Month: November 2019 (Page 4 of 10)

While I’ve Q’d more times than Shawn Kemp has kids (that’s a big number guys), I have never actually Q’d Gashouse before. Thanks to Linus for putting me on the schedule as I slowly but surely make my way around to Q every AO in F3 Gastonia. You know what would have been even better? If Linus had actually posted. That’s for another day though!

I arrived about 15 minutes early to take a quick EC mosey and scope out sites for the workout. As I made my way across the street I found a nice hill, a nice long stretch of flat land, and, of course, the Grier Middle School track. This will do. I head back to Gashouse to wait for the PAX.

Evidently, my watch is 3-4 minutes faster than the ‘official’ Gashouse time so we got started a bit early. No FNGs so there will be no one named Minivan today. We worked through a quick warm-up including some grass pickers, shoulder/chest stretches, and high/low planks that turned into the slowest Merkins you’ve ever seen. The “benches” head off to Painlab as 3 others HIMS take the red pill and head off to read “Montross’s Nursery Rhymes for HIMs”, written by…well….by me.

Quick mosey to church because we want to focus on 3rd F today. Actually, not quite. At least not at this moment. Let’s read, shall we. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick…elevens featuring Mike Tysons (no curb because this is for HIMs, Stroganoff) and jump squats. Whoopee is a beast and keeps pushing me the whole time (and through the whole workout, in fact).

Another quick mosey across parking lots to a parking lot with a nice hill just above the Library. More reading. Jack and Jill went up the hill…..turns out they did a triple nickel on that hill with 5 burpees on one end and 5 American Hammers in cadence on the other end.

We play F3 Frogger as we cross Garrison Blvd to Grier and the track. I’m not going to go through all of the rhymes here (show to know, homie), but we did alternating partner wheel-barrels, bear crawls, partner carries, high knees, butt kickers, karaokee, sprinting (well, sprint-ish), and mosey. We also got in a round of Jacked Up before moseying back to Gashouse for 1 minute AMRAP burpees, a lap around the parking lot, and more AMRAP burpees as the “benches” joined us.

My clock was running out so we alternated a round of Mary. I thought time had expired but evidently the bells at the church signal the end of a Gashouse workout so more Mary. Finally, the bell tolls 8:00 (at 8:03 according to my watch) and we’re done!

Announcements: Christmastown 5k 11/30, P200 March 27-28 (begin collecting $ after Thanksgiving), Starkville and San Quentin in Dallas, NC – each Monday and Friday at 6 pm! YHC took us out in prayer.

Parting shots:

Stroganoff, we don’t need a curb to do Mike Tysons. The Nantan was REALLY regretting his EC ruck when I called the wheel-barrels and bear crawls.

Whoopee is looking good…well, as good as he can with what he has to work with….looks like he’s lost at least 10 lbs (probably more) since I last saw him. The challenges are paying off! I got a ‘maybe’ out of him for the P200. Get on him guys!

JJ had on his signature Bobcats/Carolina/Clemson/Cal/Cherryville hat on today. It is always good to see JJ! I feel like we’re connected somehow. Maybe it’s because he’s such a big Duke fan like myself? Ok, maybe not. It’s probably since we both led off the P200. He was a bit faster last year, but I’m planning to run stride for stride with you this year!

-Montross

Some people think the Bible has nothing good to say about sex, as though all God seems concerned about is telling us when not to do it and who not `and the blessing it can be for both husband and wife. Even its boundaries and restrictions are God’s ways of keeping our sexual experiences at a level far beyond any of those advertised on television or in the movies.

In Christian marriage, romance is meant to thrive and flourish. After all, it was created by God. It’s all part of celebrating what God has given, becoming one with our mate while simultaneously pursuing purity and holiness. He delights in us when this happens.

The Song of Solomon, for example, though frequently misunderstood as nothing more than an allegory about God’s passion for His people, is actually a beautiful love story. It describes sexual acts between a husband and wife in poetic detail, showing how each one responds to the other. It expresses how honesty and understanding in sexual matters lead to a life of confident love together.

It’s true that sex is only one aspect of marriage. But as time goes by, one of you will likely value its importance more highly than the other. As a result of this, the nature of your oneness as man and wife will feel threatened and endangered.

