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!!
QIC had his chance to bring it on this beautiful Gloom for the 1st time in a few months. IT was a great morning and thank you to all the HIM thgt made it out.
Warm o Rama
20 ssh
20 cherry pickers
15 windmills
The Thang
Mosey over to HOB front parking lot for a little bit of Running
10 burpees 1 lap
10 burpees 20 merkins 1 lap
10 burpees 20 merkins 30 Bobby Hurleys 1 lap
Insert 3rd F message here details below
10,20, 30, 40 squats, 50 LBC 1 lap
Return back to AO for COT Announcements and prayer requests
3rd f message
QIC GUMP announced that last week he and his M celebrated their 20th anniversary. There is no real secret to the success in this endeavor. Basic Biblical principals have led to years of success in our marriage. Beginning with forgiveness. QIC shared that 26 years ago his father found out that his mother was cheating on him and in a jealous rage turned a gun on his family and shot us. Years later, and a restored relationship with his dad, QIC gump needed some advice and asked his dad what he would have done differently, other than not picking up a gun of course. His father replied, ” I would have forgiven her and let her go in hopes that she would return”. With this said every successful relationship needs a foundation in Christ. Both partners need to practice forgiveness, and grace in order for the relationship to work and mature, and once you get thru the tough times the relationship is stronger than ever. Here are a few scriptures I found to back up my message:
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Colossians 3:12- 13
Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
Colossians 3:19
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was
brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and
came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
18 Outstanding HIM including one FNG beat the fartsack and showed up for a GritMil beat down. We had such a good turnout we had to overcome and adapt to our situation in order to have enough coupons for everyone. Big thanks to Chief Quattro for lending out various weighted objects to fulfill the order.
Warm-Up Side-Straddle-Hops X 20 Bolt 45s Merkins X 20 Cherry Pickers x 20
The Thang Mosey to Basketball “Field”
Round 1. With 1 gallon jugs 50 Bicep Curls Sprint to opposite end of B-Ball court, 5 Burpees NUR back to start and 50 Bicep Curls Everyone does Squats until 6 is in.
Round 2. With 1 Gal Jugs 50 Overhead Shoulder Presses Walking lung to opposite end of B-ball court, 5 Burpees NUR Back to start and 50 Overhead Shoulder Presses. Everyone does Squats until 6 is in.
Round 3. With 1 gal jugs, lay flat on back for 50 tri-cep extensions (Skull Crushers) with 1 gal jugs Scissor run to other side of B-ball court, 5 Burpees. Scissor run back to Start, 50 Tri-Cep extensions with 1 gal jugs. Everyone does Squats until 6 is in.
Round 4. With 1 Gal jugs 50 Juggerbell Swings with squat. Tightrope Walk with arm out to other side of B-Ball Court, 5 Burpees NUR back to start for 50 Juggerbell Swings Everyone does Squats until 6 is in.
3rd F Being a Man who Leads
In the Bible Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 11, where he says, “The man is the head of the woman…For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man, for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. This is Paul upholding the concept of a man’s leadership in the family by appealing to the order of creation, and the fact that man was created first, then the woman as a helper to man. Later on in Ephesians Paul addresses a married man’s role as head of his own home. Paul establishes that God’s design is that the husband is “the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church”. Then the bible gives specific instructions on how husbands are to fulfill their leadership role, beginning with the important command: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loves the church”.
Let’s think about the for a second. How much does Jesus love His church. This love would be described as a sacrificial, purifying, caring, unbreakable, Christ-like love. Christ’s love for the church is a model for husbands to follow, and is a living illustration of the redemptive love of Christ. One of the greatest act of love anyone could do for another is to sacrifice their own life for them. (Acts 20:28 – Christ purchased the church with His own Blood).
Now the question to ask is, if we are to love our wives with that same kind of love, how to we compare? Well, the answer is we all fall short, and we do not even come close. But that’s okay, because Christ has set the standard, so we now know where to aim.
Some more questions we could ask ourselves is:
How are we sacrificial in our own home?
Are we so self-focused that we are not aware of the needs in our home?
Are we willing to sacrifice our time to listen to & comfort our wives and provide emotional and physical security?
Who is the spiritual leader in the home?
If you are a Christian man, then you will recognize that success in your home is far more important than success in your career.
