Bear crawl 1 2 3

QIC Chattahoochee

15 HIM posted in the gloom for a little Chattahoochee beatdown. You couldn’t ask for a better morning to be out and about during sunrise

Warmup- 30 SSH, 25 CHERRY PICKERS, 20 MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS, 20 WINDMILLS all IC then OYO 15 arm circles forward 15 backwards

THE THANG- Mosey down to firehouse parking lot where mysteriously there happen to be 2 cones set up approximately 70 feet apart. PAX partnered up while PAX 1 bearcrawled to cone and back PAX 2 performed the excercises then switch off for total of 100 merkins, 200 LBCs and 300 Squats.

Then all PAX moved over to side of the fire house and lined up along this pretty wall just waiting for the HIM to put the all to use. At the wall BTTW for 10 Alternating shoulder taps in cadence followed by a wall sit with 20 o erhead claps in cadence

Mosey back to the CHOP arrived with 2 minutes to spare so on the 6 for 30 flutterkicks IC.

Finished up with Woodstock presenting Chappie with a patch for posting for 100 workouts in 2021

Congratulations Chappie good job leading the way.

Ended with number-rama, Name-0-rama and COT

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Life of a Dog

Life of a Dog

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama
20 i/c
Plank jacks
Seal jacks
Cherry picker
Seal wave
Windmill
Mountain climbers
Mountain man pooper

The Thang

Each HIM grabs a coupon and pairs off

Wheelbarrow to center parking line
Half of pax does 10 burpees while other half does 10 swerkins
Partners switch and wheelbarrow back
Half of pax does 10 burpees while other half does 10 swerkins

Coupon barrow to first center line. Switch positions and return to start.

21’s coupon curls, 7 halfway up, 7 halfway up to full, 7 full
21 coupon overhead presses

3rd F

WHY DOGS LIVE LESS THAN HUMAN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

While your partner does abyss merkins you nur to center line at the light poles, mosey back and switch
Partner does abyss merkins while you side shuffle across parking lot and back and switch

21 coupon curls
22 coupon shoulder presses

Wheelbarrow to end of first parking line
Half of pax does 5 burpees while other half does 5 swerkins
Partners switch and wheelbarrow back
Half of pax does 5 burpees while other half does 5 swerkins

Return coupons

Find a seat on the wall for a 30 sec hold and then 10 squats i/c

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

12 HIM showed today: Quarto, Ruxpin, Chattahoochee, Chappie, Summit, Fireplex, Drago, Semi, Toy Soldier, Woodstock, Struedel, Looney Toons

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Blimpety, Blimp, Blimps

Date: 06/10/2021

AO: CHOP, Milton, De.

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 20 IC

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

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

Mountain Climbers – 20 IC

Windmills – 20 IC

Chairman Lap

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 until all 6 Rounds are complete. Round # 1 – 10 Burpees, Round #2 – 20 Lunges (10 each leg). Round #3 – 30 Imperial Walkers. Round #4 – 40 Merkins. Round #5 – 50 Plank Jacks. Round #6 – 60 Squats.

F3 message See Below….

SOMEONE ELSE’S FAULT – #5913

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Years ago there was a cowboy hero, and a young boy who thought he was a big deal. The boy was me. And my parents bought me this plate with my hero’s picture on it and an inscription that said, “That a boy! You cleaned your plate.” I wanted his approval very much, so I just kept cleaning my plate – and filling it so I could clean it again. By the time I was in high school, I was 210 pounds. And whose fault was it that I was so heavy? I’ve told many people – it was the fault of that cowboy hero, of course. At least, I wish I could have blamed him.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “Someone Else’s Fault.”

I’ve always been joking, of course, when I blamed my “clean your plate” hero for my teenage weight problems. But it is no joke that blaming someone else is, for most of us, one of our favorite ways to account for something in our life that shouldn’t be there – whether it’s a bad attitude, a bad habit, a bad situation, or a bad relationship.