Again, the biblical foundations of marriage were originally expressed in the creation of Adam and Eve. She was made to be “a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). The unity of their relationship and physical bodies was so strong, they were said to become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

This same oneness is a hallmark of every marriage. In the act of romance, we join our hearts to each other an expression of love that no other form of communication can match. That’s why “the marriage bed is to be undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4). We are not to share this same experience with anyone else.

But we are weak. And when this legitimate need goes unmet – when it’s treated as being selfish and demanding by the other – our hearts are subject to being drawn away from marriage, tempted to fulfill this longing somewhere else, some other way.

To counteract this tendency, God established marriage with a “one flesh” mentality. “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Corinthians 7:4).

Sex is not to be used as a bargaining chip. It is not something God allows us to withhold without consequence. Though there can be abuses to this divinely designed framework, the heart of marriage is one of giving ourselves to each other to meet the other’s needs.

Sex is one God-given opportunity to do that.

So “stop depriving one another,” the Bible warns, “except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of you lack of self-control” (1 Corinthians 7:5).

You are the one person called and designated by God to meet your spouse’s sexual needs. If you allow distance to grow between you in this area, if you allow staleness to set in, you are taking something that rightly (and exclusively) belongs to your spouse. If you let your mate know – by words, actions, or inactions – that sex needn’t be any more than you want it to be, you rob from them a sense of honor and endearment that has been set in place by biblical mandate. You violate the “one flesh” unity of marriage.

So whether you perceive yourself as being on the deprived end, or you would admit that you are the one depriving the other, know that God’s plan for you is to meet in the middle and come to a place of agreement. But also know that the path to getting there will not be accomplished by sulking, arguing or demanding. Love is the only way to reestablish loving union between each other. All the things the Love Dare entails – patience, kindness, selflessness, thoughtfulness, protection, honor, forgiveness – will play a role in renewing your sexual intimacy. When the love of Christ is the foundation of your marriage, the strength of your friendship and sexual relationship can be enjoyed at a level this world can never know.

“You have been bought with a price,” God has declared (1 Corinthians 6:20). He set His affections on you and went to every length to draw you into desiring Him. Now it is your turn to pay the loving price to win the heart of your mate. When you do, you will enjoy the pure delight that flows when sex is done for all the right reasons. And as if that’s not enough, you will also have the opportunity to “glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). How beautiful.

The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. – 1 Corinthians 7:3

Today’s Dare

If at all possible, try to initiate sex with your husband or wife today.  Do this in a way that honors what your spouse has told you (or implied to you) about what they need from you sexually. Ask God to make this enjoyable for both of you as well as a path to greater intimacy.

What better time for your VQ than your birthday? 30 was the theme for the morning in the gloom.

Warm Up: 30 side shuttles, 30 hillbillies, 30 grass pickers

Mosey to the bank

30 arm raises while wall sitting mosey around the bank x3

Mosey to Central Avenue Under the Lights: 10 merkins 10 burpees 10 squats at each light pole x 3 rounds

Mosey to the other wall: 10 durkins, 10 dips, 10 step ups x 3 rounds

Mosey to steps at the rec center for 30 calf raises

Mosey back to Mt. Hollywood for more the 30 core exercises.

COT

Thanks for starting my birthday out well.

Today, there was a foggy start to this Tuesday morning, but it didn’t stop 6 HIMs from getting after it.  We started with the pledge to the Ghost flag and began the warm-up.  Here’s how it went…

20 SSH IC, 10 Merkins IC, 15 LBC IC, 25 Flutter kicks OYO, 15 Obliques each side, 15 Dirty Dogs each side, Plank position with variables or arm and leg holds… enough of that… Heres the workout:  Stations…One arm swings 10 each side, Curls, Pull-over presses, Squat presses, Cam Newtons, Side lunges with the bell, Renegade Rows 15 each side, SSH x 25.  We did a round of this and then took a lap around the parking lot.  We then repeated the circuit and did another lap around the parking lot.  Mayor and Whoopee had to head out so the rest of us did another round and ended with some pax choice Mary.  Get work by all this morning.  I appreciate the opportunity to lead.

