6 HIM gathered together on a chilly morning to embrace the suck as YHC Gump was brought back from the dead with a surprise Q (thank you Sherlock much appreciated). We welcomed a HIM (Breakfast Club) from downrange back as he was visiting family for the Holidays.
Warm o rama
20 SSH
10 windmills
10 grady corn
15 crab flippers
THE THANG
In typical Gump fashion we went for a stroll through the GRITMILL. We Mosied the Riverwalk around for a warmup just to get us over to Gigante parking lot. Here we worked thru the 100 ab workout.
PAX completed 100 of an exercise, first one to 100 called it and everyone was done, after the exercise we did a lap around the parking lot. The exercises were as follows:
100 LBC- lap
100 BBSU -lap
100 flutterkicks single count- lap
3rd F message
100 doubletap LBC- lap
100 American hammers- lap
finished up the workout the way we started and took a nice mosey back down the riverwalk to end the beautiful Gloom
3rd F message
Colossians 1:10-14
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
it was great spending the morning with all of you HIM, i will be back out regularly as soon as I can. It’s hard to drive from anywhere to get the kiddos on the bus by 610, and on the days my wife has off work I let her sleep in because Shes been working full time and going to college full time. Saturdays I take the kiddos out hunting. Just know our family has changed in the past 2 years and I am fully focused on serving them. See you Gents soon!!
19 PAX won that first battle and posted at CHOP to take part in YHC’s 200th Post celebration with a good old fashioned stations workout. Truth be told YHC’s been working on this one for weeks, brainstorming and adding items to the 3×5 card on his desk as his Q crept closer. Here’s the 411, the skinny, the low-down…
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 25 IC
Seal Jack – 21 IC (or, something like that; got rep-jacked by PAX who wets himself every time SSH’s are called)
Swartzjack – 18 IC
Crab Flippers – 16 IC
THE THANG:
YHC took a brief to explain the stations
Partner Up – Work through stations at each cone.
The WHOLE Idea: KEEP MOVING! thru the 10 STATIONS: (not necessarily in this order, follow instructions on paper at each cone)
20 Abyss Merkins
Firehose Pulls (partner resist, cone to cone) Safety brief: Resisting… DO NOT faceplant partner!!
20 Partner Big Boys (interlock/hold ankles)
Chairman Lap: 0.27 miles
10 Swerkins
40 Curls for the Girls (w/Cindy)
10 Compass Squats (THE crowd pleaser of the day)
20 Patty Cake Merkins
Sandbag Steps (single leg over parking blocks – down & back)
10 Sandbag Burpees
CHANGE IT UP! Big Dice, 3 Options…
+ ROLL SNAKE EYES: No Burpees/No run
+ ANYTHING but SNAKE EYES = 18 Burpees/Long Run (a 0.50 mile mosey around the block)
+ NO ROLL, JUST RUN: Choose the hard thing & do it. No gambles, no negotiations. Just a choice.
3rdF Shared Near End of Workout
TRex asked on Saturday how we did over the past year in achieving our goals. Not many of us responded. Unfortunately that’s probably more often the case than not. In fact, many won’t set goals because they know they’re not likely to keep them, and, therefore, won’t even take the time to seriously think through setting goals.
I can’t say that Ruxpin’s goal was to post for 200 workouts this year. Personally, it was in the back of my mind and perhaps a small’ish goal, but YHC’s real goal was simply to be consistent. Consistency meant working out after being all night helping 2.0’s with issues and dead tired, working out with a head full of snot, working out in the rain, the snow, the hot, the cold, or working out when I just didn’t feel like getting out of the Fartsack. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, I post because I know you guys will be here. I honestly wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for knowing you’re all going to be here. The patch for 100 workouts or 200 workouts isn’t the real reward, CONSISTENCY itself is the reward! I love that F3 is a community of consistency! I heard the quote recently that, “Commitment gets you started, but consistency takes you to the finish.”
So maybe last year you committed to some goals, but came up short because you lacked the consistency to follow through. Keep in mind we have to live out consistency exactly where God has placed us. Maybe things got changed up in the past year. Doesn’t matter, live it out where God placed you. That may mean sacrifice, serving others, or stepping in somewhere to make a difference. (Somewhere uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but nonetheless where you’re called to make a difference.)
