We are just a group of men who lead others, there are no professionals here, you have to pay for them, this is free. If your sue happy spill your Dunkin coffee but don’t confuse them with me cause I and we don’t have anything and your being told you can’t sue any of us. If you can’t do something we are doing tailor it for yourself, but do something and get stronger
23 cherry pickers
23 fairy jacks
23 Moroccan night club
The thang
Snowflake plank 1 minute
23 mountain climbers
Snowman shuffle to the stairs, up the stairs, and down the stairs, and back around
23 merkins
23 LBB
Stairs Tour
23 squats
23 American hammers
Stairs Tour
Bear crawl (side lot) light poles and back
23 big boys
23 calf raises
3rd F
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”
We all come here daily, weekly, monthly or once upon a time, Specially this location has been once a week, as the iron has sharpened a mighty strong blade here it has allowed us to slice open the seems. This piece of iron has upheld the mission of F3, plant, serve, and grow. When this location was planted it only served a small group which has now grown and out grown our iron.
As it says in Proverbs 20:4, “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing”
Clearly this group of HIM is not sluggards as harvest time has come here and there’s plentiful crop to carry into the next chapter…
Thank you to those who came, gritted it out, and have grown a bountiful crop of HIM
23 Freddy mercury
23 reverse crunches
Stairs Tour
23 dips
23 merkins
Stairs Tour
Ruxpin Homage Addition
Chappie Homage Addition
Sherlock Book reading Addition (Wall Sit 1:23 Seconds)
HIM performed 23 reps, as a remembrance of the year we left the library for our new site.
Announcements
We are growing, check groupme for updates, but not TRex’s post
Prayers- Rosco’s Friend as he recovers from a medical issue.
YHC jumped in to fill the gap as requested by Bunt who was out of town. 23 PAX won #thatfirstbattle and posted for yet another multi-station workout, which YHC confesses may have had too many moving parts. Nonetheless, those who did the work got “gassed”–says Quattro. Several PAX dressed in red to honor Cardinal from F3Knoxville, who actually collapsed and died during his VQ just yesterday, 1/11. (Forgive Streudel’s laughter in Name-O-Rama, he wasn’t aware why the PAX next to him announced “Cardinal!“) Cardinal leaves behind his M, Andrea, and 2 young children, Clay and Evie. Our hearts go out to the family and F3 PAX who were with him when he died. There are no guarantees that we’ll have our next breath…let’s live like it! And let’s be prepared for eternity!
As mentioned, there may have been too many moving parts. Still, here’s how it all went down…
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 51 IC
Imperial Squat Walker – 15 IC
Tempo Merkins – 10 IC
Italian Night Club – 51 IC
Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
>>>>>>Mosey to H.O.B.
THE THANGITY THANG: (WORKOUT RULES below)
PAIR UP for Stations: Run counter-clockwise aroun stations, stopping to do the workour (if bags are available)
CONE #1 • 40lb sandbags – 40 OH Presses, then go to next station; if there’s no sandbag, keep running all the way around…
CONE #2 • 40lb sandbags – 40 Sandbag Curls, go to next…
CONE #3 • Long Sit/Cross Legs – 30 reps, Single Count (Grab a card, do exercise, before moving on. KEEP YOUR CARDS!)
CONE #4 • 40lb GORUCK BAGS – 10 Sandbag Burpees (clean & toss), go to next…
CONE #5 • 20lb Medicine Balls – 10 OH Squat Thrust & Catch or Slams, go to next.
CONE #6 • X’s & O’s – 25 Single count (Grab a card, do exercise, before moving on. KEEP YOUR CARDS!)
CLOSING GAME OF WAR: 2 lines/2 teams: I. De. Clare. War! Winners: No exercise Losers: Exercise on winning card.
OVERALL WORKOUT RULES:
Move in Pairs
Spread out among 6 stations/directions are in chalk at each CONE.
GOAL: Keep moving! Rule: If you see a PAX walking you may Grab a card from the deck, charge them with it (they do exercise) AND you get to exchange it with and keep the highest card from their hand (no exercise charged to you!)
If there’s no bags at a station, rock on! (Keep running till you’re able come around and complete all stations.)
After each time at the ab stations (3&6), grab card from deck, do the exercise, but keep your cards to the end. Try to get 3 cards.
Once you’ve done a station you’ve completed that station. By-pass it if already done. DO NOT throw down actual sandbags!
Bonus: RETURN TO AO WITH ALL THE COUPONS, AND WITH WATER IN MOUTH (Spit it out/Swallow it no Burpees!) Due to time no Burpees were rewarded, however, several PAX did them after BOM. Growing success—most of the PAX succeeded at this crazy exercise invented by the Apache Indians (who ran great distances while holding water in their mouths)
Wait a second! 23 PAX/24 Waters…who didn’t drink up?
3rdF shared prior to the round of I Declare War:
Navy Seal, Admiral McRaven, told this training story during a commencement address:
He said, “Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events. Long runs. Long swims. Obstacles courses. Hours of calisthenics, something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards, times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those times, those standards, your name was posted on a list. And at the end if the day those on the list were invited to a circus.
