldom explained, but it’s always there. It doesn’t say everything is good. No, it says everything is being worked together for good. For your good, if you’re one of those “who love Him.”
So you can say, no matter how many days it’s been raining, “This is going to be good for us later on.” God simply wouldn’t let this happen if it wasn’t going to be good for you later on. Romans 8:29 tells us that the ultimate good God is going to bring out of this is to make you more like His Son. I believe God shapes and allows the circumstances to come into your life that will best develop some quality of Jesus in us. There’s nothing greater God could do for you than to plant in you the way Jesus loves people, the way Jesus treats people, the way Jesus is patient with people, the way Jesus understands what a hurting person is going through, and this kind of bondedness is what Jesus had with His Father.
And that may take a lot of rainy days for God to make you the man or woman He created you to be and redeemed you to be. He’s toughening you, or maybe He’s tenderizing you, purging you of old ways of doing things, squeezing you into new and better priorities, sensitizing you to people that maybe you’ve hurt or neglected, moving you to burn some old bridges or to treat some old wounds. What gets you through the rainy days is the calm assurance that “God is working all this together for my good to make a better me.”
Are you going to enjoy one rainy day after another? Not necessarily. But it sure helps to see them in the big picture perspective. God is using these days to prepare you for better days ahead. So if you got up this morning and found that it was raining again, lean hard on Romans 8:28 and say, with all the confidence of a blood-bought child of God, “This is going to be very good for us later on.”
14 HIM beat the fartsack and made it out for the first Saturday workout for 2021. All though there was some chatter among the packs and maybe a couple jokingly threats of bodily harm to the Q we all made it through to look forward to many more beatdowns in the upcoming year
The Thang- Mosey to the old NAPA for a short pain station stop 10 Jimmeny Crickets,and a Toy Soldier set 40 LBCs, 20 E2KS each side, 15 big boys. Back to a Mosey to the school for some BOMBS partner up PAX #1 runs from end sidewalk to center sidewalk of front schoolyard and back while PAX #2 performs excercises then switches out until team reaches said number of excercises combined as a team
50 burbees, 100 overhead hand claps, 150 Merkins, 200 bigboys, 250 squats. All PAX held plank until 6 was in.
BOMBS were followed by a short 3rd F then a nice friendly mosey back to the AO. Once we reached the AO and fireplex demonstrated his dancing abilities thanks to music from the gentleman on the Harley. we finished up with a round of HOWLING MONKEYS all PAX held monkey humper position while all PAX 1 at a time performed 10 monkey humpers
3rd F Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens Iron so one person sharpens another at f3 first state the Q is physically sharpening all PAX that post in return all those PAX are sharpening the Q’s leadership abilities. At the end of the beatdown we all come together in a COT were we all come together and sharpen each other physically, mentally and emotionally
Warm-a-Rama 20 seal jacks i/c 21 crab flipper i/c 20 plank jacks i/c 20 harry rockets i/c 10 monkey jumpers i/c for site Q RIH 20 ssh i/c 20 Imperial walkers i/c 20 Windmill i/c 20 seal wave i/c
THE THANG
Mosey to ballfields
PAX divides into teams
Batter kicks pitch and bear crawls to first base, side shuffle to second base, nur to third base, and side shuffle home Batter completes trip around bases even if out Batting team does 3 burpees per out. Teams switch every 4 outs.
3rd F
Thanked other HIM for commitment and comrodery. Probe other HIM on hiatus to get back to coming out. Pray about Gtown adding another day or starting a site in Millsboro.
1. a cooking appliance with a rotating spit for roasting and barbecuing meat.
2. F3 Definition of Rotisserie – You #$% is in for a Beatdown !!
PAX moseyed @.63 miles to the first pain station at MFD and completed 30 American Hammers in a four count cadence.
Moseyed from the FD @.49 miles to 514 Chestnut St. where we completed a toy soldier set of 100 LBC’s, 50 E2K’s each side and 25 Big Boys.
Moseyed .22 miles from 514 Chestnut to WBOC (OTS) where all PAX Bear Crawled for @8 parking spaces (@80 ft.) and completed ATM’s – 15 alternating shoulder taps (4 count), 10 tempo Merkins (4 count), and 10 fast merkins OYO. PAX Bear Crawled back (@80 ft.) and completed another evolution of said ATM’s.
