9 PAX and 1 FNG conquered the fartsack this morning and made it to this morning’s rainy murky Gloom, in order to work on our foundation. Semi, Rooty, Spreader, Waterboy, Dunkin, Turtle, Ruxpin, Gecko, MacDaddy, and FNG
Warm- Up SSH Cherry Pickers Butts Kicks 1 Min OYO
The Thang
Step off from GritMil, Indian run to Avenue Methodist Church parking lot. Runner from back sprints ahead holding a large dice, then when in front of pack, HIM pass the dise back to last man, then run, rinse, and repeat.
Arrival at church parking lot, HIM split into teams of 2. Runners and Crunchers. Runners roll dice for core exercises, and then take off for a lap around the church. Crunchers do rolled exercise until the 6 is in. Rabbit runners will join crunchers until the 6 is in, then switch sides, run, rinse, and repeat.
Several moseys around the church parking lot followed by various dice rolled core exercises.
American Hammers Plank Jacks Shoulder Taps Freddie Mercury’s LBC’s Big Boys
Break for Third F
Matthew 7:24-29
24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”
Here in Matthew 7, Jesus speaks of the parable of the two houses. One was built on the rock, and the other was built on the sand. When a huge storm came, both houses were hit with the same storm, but the one built on the rock never moved, and the one built on the sand was wrecked and destroyed.
The builders of these houses, built their homes with the same materials, the same quality, and the same specs, except for the foundation on what they were built on. The foundation is what made the difference in this situation. In comparison, it takes hard work to build your house on a good foundation, and it is very easy to build your house on the sand.
The house build on the rock represents the individual who loves Christ and follows him. They invest their lives in the pursuit of Christlikeness. 1 Corinthians 1:11 says, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
The house built on the sand represents the foolish builder who looks the part, and is polished on the outside. However, he deceived himself thinking that everything would be okay when trials would come his way. He had nothing to anchor him down, he heard God’s word, but never put it into practice or lived it out. There was no true evidence that this individual grounded himself in the teaching and principles of Jest Christ.
So gentlemen, we are all guaranteed to have a severe storm come into our lives. In fact, God says that we will endure trials, but when it comes, will we be grounded in Him? The only way we will not budge is if we have built of lives on our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
So, let’s take a step back today, and look at our foundation. Let’s do an inspection of our life, and see where we are at. Where are our priorities, are we just hearing God’s word, or are we living it out in our life?
James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Mosey Back to the Gritmil via Indian Run for Name-O-Roma/COT
YHC had his Virgin Q this morning! Thanks to the 17 HIMs who showed up for a record attendance at The Grit Mill! It meant a lot to have such good representation on my first Q. I decided to use fate and the F3 Workout Cards to assist me on the beatdown.
WARM-O-RAMA:
Disclaimer given
Moroccan Nightclub – 20 IC
Side Straddle Hob – 20 IC
Imperial Walker – 20 IC
Cherry Picker – 20 IC
Following the warm-o-rama we mosied to the parking lot at Arena’s and the PAX circled up around the speaker and workout cards.
THE THANG:
YHC broke out his new F3 Workout Cards for this beatdown. With the PAX circled around the cards about 15 feet from the deck of cards. Inspired by T-Rex using music for his beatdown, YHC brought a speaker to play 90’s alternative for the entire beatdown.
Everyone bear crawls to the center where YHC drew five cards for the first set and a different PAX was identified for the subsequent sets. Once cards were drawn, everyone crawl beared back their original position.
Call out for the exercises written on the cards as follows:
2-10: card value + 10 reps for the exercise
Royals: 25 reps for the exercise
Ace: 50 reps of that exercise
At the completion of the set everyone bear crawls back to the deck for more cards.
Set breakdown:
SET ONE:
14 – Alternating Side Squats
25 – Freddie Mercury’s
12 – Bulgarian Split Squats
18 – Backward lunges
25 – Diamond Merkins
SET TWO:
13 – High, Slow Flutter Kick IC
17 – Monkey Humper
14 – Carolina Dry Dock
Bear crawl 15 feet, Crawl bear 15 feet
20 – Rosalitas
Conducted the 3RD F after the second set:
Continuing the theme of checking on each other and on the people in our lives with whom we haven’t spoken to in a while. YHC shared a personal story of how he was going through a difficult time in his life and felt alone and had received a special message to seek out Psalm 20.
Psalm 20 For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.[b] 4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9 Lord, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call!
Two days later, YHC met a woman while performing his duties as a nurse, and she was the key to change the direction his life was going in and make everything right in his world. Continue to reach out to each other and to others in your life. You just may be the person to turn their life around for the better!