A circus was 2 hours of additional calisthenics, designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, and to force you to quit. No one wanted a circus. A circus meant for that day that you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue, and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult, and more circuses were likely. But at some time during training everyone, everyone, made the circus list.
An interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list: Over time those students who did 2 hrs. of extra calisthenics got stronger and stronger; the pain of the circuses built inner strength and physical resiliency.
Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD—don’t be afraid of the circuses!”
In 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul used this kind of physical training as an illustration to tell of something of greater importance—living for Christ.
“Don’t you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (More important.) Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I beat my body [discipline] and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”
The Bible gives this allegory to tell us that to cross the finish line effectively it’s going to take work. Not to earn it, but it just takes work AND because, like any athlete or any man, there will be times when we just don’t feel like putting in the work [out]. T.D. Jakes reminds us, “Your feelings will never cooperate with your dreams. Beat your feelings into captivity. Because when you beat your feelings into captivity, that is what discipline is!”
This sounds like Admiral McRaven, except that it stretches across the spectrum from physical training to the things we face in our everyday world… “Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core.” IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR HOME, YOUR WORKPLACE, YOUR COMMUNITY, AND YOUR WORLD—IF YOU WANT TO BE A H.I.M., don’t be afraid of the circuses!” [Anticipate and expect to do the extra work]
COT:
Name-O-RAMA – 23 PAX
Announcements: SLT Meeting tonight @ Tequila Real, 6:30 pm; Roving RuckF3st Friday stepping off at Georgetown Circle in the Gloom; Quattro need girls clothing and school supplies for trip to girls orphanage
Prayers: Quattro as he’s preparing for mission trip to El Salvador; Cardinal’s M and children and the PAX with Cardinal when he died during the workout.
Honored to stand in for Bunt in his absence, thankful for the opportunity to Q
Round 1 at each station: 40 reps each exercise (lap and glow stick swap)
Round 2: repeat with 30 reps (lap and stick)
Round 3: repeat with 20 reps(lap and stick)
Round 4: repeat with 30 reps (lap and stick)
3rd F:
While in Church last week, some guy talking up front made a profound statement that honestly made me feel a lot better about the Christmas season, and my thoughts concerning the gift of Jesus all together. He said something to the tune of… “Jesus is the light during this season, and throughout every other season.” Id been thinking about that same thought a lot leading up to Christmas and Id been making that connection a lot ever since our family committed ourselves to following Jesus during our baptism in August. To be honest, leading up to the baptism I had this sense of complacent calm that after we publicly pronounced our faith as a family… the commitment was openly made and the path with Jesus would just appear naturally, easily, and fluidly. While some of what I thought would happen was true, what took me by surprise was the overwhelming challenge that would hit me soon after. This path was going to be rewarding in so many ways, but it would not be without it’s hurdles, because the road bumps that I once ignored and dodged, or solved by taking the easy solution, now presented them selves as an obstacle that I had to handle in a way that He would be proud of. Take for example us… we’re all members of a society in which we’re trying to do the best we can. And with that, we have a huge responsibility to be a faithful role model. And to piggy back off whirlybird… your kids (and everybody else around you both old and young) do watch you. When you cuss when you smash a finger, when you lose your temper in traffic, when you tell your wife you love her and make her tea in the morning, when you own up to a mistake, and even when you think their eyes are closed with you during prayer… They’re always watching to see what they can learn from you. The big questions is, what are you showing them? From that knowledge I think it’s important that we own, accept, and embrace the challenge of not only knowing about the Lord, but truly walking so instep with Him so that anybody who’s watching knows exactly where you stand, and the sense of security and resolve that a Christ centered life gives you. Coupled with that incredible challenge is understanding and admitting that things aren’t always easy, we screw up… and we aren’t perfect. There’s an amazing path laid out in front of all of us that leads to forgiveness and salvation. That being said, the path that is laid out will lead you to challenges, tests worse than those in a 7th grade science class, and even some rejection and sadness that will test everything you stand for. The guidance and comfort that Jesus provides can give you what you need to conquer all of that. If it’s being a leader…. His words teach about that. If it’s guiding your children…. His lessons are perfect for that. If it’s being a better husband, there’s many important lessons to learn in the Bible, and if it’s commitment to a healthier life that serves as an example to our friends, family, and community (and possibly leads to a sweet patch) there’s wisdom about that too. So what stands in our way??? A commitment to taking that next step, embracing the challenge as one that YOU need to tackle, and walking with Him in order to meet your goal. Accept the challenge, own the challenge, embrace all of life’s hardships as a chance to learn and be blessed. Romans 8:18 reads “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” A new year is upon us, and if you happen to stumble on your path or fall into darkness in 2023, Get back up into the light and move forward even faster, because He’s got your back, and those who are watching you will follow.
Workout Continued…
Finish up as many reps at last station as possible with lap and stick swap in between.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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)
Count off, one guy does shoulder taps while the other dragon crawls to top of hill 50 yds.