Moseyed .21 miles from WBOC to 611 Federal Street where we completed a descending round of Super 21 without any recovery exercises between the rounds. 21 merkins, 21 LBC’s. 20 merkins, 20 LBC’s, etc. descending through the round of 15. Time was a factor and Q challenged each HIM to complete the descending rounds to 1 merkin, 1 LBC OYO at home.
Moseyed 1.16 miles from 611 Federal Street back to CHOP. Total – 2.71 miles overall mosey, not counting any mileage accrued for those that circled back to bring up our 6.
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.
Chappie hosted coffeteria for all HIM in the Church Fellowship Hall. Thanks to Quattro for donuts and extra coffee.
Maybe it was the dumb voices I did. But the kids used to love it when I read “Winnie the Pooh” to them. Tigger with his irrepressible “hoo-hoo!,” bouncing everywhere. And Eeyore with his head down and his ever-present gloom.
I’d rather be Tigger than Eeyore. Maybe without the bouncing. I want to be the one who leaves sunshine in the room, not storm clouds.
That’s not so easy. There’s plenty to make us Eeyores. Overheated schedules. Grumpy folks. Medical battles. Family tension. Too little sleep. Long delays. Aggravating pain. Aggravating people.
Then there’s the antidote. Thanksgiving. Well, actually, giving thanks. That may be the difference between being the joy-bringer or the joy-killer.
The “inventors” of our Thanksgiving exemplify that difference. According to H. U. Westermayer, “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than those who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
There’s Thanksgiving the holiday. Then there’s thanks-living, the lifestyle. It’s the difference between the dirty window and the blessing glasses.
When I look out a dirty window, the whole world looks yucky. Even the really good stuff is dimmed by all the caked-on dirt that’s coloring my view.
If you’ve decided your role in life is “victim,” it will be hard to see much that’s positive through that window. Abused … neglected … abandoned … misunderstood … passed over … wounded – that’s real hurt.
But to let those who hurt you define you is a self-imposed sentence of despair. Denying the many good things because they don’t fit the victim narrative. Living as a prisoner of your past.
Unthankfulness, for whatever reason, breeds some ugly offspring. In Romans 1, God describes how humans end up doing unthinkably depraved things – and where that downward slide starts. “They wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks … their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 NLT).
Unthankful heart -> dark mind. Bitterness … resentment … depression … anger … rebellion against God. They come from an ungrateful heart.
Yes, you can choose to go through life looking out your dirty window, seeing all that’s wrong. Or, you can choose to put on your blessing glasses. That enables you to live – not in denial of the bad stuff – but celebrating the goodness of God all around you. If you have eyes to see it.
Henry Ward Beecher, said: “The unthankful heart … discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as a magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”
And those blessings are always there. The ever-changing masterpieces of the Ultimate Artist all over the sky, the yard, the horizon. The smile of a friend, the laughter of a child, the roof over your head. The food in the fridge, the song of that bird, the car that runs, the job you have, the person who cares. We call them “God-sightings.”
Actually, thanks-living isn’t just an option for a follower of Jesus. It’s a command. “Always be joyful” – how am I going to do that, for heaven’s sake? “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18).
When you look at life through blessing glasses, all kinds of good things blossom. Joy that’s from what’s happening in your spirit, not your situation. Peace that banishes anxiety. Faith that sees a God who’s bigger than whatever is bigger than you are.
Thanksgiving’s a great time to become intentional about collecting blessings, not burdens. Living “with gratitude in your hearts to God.” To “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:16-17).
For me, that thanks begins, not at a turkey-filled table. But at an old rugged cross. Where I once again allow myself to be leveled by the love of my Jesus. Who took my hell. So I can spend forever in His heaven.
Thanksgiving – and thanks-living – begin with the love that will never let me go.