SET THREE:
16 – Jumping lunges
25 – Monkey Humper
17 – Derkins
18 – Luge
25 – American Hammers
SET FOUR:
14 – Heels to Heaven
20 – Butt Kicks
18 – Merkins
17 – Lil Baby Crunches
15 – Hand Release Merkins
SET FIVE:
19 – Squats
16 – Wide Arm Merkins
50 – Calf Raises
25 – Shoulder Taps
19 – Ranger Merkins
Mosey back to The Grit Mill to end the beatdown.
NUMBER-RAMA
NAME-O-RAMA
COT/BOM:
Welcomed Thomas Lilly FNG nicknamed as Knobs.
Announcements: TRexs’ M’s event this weekend at Milton Memorial Park. Roving Ruckf3st Friday will be at The Grit Mill
Prayer: For Quattro’s friend who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. For MacDaddy and Taps and the group traveling via bicycles. Prayers for all us HIMs to be the leaders and examples to others in our homes, jobs, and communities. Prayers for all the needs and attentions of those present.
I am honored that so many PAX showed up for my VQ! I was truly grateful and humbled.
Warm-a-Rama 25 seal jacks i/c 25 seal wave i/c 10 mountain man pooper i/c 25 plank jacks i/c
The Thang Mosey past the basketball court to the bridge, lt. Dan halfway across, Dan lt. The other half over to the bocce court on the right.
Bocce ball Teams of 2 try to roll their ball closest to the “Jack” We completed an Exercise after each round; Squats 25 Urkins 25 Derkins 25 Split squats 10 per leg Lbcs 25 Big boys 15 Merkins 25 Dips 25
Congrats to Waler for pulling off an excellent VQ Warm-O-Rama! Glad to finally get you in the line-up; great job brother. PAX can’t wait for your official VQ. Kudos to the dirty dozen who won THAT FIRST BATTLE in the Gloom and posted in the rain to do a lot backwards, hence the title of this Backblast…
Warm-O-Rama: (YHC tried to remember the details, hope this is accurate)
SSH – 20 IC
Mt. Climbers – 20 IC
Imperial Walkers – 21 IC
Merkins – 10 IC
Cherry Pickers – 16 IC
The Thang: Waler handed it over to YHC and off we went…bass ackwards
Nur to Willow Street,
Mosey to Mulberry Street,
Nur toward new entrance for H.O.B. Elementary School,
Mosey to pick up the six,
Nur to entrance of H.O.B. Elementary
Wosey to other side of storm pond, partner up for a little trip to…
Burpback Mountain:
Partner 1 mosey’s to bottom of hill, then Nur back to the top,
Partner 2 does Burpees
Partners swap & rinse and repeat until Burpees are complete
Team Goal: Completed 100 Burpees cumulatively. Just keep moving! “I hate Burpees, let’s do Burpees” was the name of the game.
PAX got a breather at 50 Burpees for the 3rdF:
Andy Stanley shared a quote this past Sunday from Albert Speer which really caught my attention; so much so that I wrote it down right away.
First, if you don’t know who Albert Speer was, you’re not alone. He served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during of World War II. He was convicted at the Nuremberg trials and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Speer later died in 1981. And as a right hand man of Adolph Hitler, we’d not typically think of him, a Nazi, as a man worthy of quoting, moreless someone to learn something/anything from.
Still, there are lessons to be learned even from some who’ve gained them the hard way. In his memoirs titled: Inside the Third Reich, Speer gave this profound statement: “Resist the evolution of a court.”
When you begin to understand his statement, it is incredibly powerful and poignant. It means to resist the development of a group of people around you, so-called friends, who will tell you only what you want to hear.
The Bible refers to this in reference to the end times and sound doctrine, but I also want us to apply it today in terms of that big word: ACCOUNTABILITY.
Second Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.”
In other words, men will not want to hear the truth and as a result they will hang around— they will gather a court of—those who tell them only what they want to hear and tickle their ears.
Truth is, there is no such thing as autonomy, there’s no such thing as a self-made man, there’s no such thing as a man who can fully hold himself accountable. Can you hold yourself accountable? No!
Accountability by definition requires a shield-lock with others who will speak truth to us. Accountability is about ideal relationships between men.
Here’s how Dredd started his chapter on accountability in his book F3 Q Source:
“The HIM seeks accountability because his life is not his own. No matter how dedicated or deliberate a HIM is in the building of his Guardrails, there will be some stretches of his road that he will not be able to protect through his own Bricklaying. These are a man’s Blind Spots, the hardwired gaps in his nature that he cannot protect without help.” (103)
“Because he is a servant who lives for the mission, the HIM treats his blind spots like any other obstacle in his life—as a problem that impedes movement. Because a problem can and must be remedied, the HIM does so by seeking accountability.” (104) The HIM does so by “resisting the evolution of a court.”
