Today at #ao-murphmonday it was Monday and we did a Murph! 6 champions of the gloom took on the temptation of being comfortable with comfort, and pushed themselves to become better, stronger men.
PAX: @Peewee (TRAPP) @Chowdah @Thin Mint @Bubba Gump @Soul Glo @ragdoll
Warmup: Good mornings, toe touches, toy soldiers, and willie mays hayes
The Thang: The Thang was a traditional Murph today. Nothing fancy — just a good ol’ fashioned 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 merkins, 300 squats, and a 1 mile run.
T-claps to @Chowdah for his first weighted-exercises at the Murph. T-claps to @Peewee (TRAPP) and @Chowdah for laying down a stupid fast first mile. T-claps to @Soul Glo for successfully avoiding the warmups and run by being 4 mins late – love ya brother, glad you came even though you were running behind.
Announcements:
- 2nd F lunch w/ Muletown folks, Wednesday 12:30 at Spring Hill Chipotle
- F3 M’s Bible study is meeting at @Chowdah’s house Thursday evening. New attendees welcome!
- Check slack for #_announcements
COT:
- Prayers for @Soul Glo’s sister who is preparing to go back to work after years away — needing to find a job, family adjustments, etc.
- Prayers for all dad’s enduring challenging times of fatherhood
- A general encouragement to reach out to PAX who have fallen away from the F3 ranks in recent months. Reach to someone if you’ve noticed them missing!!
Moleskine:
I was reading the first couple chapters of Matthew recently and noticed something: While the other gospels focus on Jesus and Mary’s experience through Christ’s birth (Luke), or jump straight to Jesus’s ministry (Mark & John), Matthew is the only one that places emphasis on Joseph, Jesus earthly father.
I was reading the first couple chapters of Matthew recently and noticed something: While the other gospels focus on Jesus and Mary’s experience through Christ’s birth (Luke), or jump straight to Jesus’s ministry (Mark & John), Matthew is the only one that places emphasis on Joseph, Jesus earthly father.
Why is this, and what can we learn as men?
“And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce Mary quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, ’Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’” Matthew 1:19-20
Joseph was wholly dedicated to his faith: He knew the law, and he knew Mary’s pregnancy carried the consequence of divorce as prescribed by his Jewish faith. Painful as this likely was, he knew this is what God required of him.
But Joseph was also a compassionate man: Strict as the law was, he didn’t want to cause Mary shame. He didn’t want her to suffer in the midst of a terrible situation, so he sought out a way to go through with the divorce in a way that didn’t demean Mary and cause her undue struggle.
Joseph was spiritually attentive: Despite the letter of the law, when God revealed his will directly to Joseph in a dream he listened! Conveying the message to Joseph didn’t require a burning bush, or confrontation from a prophet, or an angel appearing in his living room — Joseph was spiritually attuned and a vision in a dream convinced him of the Lord’s purpose. Not only that … Joseph received three other dreams over the next couple years that protected the life of his family as they fled to Egypt, found an appropriate time to return, and ultimately found a place to live. Joseph listened and obeyed.
Joseph doesn’t get a lot of screen time in the gospels, but he serves as a role-model for F3 men: Dedicate yourself to your faith. Be compassionate towards your spouse, your family, and your friends. And live spiritually attuned to the Holy Spirit, ready to follow his call wherever it may lead you in your path of life.
A joy leading you all this morning! Until next time…. SYITG.