A Heart of a Champion

Warm-up

  • SSH – 20 IC
  • Mountain Man Poopers 15 IC
  • Hairy Rockets 20 IC

The Thang:

Mosey to grassy area in front of doctors office

  • Moroccan Night Club 40 IC
  • Cherry Picker 15 IC
  • Flutter Kicks 30 IC

Mosey to HOB entrance

  • Imperial Squat Walker 20 IC
  • Merkins 15 IC
  • Zombie Crunch 15 each direction OYO

Mosey to Rogers Signs

  • Iron Mike 10 IC
  • Diamond Merkins 15 IC
  • The Outlaw 10 each direction OYO
  • The First F3 Message: A Philosophy for Winning

Mosey to fire hydrant jail break to next hydrant

  • Cherkins 25 OYO
  • Big Boys 25 OYO

Wosey to guard railing

  • Plyo Merkins 20 OYO
  • Dips 40 OYO

Mosey to Rogers Signs

  • Twinkle Toes 20 IC

Mosey to HOB

  • The Sketch 12 IC
  • The Second F3 Message: The Heart of a Champion

Mosey to AO

  • Number-rama
  • Name-arama
  • COT

Message: Excerpt from Bob Richards A Heart of a Champion book

A Philosophy for Winning

We all want to win, but what are the characteristics of winning. Number one: you’ve got to have the will to win. It’s a will to win, and not just a wish to win. I know a lot of people who have what I would call a wish to win. They’d like to go to the top. They daydream about the position they’d like to hold in life. They tell you their potential, about the heights they could soar to, or the distances they could run, the times they could perform if they would only get out and train. I think the greatest thing in life is to be able to dream, to have great aspirations, but I think it equally important that you have a will that can turn that dream into a reality.

Second you need to have inspiration. I’ve been amazed to see mediocre athletes, fellows drifting along with great potential but never really realizing their full abilities, suddenly inspired by a great coach, or some great ideal something that will lift them up and they would do the impossible. Inspired people: It’s when the see themselves not as they are but as they can become. It’s when they see themselves, not in terms of their weaknesses and shortcomings; their failures and inadequacies, but in terms of what they can be, when they begin to believe they can be what their vision tells them—-that’s when they’re inspired.

Lastly, take God with you. It’s the greatest ingredient in what I call a winning philosophy. These athletes believe that they have a power greater than their own. Nothing can thwart them, with God they do great and tremendous things.

The Heart of a Champion

Every man or woman needs the heart of a champion. It’s a quality of mind, a mental resolve, an attitude that turns a man or woman beyond the normal and the mediocre to accomplishing great things in all walks of life. The difference between a champion and a mediocre athlete is the difference between one who gives up and one who doesn’t. This is the basic philosophy that has made America great. It’s a philosophy of freedom, of liberty, of the great ideals we cherish. The spirt of America is the spirit of greatness; it’s the heart of a champion.

The champions I’ve seen have had another great quality. They dared to believe the impossible. What is the story behind athletics? It’s the story of young men and women who come along and say, “no matter what others say, I believe the record can be broken.” These young men and women, with faith and courage and vision in their hearts, daring to believe the impossible and training themselves to a peak perfection, have broken every record in the books.

The America system and way of life is perhaps more beautifully expressed in athletics than in any other field of endeavor? All the competitive element, all the drive, all the pressure, all the fire that makes America great is found in our athletic programs. The Bible says: “All things are possible to him who believes”

Life has its hurts, its setbacks, its defeats, its heartaches. No man can meet life in all of its fullness, but he must at one time or another meet hurt and pain and suffering—not only physical but mental pain, spiritual pain, financial pain. The champion is the one who can meet it with a stiff upper lip, with faith in God, and somehow, even with that hurt and pain in his heart, he keeps on going to achieve greatness.  

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Bocce Ball

Bocce Ball

QIC: Semi
AO: Grit Mill

Warm-a-Rama
25 seal jacks i/c
25 seal wave i/c
10 mountain man pooper i/c
25 plank jacks i/c

The Thang
Mosey past the basketball court to the bridge, lt. Dan halfway across, Dan lt. The other half over to the bocce court on the right.

