Toy Soldier’s Back Beatdown

Warm-up:

The Cheerleader 20 IC

The Bat Wings

                  20 Arm Circles forward, 20 backwards, 20 seal claps, 20 overhead claps

Cherry Pickers 20 IC

Imperial Squat Walker 20 IC

Mountain Man Poopers 20 IC

Hairy Rockets 15 IC

Slow lateral stretch 10 IC

The Thang:

Mosey to Alley

Lt. Dan to stop sign

Mosey across street, jailbreak to corner

Mike Tysons 25 OYO

The People’s chair with overhead clap 25 OYO

The American Hammer 25 IC

Mosey to grassy park

Decline Merkins 25 OYO

Balance Lunges 15 each leg

Marionettes 30 total 10 each direction

Mosey to playground

Dips 50 OYO

Pendulum Squats 10 each leg IC

Toy Soldier Set

                  50 crunches

                  15 Pretzel Sticks each side

10 Big Boys

F3 Message Mark Munoz –

With determination and faith, you will eventually rise above, succeeding despite the odds. For God gives us life; the rest is up to us to accept His challenge. God created us to serve others with passion and presence.

Through wrestling, I learned the true meaning of life. My father said “If you join, you will wrestle the first day, the last day, and every day. You will not quit.” I lasted one practice, so after getting taken down, pummeled by cross faces, and turned in half nelsons and wings, I was ready to give up. Dad found me sitting at home the next day instead of at practice. I told him: “I don’t want to wrestle anymore.” Stoically, he reminded me of the commitment I had made. Leading me by the arm, he returned me to a place I would learn to love. Wrestling fostered a mentality of excellence whereby I was on honor roll all four years and made the National Honor Society. Although I rose to the second ranked MMA fighter in the world, I never forgot that God created us to serve and to love others more than ourselves. My Reign youth wrestling club is rooted in the belief that as God reigns, we must learn how to reign over our competition.

Champions are not defined by wins, but by how many times you pick yourself up after a loss. Rise above adversity. Embrace the grind. Love what you do and do what you love.

As a society, we must learn to love with one another with love and compassion. Truly listen to and know each other’s story. Hear how they grew up and what they had to overcome. Share with them that none of us is perfect; all we can do is live the best life. Live, learn, and get better. The process of learning is a lifelong journey. If you learn how to handle adversity, how to rise like a Phoenix from the ashes, you will succeed in getting through the most difficult moments in your life, with your heart full and your mind ready to confidently take on whatever life confronts you with next

Mosey to Masonic Building

Plyo Merkins 25 OYO

Iron Mikes 10 IC

Flutter Kicks 25 IC

Easter Day Prayer

Dear God,

We come before you on this special day, celebrating the resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ. We give thanks for the sacrifice that he made for us, and for the love that you have shown us through him. As we gather with friends and family, may we be reminded of the hope and joy that Easter brings.

We pray for those who are suffering or in need, that they may find comfort and peace in your love. May your blessings be upon us all as we go forth in faith, hope, and love.

In Jesus’ name we pray,

Amen.

Mosey to courthouse parking lot

Plank Jacks 25 IC

Burpees 15 OYO

Ballerina Toe Squats 20 IC

Name-o-rama

COT

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“LID” UP

Date: 01/07/2023

AO: Aegis, Georgetown, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

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

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

Hydraulic Squats – 10 (6 Count)   

The Thang

Round #1 – Karaoke around the circle switching directions at halfway and complete 10 hand release merkins.  Round #2 – Nur around the circle and complete 20 LBC’’s.  Round #3 – ass kickers around the circle and complete Aiken legs – 10 squats, 10 box jumps, 10 lunges (5 each Leg), 10 Mike Tyson’s (5 each Leg).  Round #4 – high knees around the circle and complete ATM’s – 10 alternating “merkin” shoulder taps, 10 tempo merkins, and 10 fast merkins.  Round # 5 – Lieutenant Dan around the circle and complete 10 four count mountain climbers.  Round #6 – Toy Soldier march around the circle and complete a set of 11’s.  1 big boy to 1 merkin, two big boys to 2 merkins ascending to 11 of each.  Round #7 – mosey 10 laps around the circle and complete ascending Burp & Merks up to 10 merkins.  The twist is we are going to repeat each of the previous exercises before starting the next lap around the circle.