Announcements:  Christmas Town 5K

Prayer requests:  HIPAA’s mother with some heart and kidney tests, WattsUp’s son, DryRub’s M’s recovery from surgery.

YHC took us out

It was a cold day here in the Gashouse and it was my first post since the nasty virus invaded my house.  As I was getting ready for this workout I tried to think of something different to work legs so I came up with the plum walk.  Essentially it is a lunge walk, but with your steps being turned about 45 degrees.  You can really feel it in the taint/plums area.  The only problem is that to finish this back blast I needed the workout that we did and myself with all my tech skills somehow erased it.  So we did a bunch of work with the plum walk in between and ended with some mary.

Announcements:  Christmas Town 5K

Prayer Requests:  WattsUp’s son

YHC took us out

This verse is God’s original blueprint for how marriage is supposed to work. It involves a tearing away and a knitting together. It reconfigures existing relationships while establishing a brand new one. Marriage changes everything.

That’s why couples who don’t take this “leaving” and “cleaving” message to heart will reap the consequences down the line, when the problems are much harder to repair without hurting someone.

“Leaving” means that you are breaking a natural tie. Your parents step into the role of counselors to be respected, but can no longer tell you what to do. Sometimes the difficulty in doing this comes from the original source. A parent may not be ready to release you yet from their control and expectations. Whether through unhealthy dependence or inner struggles over the empty nest, parents don’t always take their share of this responsibility. In such cases, the grown child has to make “leaving” a courageous choice of his own. And far too often, this break is not made in the right way.

Are you and your spouse still living with unresolved issues because of a failure to cut the apron strings? Do either of your parents continue to create problems within your home – perhaps without their even knowing it? What needs to happen to put a stop to this before it creates too wide of a division in your marriage?

Unity is a marriage quality to be guarded at a great cost. The purpose of “leaving,” of course, is not to abandon all contact with the past but rather to preserve the unique oneness that marriage is designed to capture. Only in oneness can you become all that God means for you to be.

If you’re too tightly drawn to your parents, the singular identity of your marriage will not be able to come to flower. You will always be held back, and a root of division will continue to send up new shoots into your relationship. It won’t go away unless you do something about it. For without “leaving,” you cannot do the “cleaving” you need, the joining of your hearts that’s required to experience oneness.

“Cleaving” carries the idea of catching someone by pursuit, clinging to them as your new rock of refuge and safety. This man is now the spiritual leader of your new home, tasked with the responsibility of loving you “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). This woman is now one in union with you, called to “see to it that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).

As a result of this essential process, you are now free to become everything God meant when He declared you “one flesh.”

· You are able to achieve oneness in your decision making, even when you begin from differing viewpoints.

· You are able to achieve oneness in your priorities, even through you’ve come together from backgrounds that could hardly be more different.

· You are able to achieve oneness in your sexual affections toward each other, even if either of both of you have memories of impurity in your pre-marital past.

God’s decision to make you “one flesh” in marriage can make anything possible.

If this is not how things are going in your home right now, you’re unfortunately in the majority. It’s not out of character for couples of all kinds – even Christian couples – to ignore God’s design for marriage, thinking they know better than He does. Genesis 2:24 may have sounded nice and noble when it was wrapped around the sharing of vows at the wedding. But as a fundamental principle to be put into place and practiced as a living fact – this just seems too difficult to do. But this is what you must make any sacrifice to reclaim.

It’s hard – extremely hard – when the pursuit of oneness is basically one-sided. Your spouse may not be interested at all in recapturing the unity you had at first. Even if there is some desire on his or her part, there may still be issues between you that are nowhere close to being resolved.

But if you’ll continue to keep a passion for oneness forefront in your mind and heart, your relationship over time will begin to reflect the inescapable “one flesh” design that is printed on its DNA. You don’t have to go looking for it. It’s already there. But you don’t have to live it, or there’s nothing else to expect than disunity.

Leave. And cleave. And dare to walk as one.

A man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. – Genesis 2:24

Today’s Dare

Is there a “leaving” issue you haven’t been brave enough to conquer yet?  Confess it to your spouse today, and resolve to make it right.  The oneness of your marriage is dependent upon it.  Follow this with a commitment to your spouse and to God to make your marriage the top priority over every other human relationship.