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Greater Love Hath No Man…

QIC:  Lutefisk 

Date: 01/17/2020

PAX: Peanuts, Angel Hair, Walla Walla, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, Wuzntme, Mayhem, Bernie, DNF, Annie, 9 Bolt, Three Skin, Speed Trap, Toe Tag

AO: hacksaw

Conditions

Brisk and cool like the mountains of Norway on a warm summer day.

COP

Circled around the flag. A few merkins, arm circles, and burpees later we were ready to roll.

The Thang

[Comments]
My Brother’s Keeper
PAX started at one of the two ends of the line of flags. They then completed one of the follow sets of exercises in order to progress to the next flag. However, the goal was for EVERYONE to finish, which meant that PAX who got ahead were encouraged to switch with whichever PAX was at the 6.

Burpees – 5

Merkins – 10

Bonnie Blairs – 10

Squats – 15

Lunges – 15

Crunchy Frog – 20

Leg Lifts – 20

LBCs – 25

Once every PAX had made it through, every circled around the final flag where we completed 30 burpees (with the encouragement that PAX who finished first could help other PAX complete their tally) and then completed a plank/squat variatio

COT

Hacksaw is named after Hacksaw Ridge, where Desmond Doss, a combat medic and pacifist due to religious beliefs, saved the lives of dozens of soldiers (both American and Japanese) during World War 2. He was a man who embodied the verse, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In the example of Desmond Doss, however, we see the term “friends” as we know it extended to not only those who were his personal friends but all humanity.

In Ephesians 2, Paul writes, ” For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility (v. 14)… And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near (v. 17).” Paul speaks of how Christ came and preached peace to those who were far off (the Gentiles) and those were near (the Jews), making them in to one man and breaking down “the dividing wall of hostility.” The Jews and Gentiles were people groups that were culturally, religiously, politically, ethnically, and socially different from one another, and yet Christ broke down the walls of hostility and preached peace to both.

The Japanese and Americans were different culturally, religiously, politically, ethnically, and socially, and yet Desmond Doss broke down the walls of hostility in the moment of chaos and preached peace to both.

As we enter in to 2020, where we in American have sectioned ourselves off culturally, religiously, politically, ethnically, and socially from one another, building dividing walls of hostility, can we choose to lay down our lives for our friends, those around us, and preach peace to both those who are near (those who think, look, act, and speak like us) and those who are far (those who do not think, look, act, and speak like us)?

We will never see someone for who they truly are (how Christ sees them), if we look at them through a wall. So, in 2020, may we be bridge builders, not wall builders. May we be focused on being good listeners and not being right. And may we preach (model and show) peace (love without conditions, selflessness, respect) those who are near and those who are far.

Moleskin

Mayhem served Hot Chocolate communion during the COT. It was magic.

News

OTB AO Saturday at NGa Brainerd Baptist Campus from 7-8.

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    Expedition into the Belvoir Triangle… (of death)

    QIC: Lutefisk

    Date: 11/14/2019

    PAX: IronButt, Sidekick, Swingset, Free Candy, FNG- Homeschool, 9 Volt, Gru, Evita, Vaccine, The Count, John Doe, Jazzy Jag, Peanuts, Fissure, Dolly

    AO: RidgeCut

    Conditions

    Not as cold as Tuesday but still pretty dang cold.

    COP

    Took a mosey over to the lower parking lot where we quickly warmed our bodies up. No layers shed at this point.

    The Thang

    Our expedition featured three separate parts. The entrance, the storm, and the escape. Had to keep things down (no loud farts or grunts) with the Thang happening on a residential street and right next to my own casa where my 2.0s were snoozing. This was a tough task, but I’m proud of the group.

    The Entrance:

    Circuits of 1 minute on the playground.

    Circuit 1- Pull ups on monkey bars.

    Circuit 2- Squat walks across the soccer field.

    Circuit 3- Reverse rows on the swings

    Two full circuits followed by a minute of plank.

    The Storm

    After completing the entrance, we moseyed over to the heart of the storm… the Belvoir Triangle. There we found the storm arranged in the following order

    The Outer Hurricane- 6 Individual benches on the perimeter. PAX completed 10 box jumps or 20 step ups on each bench. Once done, they proceeded to the inner hurricane.

    The Inner Hurricane- 5 circular tables with 3 benches each spread throughout. PAX completed 10 decline merkins off a bench, 15 dips off a bench, and then 20 incline merkins on a bench. Once done with a table, they moved on to the next one… and after completing all 5 they plunged into the eye of the storm

    The Eye of the Storm- A fire pit with three benches found more towards the center. PAX did a burpee next to a bench, jumped on to the bench, and then to the other side for another burpee until reaching the magic number of 10.