Consistency isn’t a once-and-done thing; not once a month, not once a week, but everyday…and sometimes even hourly or moment by moment, depending on the curveball life throws at you. I’ve talked about consistency in posting for workouts, and while consistency here is great and you will benefit by it in Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith—you become stronger, gain endurance, and lose weight; you build deeper and lasting camaraderie; and your belief system/faith is shored-up on a firmer foundation—all of these are only a microcosm of what’s going on in the real world. So consistency, as we’re heading into a 2023 may require making some changes or taking some new steps. Maybe not New Year’s resolutions per se, but commitment to more attainable goals. Goals which are not “possible”, but are better labeled instead as “probable.”
Make changes and take steps that’ll help you live consistently for the Lord, your family, your workplace and for the communities in which you live and serve. That way when crisis comes, your consistency will trump its challenges, there will be no need to panic. You’ll stay committed to family, job, friends, to achieving your goals…especially if you’re first commitment is to the Lord and consistency in your daily walk with Him. Start 2023 by intentionally renewing your commitment to Him. But don’t forget: Commitment only gets you started, consistency takes you to the finish! Be HIM and be consistent.
Each group finished up their last station(s) and YHC called it a wrap: (All made it through the stations at least once)
COT:
Number-Rama – 19 PAX said, “There’s a heatwave; it’s back up to 24 degrees so I’m posting!”
Name-O-Rama
Announcements: SLT (Shared Leadership Team meeting scheduled for Thu. evening Jan. 12, 2023 for strategic planning, etc. Details/Location/Agenda TBD). YHC honored to be among the 2 @f3firstState PAX to earn the 200 Posts patch. #earnednevergiven
Prayer: No specific personal; requests offered up besides prayer for those in our Armed Forces away from home over the Holidays and for our first responders.
Always love Q’ing. Thanx to all the men who stuck around to help put gear away.
Wall Sit with Coupon while Team Member walks up stairs with coupon shipping a step. Hit all steps on the way down.
Murder Bunnie Relay
3rd F “Christ in Christmas”
What is the meaning of Christmas? For me as a kid it was being dragged to Mass on Christmas Eve and ripping open presents on Christmas Day while spending time with Family and eating food. Now as a Father of 2 girls, it is more teaching my kids about the true meaning of Christmas. I have learned from my kids going to Sunday School and Sunday service with me that they are being taught the right way to celebrate Christmas. Keep Christ in Christmas. My 5 year old MacKenzie told me when we asked her what she wanted from Santa, she said she wanted to be nice and donate gifts to kids who couldn’t afford gifts. Caroline said she wanted a Hooverboard but also wanted to take her old toys and donate them to Casa San Francisco. Think about ways we can do things ourselves:
Forgive someone you needed to forgive for a long time.
Make sure to keep a Nativity Scene in your house and talk to your kids about the meaning of that display
Plan a charity event to help those less fortunate
Christmas morning instead of opening presents right away, read a Bible Verse like Matthew 1:18-25. Or read a book to your kids about the meaning of Christmas.
Back on July 21st here in Aegis, I asked everyone to think of three things you wanted to accomplish by the end of the year. How many of you did that? What did you do?
Mosey to the Circle
24 Big Boys
24 E2Ks
24 LBCs
24 Four Count Freddies
Name-o-Rama – Blue Pill, Quattro, Cinco, Bunt, Hoss, Woodstock, Pick, Biddie, Yukon, Bolt, Mr. Mom, Looney Tunes, Whirlybird, Semi, Deez, Beeker, Cinnabon, Ruxpin(200 Posts!). Chattahoochee, Chauffer, Chappie, Fireplex, and TRex on Q.
Start on the “1st Day just like the song and then you do 2nd Day & 1st Day, Then 3rd Day, 2nd Day, 1st Day and so on…
Music – Different Varieties of “The 12 Days of Christmas”
1 run
2 burpees
3 15 sec plank (Total time 15 sec)
4 merkins
5 E2K
6 big boys
7 flutter kicks (double count)
8 American hammers ( double count)
9 mountain climbers (double count)
10 air squats
11 side straddle hops
12 – 1 round of stairs at library
Stop before you do the 12th day go back to the library plank wait for the six.
THRD F
3 benefits of fellowship
Fellowship is the relationship that we have with one another as Christians. It is based on the relationship we have with Jesus Christ. When you and I became Christians three relationships changed: Jesus became our Savior; God became our Father; and the church became our family.
There are many Benefits to fellowship but here are 3 of them.
Benefit 1
“Fellowship builds friendships. The early church really was a close knit group. They were all together and had everything in common. I believe that the reason that the early church had such good relationships was because of their commitment to Jesus and to each other.”