“Nobody likes being held accountable, held to a standard through enforcement and consequence. But accountability shines the light of hope into a man’s blindspots.” (104)
As HIM let’s strive to resist the evolution of a court; let’s strive to develop the F3 First State 2ndF (Fellowship), and let’s strive to stay out of the danger zone of [perceived] autonomy and, instead, develop ideal relationships between some of the guys in this group for mutual accountability! You’re in danger if you don’t have another man or two who can tell you the truth, brutal truth if need be.
RESIST THE EVOLUTION OF A COURT!
After completing Burpback Mountain, PAX returned to the AO…mostly bass ackwards.
Nur up Mulberry Street toward AO,
Moseyto pick up the six,
Mosey Left onto Clifton Street til PAX are together,
Prison Break for 10 secs.,
Mosey to Union Street,
Mosey up Union,
Prison Break for 10 secs.,
Nur rest of the way back to the AO
Round of [wet] Mary: (Must be in cadence)
Hello Dolly (sitting) – Compliments of Ruxpin
Flutter Kicks – Compliments of Chattahoochee
Big Boys – Compliments of Waterboy
Big Boys (Again!) – Complements of Woodstock
Crab Jacks – Compliments of Fireplex
“Reverse Plank” – Compliments of Quattro 😉
Time!
COT:
NUMBER-RAMA
NAME-O-RAMA
Announcements: PAX will be doing the Rucking Challenges “Love Your Ruck” rucking challenge for this week’s Roving RuckF3st Friday (2/12) in Georgetown. Join the fun and love your ruck!
Prayers: Praise for successful implant of Pacemaker in Chairman’s dad, Denny, expected to be released today. Continued prayers for Gavin. YHC’s son was able to visit with him for about 1 hr. on Friday. Gavin is overwhelmed at times by what the future holds, whether he will ever walk again or not. We’re continuing to pray for a miracle by the hand of the God for whom all things are possible. Prayers for all PAX that we’d make ourselves accountable to a few guys in the group so that we’re more successful at being HIM in our homes, workplaces, and the communities in which we serve. RESIST THE EVOLUTION OF A COURT!
Lots of Nur today. I.e. bass ackwards, legs will be feeling it tomorrow. But, hey, you can’t skip leg day…unless, of course, you do (shout out to the Fartsackers, you got lapped)!
Grateful for the opportunity to lead once again, and honored to introduce Waler into the Q rotation.
21 All i/c Seal Jacks Seal waves Imperial walkers Mountain climbers Ssh Windmill
The Thang
Mosey to the playground behind old HOB
2 Rounds
2 plankswerkins (hands in swing, merkin, extend arms out like superman, return to start) 4 pull ups 8 swerkins 12 hanging knee raises 16 big boys
3rd F Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away from the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:2-18 ESV
2 rounds
2 hanging leg lifts 4 pull ups 8 swerkins 12 hanging knee raises 16 big boys
Mosey back to CHOP
Round of Mary 20 big boys 11 big boys i/c, 1 up, 2-3 down
Number Rama Name Rama COT
11 HIM showed today: Waterboy, Doubtfire, Fireplex, Chattahoochee, Chappie, Ruxpin, Strudel, Looney Tunes, Woodstock, Semi, Quarto
All i/c 20 Seal jacks 20 Plank jacks 20 Mountain man pooper 20 Cherry picker Capri lap – side shuffle across parking lot, nur, side shuffle, and mosey 20 SSH 20 Seal waves 20 Imperial walkers 21 Crab flippers
The Thang
Break up into teams
Frisbee golf to old HOB entrance doing as many burpees has strokes to holes. Mosey to playground in back
15 swerkins 25 step ups per leg 20 hanging knee lifts 15 urkins 20 derkins X 2
1. a cooking appliance with a rotating spit for roasting and barbecuing meat.
2. F3 Definition of Rotisserie – You #$% is in for a Beatdown !!
PAX moseyed @.63 miles to the first pain station at MFD and completed 30 American Hammers in a four count cadence.
Moseyed from the FD @.49 miles to 514 Chestnut St. where we completed a toy soldier set of 100 LBC’s, 50 E2K’s each side and 25 Big Boys.
Moseyed .22 miles from 514 Chestnut to WBOC (OTS) where all PAX Bear Crawled for @8 parking spaces (@80 ft.) and completed ATM’s – 15 alternating shoulder taps (4 count), 10 tempo Merkins (4 count), and 10 fast merkins OYO. PAX Bear Crawled back (@80 ft.) and completed another evolution of said ATM’s.
Moseyed .21 miles from WBOC to 611 Federal Street where we completed a descending round of Super 21 without any recovery exercises between the rounds. 21 merkins, 21 LBC’s. 20 merkins, 20 LBC’s, etc. descending through the round of 15. Time was a factor and Q challenged each HIM to complete the descending rounds to 1 merkin, 1 LBC OYO at home.
