Ace ain’t the place…

QIC- Summit

Warm up- 

SSH- 25 

Arm circles forward – 15

Arm circles reverse- 15

Cherry pickers – 15

Mosey lap around block. Back to AO

Prisoner squats – 15

Wind Mill – 15


Mosey to Ace Parking Lot. 

Line up on one end of lot. 

25 ssh –

Nur to 3/4 point 

25 ssh. Bear crawl  to end of lot. 

25ssh. Mosey back to start. Plank for 6

Round 2

25 merkins 

Sprint  to 3/4 

25 merkins 

Lt Dan to end 

25 merkins 

Let Dan back to 3/4 point.
Mosey back to start. Plank 

Toy soldier set 


Round 3

25 ssh

Nur to 3/4 

25 ssh

Bear crawl to end  

25 ssh 

Mosey back to start. Plank 


Round 4

25 Big Boys 

Sprint to 3/4 

25 big boys 

Side shuffle to end

25 Big Boys 
side shuffle to 3/4

Mosey back to start. Plank. 


Mosey back to AO. 

Flutter kicks IC 

count off, Name-a-rama

COT

TClap |
2

6/16/20

Swings, coupons, and a wall

Warm-a-Rama
20 seal jacks i/c
20 seal wave i/c
20 plank jacks i/c
Capri lap around parking lot
Side shuffle, nur, side shuffle, mosey
20 ssh i/c
20 Imperial walkers i/c
20 Windmill i/c
21 crab FLIPPER

The Thang
Everyone grabs a coupon

While 1 HIM moseys out to the wall with his Coupon and ascends the wall and moseys back, rest of PAX does the following:

Swerkins
Tire flip
Coupon Hip thrust
Coupon Merkins
Coupon curl
Coupon swing (kettle bell)
Coupon squats
Coupon big boys
Coupon split squats

3rdF


Round 2

HIM showed today: Semi, Chappie, Gump, Chairman, Quarto, Chattahoochee, Toy Soldier, Vineyard, Strudel, Fireplex, Bovine

Number Rama
Name Rama
COT

TClap |
2

Rogue Repeat

Date: 06/11/2020

AO: CHOP, Milton, DE

QIC: Fireplex

Warm up

SSH – 30 IC

Windmills – 20 IC

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

Cherry Pickers – 20 IC

Moroccan Night Clubs – 20 IC

Pax completed a Toy Soldier set consisting of 100 LBC’s, 50 E2K’s each side, and 25 Big Boy ‘s.

“Chairman Lap” out the back driveway of the CHOP, to the left on Willow, left on Union and to the left back to CHOP parking lot.  Approx. .25 miles.

The Thang

All Pax were asked to complete a set of 21’s approx. 15 – 20 yards apart. Complete 20 merkins and bear crawl approx. 15 – 20 yds and complete 1 Bobby Hurley.  Bear crawl back the 15 – 20 yards and complete 19 merkins, then bear crawl back and complete 2 Bobby Hurleys.  Continue until you reverse the order to 20 Bobby Hurleys and 1 merkin.

F3 Message – 06/11/2020

SURROUNDED BY PRECIOUS – #5880

Friday, July 24, 2009

Why are refrigerator doors important? Well, you probably say, “To keep the cold inside,” or “to keep that little light inside from burning out.” Yeh, that’s true too. But you might be forgetting one of the most valuable functions of a refrigerator door. That’s right; it is a great place to display the artwork of your children or your grandchildren! Right! Ours has been covered for years. Now, throughout our house and our offices, you can find pictures drawn by our grandchildren, crafts made by our grandchildren. You may not think they’re masterpieces or great works of art, but they’re precious to us.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Surrounded by Precious.”

And why are these humble artistic creations so valuable to us? Because of who made them, of course! The person who created them is precious to us, so what he created is precious to us. There’s a song the children love to sing; I did, too, when I was one of those Sunday School kids. “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” They’re all precious to Him – people of every color, every background, every I.Q., every nationality, every age. And they had better all be precious to us.

Sadly, even though according to the Bible, “God is no respecter of persons” (Romans 2:11), God’s children, all too often, are respecters of persons. We judge people by their category. To be honest, most of us secretly, and sometimes openly, think of some people as being “not quite on our level,” or not our type, as being “outsiders,” or in some way not quite as important as we are.