This attempt to dodge the responsibility for our actions is nothing new. Centuries ago, the prophet Nathan was sent by God to confront King David with his sins of adultery and conspiracy to commit murder. David had slept with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his most loyal soldiers, and then arranged for that man’s death in battle. When David learned that Bathsheba was pregnant, well, he knew he had a serious problem on his hands and he tried to cover it up. But Nathan approached David with the parable of a rich man who had owned many sheep and a poor man who owned one little lamb. When a traveler came for dinner at the rich man’s house, the rich man killed the poor man’s one little lamb for dinner. David was enraged at this rich man’s outrageous crime, and he angrily said, “The man who did this deserves to die!”

Then Nathan said these four chilling words to the king, “You are the man!” And in 2 Samuel 12:13, our word for today from the Word of God, “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.'” That moment of painful honesty was the beginning of David’s deep repentance and the restoration of his shattered relationship with God. It took a while, but David finally accepted the responsibility for what he had done. And the healing began that moment.

That’s how it will begin for someone who’s listening right now. As you look at that bad situation, the mess, the problems, you have two choices – blame someone else or accept your part of the responsibility for that broken or strained relationship, for that negativity, for the conflict, the mess, or the trouble. Many of us hide from taking responsibility for our situation with a victim copout.

Maybe you’ve honestly been hurt or wronged, and you can’t do anything about the other person taking responsibility for what they’ve done. But you can accept the responsibility for the way you’ve handled it, for the wrong things you may have tried to excuse by the wrong things someone else did. Those who have been victims – and those who’ve been victimizers – never get free until they realize that they are now the victims of their own choices, not someone else’s.

There is an old spiritual that goes something like this, “Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.” That’s a great place to start – looking in the mirror, asking, “Lord, what do I need to change?” Taking responsibility: that’s the price of healing, and it’s the price of greatness.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Pre BDay Block Party

Pre BDay Block Party

QIC: Semi/VQ Warmup Whirlybird

Warm-a-Rama
15 Cherry pickers
15 merkins
15 marocin nightclubs
20 mountain climbers

The Thang
All HIM grabs a coupon

21s Curls

7 Blockeys

22 Man makers

7 blockeys

22 over head press

7 blockeys

Capri lap around parking lot, side shuffle, nur, side shuffle, mosey

3rd F

21 abyss merkins, borrow part of your fellow HIMs coupon

7 big boys w/coupon

22 lawn mower starters, right arm

7 big boys w/coupon

22 lawn mower starters, left arm

7 big boys w/coupon

Capri lap around parking lot, side shuffle, nur, side shuffle, mosey

22 squats w/coupon

42 single count American hammers w/coupon

10 i/c merjacks

Return coupons

Lt. Dan across parking lot

Number-Rama
NAME-A-RAMA
COT

15 HIM showed today: Woodstock, Chattahoochee, Chappie, Chairman, Ruxpin, Toy Soldier, Summit, Vanilla, Semi, Whirlybird, Ying Ying, Drago, Struedel, FNG(Flatbottom), FNG(Cabana)

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No name beatdown

QIC Chattahoochee

14 PAX including an FNG post on a beautiful Tuesday morning at the CHOP to take part in Drago’s warm up VQ ( Good job brother) After the warm up Chattahoochee took over we had a nice friendly mosey to the rear of the original HOB elementary to have fun on the play ground starting with a toy soldier set 50LBCs, 30E2Ks, 20 BIGBOYS. followed up by a little CINDY to work on that beach body for the upcoming CSAUP. 5 pull-ups, 10 merkins 15 squats rinse and repeat 10 times. Before we headed back to the AO another toy soldier set 30,20,10 then a nice friendly mosey back to the CHOP just in time to name the FNG . Matt Cranford F3 Code red

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The Super 21 Cycle of Suck

Date: 05/04/21

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 30 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.

Jiminy Crickets – 15 OYO

Windmills – 15 IC

Mosey for a “Chairman” Lap

The Thang

The Super 21 Cycle.  1 Merkin to 1 Big Boy Sit up.  2 Merkins to 2 Big Boy Situps.  3 Merkins to 3 Big Boy Situps, etc., etc., etc.  But wait there is a twist….after each completed set of #1 though #5 PAX will complete 21 Imperial Walkers.  Bear Crawl @ 60 ft.  After each completed set of #6 through #10 PAX will complete 21 Mountain Climbers.  Bear Crawl @ 60 ft.  After each completed set of # 11 through #15, PAX will complete 21 Monkey Humpers.  Bear crawl @ 60 ft.  After each completed set of #16 through #20 PAX will complete 21 Prisoner Squats.  Bear Crawl @ 60 ft. and PAX will complete the final set of #21 Merkins to #21 Big Boys then finish strong with 21 Burpees.