F3 Message 01/07/23

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


GOD ALL OVER YOUR DAY – #8016

Monday, October 2, 2017
 
When I’m on the road and staying in a motel, I’m often leaving pretty early that day for the responsibilities I have. But by the time I return late that night, something amazing has happened. The bed is made and I didn’t make it! I’ve got new, clean towels! I didn’t find them. Everything’s straightened and neat. I even get these cool little soaps now that are in the bathroom! The Room Fairy has been there! Now, I know that not because I’ve seen the maid (actually I haven’t), but because I can see the results of her work all over the place.
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “God All Over Your Day.”
He is, you know. It’s not unlike that maid scenario. You may not see the one who made the difference, but you can sure see the difference that He made, if you’re looking for it.
If you’ve ever been to one of those church meetings where they ask people to share their favorite verses, you’ve probably heard somebody mention our word for today from the Word of God. It’s a lot of people’s favorite verse. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Notice what’s the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your heart: trying to figure it out for yourself, doing what you think is best – leaning on your own understanding.
Now comes a formula for finding out what God wants you to do in any given situation. Well, we need that. Verse 6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Now, God says, “If you want to know My heart for you, acknowledge Me in every situation you’re in.” You know what acknowledge means. Have you ever been in a new place or a roomful of people and you’ve gone totally un-greeted, un-noticed? Well, you were saying to yourself, “Hey, I wish someone would acknowledge me. I wish someone would notice I’m here.” See, God knows that feeling. He shows up all through our day, and we often never notice Him. We don’t acknowledge Him.
The other day I was really blessed in a place not normally associated with blessing-the dentist’s office. I was in the waiting room and I saw an old friend with his wife-they’re both in their 90’s. He’s working very hard to care for his wife because her health is deteriorating. Because it had been raining when they came in, my friend asked the dentist if he could help him get his wife out to the car. My dentist came back in, really touched by what had happened in those two minutes-so touched that he brought it up two more times. He said, “When I went out with George and his wife, it wasn’t raining. And George said, ‘Isn’t it great that the Lord stopped the rain long enough for us to get out to the car?’ Then he just looked heavenward and said, ‘Thanks, Father.'”
Now that’s acknowledging Him. That’s noticing God’s working in the details of your day. And that’s where praise comes from, where joy comes from, where a victorious attitude comes from in the toughest of times. But you have to go into your day looking for God at work. If you don’t, you’ll miss God and you’ll miss the joy. But if you do train your heart to go on a daily God-hunt (God-sightings, you know), you’ll experience what the great preacher Charles Spurgeon talked about when he said, “He who looks for providences (or God-actions) will never lack a providence to observe.”
If you haven’t been seeing God a lot lately, it’s because you haven’t been looking. You may have been focused on your circumstances, or other people, or yourself or what’s stressing you out. You’ve missed the fingerprints of God all over your day. The little mercies, the small miracles, the interventions, the protection, the encouraging surprises, the bad things that didn’t happen. I know there’s never a day where He doesn’t show up because the Bible says His “mercies are new every morning!”
In those transformed motel rooms, I seldom see the maid, but I see the results of her work. In the little and big moments of your day, you may not see God, but you can see the results of His work on your behalf because you’re His much-loved child. You’ll see God all over your day if you’re looking for Him.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Tabada 1/3/2023

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama
13 seal jacks i/c
20 mountain man pooper i/c
23 Moroccan night club i/c
13 seal waves i/c
10 hip circles  oyo each direction
23 Windmill i/c

The Thang
Every PAX grab 1 large coupon and 2 small coupons

Tabada 
20 second on, 10 second off = 1 round
10 rounds of 6 excercises
Curls – palms up, hammer
Flys (shoulders on large coupon) – palms up, palms in
Squats – 6″, wide
Bench press (shoulders on large coupon) – elbows in, palms together
Holding chair chest squeeze – extended, close
Abs – gas pumpers, lbcs 

3rd F

2023 is about discipline
Decide what you want
Write that down
Make a plan
Work on it
EVERY
SINGLE
DAY
Your competition isn’t other people
Its YOUR PROCRASTINATION
It’s the knowledge you neglect
Compete against that
Conquer yourself
Master the universe within

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

25 HIM showed today; Pooh, Sherlock, Ruxpin, Beeker, Semi, Mr. Mom, Hoss, Streudel, Woodstock, Quattro, Chauffer, Whirlybird, Bunt, Deez, Nuts, Phyfe, Gee-eye, Probe, Spreader, Chattahoochee, Fireplex, Roscoe, Looney Toons, Drago, Wood

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That’s Not a Hill

Date: 12/08/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE.

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Windmills – 15 IC

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.   

F3 Message 12/08/22

REMOVING A MOUNTAIN, MAKING A ROAD – #8714

June 4, 2020

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!

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Clear View

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.

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Hill, Yeah!

DATE: 11/17/22

QIC: Chappie

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 you wherever 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)

Always a privilege to Q. Honored.

Chappie out, Aye!

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“Oh Hill No”, It’s Election Day

Date: 11/08/2022

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE.

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 25 IC

Cherry Pickers – 15 IC

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.

F3 Message 11/08/2022

SO MANY PROMISES – #8849

December 10, 2020

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.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Bean 1, Bean 2

DATE: 10/18/22

QIC: Chappie

Kudos to Beeker (Hospital name: Corbin Bean) for getting in his VQ Warm-O-Rama. Great job brother; it was awesome for YHC (Hospital name: Todd Bean) to tag-team with you and get you into the Q rotation.

Here’s how it all went down this Gloom:

WARM-O-RAMA:

Um…yeah, YHC has little recollection of everything we did, but it was well executed and sufficient for getting our heart rates up and warming up the PAX for the following

THE THANG:

Had to start with a Bearcrawl across the freshly resealed parking lot. Boom! After years of complaints by those who have soft and supple hands, it has to be said: That thing is clean. PAX just couldn’t wait to use it!