So when we leave here today, let’s note where it all begins, with the command, “Husbands, love your wives”.
C.H. Spurgeon said,
“A husband loves his wife with a constant love, and so does Christ his church. He will not cast her away tomorrow having loved her today. He does not vary in his affection. He may change in his display of affection, but the affection itself is still the same. A husband loves his wife with an enduring love; it will never die out. He says, “Tell death us do part will I cherish thee”, but Christ will not let death part his love to his people. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So gents, with that said, we now know God’s standard when it comes to being a Godly husband, a leader in our home, and a father to our children. Let’s use that in our life to better serve our family.
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full down. 15 full squats.
Jiminy Crickets – 10 OYO
Windmills – 20 IC
The Thang
Pax completed the Hindenburg BLIMPS routine from the Exicon at the CHOP. We modified the sprint portion to a straight line across the CHOP Parking lot approx. .02 miles apart. Sprint from the Church to the field behind CHOP and perform 1st exercise, sprint back to Church and perform 1st exercise, sprint back to the field and perform 1st exercise. Sprint back to the Church and perform 1st exercise. Plank it up until all PAX are in. That completes one round. Rinse and repeat for the remaining exercises as identified. Round #1 – 10 Burpees. Round #2 – 20 Lunges (10 each leg). Round #3 – 30 Imperial Walkers. Round #4 – 40 Merkins. Round #5 – 50 Plank Jacks. Round #6 – 60 Squats.
F3 message –The 3rd F was shared after completing round #4. See Below….
PAX finished the beat down strong with more burpees OYO & AMRAP.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayers.
Jim cracked me up with the story he told in his recent family newsletter.
He and his honey were enjoying some personal time at the Atlantic Ocean. Which is really big. Jim decided to take a picture of himself and the ocean. Which is really big.
Later, he made a disturbing discovery – which he reported this way. “I think I missed the ocean!”
Which is really big.
Oh, he’s in the picture, all right. But the Atlantic is nowhere to be seen.
Now how can a smart guy miss something as big and beautiful as the ocean?
By totally focusing on himself.
I’ve made that mistake. Missing the big thing because I was so focused on myself. I suspect I’m not alone.
When we’re hurting…when we’re grieving…when we’re grappling with a big problem – we tend to go inward and become all about ourselves.
We miss the person we married because we’re so focused on our frustrations with them. Before we married them, we magnified what we loved and minimized what bothered us. Now we’re all about our frustrations with them, forgetting all we loved about them.
So it’s selfie time. All about me. Losing sight of the one we once could not live without. So we stop loving like we did, and they start responding to the change.
We can miss our kids the same way. By dwelling on how they’re disappointing us, defying us, distancing themselves from us. So we’re sucked into a cycle of seeing – and talking about – only what they need to change. Not seeing – and talking about – the big picture of their strengths and their potential. We focus the lens on our hurt and fear and frustration – and miss the big stuff. The masterpiece God made and entrusted to us.
I know how much my picture can become a selfie when I’m going through a hurting time. Pain tends to make us selfish. Self-centered. Self-pitying. All those nasty self words.
But my Bible tells me that there’s always something bigger going on than the immediate situation. “All things work together for good to those who love God,” it says (Romans 8:28). And it quotes God as saying, “I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
There’s a Big Plan. For my good. But I’ll miss the big and beautiful part if all I focus on is my pain.
When my precious Karen was suddenly gone last May, my natural tendency was to be all about me – my grief, my life without her, my future.
But, thankfully, God quickly rescued me from my selfie. And began to show me what I could become through this greatest heartbreak of my life. I can honestly say my heart is more open than it’s ever been – open to God’s voice, open to letting my journey help others on their journey, open to the broken and breaking hearts all around me.
What’s scary is that our “selfie” focus can actually cause us to miss the biggest and most beautiful sight of all.
The God who made us.
We so want to have life our way that we live as if we’ve dethroned Him from the throne of our life. In the Bible’s words, “Each of us has turned to His own way” (Isaiah 53:6). And those “God, You run the universe, but I’ll run me” choices have “separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2).
All about me. Missing the God who’s the reason we’re here. Whose love we’re made for. Who thought we were worth sending His Son to die for.