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

F3 Message 05/04/2021 – From Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

REASONS TO QUIT; FINISHING THE RACE – #8842

December 1, 2020

The Los Angeles Marathon had been over about a week, but there was still one participant left – Bob Wieland. He finally crossed the finish line even though he has no legs. He lost his legs in Vietnam. But that didn’t stop him from entering and finishing the Los Angeles Marathon, making every step with his arms and his hands. He’s finished other marathons before this one. And Bob Wieland even crossed America on his hands. It took him three years to do it!

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Reasons To Quit; Finishing the Race.”

That’s Bob Wieland, with so many reasons to quit, he finishes his race. Which is what God is asking you and me to do. Your “race” is any track that God has set you on in your life. And you may have started well, but it’s gotten really hard now . There are more and more reasons to quit. But in the words of Galatians 6:9, God says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

There’s an enlightening picture of our race in Genesis 12, beginning with verse 1. It’s our word for today from the Word of God. This story of Abram is the story of a man who started well, faltered, and got back on track. It might be a story you find yourself in. The race starts – yours and Abram’s – with what I call the faith obedience. In the Bible’s words: “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ So Abram left, as the Lord had told him.”

God directed Abram to leave his comfort zone, his “knowns” for the great unknown of a “land I will show you.” The greatness of what Abram’s life will become begins with a faith obedience; doing what God’s directing him to do, not because he can see where it’s going, but because he trusts the One who is leading him. Every great work of God begins that way. It may well be that you’ve had a time like that. You started on a race for your Lord with a risky obedience; which, by the way, is an oxymoron. There’s really no such thing as a risky obedience when it’s Jesus you’re obeying. There’s only a risky disobedience.

Abram left behind him a trail of altars. When the Lord appeared to him at Shechem, it says, “he built an altar there to the Lord.” You’ve had those altar times when God was closest and His will was the clearest. Think about it. But unfortunately, the faith obedience was followed by the famine detour. Genesis 12 says, “there was a famine…and Abram went down to Egypt.” A hard time hit and Abram’s faith literally went south. Maybe yours has, too. In Egypt, Abram made compromises that were disgusting and unthinkable. Maybe some kind of “famine” has hit your life and your search for answers, for relief, or for security has taken you right out of the will of God.

But the race isn’t over. Abram finishes with the full circle recovery. He returns from his detour and goes “where he had first built an altar. There he called on the name of the Lord.” He went back to the point of his original surrender. That’s how you get back on track, back in the race you’ve wandered from. In your heart, you go back to the time when God seemed so close and His will seemed so clear. And at that original altar, you surrender to Him again. Stop doubting in the darkness what God so clearly told you in the light.

When that paraplegic marathon participant crossed the finish line in a race he had every reason to quit, he explained it this way: “This was not natural; this was supernatural. It was only done by the grace of God.” You know what? That’s how you’ll finish the race you started!

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Twelve Mouths Full & A Real Indian Run

DATE: 4/22/21

QIC: Chappie

A dirty dozen (12 PAX) jumped their Fartsacks in the back alley of the Gloom and won THAT FIRST BATTLE. They’re a step ahead of most, all because of the highly anticipated Warm-O-Rama VQ by Looney Tunes. Great job on your first go ’round brother! All PAX would agree that’s not all folks–now it’s time to get rolled into the regular Q rotation. Stay tuned, there’s a new month right around the corner!

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Disclaimer given
  • SSH – 21 IC
  • Windmill – 20 IC
  • Cherry Pickers – 21 IC
  • Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
  • Moroccan Night Clubs – 21 IC
  • Turned it over to Q, Chappie…

THE THANGITY THANG: (A few comments were suggestive of “not showing had they known what we were in for.” He! He! He! He! He….)

