THE SCENE: Sunny and warm, temp in low eighties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
THA-THANG:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Twisties, 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Little Baby to Big Wide Arm Circles Forward and 10 Backward
We will mosey past the stop sign at the northeast corner of the Admin Bldg and go to the grassy area by the perimeter trail. We will do 20 Flutter Kicks in the grass. Next, will run west on the perimeter trail, stopping every ten lights to do ten of each of the following exercises. Those arriving to the tenth light first will rinse and repeat until the six has done ten of each exercise. Here are the exercises for each tenth light:
- Merkins, Big Boys
- Squat Jumps, Lunges (each leg = 1)
- Carolina Dry Docks, Hello Dollies
Next, we will run to Area 51. Stop at the area by the parking lot on the right. We will split into teams of two. While one team member does an exercise, the other runs to the curb at the end of area 51, does 10 jump squats, and runs back. The partners then switch. When each partner had done an exercise twice, they shift to the next exercise. Here are the exercises:
- Gas pumps
- Rocky Balboas
- Diamond Merkins
- Iron Mikes
Next, we will run up the hill above Area 51 to roadway above the big tree. Those getting there first will do bench dips until the six arrives.
Mosey to AO by running to gravel parking lot area, walking along the parking lot area, then running to AO.
Next we will do sprints to sign by parking lot and slow job back to where we started. Repeat sprints three more times. Then slow jog back to AO.
MARY:
35 Baby Crunches
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15 showing, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Wondering Where The Lions Are
Have you heard or do you remember the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den from the Bible? Daniel was a Jew who was serving Darius, the King of Babylon or Prussia. Daniel was an excellent administrator and King Darius liked him. The other administrators and officials of King Darius were jealous of him. They did know how strongly he worshipped his God. They planned a scheme where , supposedly to celebrate the king, they convinced King Darius to issue a decree that any person in the kingdom who prayed to or worshipped any God or human for the next 30 days, other than King Darius, should be thrown in a Lion’s Den. Daniel worshipped his God daily and continued to do so after the decree. Caught, he was thrown in the Lions Den. The next morning King Darius rushed to the den to find Darius alive, the ferocious lions acting tamely beside him. King Darius, who cared for and admired Daniel then proclaimed:
“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever”.
As a psychologist, I see many people who suffer from anxiety. I recently had my first session with a mid-thirties woman who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (anxiety that occurs after one suffers from a trauma), Social Anxiety (anxiety about being in social situations), and Agoraphobia (condition where a person panics if they leave their household). Ten years ago, she could hardly leave her home without breaking down. She even had difficulty answering phone calls, too anxious to talk to strangers. Fortunately, she met a therapist who helped her out. He talked to her about how anxiety can be incredibly crippling but that some anxiety can be gradually overcome through something called exposure therapy. If people, who have been frightened in the past, can expose themselves to the situation they fear and see that nothing disastrous happens, the anxiety can, over time, decrease. He used a metaphor with my patient. He said if we were to open a door and have a ferocious lion attack us, we would be very frightened of ever opening that door again, even if the lion was taken away and people tried to rationally convince us there was no lion there anymore. We may panic trying to open the door and our hearts might pound like crazy. But, each day, if we continued to open the door and see that no lion was there, we would gradually be less anxious about doing it. We might not ever fully wipe out the anxiety but we would be better off. That is what has happened to this lady. She still gets nervous when going into public settings but can now do so. And she wants to continue that process so that in the future, she will be even better at it.
In life, we face difficult and challenging situations. We get burned sometimes in these situations or we fail at them. We then fear trying similar situations. We worry about the consequences. We worry that we can’t face up to the situation. But, if we can expose ourselves to the challenging situations and learn from them, we grow. If we can trust that God is on our side, we can tame the lions we fear.
One of my favorite songwriters, Bruce Cockburn, wrote a song that talks about the ecstasy that comes with belief in God and His eternity. He also talks about about how fear is diminished with the knowledge of this belief. I will finish my message with some lines from that song which is entitled, “Wondering Where the Lions Are”:
Sun’s up . . . looks okay
The world survives into another day
And I’m thinking ’bout eternity
Some kinda ecstasy got a hold on me
I had another dream about lions at the door
They weren’t half as frightening as they were before
But I’m thinking ’bout eternity
Some kinda ecstasy got a hold on me.
And I’m wondering where the lions are
I’m wondering where the lions are
I’m wondering where the lions are.
Prayers for safe travels for Pusher and Rusty on their vacation. Prayers for Thunderstruck and his family after the death of his mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP tomorrow night at Haw Ridge, 9 pm.