Moseyed 1.16 miles from 611 Federal Street back to CHOP. Total – 2.71 miles overall mosey, not counting any mileage accrued for those that circled back to bring up our 6.
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.
Chappie hosted coffeteria for all HIM in the Church Fellowship Hall. Thanks to Quattro for donuts and extra coffee.
Maybe it was the dumb voices I did. But the kids used to love it when I read “Winnie the Pooh” to them. Tigger with his irrepressible “hoo-hoo!,” bouncing everywhere. And Eeyore with his head down and his ever-present gloom.
I’d rather be Tigger than Eeyore. Maybe without the bouncing. I want to be the one who leaves sunshine in the room, not storm clouds.
That’s not so easy. There’s plenty to make us Eeyores. Overheated schedules. Grumpy folks. Medical battles. Family tension. Too little sleep. Long delays. Aggravating pain. Aggravating people.
Then there’s the antidote. Thanksgiving. Well, actually, giving thanks. That may be the difference between being the joy-bringer or the joy-killer.
The “inventors” of our Thanksgiving exemplify that difference. According to H. U. Westermayer, “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than those who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
There’s Thanksgiving the holiday. Then there’s thanks-living, the lifestyle. It’s the difference between the dirty window and the blessing glasses.
When I look out a dirty window, the whole world looks yucky. Even the really good stuff is dimmed by all the caked-on dirt that’s coloring my view.
If you’ve decided your role in life is “victim,” it will be hard to see much that’s positive through that window. Abused … neglected … abandoned … misunderstood … passed over … wounded – that’s real hurt.
But to let those who hurt you define you is a self-imposed sentence of despair. Denying the many good things because they don’t fit the victim narrative. Living as a prisoner of your past.
Unthankfulness, for whatever reason, breeds some ugly offspring. In Romans 1, God describes how humans end up doing unthinkably depraved things – and where that downward slide starts. “They wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks … their minds became dark and confused” (Romans 1:21 NLT).
Unthankful heart -> dark mind. Bitterness … resentment … depression … anger … rebellion against God. They come from an ungrateful heart.
Yes, you can choose to go through life looking out your dirty window, seeing all that’s wrong. Or, you can choose to put on your blessing glasses. That enables you to live – not in denial of the bad stuff – but celebrating the goodness of God all around you. If you have eyes to see it.
Henry Ward Beecher, said: “The unthankful heart … discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as a magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”
And those blessings are always there. The ever-changing masterpieces of the Ultimate Artist all over the sky, the yard, the horizon. The smile of a friend, the laughter of a child, the roof over your head. The food in the fridge, the song of that bird, the car that runs, the job you have, the person who cares. We call them “God-sightings.”
Actually, thanks-living isn’t just an option for a follower of Jesus. It’s a command. “Always be joyful” – how am I going to do that, for heaven’s sake? “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18).
When you look at life through blessing glasses, all kinds of good things blossom. Joy that’s from what’s happening in your spirit, not your situation. Peace that banishes anxiety. Faith that sees a God who’s bigger than whatever is bigger than you are.
Thanksgiving’s a great time to become intentional about collecting blessings, not burdens. Living “with gratitude in your hearts to God.” To “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:16-17).
For me, that thanks begins, not at a turkey-filled table. But at an old rugged cross. Where I once again allow myself to be leveled by the love of my Jesus. Who took my hell. So I can spend forever in His heaven.
Thanksgiving – and thanks-living – begin with the love that will never let me go.
20 SSH IC 20 cherry pickers IC 20 windmills IC 20 crab flippers IC 20 UP straddle hop (10 each leg) IC
THE THANG
After warm o rama pax lined up across from CHOP in “The Field” to perform the Spartan Routine. PAX line up and sprint 100 yrds, do selected exercises at the finish and walk back to the start all together. Q starts each sprint race with a verbal call. Exercises are as follows: 30 LBC 30 squats 30 merkins 30 double tap lbc (15 each side) 30 lunges (15 each side) 30 wide arm merkins 30 big boys 30 compassion squats 30 hand release merkins 30 American hammers 30 split jacks
15 burpees
15 Hand release burpees
3RD F MESSAGE: Today we wake up to a world in chaos and darkness, hurting and despair. Its easy to go along with the flow and get dragged down into the pit of misery and anger. But in a world full of darkness, we are called to be the light. One match lights an entire room and consumes the darkness. Just like the lantern in the darkness we should also run desperately to our Light, our Beacon, our Hope, our Redeemer, our Salvation Jesus while the world so aimlessly runs farther and farther away. We are High Impact Men. We are called to a different standard. We lead, we are leaders. If we can’t be the light the world will continue to see darkness. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:3-4 NKJV Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. John 12:35-36 NKJV “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:18-21 NKJV