Bocce ball
Teams of 2 try to roll their ball closest to the “Jack”
We completed an Exercise after each round;
Squats 25
Urkins 25
Derkins 25
Split squats 10 per leg
Lbcs 25
Big boys 15
Merkins 25
Dips 25

3rd F
Leadership Ignited • Devotional

https://bible.com/reading-plans/16538/day/1?segment=0

Mosey back to AO

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

8 HIM showed today: Semi, Sherlock, Dunkin, Waterboy, Focker, Ruxpin, Time Clock, Spreader

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A Little Dicey

DATE: 19 May 22

QIC: Chappie

YHC and Focker were stand-ins for Mr. Mom, who pushed back his VQ to next Tue., May 24, as he was “feeling under the weather.” (Stay tuned) Focker adjusted to the change order and got in his VQ Warm-O-Rama. The guy’s a natural! Time to get him in the Q rotation. Focker warmed up the 14 PAX who won THAT FIRST BATTLE (over the fartsack) like this:

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Disclaimer given
  • Finkle Swings – 10 each leg, OYO
  • Turn & Bounce – 15 IC
  • Windmill – 15 IC
  • MNC – 20 IC
  • SSH – 20 IC
  • Flutter Kicks – 20 IC

Focker said he forgot how hard it was to do cadence while exercising. But YHC observed that his old Army days came right back. The dude’s a natural! And major Tclaps to Focker: He just jumped into F3 a month or two ago and he just doesn’t miss! Consistency is key. Look up consistency in the dictionary and you’ll find Focker’s pic. Keep posting brother, you’re on to something!

Resemblance (in name only)

YHC broke out the big dice for the dicey weather. Here’s how it went down:

THE THANG:

4 Big Dice, roll ’em down the field as far as you can, PAX make their way to the dice via Bear Crawl or Crawl Bear and do that number of reps…

First Roll: 17

  • Bear Crawl to Dice
  • 17 Burpees
  • 17 X’s & O’s

Second Roll: 6

  • Crawl Bear to Dice
  • 6 Burpjacks
  • 6 V-Ups

Third Roll: 14

  • Bear Crawl to Dice
  • 14 Burp-N-Merks (Total Merkins = 105)
  • 14 E2K’s (each leg)

PAX circled up and took in 3rdF at this point: “Habits eat Willpower for Breakfast” (see below). After the 3rdF it was a Prison Break back to the parking lot.

PAX partnered up for Partner Push across the parking lot and back, while 5 PAX would rotate over to the swing-set to swap out for AMRAP Swerkins. Most got in…

  • Partner Push – 3 rounds
  • Swerkins – 3 rounds, AMRAP

Round of Mary:

  • 4-Count Freddies – 51 IC (at the hands of YHC)
  • Flutter Kicks – 20 IC (at the hands of Drago)
  • 6″ Hold – 3 rounds of 10-Counts (YHC)

That was a wrap.

NUMBER-RAMA

NAME-O-RAMA

COT/BOM:

  • Announcements: Get the word out about the Memorial Day Mini (CSAUP), menu sign-up will be posted today or tomorrow, and don’t forget to bring a brief bio of a fallen warrior to share sometime during the workout. Roving Ruckf3st Friday will be at CHOP.
  • Prayer: For Fireplex’s dad, Johnny, battling cancer. For YHC’s M’s Uncle Donnie, given a week to a month to live (cancer). For Chauffer’s M and family. And for Quattro’s M’s feet…

Always happy to Q, thanks Mr. Mom for extending the opportunity. Glad to be your stunt double. Can’t wait to see what you unveil at your VQ.

Chappie, out!

The following is the 3rdF shared mid-workout: (Highly adapted from Steve Moore)

I recently heard the statement by Steve Moore that HABITS EAT WILLPOWER FOR BREAKFAST. Good or bad, your habits will dominate your willpower. Period. Hence, the saying in workout circles “You don’t need motivation, you need discipline.” Discipline forges habits and whether you’re trying to make or break a habit, willpower eventually subsides.

Understanding the power of habit is critical! The difference between ordinary and extraordinary in every area of daily life physically, spiritually, relationally, financially, and intellectually, etc. isn’t one shining moment of overachievement. It’s a series of meaningful but modest actions over time.

WILLPOWER CAN GET YOU STARTED, initiating positive change, but [Good] Habits will enable you to follow through consistently.

