Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Day: September 16, 2020

Control, from the Ground Up

It was my very first Q, but I’d been expertly led by so many others.  Let’s roll…

The Pledge, a couple warm up exercises, and we mosey to the Martha Rivers field.  The one that’s not maintained, and ants like to live in…

Everything we do on this day will be deliberate, full reps, so each exercise gets a three count to allow you time to make the movement slowly and return to start position.  Calf raises, squats, lunges, LBC, obliques – star fish on right, then left, crab crunches, supermans, Mericans, and CDR.  All the while, we are taking turns running to the pullup bar to get a good 15 in.  We are working from the ground up, with control.  Gastone is whining about ants, everyone else is enjoying themselves.

Mosey to a maintained field where we begin to put motions together, complex moves.  Cross overs, burpees, broad jumps, kickthroughs… and the fun is piling on by the minutes!

Mosey to another field where we back it back down with the simple motions mentioned above, but from the top to the bottom, starting with CDR down to calf raises.

It’s cool down now, so we finish with a field of lunges, a couple moseys, and writing the alphabet with our shoes.

We close out with Thanksgiving to God, and ask Him to give us boldness and His presence felt for the day.

Thanks for the lessons fellas, I’m thankful for the opportunity.

3rd F – Live Soft

I don’t know who is author of the following, but I thought it was worth a reminder for us all:

There is a distinct difference between those who live for God, and those who simply go to church, and call themselves “Christians.” Living for God is a life of self sacrifice. He begins to live, move, and breathe in and through us. It’s a life of doing His will above our own. Its a life of love, kindness, compassion, gentleness, integrity, and boldness. It’s a life that bears FRUIT! It’s not a self-seeking life that follows only its own selfish desires, even at the expense of others. It’s a life that can be seen in our home, work, and relationships… both publicly and privately. It can be evidenced by the way we talk to people, the way we forgive people, the way we treat people, the way we handle their feelings and deal with their actions toward us. It’s a life of humility, not pride. It’s a life of forgiving others and ourselves. It is not a life of perfection, but it IS a life of accountability; to God, and to others. It’s a 7 day a week life. Not a 1 day a week, when certain people are looking, kind of life. If we live for God, people will know it. They will see it, as they come to know us. If not, we need to ask ourselves if we might just be going to church, and going through the motions. Are we trying to change the Word, or are we allowing the Word to penetrate and change US? Because the closer we draw near to a loving and powerful God, the more He changes us. We don’t remain stagnant. We don’t remain hard. We soften, and we grow.

This week let’s pray of Double Stuf, Sledgeomatic, Volt, Red Ribbon, Voodoo, Tesla, Buckshot, Sparky, Dr Seuss.

Tiger

IronPax Challenge Week 3 @ Prison Break

13 Men (and 2 Proctors) took a “break” from a routine Wednesday to give week 3 of the ironpax challenge a go.

This week’s was called K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Stupid).  It consisted of the following:

  • Run 400m
  • 100 merkins
  • Run 400m
  • 90 squats
  • Run 400m
  • 80 merkins
  • Run 400m
  • 70 squats
  • Run 400m
  • 60 merkins
  • Run 400m
  • 50 squats
  • Run 400m
  • 40 merkins
  • Run 400m
  • 30 squats
  • Run 400m
  • 20 merkins
  • Run 400m
  • 10 squats
  • Run 800m

Total work is 3 miles of running, 300 merkins, and 250 squats.

 

While not easy by any means, it was a welcomed break from weeks 1 & 2.

Shout-out to Slaw and Huckleberry for being there to encourage, proctor and well you know…

We stayed

sargento was not here

Announcements:

Buckshot with his VQ 9-23 at the Ricky Bobby – second best AO in Gastonia.

mt Mitchell hike.
jj5k

csaup

prayers.
my former college roommate do with cancer

injured pax

buckshot is trying to sell his house

students, parents, teachers

Forgiveness

Today’s workout was to be set at an increased tempo with myself the Q asking forgiveness for this before we begin. While the warm up and subsequent workout are important, they pale in comparison with the message I set out to present at the conclusion of this morning seeking to impart a message that’s been on my mind for some time , you see. I had to wait until the passing of my mother for it’s proper release.
Just over five years ago, I lost my father. It was a difficult struggle on many fronts because my father was unwilling to acknowledge anything nor offer help …. I had to plan his current care as well as moms ( both living in Charlotte) maintain my family and work , juggle in preparations for his imminent death, muddle through all his financials, plan for moms move to assisted living, sell their home and possessions and do this with a brother who is the polar opposite of me in many ways. He offered no help unfortunately.
To make matters worse, dad was the easier one to love and at his passing my brothers resentment for her truly came out.
I have always understood the hazards and dangers and evils of an unchecked mental state where one does not seek or attain medical attention as well as addiction( a dangerous cocktail)… our mother suffered from these. The alcohol addiction ended in my early twenties when in a rage I challenged dad to remove the temptation , which amazingly he did. The side affect was that it soured mine and moms relationship until I had to move out.
Through the years, my brother would never move too far from them due to unfortunate life choices, And he was reliant upon their help in raising his girls.
At our fathers passing my brother told me the WORST thing I’ve ever heard someone say ….

He told me that he was not sure if he was an atheist or an agnostic, but he had no faith in God but hoped there was a Hell and that our mother would spend all of eternity there and that he was willing to spend it there with her if that’s what was required!!

I was at a loss.

Over the coming 2 1/2 – 3 years I would try often to make him understand that she is a much different person than when we were children, explaining that IF she asked our forgiveness that would be wonderful but ultimately it’s not for us, we must concern ourselves with her spiritual well-being and her soul …. she needed to ask Gods forgiveness.

Despite all she had said and done, I learned long ago to forgive her and move on. The weight of that baggage was not for me to carry.

One day approximately 2 years ago while on my rounds at work I received a call from my brother.

It was so amazing I had to sit there in silence and weep for joy

You see, even now as I write this, it still affects me ….. he told me … I prayed to God and forgave our mother.

Hallelujah!

In the past 2-3 years I’ve only uncovered what my brother and I always suspected, our mother was also abused in many difficult ways, so for her, much of what we experienced was learned behavior.

When I got the call from Peak Resources the other week allowing me to come in and help her pass I prayed over her telling her of our forgiveness and asking her to ask Jesus for his …. knowing that she needed that comfort to know that her heavenly reward was at hand . I would also ask her forgiveness of me for not trying to see her more often than I had ,,,, finding it a struggle in today’s Covid world only to view her through a window and I hoped for a swift passing to ease her and our sufferings. She would pass in just over an hour, the staff said that she was restless until I arrived and settled as I left.
I thank God that we had more time with her to heal these deep wounds.

I hope that this message reaches anyone who needs to hear it …. seek me out, reach out if any of this resonates with you. I can and wish to help any that struggle.

Life is too short.

for those who were wondering about the 80 lbcs …. mom had just turned ……

much thanks and heartfelt love to the Oompa Loompa and Time Frame families at this difficult moment of our lives and humble gratitude for all who prayed over and for us

An elderly blind lady on my route has this message on her outer door: Collect moments, not things.

Exodus 20:12 Honor thy mother and thy father,

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 23 Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

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