Don’t try telling that to God. In His book, you and I are surrounded by people who are precious. Why? For the same reason our grandson’s artwork is precious to us – because of who made them. Every man or woman in our world was made in the image of Almighty God Himself. Every man and woman in our world is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13), and is, in the Bible’s words, “God’s workmanship.” Our subtle racism, or prejudice, or feelings of superiority are nothing less than sin to a holy God who “so loved the world that He gave His Son.” (John 3:16).

And your Savior went out of His way to be with those everyone considered being of less worth. He’d walk past the religious leaders to express His forgiveness to a repentant prostitute. He’d make a despised Samaritan the example of a good neighbor. He would stop the entire parade around Him for the man everyone else wanted to shut up; blind Bartimaeus. And in Mark 1:40-42, our word for today from the Word of God, it says, “A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!'”

What a scandal! Lepers were the lowest of the low – the total outcasts. And no one ever touched them except Jesus. Every person is of equal value to Him. Every person should be of equal value to you and me as His follower. No matter what race, no matter what class, no matter what their limitations, no matter what their education, no matter what nation or religion they come from.

Jesus’ followers don’t get to choose who they’ll treat as precious, because they’re all precious to Him. Our mission is to show every person in our personal world how very special they are to Him and to us because of Who made them!

Respectfully Submitted,

Fireplex

TClap |
3

Inspiration

Warm-up

  • 25 SSH – IC
  • 15 Windmill – IC
  • 25 Smurf jacks – IC
  • Arm circles forward/backward

The Thang

  • Mosey to Dentist Office
    • 25 Merkins
    • 50 LBCs
    • 15 Burpees
  • Mosey to Backyard
    • 25 Diamond Merkins
    • 25 Flutter Kicks – IC
    • 20 Bobby Hurleys
  • Mosey to Adkins Law Office
    • 25 wide Merkins
    • 25 America Hammers – IC
    • 10 Iron Mikes – IC
  • F3 Message: Inspiration

In a culture obsessed with measuring talent and ability, we often overlook the important role of inspiration. Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated, and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.

Isaiah 40:28-31: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

  • Mosey to Luther Towers
    • 10 Mickey Mouse Merkins
    • 10 Outlaws each direction
    • 25 Prisoner Squats
  • Detour to Chief’s house
    • 10 hand release merkins
    • 15 Monkey Humpers
  • Mosey to AO Entrance
    • 15 nipple scraper merkins
    • Toy Soldier Set 50/30/20
    • walking lunge up driveway
    • finish with bear crawl
  • End with COT
TClap |
0

D-Day+76[Years]

COT @ Georgetown, DE WWII Memorial

6 June 2020

QIC: Chappie

14 PAX posted at the Aegis AO in Georgetown for a D-Day inspired workout by Chappie that went a little something like this…

WARM-O-RAMA

  • SSH – 18 IC
  • IW – 18 IC
  • Cherry Picker – 10 IC
  • SwartzJack – 18 IC
  • MNC – 18 IC

PATRIOT RUN – for 2 reasons:

1) Today is 76th Anniversary of D-Day!

2) We should NEVER be ashamed to fly it high! And fly it high we should!

>>>To County Bank Steps      (We’ll chalk that one up as practice…know what YHC means?)

Who said that? “Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.      Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.  ~Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, 6 June 1944.

Workout: PAX Plank, each, in turn goes to top & back down. (1 rotation)

PATRIOT RUN:

>>>To School Field:

Almost nothing went exactly as planned on June 6, 1944. In the end, partly due to poor weather and visibility, bombers failed to take out key artillery, particularly at Omaha Beach. Many paratroopers were dropped far off their marks and became vulnerable to German snipers. And during the land invasion, a critical fleet of marine tanks sunk in stormy seas and failed to make it ashore. Despite the setbacks, Allied troops pushed through and by pure grit, got the job done

Workout:

Round 1: Low-Crawl to 1st Sidewalk (get low!)

  • LZ Jumps (Squat Jump, Parachute Landing Fall style w/feet & knees together) – 33 Single Count     
  • Merkins33 SC

Round 2: Run For Cover! (He sees you, get down! & low-crawl | Run for cover!, get up and run) from 1st SW to 4th SW and back. Snipe got YHC on this one, ankle’s still a little stiff but only because Chauffeur asked about it!