PAX grouped up in gaggles of 5–couldn’t have planned it better; there were 20 PAX and we needed 4 groups for 4 stations:

  • Station #1: At this station groups had to Prison Break to Willow St, and Mosey back. This was the time-setter station, as after PAX went down a back groups would move to the next station.
  • Station #2: Swerkins AMRAP. How about that? 5 PAX in each group and 5 swings for Swerkins.
  • Station #3: Curb-Stop Leg-lifts AMRAP How about that? 5 PAX in each groups and 5 curb stops for Leg Lifts
  • Station #4: The follow done w/our girl Cindy: Curls AMRAP, Round 1; Overhead Press AMRAP, Round 2; Overhead Squat Press, Round 3.

Back to station #1, Rinse & Repeat AMRAP. PAX rotated through the stations 3x, taking a 3rdF breather mid-way, after which YHC got in the old stand-by Side-Straddle-Hops, then Seal Jacks, before resuming the workout. Somewhere in there we snuck in a Chairman Lap, before closing out with a short round of Mary: 4-Count Freddies – 25 IC, courtesy of YHC, and Superman/Banana, courtesy of Quattro

The following 3rdF shared by our Q, Chappie:

In the year 1519, Hernán Cortéz arrived along the Yucatan Coast off of Veracruz, Mexico with 600 (300?) men and, upon arriving and disembarking their ships, Cortés sounded the order to “burn the ships!” Before moving inland Cortéz destroyed 10 of his 11 ships, cutting off he and his men’s only hope of retreat and leaving them with no option but to conquer.

We can use this as a metaphor today to venture into new territories, to explore the unknown, and to take what we might see as potentially hazardous risks (followers of Christ cannot help but to take faith-filled risks). Sometimes, even when there is uncertainty we must burn the ships, we must lead others to burn the ships. I.e. we need to eliminate the off-ramps in our own lives, or maybe in our workplaces, our churches, our teams, etc., so that we can make certain we’re not avoiding the challenges, and make certain there is no turning back. (That’s a great hymn btw.)

In whatever the case may be the story of burning the ships is as relevant a metaphor as ever; for in many cases if you leave the ships in the harbor, you’re not fully committing to whatever the task, or mission, or vision might be.

We workout at O-Gawd-Thirty just about every morning because it’s part of the physical, mental, and spiritual challenges we’ve accepted. Why? Because F3 workouts increase your ability to be an asset in your home, your workplace, and the communities in which you serve. We do this “fitness, fellowship, and faith” stuff so that we’re more capable physically, mentally, & spiritually to lead our families & solve problems, etc. If we live in accordance with the mantra “burn the ships” it will serve as a metaphor for eliminating the excuses we’re prone to, and the backup plans we usually have in place. “Burn the ships” says the only option is to conquer, the only option is victory, the only option is to succeed! Burn the ships and you will have no other option!

There’s another man who said that. Well, actually, He said it a little differently: In Luke 9:23 Jesus said “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” You know, right after that in vv. 57-61 Jesus actually turned 3 people away, who said they would follow Him wherever He’d go. Each had excuses and Jesus called them out on it: One realized they’d be without a place to lay their heads, another wanted to wait until his after father died, and the third wanted to spend some time at home first. The context tells us they took the off-ramp; it implies they turned back instead of following Jesus. Then in v. 62 Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Gentlemen, HIM put their hand to the plow and never look back! (Ask the farmers…)

HIM take up their cross daily and follow Jesus.

Gentlemen, HIM “burn the ships!” Excuses are not an option.

YHC is always grateful for the opportunity to lead at @f3firststate. We have more and more PAX being added to the Q list (men are stepping up), so opportunities are becoming more sparse–a good problem to have! Hey, that’s what we’re about…planting, growing, and serving.

COT:

  • Announcements: Shirt order down to last day, 10/19 at midnight. 2.0 Workout this Saturday at the Aegis AO.
  • Prayers: Semi’s 2.0 traveling back to college; Quattro’s family fighting “the big green monster”; Fireplex’s Dad; and Ruxpin’s M; etc.
  • BOM

Chappie, out!

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We kept running and running

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.”

Matthew 18:21-35

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Dirty Mac Deuce

QIC Chattahoochee

21 PAX posted at the CHOP on 15 Sept. 2022 for a little fun in the gloom.

Warm-up 30SSH, 20 CHERRY PICKERS,15 TOY SOLDIERS and 15 Windmills all IC

The Thang consisted of a mosey out the rear entrance and around to the front meeting back in the center of parking lot for 12 reps of 3 excercises most in cadence

12 merkins, 12 squats, 12 hello dollys

repeat mosey

12 diamond merkins, Bobby Hurleys, 12 dying cockroaches

repeat mosey

12 wide merkins, 12 lunges, 12 american hammers

reapet mosey

12 squat burpees, 12 monkey humpers, 12 flutter kicks

repeat mosey

12 ranger merkins, 12 reverse lunges, 12 box cutters

repeat mosey

12 dirty hookups on wall of pain

plank in front of wall left hand to wall right hand to wall left hand to ground right hand to ground is 1

Number-Rama

name-o-rama

COT

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