HABIT FORMATION: There’s common agreement that habits include a REWARD, a ROUTINE, and a CONTEXT.

REWARD: Can be as simple as the feeling of satisfaction you get from doing something that aligns with your goals, makes you feel good, or achieve a desired outcome.

ROUTINE: The specific sequence of actions that produce the reward. This is where your brain connects all the individual action steps and bundles them for retrieval later. (i.e. like getting up and driving here this morning, you didn’t have to think about it step-by-step; it is routine. And that’s the way we want our habits to be.)

CONTEXT: Is any part of the situation or environment that serves as a trigger for the routine. For example: When I started going to F3 workouts in SC, I was a night-owl, always have been. I immediately found it difficult to stay up til 1 or 2 a.m. AND get up to workout. I had willpower, but needed new habits because eventually the old habit of staying up half the night would eat my willpower for breakfast! I’m at my best when I get to bed at a decent time (new habit). The reward is that I’m able to make the workouts and stay physically fit. The routine, as I mentioned the other day, is that I wake up at 4 a.m. no matter what (regardless of whether I’m working out), and the context quite simply is physical fitness, camaraderie (fellowship), and faith (mine is strengthened because of walking through life with you guys and being part of something bigger). I want to engage in these practices because the value is compounded over time. The same could be said for working hard, eating healthy, investing in a friendship, etc.

Yet, because WILLPOWER is a diminishing resource, WILLPOWER must focus on building a habit, not on completing a task (i.e. anybody can do something 1x or 2x…). There’s a difference. WILLPOWER helps establish the context and routine. But the power of habit enables consistency and compounds the benefits/reward over time.

Since there’s great wisdom in the Word of God I’ll leave you with this: The Bible warns against bad habits (which enslave) but it also exalts good habits, discipline, and self-control:

  • 2 Peter 2:12 warns we’re not to be like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. Turned into food, clothing, wallets, boots…
  • Prov. 25:28 says, “A man without self-control [good habits] is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
  • Prov. 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the diligent (HIM w/good habits) is richly supplied.”
  • 2 Tim. 1:7God have us a spirit NOT of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
  • Gal. 5:22-23But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control; [and the kicker is…] against such things there is no law.” !!!

Habits eat WILLPOWER for breakfast, be sure to develop good ones (habits).

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A Tough Mother

Date: 05/08/2022

AO: Aegis, Georgetown, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 40 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

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

Imperial Walkers – 20 IC

Windmills – 20 IC

The Thang 

B.O.M.B.S. – 50 Burpees,  100 Overhead Claps, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Sit-ups, 250 Squats.  PAX  will mosey @.08 miles around the circle after every 25 count of each exercise completed.  When all is completed you will have moseyed approximately 2.4 miles.

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 05/07/2022

 MOM EARS

May 3, 2017

Two words. But a valuable reminder just in time for Mother’s Day.

Recently, I had occasion to stay at my son and daughter-in-law’s house while I recovered from a painful injury.

They set me up with a wonderful little “apartment” in their basement – recliner, remotes (of course), kitchenette. And like all the babies in our family, a night monitor.

I needed some help in the middle of the night, but I hadn’t touched the pager. Suddenly, I hear my daughter-in-law’s feet coming down the stairs. In my 3 AM haze, I said, “But how did you know?”

She smiled and gave these two little words: “Mom ears.”

And that’s something a lot of us have to celebrate this Mother’s Day.

Those Mom-ears who heard our silent cries over the years.

Who heard our need when others would only see our deed.

Who heard the heart that our words could not express.

Who listened to our jabberings, our dumb jokes, our endless attention-getting antics.

Who heard the unspoken fears. Unspoken pain. And carried them to the throne of God.

Sadly, mom-ears have also heard mean words they didn’t deserve, angry words that left a scar, rebellious words because we didn’t want to hear what we now know was wisdom.

But somehow, a Mom heart could reach for some of God’s amazing grace, and forgive, though wounded.

As a dad, I learned early how important it was for me to seek and respect what my wife heard in our kids. Those times when I got home and was ready to drop a bomb on a disobedient child – while she intervened, with “actionable intel” of what was going on behind the scenes in their life.

I’m not sure Moms fully know their massive power to define their child’s life. For better or worse.