Round 3: Low-Crawl to start

  • LZ Jumps33 SC (Squat Jumps PLF style)
  • Hand-Release Merkins33 SC (Brutal, but when you’re ready to quite, remember they didn’t – Burp if you need a break/rest)     

YHC Omaha’d the rest of the field workout due to time constraints, time to move!

PATRIOT WOSEY:

>>>Around corner to School Parking Lot:

French businessman Bernard Marie was 5 years old and living in Normandy on June 6, 1944. He remembers before the Allied invasion, he and his friends could not go out and play on the beaches because “Mother couldn’t trust anybody. So, for me, everybody wearing a uniform was a bad guy.” Bernard Marie recalls when the shooting was done. He heard his mother outside yelling, so he and his grandfather ran upstairs to follow her. “I will never forget,” he says, “She was hugging a soldier! I could not understand that. For me it was a bad guy. So she called me to come and said, ‘These soldiers are good, they’ve come to save us.'” To this day, Bernard Marie is grateful to that soldier—and to all the veterans who fought to liberate France from the Nazis. “The most important thing for any human being is freedom,” he says. “We cannot forget the 6th of June.”

Workout:

Advance & Retreat – PAX took turns calling Advance! or Retreat! for length of parking lot (kinda like suicides but not…)

  • Advance! – mosey forward
  • Retreat !– nuR back

PATRIOT RUN: (With a self-imposed punishment run by Quattro who everyone else thought was running ahead to get pics. No pics, but it did bring an important life lesson: Pay attention to details. Lol! Accelerating man!

>>>To Armory:

PAX acknowledged family members who fought in WWII, especially D-Day. Some of those mentioned…

Chauffeur’s grandfather, somewhere in the crowd
Quattro’s grandfather (L), SPC James H. Baxter Jr.
Chappie’s grandfather, CPL William Goodwin

We’ve done a lot of 33 reps today. Explanation: Done to honor YHC’s grandfather, CPL William Goodwin, who jumped into Normandy with his 508th PIR (Red Devil Regiment (82nd Airborne). They fought for the next 33 days in and around Chef-du-Pont before being sent back to England and preparing to jump again in Holland (Operation Market Garden).

Workout:

(Start at curb) Bearcrawl to top of steps – 33 American (of course!) Hammers, return… (again YHC cut out the rinse & repeat which included: 33 X’s & O’s & 33 Gas Pumpers (4-count)

PATRIOT RUN:

>>>Return to AO at WWII Memorial:

Other quotes:

“We’ll start the war from right here!” ~ Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Assistant Commander of the 4th Infantry Division, upon finding that his force had been landed in the wrong place on Utah Beach. (Yes, that’s who you think it is)

“I took chances on D-Day that I never would have taken later in the war.”      ~First Sgt. C. Carwood Lipton, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division. (Band of Brothers)

PAX circled up for the COT around the WWII Memorial

  • Number-Rama
  • Name-O-Rama
  • Named FNG: Welcome to Ruxpin’s 2.0, Peyton (now F3 Peddles)
  • Announcements & Prayers

A huge welcome back to Summit! We’ve missed you! Great to have you in the ranks again, brother. As always, YHC is grateful and humbled by the opportunity to lead these awesome HIM. Always inspired to hear the stories of WWII veteran’s from our own families as well. Let’s live lives that honor the sacrifices of those from the Greatest Generation.

~Chappie, out!

TClap |
3

CHOP 6/2/2020 And we kept runnin and running and running.

F3 CHOP 6/2/2020

  • Be free of charge
  • Be open to all men
  • Be held outdoors, rain or shine, heat or cold
  • Be led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary
  • End with a Circle of Trust

WARM-0-RAMA

20 SSH IC

20 cherry pickers IC

20 smurf jacks IC

20 Grady Corn IC

THE THANG

Run approximately .5 miles to parking lot circle in front of local HOB school where pax will complete the escalator.

Escalator- Take lap around parking lot and do 10 burpees, Lap around parking lot 10 burpees 20 jumpin beans lap around parking lot 10 burpees 20 jumping beans 30 merkins F3 message insterted here (details at end of back blast) … Lap around parking lot 10 burpees, 20 jumping beans 30 merkins 40 squats. Lap around parking lot 10 burpees, 20 jumping beans, 30 merkins 40 squats 50 lbc lap around parking lot. Wosey to stop sign, Mosey .5 miles back to CHOP.

