Category: The Project

THE SCENE: Nice for June. Low 70s and not too muggy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

• Projectivators (from 6)
• Tempo squats
• Hairy Rockettes
• Moroccan night clubs
• Tempo Merkins
• Mountain climbers

THA-THANG:

• Mosey to pool wall
• 6 wall-ups, 6 Bobby Hurleys x3
• Mosey to Recruiting Center
• Circuit Work – 6 each
  • Tire Flips
  • Black Betty’s
  • Ball slam
  • Double unders
  • Thrusters
  • Burpee jump overs
• Farmer carry a block to the theater steps
• 6 reps, run the stairs, stack another til we do em all.

• • Curls
  • OHP
  • Rows
  • Tris
  • Good mornings
  • Squats
• Farmer Carry to RC
• Repeat the circuit
• Mosey back to pool wall
• 6 wall-ups, 6 Bobby Hurleys x3

Ring of Fire up to 6 and back down

MARY:
1 LBC OYO
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I have been married for 13 years, and after all that time, I am still struggling to learn to pray with my wife. This problem has several parts.

In the current moment of this age, the culture has a lot to say about how men should treat women as equals, peers. Mix into that some vague sense of chivalry and romanticism, and I found it easy during courtship to employ more of a friends with benefits model that faded into a more serious relationship, rather than a stronger assertion of myself as the one courting and she being courted.

The next factor is related to our family position. My wife is the oldest of six, while I am third of four with a sister as the oldest, and she was a year ahead of me in school until she took a co-op. So, there was a natural way that we fell into a familiar model for both of us. We were peers, by culture, and by habit, it was my tendency to defer to her and it was not her habit to submit to me.

Finally, there was our starting point. When we were first married, I was immature in my faith, above average in head knowledge but severely lacking in practice, having largely drifted away during my college years, while my wife had regularly participated with a church in Cookeville. During the 12 weeks leading up to my marriage during officer candidate school, I had come to realize, through adversity, my need for the support of my heavenly Father, but I had a lot of inertia to overcome. My wife played a key role in getting me back to church and involved with a church community, giving me those first few ounces of momentum that I am still building on today.

So, in my head, the idea that I would lead her, be an authority over her, especially in the area of faith, just wasn’t really even present outside of this purely intellectual version that I had picked up from things other than my experience.

But, as time marched on, and I grew in the practice of my faith, it became increasingly clear how our current model was failing. For a family to function well, to pull together, it needs a leader, not a parental council. And for all my wife’s virtues and talents, and she has many, she isn’t the one for the job. It has never been in her nature. I have spent a lot of time trying to skirt this problem, to share the responsibility and thus preserve our peer model. The results have been exhausting for us both. Even though in other aspects of my life, I have seen success as a leader, and I haven’t shied from the responsibility, in this most important area, I struggle. The admixture of cultural guilt, love and respect for my wife, and fear of conflict and failure has frequently held my tongue when I should have spoken or stayed my hand when I should have acted.

For a few years now, I have been aware that the absence of prayer in my married life is a problem. But for the first 12 years of my marriage, we didn’t pray together, so starting proved to be very challenging. It demands both of us to give our undivided attention. It feels unfamiliar and awkward. Neither of us has a reference to start from, an idea of what it should sound like or how long it should take. It is always easier not to do it, to go do the familiar and necessary things like cooking or dishes or whatever. And I had tried before to get us started with a grand plan that fell apart after two days.

But with a few nudges from this group and a dramatic shift in expectations from me, I think we are finally getting a little momentum, and it already feels like a game changer. The mood of the whole house is shifting in ways that I never would have expected or even thought possible. This single act of leadership, just between her and me, is already putting out shoots all over the place. So, I want to encourage you. Don’t underestimate the power and influence of one little habit, especially when you are dealing with prayer. And on the flip side, don’t be discouraged when it takes you time to figure it out, when you try and fail. Remember that God knows the right time and place, and he will open the door at just that moment. But if you don’t stand there, knocking, asking, seeking, the opportunity he gives you will pass you by.
MOLESKIN:
Kickflip solved the puzzle – my 36th birthday, so sixy.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence in two days, Family workout next weekend (biohack Q), ShieldLock campout Friday after that, Dad Camp August 15thish