The Ocean is right there, within my sight. Unless I’m blocking the view.
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.
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. 1:7 “God have us a spirit NOTof fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Gal. 5:22-23 “But 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).
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!)
Hairy Starfish? What’s with the title? Eh, nothing more than a reference to the typical “hair or the dog” (i.e. a revisit to some of yesterday’s March Merkin Madness with Ruxpin’s first respect! Q ) through YHC’s Starfish workout for today. Here’s how it went down…
First, PAX began with a lot of mumble chatter reflecting on yesterday’s brutality. But hey, they posted so YHC knows they’re up for more!
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 18 IC
Windmill – 18 IC
IW – 18 IC
OH Squat Press – 18 IC
Shoulder Tap Merkins – 10 IC (kinda hairy…)
Cherry Pickers – 18 IC (nice and slow, all the way up and clap)
Mosey to Arena’s parking lot…
THE THANG:
The Starfish: 5 cones set up around the parking lot like 5 legs of a starfish, with 1 in the middle. PAX will do specific exercise at each cone, returning to the center cone after each one to do 10 Burpees or 10 Burpjacks. Check it out:
Cone #1: 100 Merkins (Kinda hairy, do sets of 10, 20, 25 or whatever, til you get ’em done)
To center cone: 10 Burpees
Cone #2: 100 LBC’s
Center Cone: 10 Burpjacks
Cone #3: 100 Squats
Center Cone: 10 Burpees
Inserted 3rdF here (see write up below)
Cone #4: 100 Drydocks
Center Cone: 10 Burpjacks
Cone #5: 100 Dips
Center Cone: 10 Burpees
Mosey back to the AO, hitting a Prison Break from the corner…
Among other things, from warm-up to workout that’s a total of 220 Merkins & 50 Burpees
NUMBER-RAMA
COT:
Announcements: ShamRuck family ruck coming Fri. March 18 @ 6:17 pm (likely Georgetown, details TBA)
Prayers: For Bill Sammons and family, especially daughter Ira, fleeing Ukraine to Poland; for Blockbuster in Army Basic Training
Here’s your daily 3rdF:
I’ve been reminiscing a lot since Blockbuster left on Sunday to head to Basic Training at Ft. Jackson. Having served as well of course, I have lots of memories to reminisce about—1 in particular came to my mind as I thought of Blockbuster facing the unknowns and the fears that go along with them.
It had to do with the Lord’s Prayer: After lights-out on the very first night of Basic Training, the DS’s exited the barracks and we all laid there in the dark in total silence in our bunks, not sure what to do or whether to talk or not, etc. After a few minutes of a dark eternity I debated within my own head whether to say the Lord’s Prayer [out loud]. I feared whether anyone would join me. I feared forgetting the words and messing it up. Certainly this first day and night carried its own sort of fears too. Like, what the heck did I get myself into? Finally I just went for it:
Matthew 6:9-13
There in the dark barracks everyone else joined in the beautiful chorus of reciting the Lord’s Prayer together. It’s the Prayer that Jesus taught his disciples when they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Mt.6).
He taught them a model of the structure of prayer which was never meant to be a repetitive recitation (used over and over). But that night I think we recited it as a way of not only acknowledging and confessing our fears [corporately], but also of crying out to God with one voice to say that we needed Him in that hour, in the weeks ahead, and in the season to come. And there was an Esprit de corps in that room! It was one of those moments that brought with it the peace and confidence which only God could provide.
We all seemed to know after that that God would carry us through BECAUSE we called out to Him. As men we tend to be self-made and self-reliant (but oftentimes as a result, self-destructive too). In times when we fear the unknown or we’re uncertain of what we’ve gotten ourselves into, or especially in times when God has led us in a specific direction, it is time to call out to Him, maybe even cry out to Him—depending on the circumstances.
God always answers. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” The disciples wanted to learn how to pray, how to call on God, so they asked. Many men think that it’s less than manly to cry out to Jesus, but from what I read it’s one of the manliest things we can do. I don’t know about you, but I’ve discovered over the years that I can’t make it on my own. That’s why I’m grateful we have each other in this circle, but we also need to call on God. Lean one each other, yes! but more than that we must lean on the Lord. So man up and call on God; it’s what HIM do. He always answers.