Number o rama (12 HIM posted)

Name o rama

COT- Please continue to pray for our President and his advisors. Please pray for peace during this time of unrest. Praise the Lord for Quatros father in law and let keep him lifted in prayer to make a full recovery. GritMill will be reopening on July 2 2020. CHOP will be closed and all HIM will meet at the Grit Mill. Way to get after it HIM!! (total distance running today was 3 miles)

F3 MESSAGE

Ephesians 5:15-21 15Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the LORD’s will is.

The Devil is about like a roaring lion right now. He is using every distraction he can to separate us, and cause divide. We need to discern the time, we need to remember the great commission. Jesus told us to simply treat others the way we wish to be treated not to treat others the way they treat us. Its an easy lesson, but a hard practice.

Matthew 5:43-48 

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 [a]But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your [b]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the [c]tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Matthew 5:41 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

TClap |
4

Relaunch!

5/30/2020

WARM-A-RAMA

20 SSH I/C
20 PLANK JACKS I/C
20 WINDMILL I/C
SIDE SHUFFLE CAPRI LAP AROUND CIRCLE, switch direction half way
21 CRAB FLIPPER I/C
20 SEAL WAVE I/C
20 SEAL JACKS I/C

THE THANG

Mosey north to Ruxpin’s Distillery

10 hanging knee lifts
5 burpees
3 rounds

Mosey across railroad tracks to white building

20 urkins, jump wall, 10 derkins
Climb steps
20 urkins, jump wall, 10 derkins
5 leg lifts
3 rounds

3RD F

Play The Man • Devotional
https://bible.com/reading-plans/4023/day/1?segment=0

Mosey to Domino’s

Hold wall sit while one HIM does 2 chicken peckers rotating through all HIM

Mosey to circle

20 split squats per leg (1 leg on bench)
Lt. Danger around circle
Toy soldier set
60 lbc
30 E2K (each side)
20 big boys

6 HIM showed: Semi, Chattahoochee, Quarto, Fireplex, Chauffeur, Toy Soldier

Number Rama
Name Rama
COT

TClap |
2

The H.O.B./M.E. 500

The so-named workout will become evident as you read on but it was done in honor of the race that is always run on Memorial Day — The Indianapolis 500. This year it is postponed to later this Summer in August. Meanwhile, it served as a good motivator for the first workout at CHOP since mid-March.

Monday was the “official” reload of F3 First State since the shutdown and it was a good one! The relaunch was a brutal 2nd Annual Memorial Day Mini CSAUP at Cape Henlopen State Park. 13 PAX started the day with a mile-long double Patriot Run to the beach, planted the shovel flags, promptly got completely wet, and commenced to making “sugar cookies” between sets of Sandbear and recitations of the F3 principles: Open to all men. Free. Always outdoors, rain or shine, hot or cold. Peer led. And always end with a COT. It all unraveled from there. But it was awesome to be back together! PAX shared brief bio’s of fallen warriors throughout the workout to keep focused on the reason for the Day. We ended the 2-hr CSAUP with a tailgate coffeeteria.

The morning after: 13 PAX posted again for what was originally scheduled as a day of reeecovery. Yet the draw of being circled up together again for motivation, accountability, locking shields, and to be sharpened “as iron sharpens iron,” drew PAX out of the fartsack to ignore recovery for a Chappie led H.O.B./M.E. 500 — so named after the perfect little oval in front of these two elementary schools: H.O. Brittingham & Milton Elementary…

The Oval

First things first…

WARM-O-RAMA: (something like this)

Disclaimer given because it’s been so long, and because of the presence of an FNG; welcome Spread!

  • SSH – 18 IC
  • Crab Flippers – 18 IC
  • Moroccan Night Clubs – 18 IC (not Arm-Circles Chappie!)
  • Windmill – 18 IC

Mosey’d to H.O.B. & M.E.

3rd F YHC chose to share his 3rd F word to be sure to get it in:

First, a quick recitation from the PAX of F3 core principles and mission.

See if you can finish this very popular verse from Jeremiah 29:11 : “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you…’ <PAUSE> …’a future and a hope.'”

We tend to think the 2 most important thoughts of this verse are that God will give us A FUTURE and A HOPE.