10 HIM got better, faster, stronger and a little fatter (thanks to YHC’s Coffeeteria, complements of Dunkin. Hey, the coffee was good!). No worries, PAX got fatter in fellowship too! Bonus: The impromptu car show was cool! Big welcome to FNG’s Timmy Rogers (n.k.a. F3 Biddie) and Luke Maloney (n.k.a. F3 Bolt). Among 16 PAX on our Q list YHC was super excited to be able to Q 2x in less than a week. Here’s the break down from a very muggy Saturday morning:
WARM-O-RAMA
• SSH – 18 IC
• Sealjacks – 30 IC
• Crabflippers – 18 IC
• High knees (in place) – 18 IC
• Compass Squats – Jump Squat & turn N, E, S, W (1 rotation = 1 rep) – 10 OYO (a new crowd-pleaser for sure, based on the mumble chatter
• MNC – 10 IC
PATRIOT RUN to North Bedford Street Park
THE THANG – Blackjack 21’s – Merkins/Reverse LBC’s
• “Hit me!” option from the F3 Workout Deck – 5x deal/per PAX
(21/Blackjack = a pass)
(Other draws = #of exercise on the cards)
(Sandbags = 4 sandbags/10 PAX. Never pass 1 by, carry to middle or end)
Keep track of your rounds. YHC was able to get to 9 Merkins/12 Reverse LBC’s/Gas Pumpers before time ran out
PATRIOT RUN – Return to AO
3rdF shared about mid-workout:
SUA SPONTE LEADERSHIP YHC first heard of Sua Sponte leadership years ago from an illustration shared by Greg Laurie, making the point that Christ himself was a Sua Sponte leader.
Many, following the movie The Passion of the Christ, were claiming the film was anti-semetic. People were pointing fingers faulting the Jews, the Greeks and Romans, and everyone but themselves for the death of Christ. Fact is, he died for each of us as sinners and I’ve heard people say that if you were the only person who needed saved, Christ still would’ve died for you. In fact, 1 Timothy 2:4 says, “God…desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
He died in our place on the cross. He was arrested, beaten, tried and killed ALL FOR US and FOR ALL OF US. In reality, it was all my fault that he died! But as we bear the guilt or lay the blame on others (It was the Jews! It was the Romans! It was the Greeks!) the sinless Savior Himself was practicing Sua Sponte leadership, as He stated in John 10:18 – “No one takes it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from the Father.”
He chose to die for you and for me…of His own accord!
The book, QSource, by one of F3’s founders, Dredd, says, “Sua sponte is Latin for of his own accord. [A man] acts Sua sponte when…he takes the initiative to act on his own accord. Sua sponte is also the motto of the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Reg. It is a recognition that to become a Ranger a man must be a triple volunteer: first the Army, then Airborne School and finally the Ranger Regiment. Rangers aren’t drafted, they must make the choice themselves–3x! The Rangers are elite because every man there is taught to be a Leader and every leader is directed to take the initiative to do what is necessary to accomplish the unit’s mission. (I.e. “I got this!”)
In F3, a Sua sponte leader is a man who has been freed to Lead. He is a Leader who exercises Individual Initiative (I2) by taking action in furtherance of his group’s articulated purpose WITHOUT SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS. He initiates movement toward advantage for his group in the absence of explicit authority because he is the rare man who will Lead with or without another Leader to direct him. He is That Somebody.
F3 could not function without HIMs willing to be That Somebody.”
F3 is an organization that was created in order to invigorate male community leadership. THAT is our mission. Carrying out that mission, whether it be communication, Site-Q’ing, organizing a 2ndF or 3rdF outreach opportunity, just plain old Q’ing, keeping each other accountable, stepping up to take someone’s place to Q, planting, growing, serving, etc., means each of us must be That Somebody, it means we must practice Sua sponte leadership…just like the Rangers, like many others before us, like Jesus Christ himself! (Quotes adapted from: Qsource, 189)
Tools of the Trade
A shameless plug for the tools of the trade in the above pic: Both are available at F3nation.com where you can click on the Gear button to pick up your own.
BOM/COT:
Announcements: Q schedule is out and includes a leadership Pow-Wow scheduled for Wednesday evening 9/2 @ 6:30 pm. Summit volunteered to host, details TBA. All invited!
Naming of FNG’s: Welcome again to Bolt & Biddie
Prayer: Prayer offered for a few PAX’s marriages. For Brineball, having a doc look at a nerve issue. For Chattahoochee. And a few others which slip YHC’s mind as of this writing, but they never slip God’s mind.
Lawn Chair Coffeeteria: YHC invited all PAX to stick around the circle after the COT for coffee/munchkins. Good times. Camaraderie.