Benefit 2
Fellowship builds unity. The church is called to be united. Unity is having everything in common and being of the same mind.
We cannot manufacture unity within the church. We cannot fake unity. We can only protect, or guard the unity we already have. Paul calls it “the unity of the Spirit.” This phrase reminds us that “the unity, the agreement, the common ground” Fellowship builds unity.
Benefit 3
Fellowship builds God’s kingdom. Our fellowship, the relationship we have with one another and with Jesus is a witness to the world. The early church was committed to Jesus and to one another and the world saw it. When Christians regularly meet together to worship God and fellowship with one another, we are a witness to the world. Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). We are to love God and love people.
Rev. J. Patrick Street is Lead Pastor at Redeemer Church
Benefit 1 really hits home for me. Fellowship builds Friendship.
BEEKER is the only reason why I am here. Beeker has been talking about this group for about two years to me. The summer of 2021 he brought it up real quick and of course i ignored him. I thought why would you want to wake up how early and run from parking lot to parking lot and work out. Then this past summer I realized I needed to change my health and needed to start doing something. Beeker would first work out with this group and then meet me at 6:15 to help me out. I actually started to feel bad that he was doing two a days just to help me out. So then I decided to suck it up and wake up earlier and get my butt kicked at my first Saturday with the 2.0 work out. After a couple of weeks I couldn’t understand why I kept wanted to come back morning after morning and then FOCKER one morning during a Ruck brought up the 2nd F (fellowship) and how important that part of this group is to him. I stepped back and realized this is the same for me. Every morning Seeing Wirlybird, Quattro, Sherlock and T-Rex non stop picking on each other and everyone else. The constant bomb jacks that Fireplex is doing. Then you see and hear about Spreader and Ruxbin loosing weight and becoming more healthy for themselves and their families. The extra rucking that Chappie encouraged myself and the whole group for the November challenge. And then there is Nutz working some crazy hours and making the time for his family and coming to the workouts so we can always say Deez Nutz.
I truly can not say thank you all enough for the camaraderie and the fellowship that you have all given me and shown me.
22 HIM beat the fartsack and braved the crisp air this morning! Quattro, Sink-O, Whirlybird, Pick, Lunchable, Bolt, Splinter, Singlet, Wood, Biddie, Hoss, Woodstock, Bunt, Semi, TRex, Ruxpin, Chattahoochee, Chaufer, Chappie, Probe, FirePlex, and Yukon.
Warm-O-Rama
25 Side Straddle Hops (in cadence)
15 Windmill (in cadence)
20 Mountain Climbers (in cadence)
15 Cherry Pickers (in cadence)
15 Dancing Bears (in cadence)
15 Side Straddle Hops (in cadence)-to please a late arrival
Twin Patriot Run to St. Michael’s Catholic Church
The Thang (Trees Galore)
Set #1 – 25 Merkins then Bear Crawl to 2nd tree. 20 Merkins then Bear Crawl to 3rd tree. 15 Merkins then Bear Crawl to 4th tree. 10 Merkins then Bear Crawl to 5th tree. 5 Merkins then plank for the 6.
Set #2 – Toy Soldier Set (50/25/15) then Jail Break to end tree. Toy Soldier Set (40/20/12) then Jail Break to opposite end tree. Toy Soldier Set (30/10/9) then hold 6″ for 6.
Set #3 – 25 Squats then Walking Lunges to 2nd tree. 20 Squats then Walking Lunges to 3rd tree. 15 Squats then Walking Lunges to 4th tree. 10 Squats then Walking Lunges to 5th tree. 5 Squats then Al Gore for 6.
Sharing of the Third F
Set #4 – 10 Burpees then Nur to middle tree. 8 Burpees then Nur to end tree. 6 Burpees then Nur to middle tree. 4 Burpees then Nur to end tree. 2 Burpees then plank for 6.