“She speaks with wisdom on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26).

“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down” (Proverbs 14:1).

Sure, I know Moms who’ve turned their God-given Mom-ears to the seductive song of an “all about me” world. Whose children languish under the awful cloud of “I’m not worth much. Mom doesn’t think so.”

Deafened moms can’t hear themselves nagging, controlling, criticizing, diminishing – hoping to make a “super kid,” crushing them in the process.

The Mom-ears that have tended to miss their children’s cries are those who stopped listening to the One who gave her these children.

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him” (Psalm 127:3).

It’s so easy to succumb to the selfie drumbeat of “my rights, my pleasure, my flourishing.” A sort of deafness can grow. Deaf to those quiet little cries in the night, the intuition to drop everything I love and listen, the Heavenly Father’s promptings as He “gently leads those that have young” (Isaiah 40:11).

But thank God many of us were blessed, not with a perfect mom, but a mother whose ears truly heard us.

If you have a mom with those wonderful “ears,” tell her how her finely-tuned heart shaped and changed your life. While you can.

If you’re a Mom who wants to have better ears for your children, just know there’s amazing power to do that. In the Jesus Whose relentless love led Him to die for our sins, the great relationship-wreckers.

There is no greater life-force on earth than a woman whose ears are always open to the voice of God and the voices of those she loves.

And for the one who approaches this Mother’s Day with little to celebrate – because their Mom really wasn’t one – there is a higher hope. Because God has said: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion for the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will never forget. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

On the palms of His hands. With nail prints.

His ears listen all day, all night for the deepest cries of your heart.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Saturday Sandbags

DATE: 4/30/22

QIC: Chappie

18 PAX won that first battle and posted for “Sandbag Saturday” led by YHC. Shout out to TRex and Gump for adding to the collection of 9 GORUCK bags (varied weights) plus 10 good ol’ fashioned 40lb sandbags. The collection made everyone’s day. Here’s how it went down…

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH – 18 IC
  • Swartzjacks – 18 IC
  • Sealjacks – 54 IC (Since YHC is 54 years respect) *Too many quit! (See 3rdF shared: Slaughter in F3 Nation Newsletter)
  • Windmill – 10 IC

Mosey to the field beside the Presb. Church (where PAX found the beautiful stack of sandbags. PAX circled up for 3rdF. YHC played the audio from Slaughter’s message in the most recent F3 Nation Newsletter (Had planned a 3rdF “Habits Eat Willpower for Breakfast” but Slaughter’s message was too good NOT to share.) Then it was time for sandbag business…

THE THANG:

PAX were directed to split up with sandbags: 1/2 at cone #1 and 1/2 40 yards away at cone #2. THE PURPOSE: Keep moving! Run to next cone with sandbag, drop it, run back without. Carry bags at intervals but never pass a bag. Just keep carrying bags and KEEP MOVING. YHC also called out the following exercises throughout the durations:

  • OH Press – 25 OYO
  • Sandbag Squats – 25 (Get low! A2G!)
  • Sand Bears – Cone to cone
  • OH Shoulder Press – 25 OYO

Grand Finale:

  • PAX counted off by 2’s and separated into 2 teams for Sandbag Tic-Tac-Toe
  • Good ol’ fashioned sandbags painted with X’s & O’s (Tic-Tac-Toe painted on center of the field)
  • Teams 70′ apart. Each PAX (in-turn) must do 10 Chest-Bump Merkins on their sandbag before jumping up and carrying it to strategically place it in the Tic-Tac-Toe board. Must return to line before next PAX takes turn.
  • X’s went up 2-0 before the O’s made a come from behind run for the victory. Losers had to do 10 Sandbag Burpees as punishment.

Good fun and healthy competition won the day before we made our way back to the AO.

The only question is…what was Biddie doing? Lol

NUMBER-RAMA

NAME-O-RAMA

COT/BOM:

  • Announcements: Coffeeteria at Dunkin; Memorial Day Mini (CSAUP) coming up, invite everyone; Q Rotation coming out NLT than Sunday afternoon
  • Prayers: Fireplex’s dad – Battling cancer; Quattro’s feet?. YHC encouraged PAX to begin more regularly sharing requests in the COT (i.e. we tend to pray for those outside the circle–neighbors, friends, co-workers–those requests are important, but the idea is for us get real and personal by praying for each other as well).