But I’ve been re-thinking this lately because in our nation, our state, and our communities we’re surrounded not only by signs people are putting on their front lawns with the word “hope.” on them, but behind those signs are people concerned about an undetermined and unknown future. They’re looking for hope. Maybe you are too!

Whether we’re talking about businesses, schools, churches or other entities that have been affected by the shutdown who wonder if they’ll be able to reopen and what it will look like when/if they do, nobody likes an unknown future. That’s why I think there are 2 words in Jeremiah 29:11 that are even more important than the words “future” and “hope.” I’m talking about the words: “I KNOW.” God was saying to Israel, the false prophets don’t know the future, but “I know.” Israel themselves didn’t know the future, but God said, “I know.” Our federal, state, and local governments can’t even pretend to know the future, but God says, “_______________.”

Admit it, having an unknown future bugs us! It’s disorienting! I don’t know the future, and you don’t know the future, but the most important part of this verse, that part which actually gives us hope, is that God says, “I know…I ALONE know…the plans I have for you.” This is a call to turn to God and trust Him!

For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'” Trust Him for those plans, THAT future!

The Thang:

PAX partnered up and completed the following exercises cumulatively (Partner 1 runs lap, partner 2 exercises, swap, rinse and repeat to total number of reps were completed:

  • 100 – Apollo Ono
  • 200 – Merkins
  • 300 – Seal Jacks
  • 400 – Squats
  • 500 – LBC’s (500, get it?)

Mosey return to CHOP AO

Number-Rama

Name-O-Rama – Welcome again, Jalil Davis (F3 Spread)

COT – Prayers lifted for several PAX and family members, etc.

Honored to Q the reload workout at CHOP. Welcome back, welcome, back, welcome back…

Chappie, out!

TClap |
0

Pre-Blast F3 First State Christmas Party

First State Christmas Party

  • When: Friday 12/13/19
  • Time: 7 p.m.
  • QIC: Ruxpin & Shawna

Who: PAX, M’s, & 2.0’s of F3 First State

What: Annual Christmas Party

When: Friday, December 13th — 7 pm…until we get kicked out

Where: Teddy McNamara’s (Ruxpin) — 20306 Applewood Drive | Lincoln, DE 19960

Why: Why not? You’ll regret not being there if you miss it.

Q&A:

Q: How much does it cost?

A: Not a dime. But each PAX/M is asked to bring a pasta dish of your choice, salad, & dessert (just bring something to share)

Q: BYOB?

A: Drinks will be provided. But booze…I think is BYOB. Check with Ruxpin

Q: When should I RSVP?

A: Yesterday. Since you can’t do that hit up Ruxpin on the GroupMe or DM him so that he and Shawna can start to get a headcount.

Q: What if I have any additional questions not covered here?

A: Reach out to Ruxpin or Chappie in the Gloom or on F# First State FB or IG.

Thanks ahead of time to Ruxpin and his M, Shawna, for hosting this always-a-fun-time event. Let’s get together, celebrate Christmas and another year of F3, and enjoy some 2ndF beyond a morning workout (i.e. lets introduce our families to each other…)

TClap |
4

Triangulation Scars

Date: 10/29/19

QIC: Chappie

Those who stayed cozy got lapped! Especially those new young guys. What the what? Get upppp! Sorry, not sorry! Nonetheless a dirty dozen HIM started the week by winning THAT FIRST BATTLE and posting for an ad hoc beatdown by YHC. Doubtfire had to back out of his scheduled Q due to his back being tied in knots. Here’s to a recovery day for our brother and a quick return to the rotation. We have so many on the Q rotation that it sometimes feels like you don’t get to Q enough; that’s a good problem to have. YHC was excited to step in.

Never really JUST a standby, YHC went to the Exicon toolbox, pulled out the Bearmuda Triangle, and used it on the PAX. It lived up to its name…we mysteriously lost a PAX along the way (oh, wait, that was only a modification?). Here’s the skinny on the workout:

Warm-O-Rama:

  • SSH – 18 IC
  • Crab Flippers (Cherry Pickers on Delmarva) – 18 IC
  • Swartz Jacks – 18 IC (Uno, dos, tres, QUATTRO!)
  • Moroccan Night Clubs – 18 IC
  • Merkins – 18 IC

Patriot Run around the block – nice pace!