    The Escape:

    After giving our upper body a nice warm up, we booked it back to the starting point in class Indian run style, breaking into an all-out sprint once we hit the hill. Staying true to our roots, though, everyone doubled-back to the six for another lap up the hill. That hill is going to be a FUN one and a defining part of this AO.

    COT

    What are your goals for yourself and your family over the next 10, 15, 20, 25 years? In light of that, what are the characteristics yourself and your family to be defined by 10, 15, 20, 25 years from now? I know that for me, in taking the time to reflect on my current state, my goals, which centered on financial stability and mobility, did not reflect the characteristics I want to be defined by or that I want my family to be defined by (these characteristics being: Welcoming, Accepting, Safe, Loving, Selfless, Generous, Humble, and Compassionate).

    It begs the question: Where are my priorities for myself and my family? In our work, we often dream of the day when we have “made it.” We strive for a goal. Yet in our personal lives, be it spiritual or merely psychological, we settle for the mentality of having “made it” because we aren’t doing bad things. We plateau, go through the motions, and mosey through life with no real direction beyond temporal, materialistic goals.

    But when faced with the reality of the dissonance between our long-term goals and the characteristics we want ourselves and our families to be defined by, we are forced with the question. Do we change the trajectory we are on by changing our goals or do we continue on?

    For me, personally, I realized that a trajectory change was necessary. I had plateaued and realized that stark reality that I could coast in this state, meet all of my financial goals for my family 25 years from now, and have done nothing significant with my life, nothing truly impactful, meaningful.

    The American dream, though good in concept, has trained us to define success in a materialistic manner. Nice house, nice car, nice family, nice retirement. But is a comfortable life truly a successful life? 25 years from now, though we may be in a great place financially, how will we and our families be defined? Will we be defined as another comfortable, well-off, successful American family who has “made it” and achieved the American dream? Or will we be defined as a family who was welcoming, accepting, safe, loving, selfless, generous, humble, and compassionate? The first is a life defined by comfort, the second is not.

    For me and my family, we want the latter, which is why I have committed to changing my own personal trajectory and with my wife the trajectory of our family. I don’t want to stay where I am and I don’t want our family to stay where we are. I want to constantly pursue a higher ideal, one that I can never fully reach and thus can never plateau at but must always push myself to grow in.

    Below is a quote that has helped me get this journey, this new trajectory, started. It goes like this:

    A DREAM written down with a date becomes a GOAL. A goal broken down into steps becomes a PLAN. A plan backed by ACTION becomes REALITY.

    I challenge each of you to take the time to look at your personal and familial goals and then to see how those correspond with the characteristics you want to be defined by (your ideal, or your dream). Where they do not match up, redefine your goals. Once you’ve established goals, create a plan for how you can tangibly apply and exemplify these characteristics in your life. Once you have a plan, do it. Make it happen. It will be uncomfortable and inconvenient. People are broken and it is hard to be around brokenness.

    To finish up, going back to what I said about the financial goals I have had for my family, I know full-heartedly that the ROI on investing in people far outperforms any investment fund. Make your life count.

    Moleskin

    Layers were shed like a polar bear in the equator. Merlot was splashed. All around a great morning.

    News

    Convergence Saturday at 7 at RidgeCut. 3 year anniversary. Be there.

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    Dante’s Inferno Meets Jacob’s Ladder at Hill City

    QIC: Lutefisk

    Date: 10/24/2019

    PAX: Red Tees, Callahan, Chicklets, Goose, Skitch, Doghouse, Hanson, Sherlock, Hobo, Sunshine, Uncle Fester, Curfew, Countdown, Threeskin

    AO: Hill City

    Conditions

    Brisk morning but warmed up quickly… though the temperature stayed the same.

    COP

    Took an extended mosey around the circle before finishing up under Veteran’s bridge for a brief warm-up focused on shoulders and quads.

    The Thang

    Dante’s Inferno and Jacob’s Ladder
    After the warm-up, we moseyed over to the stairs or “the pit.” Following the theme from Dante’s Inferno, we were given a guide through the 9 levels of the underworld, in the following order:

    Level 1

    10 Burpees

    Level 2

    20 Bonnie Blairs

    Level 3

    30 Leg Lifts

    Level 4

    40 Dips

    Level 5

    50 Box Jumps

    Level 6

    60 American Hammers

    Level 7

    70 Incline Merkins

    Level 8

    80 Mountain Climbers

    Level 9

    90 LBCs

    Periodically during the exercises, the Q would yell out “Trumpet,” at which point every PAX stopped where they were and sprinted, jogged, or crawled up the mountain, before returning back to whatever level of the underworld they had left. 