As always YHC counts it a privilege and is thrilled by the opportunity to Q. Appreciate all the men who posted, to include the 2.0’s (they carried man-sized sandbags and never complained once – that’s fire!)

Aye!

Chappie, out!

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Recovery Workout??

QIC: Semi

AO: Gritt Mill

Warm-a-Rama
20 Seal jacks i/c
20 Seal wave i/c
10 fence hoppers per side oyo
10 hip circles each direction oyo
20 Cherry pickers i/c
15 Windmill i/c

The Thang
Mosey to playground by ballparks

15 hanging knee raises
50 lbcs
20 derkins
40 urkins
15 gas pumpers

10 count

15 hanging knee raises
50 lbcs
15 diamond merkins
15 wide merkins
15 gas pumpers

3rd F
WHY DOGS LIVE LESS THAN HUMAN

Here’s the surprising answer of a 6 year old child.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker‘s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dogs’ lives are shorter than human lives.  Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ”I know why.”

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said, ”People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The six-year-old continued,

”Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.”

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

• When your loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.
• Take naps.
• Stretch before rising.
• Run, romp, and play daily.
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
• On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
• On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
• When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
• Be faithful.
• Never pretend to be something you’re not.
• If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
• When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

That’s the secret of happiness that we can learn from a good dog.

Talked from the heart about the lose of a friend and the car accident I came upon all within the last month

Mosey back to AO – ran down and up some steps at the AO

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

3 HIM showed today: Semi, Woodstock, Focker

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Can’t Hurt Me

Warm-up
• The Cheerleader – 20 IC
• Bat Wings
o Arm Circles forward – 20 IC
o Arm Circles backward – 20 IC
o Seal Claps – 20 IC
o Overhead Claps – 20 IC
• Mountain Man Poopers 20 IC
• Hairy Rockets 20 IC

The Thang: Mosey to Ace Hardware
• Imperial Squat Walker-20 IC
• Bear Crawl parking spot to next parking spot
• Bobby Hurley 25 OYO
• Lt. Dan to next parking line
• 50 Merkins (10 diamond, 10 wide finger tips out, 10 Ranger, 10 wide tips forward, 10 plyo merkins)
• Crawl Bear to next parking line
• American Hammers – 25 IC
• Walking lunge to next parking line
• Double Shot Jackies – 25 OYO (burpee variation with plank jack and SSH)
• Crab Walk across stones
• Third F
• Mosey around building
• Iron Mikes – 12 IC
• Marionettes – 10 each direction OYO (big boy sit up to left, center and right of feet)
• Mosey to AO
• Number-rama
• Name-arama
• COT


Message:
Excerpt from David Goggins: Can’t Hurt Me
Truth Hurts
Call yourself out! Nobody likes to hear the hard truth. Individually and as a culture, we avoid what we need to hear most. Tell the truth about real reasons for your limitations and you will turn that negativity, which is real, into jet fuel. There is no more time to waste. Hours and days evaporate like creeks in the desert. That’s why it’s okay to be cruel to yourself as long as you realize you’re doing it to become better. We all need thicker skin to improve in life.

I brainwashed myself into craving discomfort. If it was raining. I would go run. Facing that mirror motivated me to fight through uncomfortable experiences.

In a society where mediocrity is too often the standard and too often rewarded, there is an intense fascination with men who detest mediocrity, who refuse to define themselves in conventional terms, and who seek to transcend traditionally recognized human capabilities. This is exactly the type of person they seek. The man who finds a way to complete each and every task to the best of his ability. The man who will adapt and overcome any and all obstacles.

Challenge 3
The first step in creating a calloused mind is stepping outside you comfort zone on a regular basis. Write down all the things you don’t like to do or that make you uncomfortable. Especially those things you know are good for you. Doing something that sucks every day. Doing things even small things that make you uncomfortable will make you strong. The more often you get uncomfortable the stronger you’ll become.

Like most battle we fight in life they are won or lost in our minds.
Until you experience hardships like abuse and bullying, failures and disappointments, your mind will remain soft and exposed. Remembering what you’ve been through and how that has strengthened your mind can lift you out of a negative brain loop and help you bypass those weak, one second impulses to give in so you can power through obstacles.