3rdF Message shared here – Content posted below

The Thang:

THE Bearmuda Triangle – 3 cones set up in a triangle pattern, 90 feet apart. PAX Bearcrawl from cone to cone, adding 1 Burpee at each cone. 3x around the cone triangle = 45 total Burpees

Two 10-counts later, PAX found themselves on the side wall of the church:

  • People’s Chair – 10 Count
  • 5 Mexican Jumping Beans, OYO
  • BTTW – 10 Count
  • 10 Mexican Jumping Beans
  • People’s Chair – 10 Count, 2x
  • 15 Mexican Jumping Beans

The Jack Webb Finale: (Always a crowd pleaser)

  • Ratio: 1 Merkin/4 OH Claps all the way up to 10 Merkins/40 OH Claps
  • Though Leatherman tried to stop us, and stop the pain, we went…a WHOLE 30 secs over :-)’ Nice try brother, nice try!

Count-O-Rama:

  • COT/BOM:
    • Announcements: Nuh’in (at least not that YHC remembers)
    • Prayers: For family of Fireplex’s friend who passed from ALS, Chappie’s nephew (Aaron) who is deployed, for our bro Doubtfire on several different fronts

That was about it. Again, honored by the opportunity to lead. Always enjoy Q’ing. Humbled by it all. Get back soon, Doubtfire.

~Chappie, out!

Scars – 3rdF Content:

The theme of SCARS seems to keep coming up an awful lot in the last few weeks. Scars are often a kind of credential. Each of them has a story.

Kyle Carpenter (MOH recipient) bears some serious scars for jumping on a grenade to save the life of a fellow Marine. He devoted an entire chapter of his book YOU ARE WORTH IT to scars (cf. Ch.13, Don’t Hide Your Scars). In it, he wrote that “scars are a kind of credential”(210). Kyle added this story: “There is a greeter at my local Walmart, an elderly gentleman who always has a cheerful hello for everyone who comes through the door. One day, as I was walking in, he spotted me, flashed his huge grin, and then did finger pistols at me as he playfully asked, ‘Motorcycle wreck?'” I did finger pistols right back at him and replied, ‘Taliban!'”

Later he continued, “I would never encourage anyone to share something they aren’t comfortable sharing. But there are some scars that are so obvious, so apparent, that it is impossible to hide or ignore them. Instead of being ashamed of them, I think there is power in embracing these ‘stories’ that leave their marks on our bodies and souls” (211).

Scars are a kind of credential. They have tremendous power for creating bonds. “Wear them proudly. Wear them for yourself, to honor what you’ve been through. And wear them for others, to connect with them and inspire them to keep on fighting. They reassure others they’re not alone. They give hope that someday, their wounds will become nothing but scars, too” (215).

In 2 Cor. 11, the Apostle Paul shared quite a list of experiences which undoubtedly left him with serious scars. The context of the list was that he was facing off with false teachers who were trying to lead the Corinthians away from the truth. Paul shared the list not to brag about personal experiences, but to express that his heaviest burden of all was for the churches. The best scars are always the ones left from a cause that is bigger than we are! Listen to these verses from 2 Cor. 11:22-29…   

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.    23 Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.     24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.   25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.     26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;     27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.     28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.     29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?

Had Paul NOT been a true follower of Christ, had he NOT been truly concerned for the church, he would not have experienced (willingly endured) those trials — he would not have borne the scars which those trials inevitably produced — especially the 39 lashes x5! (Btw…that’s 195!).

Scars are a kind of credential. The nail-scarred hands of our Savior are credentials of His unconditional love. Proof that He paid our penalty in the cross. They are further proof that He is alive! Add to that, sometimes some else’s scars remind us we’re living, we’re ALIVE!

This past week you heard about the death of Toby Mac’s (and his wife, Amanda’s) oldest son, Truett, age 21. Toby Mac’s Facebook post was nothing short of phenomenal. In the midst of feeling exceptional pain that will leave exceptional scars, he and his wife, Amanda, were able to inspire others. Here’s how/why: (This is the last paragraph of their post)

Scars in the lives of HIM are a kind of credential. They’re credentials that we ARE unquestionably ALL IN, whether it be in relationship with God, in our families, our churches, our workplaces, or the communities in which we serve. Scars heal and tell a story BECAUSE YOU ARE ALIVE; scars mark you as resilient, tough, and as a survivor! They mark you as a HIM!

TClap |
4