Mosey back to Circle
Set #5 – 25 Flutter Kicks (in cadence). 20 Gas Pumpers (in cadence). 15 Hello Dollys (in cadence). 15 4 Count Freddies (in cadence)
Number-Rama, Name-O-Rama, COT
Third F – Character
Everyone has Character. Everyone is a Character. We can be a character and still have a good character. Character is not necessarily what we think of ourselves but what others think of us. What kind of character do we have? What are we doing to contribute positively in society, our houses, our jobs, etc? What do people think of when they hear our names or see us walk in a room? I have watched Lunchable from birth for 16 plus years and I know his good character. I grew up with Quattro, yes he is a character, but he has a great character. I don’t know everyone in this group as well as I know Quattro, but what I see of this group of men is that character runs deep in each of us! We have kids (ours and others) looking at us for an example, men in this group see what we do, folks outside this group are definitely watching us, folks in our workplaces and places of worship, family members. How are we living our lives and what do people see when they see us? Woodstock contributed: Character is what do you do when no one is watching. What kinds of websites do we visit when we are alone? Good points, Woodstock! I appreciate the help brother.
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.
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!
On a soggy morning 11 HIM posted to celebrate Delaware Day 2022….
Warm UP 30 Seconds of Sleepy Man (Superman) 30 Seconds of Plank 30 Cherry Pickers 30 Fairy Jacks 30 Randys
The Thing….
Mosey .5 Miles to the shopping center (500 Reps)
30 American Hammers 30 Squats 2 Rounds
30 Walking Lunge 30 Bear Crawl 2 Rounds
30 Merkins 30 Dips 2 Rounds
Third F Delaware Day, 12/7/1787, the day that gave us the catalyst for our name F3 First State. The day that Delaware became the first state to ratify the federal constitution, making us first and everyone else losers…. George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Basset, and Jacob Broom were the Delaware Delegates. Read was on of our first two senators , Bedford a Lt. Col in the Army and appointed as Delaware’s first federal judge, Dickinson supported interest in small states and urged others to ratify, Basset our second first senator, governor, chief justice, then federal court justice, Broom was the postmaster in Wilmington, ferry commissioner, and built the first cotton mill on the Brandywine. We all might not share their same accolades and accomplishments, but we all share the same opportunity, an opportunity to do something that matters and is impactful. This morning every rep here counts as they add up to 1787, giving 500 for each .5 mile run, which was the year that has mattered to us all and given us this opportunity. Just as they did our mission is to plant, serve, and grow.
30 LBC’s 30 Freddie Mercury 2 Rounds
30 Gas Pumpers 30 Crab Walk 27 Gas Pumpers 30 Crab Walk
40 Step Wosey (40 Reps) signifying our forefathers journey to Philadelphia
Mosey Back .5 miles (500 Reps)
Announcements: Milton Parade, 4th of July, Labor Day Prayers: The Bean Family The Reynolds Family
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.
Set a repeating timer for 2:30 to complete the following: All PAX completed ten total rounds
Run 100 yards
10 x wide merkins
10 x normal merkins
10 x diamond merkins
AMRAP burpees (trying to get to 100 total)
3rd F ——> Small quote about children and how to be a better parent by listening to them. For most, it’s the first time they’ve seen or done whatever it is they are trying to show you, so act surprised… act as if you would want someone to act if you showed them something for the first time! (See picture posted below)
DAKOTA LOUIS MEYER – Medal of Honor Recipient -What an absolute STUD of a Marine! The guy kept going back for more and then even got out of his truck on foot (Basically asking for more when the enemy couldn’t take him out, See below)
Plank Off Game
Divide into two teams, facing each other. Starting on same line,
Run back to a cone (approximately 20 yards away)
Do the prescribed work there
Return to starting line and get into plank
Must hold plank until entire team is back
If you drop plank, you run to 20 yd cone over again (just run to cone and back/ no exercises)
Winning team now adds 2 burpees before they can run to 20 yard cone on next round
Line in middle of parking lot is divider. I will throw dice:
if it lands on an odd number team 1 takes off running back to their safe zone (Approximately 20 yards away) while team 2 attempts to catch them.
If dice lands on even number, team 2 runs back to their safe zone (Approximately 20 yards away) while team 1 tries to catch them.
(You must run to safe zone in a straight line so nobody gets hurt!!!!)
**** If you get caught, you must complete 2 burpees ****
COT:
Number-Rama: 30 PAX won THAT FIRST BATTLE and posted in yet another glorious Gloom on a National Holiday! Way to get after it gentlemen and even better…. A new record in the books for attendance!
Name-O-Rama
Announcements: Memorial Day this year will be on none other than a Monday and we are looking forward to it. – Couple guys advised that they are looking forward to March Merkin Madness
PRAYERS: Several requests which were addressed and a prayer indeed for all of our soldiers overseas who can’t be home on Thanksgiving day… we pray that they find the courage and are safe in everything that they do/are doing to keep us safe!
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 youwherever 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)