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Block It Out

Date: 04/05/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 31 IC

Windmills – 21 IC

Cherry Pickers – 21 IC

Imperial Walkers – 21 IC

Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO

Hydraulic Squats -11 IC

The Thang

Grab a block and mosey to the dentist office.  Pax completed 20 Merkins each side with one hand on the block.  Pax utilized the block and a parking bumper to complete 20 abyss merkins.  Pax completed a Lt Dan for approx. 50 yards utilizing the block before moseying to Shipbuilder’s entrance for American Hammers with the blocks (IC) as well as 20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Leaving that pain station each Pax completed a 50 Yard bear crawl with the block before moseying to the next pain station.  At that station each Pax completed a Bolt 45 set with the block all in IC.  All Pax woseyed down Willow Street with the block and then moseyed at the halfway point.  When reaching the end of the street or the final pain station, each Pax completed 15 Blockees.  Pax moseyed back to CHOP with their block.     

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

F3 Message 04/05/22

WHY YOUR LOAD SEEMS SO HEAVY – #8338

Maybe it’s a guy thing. Maybe it’s just a Ron thing. But I hate to waste time or waste effort. You know? Here’s what that it looks like when I’ve just returned from the grocery store to restock our empty refrigerator and shelves. I basically look like a mule – yeah, with bags all over my body, carried on almost every appendage. I don’t want to make any more trips to the car than absolutely necessary, oh no, no! So I’m willing to try whatever calisthenics, to tolerate whatever overload will enable me to get everything in the house in one trip. This approach has been known to have its problems. Sometimes I drop a bag or two or one of them rips open; thus, making more work. And I’ve got this shoulder. Yeah, wrecked it pretty well. You think it might be traceable to carrying too much too many times?

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Why Your Load Seems So Heavy.” 

There’s a price to pay for carrying too much at once. You might be paying some of that price right now; the stress, the anxiety, the fatigue, the frustration of those who carry more than they’re supposed to. I’m one of those. I know.

I also know how my Savior says I’m supposed to live. His instructions are very clear in our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 6, beginning with verse 25. He says, “Do not worry about your life…look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them…Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?…Why do you worry?…Do not worry…your Heavenly Father knows what you need…Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

First of all, you don’t have to be a Biblical scholar to pick up Jesus’ message here. He basically says it four times, “Do not worry.” If you looked at us stressed out, freaked out, worn out warriors, you might conclude this is one of the most disobeyed commands Jesus ever gave. We do worry – a lot. And in so doing, we carry a heavier load than we’re designed and equipped to carry. God has promised to give us what we need to carry today: daily bread, strength equal to your day, mercies new every morning, a cross to bear one day at a time, the renewing of our spirit day by day. But there’s no promise about carrying your tomorrow while it’s still today.

John Newton, the writer of “Amazing Grace” said, “Sometimes I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of a year to a great bundle of sticks – far too large to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole bundle at once. He mercifully unties the bundle and gives us one stick that we are to carry today and then another that we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. We might easily manage it, if we would take only the burden appointed for each new day. But we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday’s stick over again today and by adding tomorrow’s burden to our load before we are required to bear it.” That’s great stuff!

John Newton nailed it. See, we add baggage from yesterday and the potential burdens of tomorrow to what we’re carrying today, and we start dropping things, and stumbling, and even hurting ourselves. So much of what we worry about tomorrow never happens. And you won’t have God’s promised resources to handle tomorrow until tomorrow. So no wonder you’re overwhelmed and discouraged! Dwelling on yesterday or tomorrow takes your focus off today so you don’t even do today very well!

So approach your load God’s way – take your busy life one day at a time, or maybe one stick at a time. That’s how you do a massive load. And about tomorrow? Take advantage of God’s awesome invitation, “Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

https://youtu.be/j8WbGSgL-0I

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Lawnmower

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama
20 seal jacks i/c
20 seal wave i/c
10 hip circles oyo
15 mountain man pooper i/c
15 Windmill i/c

The Thang

Each HIM grabs a coupon
Mosey to the old bank

10 chuck Norris merkin
5 kettle bell clean w/coupon per side
10 coupon merkin
5 kettle bell clean w/coupon per side
20 derkins
5 kettle bell clean w/coupon per side
30 urkins
5 kettle bell clean w/coupon per side