Always grateful to bring the grit to the Grit Mill. Appreciate the PAX who posted for 2-in-a-row and downed a little hair of the dog–starfish style!
14 PAX hit THE button to win that first battle and posted for something Postal. Here’s how QIC Chappie broke it down…
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 18 IC
IW – 18 IC
Windmill – 18 IC
Crab Flippers – 18 IC (a local favorite)
Low Slow Squat – 18 IC
MOSEY/WOSEY TO POST OFFICE: Litter-Carry the Sandbags – 1 40lb & 1 20lb (60lbs total per littler). PAX have to work together…tiny synchronized steps fellas, tiny synchronized [double-time] steps.
Stations
THE THANG: (Count off by 4’s = 4 teams, 3 PAX each, with 2 remaining PAX to start in the middle)
2 PAX at a time will rotate into middle: 10 Sandbag Burpees
Other PAX located around the circle at 4 STATIONS:
Curb-side Shoulder Tap Merkins 5/5 (Rinse & Repeat, AMRAP)
20lb Jump Squats (feet in/feet out) AMRAP Word on the street: This one was an unexpected killer!
Each time 2 PAX IN MIDDLE COMPLETED SANDBAG BURPEES, TEAMS ROTATED WITH FULL LAP TO NEXT STATION (New PAX goes to middle)
GOAL: Get all PAX thru SB Burpees at least once. (goal accomplished)
Mosey/Wosey back to AO, litter-carrying the sandbags (free-loaders!)
Good Problems: More Q’s equal less QIC opportunities, so YHC was glad to get back in the saddle at the CHOP AO. Always eager, Aye!
COT:
Announcements: Watch the horizon for a leadership pow-wow. Planting locations to be discussed. Planning for Memorial Day mini CSAUP, etc.
Prayers: YHC lifted up several requests: Fireplex’s dad; Nugget’s aunt’s family; employee and friend of Woodstock, Rob, recovery and healing from brain surgery. Most of all that God would allow us and empower to be HIM, superior to our younger self, in our homes, workplaces and the communities in which we serve. (For more details check out the 3rdF below – conspicuously shared after our 3rd round.)
Chappie, out!
3rdF Shared After the 3rd Round:
Earnest Hemingway said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
For anyone who’s got a competitive nature, which is just about every man I know, that might sound bit counter-intuitive (my favorite words this week for some reason). I mean, who doesn’t strive to run farther and faster than the other guy? Who doesn’t want to have their hand raised in the center of the ring/mat as victor after a hard-fought battle for superiority? Who doesn’t want to blow their competition out of the proverbial water? Yet Hemingway says, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
I think we might understand better what Hemingway was getting at if we rephrase his statement using F3 terminology: “It’s you against you!”
Now if we tend to think about that only in terms of physical superiority, eventually we’re going to come up short. I’d like to think at age 54, I can still kick the tail of the younger version of myself–shoot, that’s part of what motivates me to workout with you guys and why I’m thankful for F3! But truth be told, eventually I’m going to age-out of being able to do that physically. I don’t know where that line is or when I’ll cross it, but eventually I know I will.
The same is true whether we’re talking about superiority over others or ourselves. And, again, just in terms of physicality there will always be some other competitor who is superior. Yes, we can (and should) engage in healthy competition, it sharpens us. But in terms of being superior to your former self, and, it being “you against you,” the superiority must also (and even more so) include your character and your nature. It must include superiority over yourself in terms of mind, will, emotions AND SPIRITUALITY!
Are you stronger than your former self?
Are you better at handling your finances than your former self?
…better at raising your kids than your former self?
…better at loving others than your former self?
…a better husband than your former self?
…a better employee or employer than your former self?
Are you better at handling your anger or other emotions than your former self?
Are you wiser than your former self?
…more patient than your former self?
…more faithful/faith-filled than your former self?
…more enduring than your former self?
Are you a better leader than your former self?
And the list goes on…
You see, the comparison between you and others is more often than not out-of-place, and it’s utterly misguided and misguiding! The real competition is within. We CANNOT compare ourselves with others. The comparison is actually more personal. “True nobility is being superior to your former self.”
Galatians 6:4 says “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.”
Today, in your home, in your workplace, and in the community in which you serve, work on being superior to your former self. It’s you against you!
