- Post Type:
- When: 01-09-2016
- AO:
- QIC: Longshanks
- FNG's:
- PAX: All of F3
The past couple of years, Santini has challenged our F3 brothers to choose one word to focus on that year to help make a meaningful impact in their life and the people closest to them. See here – http://f3nation.com/2015/12/28/your-one-word-for-2016/
Some intial words I came up withe were GOALS, PLANS, and SERVE with each being an acronym for something else. I saw Santini at church last week and told him my word would be PLANS. He asked me to search deeper. So deeper I would search and spend some time in prayer trying to decide on a word. The word Sacrifice kept coming to mind (it was part of the S in each of the acronyms above). So I decided that Sacrifice would be my word for the year.
Definition of sacrifice
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: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone
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destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
- : something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>
Hebrews 13:16
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
So I started looking at my life and searching for areas where I could make some sacrifices for the betterment of my family. I looked at finances, family, work, and other areas of my life and made a list of sacrifices.
- Would give up on always trying to prove I was right when having a disagreement with my wife and stepkids. Sometimes keeping the peace is is better than having an argument over something stupid just to prove that you are right. In the end nobody wins.
- Sacrifice having the newest running shoes or running gear, or more F3 shirts, etc. so I can pay off all of my credit card debt by the end of the year (hold me to this guys #accountability)
- Giving up what I want to do everyday after work, so I can spend more quality time with my family and actually plan things to do with the family.
- Sacrifice my wants to line up with what God wants of me.
So this morning before the Joe Davis Memorial Run, I saw Santini and told him word. His response “that’s a dangerous a word.” It is a dangerous word, but a word I know that will challenge me throughout the year. I didn’t know at the time what this word would truly mean, until about 45 minutes later and 1.25 miles into Joe Davis 10k. At that point, my arrhythmia started to flare up. I made the decision to stop running and DNF the race (I know not very F3 like to quit). But I could tell even before the race that something wasn’t right. F3 brother after F3 brother slowed down as they passed me to ask if I was okay. Told them to continue on (as I know how hard most of them trained for this race). As I was coming up one of the hills to walk back to WEP, I saw Double D come back to get me. No man left behind was his response. In short, he sacrificed his time (which I know was going to be pretty good), to make sure that I got back to WEP and that I was medically taken care of. It hammered home a point to me that Sacrifice goes 2 ways. We often think about what we must give up and seldom realize what others give up for us. It really hammered home that my word for the year is two fold. Not only to recognize what I need to give up but what others have given up for me, with the ultimate sacrifice being Jesus laying down his life for the forgiveness of not only my sins but all of yours as well.
MOLESKIN – WHY F3 WORKS
There I was, Disappointed!! First race of 2016 and my first DNF ever. I was bummed not only for me, but for Double D as well. After being cleared by Medics, I told Double D we should go towards the Finish Line to cheer everyone on as they finished. I know it would bring me some joy (and also some hurt) to see my F3 brothers finish. One by one they came across the line asking what happened to me. And I told them. And this is why F3 works. It wasn’t a bunch of guys calling you a p*ssy for quitting or telling you that you should have just sucked it up and finished. It was a group of guys that were sincerely concerned with how I was doing and feeling. Where else will a group of guys do that? And it really doesn’t matter if its a 5k/10k/half marathon or something else going on in your home life, work life, etc. These guys are always here for you. It’s why F3 works!! Thank you Double D for helping to reinforce my word for 2016.
John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends
Great comments from a man who is living “I am Third”.
Our one words should all scare us. They should represent something that only can be accomplished beyond ourselves and with the help of a higher power and others that push and hold us accountable. Today was a great example of how that happens. Not every day is a PR. In fact, days like today we grow the most. It reminds us that we are human and live in a broken world.
I had to laugh today as I passed another runner (yes, one of only 2) and they saw my 2014 BRR shirt with the mountain goat on it. She said, “There goes one of those F3 mountain goats.”
Powerful…powerful, brother. Thank YOU! Yes, this is truly an #ISI moment…you reinforced my word for 2016 — OPPORTUNITY. Now fasten your seat belt, because Act III of this drama is gonna take us up another notch.
ACT I — Joe Davis Memorial Run
ACT II — Your post above
ACT III
Rewind: As I considered 2016, I rolled through word after word after word during December. It was not so much a struggle as it was a sifting process. There were many good options — FREEDOM, GRACE, PRESENT, AWARE, just to name a few. All seemed to take hold for 48 hours or so when another would surface and feel closer to the mark. But I was not prepared to commit as the year flipped on Dec 31. Then (please forgive the cheesy, superficial element here), I was watching New Year’s Day college bowl games, in a bit of a midday afternoon haze when a commercial mentioned “opportunity” and it jumped out like someone turned the volume to 10 for a split second. I recalled something I read the day before in relation to my birthday (12/31) that also referenced opportunity in the year ahead. That sealed it. And if I needed any more confirmation, on 1/2 I read the Inc. Magazine article Santini circulated about one-word it also mentioned opportunity. So, my word for 2016 is OPPORTUNITY, which is intended to remind me that opportunity lies everywhere at all times. Every day, person, workout, conversation, failure, conflict, success, struggle presents an opportunity for me to tap into my purpose. For the past 2-3 years, I have used the motto #bearfruit as the marker for my purpose (taken from John 15:16). So for 2016, OPPORTUNITY challenges me to see how I #bearfruit in as many ways and situations as possible.
Fastforward: On the drive to JDMR this AM, you, Longshanks, were on my mind. Your name had come up in a discussion on Friday with some pax about the Hive, where you are site Q, and the ways to support it along with other Friday workouts. After I parked, picked up my race bag and returned it to the car, it was too late to join the warm-up. So I put in about 15 mins of easy running and warm-up moves enroute to the start line. Contrary, to your comments, I was not expecting much in terms of finish time today…was happy to feel good and looking forward to running with my F3 brothers. During my warm up, I reminded myself of OPPORTUNITY. Nothing specific…only to be aware. My finish time was not my reason for registering, so don’t let the race environment drown out wherever OPPORTUNITY may surface. Little did I know that it was going to present itself in Mile 1.25 in the form of one of the fastest pax of The Fort walking along the side of the course.
So thank you, for presenting an OPPORTUNITY today to reinforce my mission in 2016…and for teaching me that I can #bearfruit through my SACRIFICE and also by humbly receiving and acknowledging the SACRIFICE of others on my behalf. Please challenge me with OPPORTUNITY for the next 356 days, and I will do the same with you and SACRIFICE.
Praise to the Sky Q!
Solid solid words by all of you guys. I feel privileged to call all you guys my brothers. Longshanks – thanks for sharing. #ISI
After getting over the mental aspect of a DNF (kind of feels like quiting) I am thankful for what God has put on my heart (literally and figuratively). Truly blessed to have this group of brothers around me and thankful for all I have learned about myself and others in the past 12 hours.
Strong actions/words/comments from true #HIM
It is amazing to watch F3 brotherhood in action.
Longshanks – we are here for you whatever you need
Sacrifice and Opportunity will make 2016 better for all of us #ISI
Very nice write up and a great reference when EH’ing what F3 is all about. So much for us to learn and gain from others.
Sorry to hear about your health issues. Please be safe moving forward. Strong example of F3 support from Double D with his commitment to a fellow F3 (although I have no doubt he would have done the same for a non-PAX).
Do not overlook that asking for and/or accepting help from others is part of the leadership skill set that we should implement and demonstrate by example. There is always strength in numbers.