Capri lap around the parking lot

30 coupon flys, shoulders on the wall or curb
5 kettle bell clean w/coupon per side
30 coupon bench press, shoulders on the wall
5 kettle bell clean w/coupon per side
Bolt 45, heels on curb
20 gas pumpers, coupon between knees

3rd F

Told my story if how I got into F3

Mosey back to AO

Round of Mary
10 X n O’s, Waterfall
25 4 count Freddie, Woodstock

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

8 HIM  showed today: Chappie, Ruxpin, Kwak, Woodstock, Waterfall, Sherlock, Looney Toons, Semi

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“Hill”denburg Blimps

Date: 03/08/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 30 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

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

Windmills – 20 IC

Mosey .5 miles to Oh Hill No !

The Thang

Pax completed the modified “HILL”denburg BLIMPS routine at Oh Hill No.  We modified the sprint portion to a NUR up and run down Oh Hill No and perform 1st exercise, NUR back up Oh Hill No and run down and perform 1st exercise again. Plank it up until all PAX are in.  That completes one round.  Rinse and repeat until all 6 Rounds with the exercises as identified below 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. Round #5 and Round #6 were completed back at the CHOP by those that had extra time.

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 03/08/22

STRONG STORMS AND SHALLOW ROOTS – #3857

Tuesday, October 23, 2001

John and Becky were gone when this huge windstorm hit their neighborhood recently. Although no one could be sure a tornado was involved, the winds were clocked at 70 miles an hour. John and Becky told me that when they returned later that day, their street was closed. A huge pine tree had been blown down, and it fell right across the road. Now other kinds of trees had lost some branches, but the wind had actually totally uprooted this evergreen. Well, a neighbor explained to John that it really isn’t that hard to uproot a pine tree – no matter how big it is. Because even though it’s a big tree, it has shallow roots – so it’s relatively easy to bring it down.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about “Strong Storms And Shallow Roots.”

Now, there are a lot of “pine-tree-Christians”–some even big and beautiful Christians–who have shallow roots. And that’s why they keep falling.

Jesus talked about vulnerable believers in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 6:46-49. He says, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock (or developed deep roots). When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears My words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation (or had shallow roots). The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Now, that’s two kinds of Christians–just like two kinds of trees: one with deep roots that can withstand a storm and one with shallow roots that gets felled by the storm. With the times we’re living in becoming more stressful and more uncertain–and even dangerous–it’s pretty important to be sure that your commitment to Jesus is deeply rooted.

Shallow spiritual roots come in several varieties. There’s environmental faith–the kind that is strong when you’re in your Christian world but caves in when you’re not. And then there’s second-hand faith. That’s a faith that isn’t really yours firsthand–it’s rooted in your parent’s Christianity, or your church’s faith, or your pastor’s faith, or your Christian friends. There isn’t much really going on directly between you and Jesus. That will never survive a storm.

Stagnant faith–that’s another form of shallow roots. Not much new has happened between you and Jesus for a long time, and consequently, He seems farther–He seems less real than He used to. And when a test or temptation hits, it won’t be enough to keep you standing. And one other kind of “shallow-roots-Christianity”–event faith–the kind that depends on the next spiritual event, the next high, the next big, Christian experience to keep you going. In between, you go into a deep valley. That kind of relationship with Christ is going down eventually.

Jesus’ parable about the two houses is a call to a strong foundation – to deep roots. And He tells us the difference between storm-proof and storm-wrecked faith. It’s not whether or not you know what He says. Both the man whose house stood and the man whose house fell, “heard” what Jesus said. The difference was putting what Jesus said into practice.

The question is, are you regularly getting into God’s word on you own–and then immediately going out and acting on what you read? It’s immediate assimilation of God’s words into real life situations that makes you a little stronger each day. So you read or listen to God’s Word asking these two questions: “What did God just say to me?” and “What am I going to do differently today because of what He said?”

And every time you do that, your roots go a little deeper into Jesus. Meetings won’t do it, theology won’t do it, a great Christian environment won’t do it. It comes from letting Jesus change you through His Word a little bit each day. That is spiritual reality. That is deep roots. The kind that will leave you standing strong no matter how fierce the storm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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