PAX lined up for an Indian Run as YHC gave the following Pre-Instructions:

  • The plan: Indian Run to hill at the base of the tower. Nice easy pace, stick together, man in back goes to front. Rinse and repeat til we reach destination TOGETHER (an Indian run is just like the Patriot Run but without the shovel-flag).
  • Our route: Left on Bay, Right on Behringer and take it all the way to the end. (Half-mile to destination)
  • THE CATCH: It’s going to be a quiet Indian Run. Everyone grab a bottle of water and will fill their mouth with water and keep it there. This is about DISCIPLINE. You have to FOCUS. Those who spit out their water or swallow it on the way, will have to watch the others do 18 Burpees once we reach the hill. If no one swallows or spits the water = no Burpees. Focus and think of your team! DO NOT spit it out or swallow it until you receive permission at the bottom of the hill. (i.e. breath through your nose) Ready…Fill ‘er up!

Only 4 of 12 PAX were able to make the half-mile mosey while keeping the water in their mouths. Those who completed the run as planned were rewarded with 18 Burpees, those who spat out or swallowed their mouthful of water along the way had to watch. A few tried to participate in the Burpees but were stopped by the Q – no reward! Like Seinfeld’s soup Nazi, only instead the Burpee Nazi…none for you! It was an interesting activity to say the least. OBSERVATION: Those who didn’t keep the water in their mouth the entire run appeared to be a bit upset with themselves, while those who succeeded and were rewarded with Burpees seemed to do them with a sense of renewed vigor. PREDICTION: The number of PAX who successfully complete this exercise WILL BE HIGHER the next time (if there is a next time). Kudos and T-Claps to the finishers: Drago, Toy Soldier, Quattro & Chappie…18 Burpees never felt so good!

At this point YHC shared the following 3rdF Message:

In his book Warriors Creed Roger Sparks tells of being a Marine Recon instructor. He said, “I was always peeling the onion with the guys. An old story I recalled spoke about the Apache spirit runners. Apache boys learned early that running went hand in hand with becoming a warrior. The young boys would have to fill their mouths with water and go for a long run, in the scorching Summer heat of what is now New Mexico, and when they got back, they would spit out the water. Only the ones who spat out the water could be trusted and trained. Those who swallowed or spit it out during the run couldn’t be trained because they didn’t have discipline. Holding water in the mouth forced rhythmic breathing through the nose, and kept the young future warriors from panting and drying out their mouths and throats. Carrying the water also required deep focus.”

Sparks wrote: “I really liked that particular approach to training, so I used it religiously. If guys spat the water out or swallowed it, then I would have them fill their mouths with gravel. Not fine, clean gravel; I’m talking the dirt on the side of the road. I’d point and say, “Fill your mouth with that gravel. You have no discipline. Those around you will suffer because of your lack of character. If you fall out of the run, I’m going to condition everyone while you watch. You’re going to keep your boots on, and your team will finish the run barefoot.”

“We’d go on a ten-mile run with the water in our mouths. I really got behind the water in the mouth, especially after I read John Douillard’s Body, Mind and Sport. That book was about principles of human performance. If you breath through your nose when you exercise, you generally will not go beyond 50% of your max threshold for your heart rate. When I read that there was no benefit from training endurance that went past 50% of the maximum heart rate, I thought, those Apache had it all figured out. The idea that the Apache could run sixty miles a day like that only added to the allure.” (Roger Sparks, Warrior’s Creed 91-92)

I love some of the phrases Sparks uses in reference to suffering and how it trains us to be disciplined and focused; and, by the way, he wrote in terms of life, not just training in Marine Recon, the French Foreign Legion, or as a Pararescueman:

  • It inoculates against sensitivities/feelings of misery. YHC’s addition: Even Jesus taught that suffering pays dividends. We’re talking about chosen suffering or suffering for doing what is right (as opposed to suffering for doing stupid things –though that has the reward of learning in the school of hard knocks, if we learn from it). James teaches in James 1:2-4, that we are to, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete [mature], lacking in nothing.” Suffering always pays dividends!
  • Suffering produces strength of mind
  • Suffering brings you to a place of functioning out of virtue
  • Suffering teaches you to constantly embracing risk
  • Suffering trains you to pay attention to details
  • Suffering reminds you that you’re more often only an agent of something bigger
  • Suffering brings us to our humanity
  • And…that life without struggle is meaningless

Roger Sparks went on to quote a fitting samurai mantra: “If you have to choose between suffering and not suffering, always suffer.”