Third f
Switch elevated Merkins, while other guy bear crawls 2x with a merkins
10-1, diamond Merkin, baby crunches
Sherlock Shuffle, high knees until man calls down- goes around circle once.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
F3 Message 11/09/2022
We shouldn’t care too much about how strangers view us. Life is too short. Our outcome is never guaranteed, but the process is yours. The outcome you worked so hard for can be taken from you in many ways.
You can work hard and get robbed, fall in love and get cheated on, or do well without getting any recognition. When you do things for the outcome, you care about something that’s beyond your control.
It’s in the name. The outcome, as in outside of you. People’s approval is outside of you, but the process of working on yourself is internal.
Focus on proper execution and discipline demands attention and dedication. These are the elements of the process. A focus on the process makes it difficult to worry about what other people will think of the outcome.
The process is immune to other people’s opinions. It’s the private place to make mistakes, grow, and take care of the only thing that matters: what you can control.
Yes, other people can critique what you’re doing, but not what you’re thinking and your objectives. Your focus is on the process. The process is your own style of learning, development, and exploration.
Another way to look at the idea of “focusing on the process” is only doing what’s important to you. When you only focus on the things that matter to you, you naturally focus on the process anyway. This is because you’re more concerned with getting better than getting attention.
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Windmills – 15 IC
Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO
Mosey @.5 miles to “Oh Hill No”
The Thang
The Super Sheldon Cooper on “Oh Hill No”. Inch worm with a merkin up the hill, Crawl Bear down and complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. Dragon Crawl up the hill, Crawl Bear down and complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. For the final round, complete a Bear Crawl up the hill, Crawl Bear down and complete 10 Burpees, 10 Squats, 10 Merkins & 10 Big Boys. F3 Message and Dragon Crawl @ 50ft. before moseying back to the CHOP.
Mosey @.5 miles back to CHOP.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
Politicians – promises. They’re almost synonyms. And, man, we’ve been through the election campaigns. And, of course, you know, we’re probably on promise overload! You get it from the time they declare their candidacy. “He broke his promise!” “He can’t keep that promise!” “If I’m elected, I promise…”
Elections raise hopes. Reality often crushes them, doesn’t it? The promises often seem to get swept away and trashed with the victory celebration confetti. Fact is, no politician keeps all their promises. Sometimes, well, because they never meant to, sometimes because of unforeseen circumstances, and often just because he/she simply doesn’t have the power to deliver what they promised.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “So Many Promises.”
Now, it’s not just politicians. Look, we parents make a lot of promises – too many of which we either forget, neglect or just fail to keep. The promis-er may forget. The promis-ee never does. Most of us can still remember, like years later, the parents’ promises that never happened.
We make promises at work, at church, to friends. Raising expectations, and then dashing them by never following through. We lose what takes years to gain and just a day to lose – trust. We shake our heads in disgust at the politicians’ words that seem so hollow in light of their broken promises. Forgetting the “trail of tears” that we ourselves have left with the things we said but never did.
I stood before an altar years ago and made some of the biggest promises of my life. I told the woman I loved – and, more importantly, I told God – that I would love and care for her and be committed to her “’til death do us part.” She staked her life on my promise, and the Lord, in the Bible’s words, was “acting as the witness” of my “marriage covenant.” That’s what the book of Malachi says (Malachi 2:14). I found myself listening again and then again to those promises I made that day to try to be sure I was keeping them.
I learned the hard way, that in every relationship, you think before you promise. And do whatever it takes to deliver when you do promise. Now, our word for today from the Word of God, Ecclesiastes 5 beginning in verse 5 says this: “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin.” King David described the man God will honor as one who “keeps his oath even when it hurts” (Psalm 15:4).
After so many soaring speeches in political campaigns, I wrote these words in my personal journal: “A political season shows that humans promise what they ultimately lack the power to deliver, and hopes are dashed. But my hope is based on a Savior who, by beating death, has shown me He can do anything and everything He has promised!” Man, that’s awesome!
Well, He promised, “My God will supply all your needs” (Philippians 4:19). And in a thousand amazing ways, He always has. He said, “Your strength will equal your days” (Deuteronomy 33:25), and there’s never been a day He didn’t deliver. He promised “they who honor Me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30), and He’s come through every time I’ve risked to do the right thing. He told me, “I am the Lord your God who directs you in the way you should go” (Isaiah 48:17), and He’s done it at every crossroads.
I’m sure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that He will keep the promise on which my eternity rests, “God has given us eternal life, this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life…you who believe in the name of the Son of God…know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).
I have no fear of death. I have no doubt about heaven, because I’ve put my trust in the only One who can forgive my sins – the One who died for them. I trust in the only One who can give me eternal life – the One who walked out of His grave. And He waits to do that for you. In a world of littered promises, this Jesus will deliver the life and eternity He promised if you’ll grab Him today with all your trust like a drowning person grabs a lifeguard.
Our website is there to help you do that. I hope you’ll go there today. It’s ANewStory.com. You can plant both your feet on His promises and you’ll know He’ll deliver. He has no unforeseen circumstances. He cannot lie. And nothing is too hard for the Lord.