    Once completing the descent, PAX had to take another lap up the mountain before beginning the Jacob’s Ladder portion of the workout, as well. Below was the progression of Jacob’s Ladder, which started at Level 9 and progressed up to Level 1.

    Level 1

    5 LBCs

    Level 2

    10 Mountain Climbers

    Level 3

    15 Incline Merkins

    Level 4

    20 American Hammers

    Level 5

    25 Box Jumps

    Level 6

    30 Dips

    Level 7

    35 Leg Lifts

    Level 8

    40 Bonnie Blairs

    Level 9

    45 Burpees

    Few PAX made it all the way out before time was up, so a final trumpet call pulled everyone out of the pit and up into glory as we moseyed on back home to the parking lot.

    COT

    “Journey before destination.” What we do in the day-to-day is more important than the final destination. We often focus on the end goal rather than how we’re getting there. Make each and every day count.

    Moleskin

    Curfew showed up today in nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. One of our PAX offered a jacket and gloves but Curfew refused. Toughness award of the day was already won and we hadn’t even started. 

    Callahan claims he left a part of himself down in the pit and would return for it next week. Possible search party will be needed.

    News

    Threeskin took lead on announcements like a boss.

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      The Legs Feed The Wolf at Hill City

      QIC: Lutefisk

      Date: 08/29/2019

      PAX: Uncle Fester, Goose, Blindside, Laces Out, Sherlock, Peanuts, Skitch, Jazzy Jag, FNG-Lumberjack, Vila, Callahan, Chief, Money Ball, Roadhouse, IronButt, Early Bird, Ringwald, Candu, Sunburn, FNG-Dora, Prosciutto, Mallard, Sunshine, Pebbles, Curfew, Kiffin

      AO: Hill City

      Conditions

      Gloomy, temperature was just about perfect, got soaked by the man made rain from the sprinklers over in Renaissance Park. Couldn’t have asked for better conditions for my VQ.

      COP

      • Disclaimer given (1 FNG… one added mid-workout!)
      • Mosey to under vet bridge
      • warm up
        • SSH 25
        • Merkin 15
        • Air Drama (squats)
        • Batwings (20 forward big circles/20 backwards big circles/20seal claps/20 overhead seal claps)
        • El Capitán (lunge)
        • Moroccan Night Club
        • burpees

      The Thang

      The Legs Feed The Wolf

      • Mosey to renaissance park
      • Pair work on hill
        • Consequence- 5 burpees per drop for your partner.
        • 3 laps running – partner hold plank.
        • 1 lap lunges – partner in al gore
        • 1 lap burpees with jumps- partner in plank
        • 2 laps running – partner in al gore
        • 1 lap bunny hop – partner in plank
        • 1 lap bear crawl – partner in al gore
        • 1 lap bernie- partner in plank
      • Mosey back

      COT

      Nameorama completed. FNGs named. COT and then prayer requests and prayer.

      COT focused on the need for us to stop trying to be good men and to strive to be good at being a man. The different is stark. We so often define someone as a good man for the things they don’t do: pornography, heavy drinking, language, etc. But this is merely an image of a passive individual moving through space and time. Being good at being a man means being defined by what you do. It means intentionally pursuing our wives, actively pouring into and discipling/leading our children, and consistently looking for ways in which we can serve our community and stand up and support those who cannot do so themselves. 

      The workout was meant to remind us of the fact that when we lower the expectations for ourselves, when we take the easy route, when we choose momentary pleasure over, we are not the ones who suffer but those who are dependent upon us. It is not going to get any easier, but the rewards is worth it. 

      If you are a father, I highly recommend you check out the following podcast:

      Podcast Referenced: The Fathers Collective 

      Websites Related to Podcast:

      The Fathers Collective

      The Primal Path

      Moleskin

      I mentioned this above already, but a highlight was definitely getting “rained” on by the sprinklers. It added a nice touch to the collective suffering and doubled as a shower for some of our PAX who needed one. Another highlight was grabbing an FNG who was running by (not sure which PAX did so). Hopefully he’ll get plugged in up in Chicago!

      News

      Ringwald took the lead with announcements.

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