THE THANG, PART DEUX: 11’s on aptly named Merlot Hill (Yes, there’s a story behind that. The hill may or may not have been at one time a catalyst for a previous “Splash”)

  • LBC’s at the bottom – Starting with 1 up to 10
  • Merkins at the top – Starting with 10 down to 1
  • Transitions up and down the hill included variations of: LT. Dans, Mosey, Nur
  • All PAX completed a full set of 11’s

Once completed, PAX lined up again for an Indian Run back to the AO (no water in the mouth). Round trip run = 1 mile.

COT:

Announcements:

  • Paintball shenanigans this Saturday @ 3 in Georgetown. Still room for more. Sign up online. Don’t forget to complete your waiver online if you haven’t done so already. Come, get “inoculated” (shot) by other PAX!
  • Sponsors. Keep hitting up your friends and family to sponsor you for the Roving RuckF3st for Gavin fundraiser. Let’s see how much we can raise for this great cause! Ruck will take place on Sunday, May 16th. Stepping off at NLT 12 from CHOP and Rucking to the community Gather and Give for Gavin event at Hudson Fields.

Prayers:

  • For the Morris family as they continue to work through the grief of losing little Beau.
  • For Semi as he travels
  • For Gavin as he prepares to return home then continue rehab and for God to do a miracle in this young man’s spine and body
  • For all the PAX of F3 First State to embrace suffering to learn to endure well in order to reap its dividends. To be examples of those who endure and mature so that we are more effective leaders in our homes, workplaces, and in the communities in which we serve.

Disclaimer: As the PAX circled up YHC reiterated that this exercise (success of keeping the water or lack thereof) was not the same as what Roger Sparks was teaching his Marine Recon candidates–this was an entirely different context and situation. And its results were not a statement concerning PAX’s character, per se, but merely a challenge to discipline and mental toughness in our context. We embraced the suck. And suck it did! YHC was honored to lead and bring such a challenge, but he is also ever grateful to the other HIM who bring challenges that push us all beyond our self-imposed limits. This one was definitely new…and cerebral!

Honor to lead, challenge, and suffer along side the men of F3 First State,

Chappie, out!

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Hillacides

Date: 04/15/21

AO: CHOP, Milton, 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

Mosey @ .5 miles to the hill by the boat docks

The Thang

Pax went right at a set of Doracides which is identified in the Exicon as follows:  Two Pax worked together to reach exercise reps of 100, 200, 300, & 400 of 4 different exercises.  One Pax worked on the exercises while the second Pax completed suicides to three designated waypoints approx. 30 yards apart by way of a NUR up the hill.  Another extra twist is at the waypoint of each suicide run; the Pax completed 1 burpee, then 2 burpees, and finally 3 burpees before returning to the starting point.  Once all three suicide sprints were completed, the Pax switched stations until all reps of each exercise were completed.  The exercises completed are as follows:  100 American Hammers, 200 Merkins, 300 LBC’s, & 400 squats.  Each Pax will make every attempt to complete their half of the total exercises.   

Mosey @ .5 miles back to CHOP

F3 Message – See Below

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

F3 Message 04/15/21 – Gleaned from Ron Hutchcraft Ministries

WHY IT FEELS SO WEIRD TO BE NORMAL

April 2, 2019

My first hint that things were changing was the Storm Troopers suddenly patrolling the parking lot. Then I saw the man with the floor-length wolf tail. Followed by seeing X-Men in the hotel lobby.

And that was just the beginning. Batman, Superman, Darth Vader, Wonder Woman – and, of course, all the insects. Spiderman, Wasp, Bumblebee, The Tick. I fully expected Arnold Scharzenegger to arrive any minute as the ExTerminator. The growing invasion included all kinds of superhero movie characters and science fiction types that were from outside my universe.

The annual convention of National Religious Broadcasters was just moving out. You know, guys in suits. With briefcases.

And the annual convention of comic book, movie and science fiction folks was moving in. You know, characters in capes and masks and Spandex.

Standing in the lobby, waiting for my ride to the airport, was outrageously amusing. Two worlds colliding. Two polar opposite worlds!

Here’s the crazy part. Standing around in my jeans, shirt and sneakers, I had the strangest feeling. All of a sudden, I was the weird one. Not long before, I had been normal. But now I was surrounded by – well, what would be considered weird in most settings.

