Saint Patrick’s Day afforded an opportunity. The story of this famed Irish saint would be our story. His sufferings would become our sufferings. His learnings, our learnings. And so, blissfully unaware of what lay ahead, nine men struck out into the gloom to follow and learn from this 5th-century saint.
Warmup: Good Mornings x20 / Mogul Side Hops x20 / SSH x20 / Windmills x20 / Mogul Front Hops x20 / Mtn Climbers x20
The Suffering of Saint Patrick:
1. Patrick was the son of Christian parents in England, and he led an easy life. However he stubbornly REJECTED God as a boy (like a mule).
- (hillside > RUN UP, DONKEY KICKS x10 RUN DOWN; repeato x4 – he was really stubborn)
2. Barbaric Irish raiders stormed the shores of England, killed some of his family and KIDNAPPED (lifted) Patrick, taking him with them back to Ireland as a slave.
- (rock pile > LIFTING > Curls x12 / Tricep Ext x12/ Overhead Press x12 / Woodchops Right x12 / Woodchops Left x12; then repeato with x15 reps)
3. His Irish kidnappers forced him to be a SHEPHERD for six years, so he tended sheep all alone through the harshest of seasons.
- (sand volleyball court > SHEEP CRAWLS x6 sides of the court; a side for each year)
4. In this wilderness as a shepherd, he was finally broken and called out to Christ for salvation. Wilderness in the Bible is often comes in 40s, so…
- (ground beside the shelter for some Wilderness > BURPEES x40)
5. God spoke to Patrick in a dream and told him he would escape Ireland, so when he saw the opportunity, he HOPPED a ship back home to England.
- (cement wall for Hops > BOX JUMPS x40, two sets)
6. Now back in England, he became a priest and began to serve Christ in the church. However, some time after his return to England, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him to RETURN to the place of his enslavement. So, he followed the Lord’s instructions and returned to Ireland.
- (tennis courts for Returns > OUT-AND-BACK SUICIDES to both sidelines and back x4
7. Now as a priest with a vision for proclaiming Christ to the people of Ireland, Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary. He served for 40 years, TRAVELING AROUND and spreading the gospel to build the church there.
- (Parking lot for Traveling Around > lunge walks x40 / balls to the walkman (standing wheelbarrows) x40 paces / plank walks x40)
Done.
COT / MOLESKIN:
- As we began the SHEEP CRAWLS, some of the PAX asked for a clarification: “What’s the difference between a sheep crawl and a bear crawl?” The only logical explanation: “There’s a big difference. You’re a sheep.”
- T-claps to nine men who gave the Heisman to the #fartsack and POSTED in true 34-degree, dark, wet gloom.
- Solid work from a Stout brand of PAX, all over the age of 40, let the record show.
- T-claps as well to our man Showcase. Very good to have you in the ranks, brother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- F3Dads & 2.0s (your kids) – Saturday 3/22 930 Fletcher Park
- 3rd F Gathering – Tuesday 3/25 630pm at Tylers Taproom, Seaboard Station. Here’s the link:
http://f3nation.com/2014/03/15/pre-blast-for-3rd-f-convergence/
3RD F:
- Prayers requested for Steroid’s daughter (food poisoning), as well as this Friar requesting prayers for patience with a beloved but 15-year-old daughter.
- YHC shared the following excerpt from a prayer penned by Patrick:
Saint Patrick’s Breastplate (Shield)
Christ to protect me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
- We may not face burning or drowning, but we will face trials and troubles. We need this same surrounding and saturation of Christ to shield us through whatever we face. He is our shield.
- Mr Rogers prayed us out solidly.