That’s when my mind started wandering into the whole culture I live in. Where the guard is changing at eye-blurring speed. Where the values and moral consensus that used to define our lives is rapidly receding.

And where it’s becoming increasingly “weird” to believe that God’s Word is the final word. Where those who are trying to follow in Jesus’ footsteps find themselves increasingly out of step with the cadence of the culture. Sometimes, even out of step with the folks at church.

It was easier to be faithful Jesus-followers when that was respected. When it was, in a sense, “normal.” But now it’s increasingly “intolerant” … “narrow-minded” … “hateful” – judgments that at times we bring on ourselves. Because, instead of holding the truth in love, we come across with anger, self-righteousness and judgment.

And while I must be against what my God is against, I want to be known more for what I’m for. I’m for love without scars, selflessness in relationships, respect for every life, compassion for the broken. I want to be the guy who is quick to listen, ready to forgive and known for integrity. That’s not “weird.” That’s rare! And what’s rare is valuable.

But even with a positive brand of purity, it’s still getting lonelier to be God’s guy or gal in an increasingly God-“dissing” world. We shouldn’t be surprised.

The Bible forecasts a day when “normal” will be a world where people “will consider nothing sacred. Evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived…People will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 3:1, 12; 4:3-4).

God’s word for His people in that world where untruths will be revered as truth is clear: “But you must remain faithful in the things you have been taught … the holy Scriptures … All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:14-16).

I really can’t afford to begin my day without first being with my Jesus. Letting the unchanging truth of His Word rekindle my love for Him so once again He’s the only One I care about pleasing. And so I can download His perspective on what I will see, hear and experience today in a God-denying culture with its pretty packages and powerful magnets.

A world that is constantly trying to get you to be like them desperately needs you to be like Jesus. You are hope with skin on – hope that there is another way to be. “Blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16).

If it seems to be getting darker where you are, remember – stars show most brightly against the backdrop of a very dark sky.

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

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Back to the park

QIC: Semi

Warm-a-Rama
20 ssh i/c
15 seal wave i/c
15 mountain man pooper i/c
20 plank jack i/c

The Thang
Mosey to park behind library
While waiting on 6 we did one leg hip thrust
Pax pairs off, while one HIM completes lap around gazebo other HIM completes exercises.
Laps are: mosey, side shuffle, and nur
Exercises are: merkins, swerkins, fire hose

3rd F

and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
John 20:7 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.20.7.ESV
The culture back then when you were done eating you tossed your napkin on the table. If your were leaving the table but planned on coming back you folded your napkin. Jesus folded HIS head wrap symbolizing HE plans on coming back!

Mosey back to CHOP

While waiting for 6 another round of single leg hip thrust and 15 hello dollies i/c

Number Rama
Name Rama
COT

18 HIM showed today: Semi, Chappie, Chairman, Quarto, Summit, Chattahoochee, Doubtfire, Fireplex, Drago, Looney Toons, Whirlybird, Breezy, Sweet E, Swartz, Struedel, Woodstock, Ying Ying, MacDaddy

https://youtube.com/shorts/azCt9U5sUc0?feature=share

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The Spartan

WARM-O-RAMA

20 SSH

20 CHERRY PICKERS IC

20 WINDMILLS IC

20 MOROCAN NIGHT CLUBS

20 GRADY CORN

CHAIRMAN LAP

THE THANG

 THE SPARTAN

LINE UP AT IN THE PARKING LOT, DO 30 MERKINS NEXT PAX  LINE UP AND SPRINT TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PARKING LOT WALK BACK. RINSE AND REPEAT 10 TIMES FOR A TOTAL OF 300 MERKINS.

F3 MESSAGE:

And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it? ’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord !’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Luke 19:29‭-‬40 NKJV

This is my question for you? Are you getting the donkey for Jesus? In other words are you listening to what the Lord asks of you, or does life bog you down and restrict you from serving the Lord. If we are doing what the Lord asks of us he will make the way for us, could you imagine what the owner of the donkey thought about this? Could you just give away your car? Obviously not,  but because the disciples were doing what the Lord asked Jesus made the way for them.  Men we have to put aside our busy lifestyle and simply just get the donkey.

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