10 Pax Posted for YHC’s first Q since returning to the gloom from an 18 month hibernation period. Since it is Thanksgiving week, YHC decided to take the opportunity to provide some history on Thanksgiving.
A 3 Fs were present. Here is how it all went down:
Conditions
Clear skies and 38 degrees
Disclaimer / Prayer
Warm Up
Mosey to the basketball court and circle up
SSH IC x 66
Merkins x 66
LBAC Forward x 66
The Thang
Mosey to the track
Sprint down to the end of the track – 16 squats
Sprint back to the start – 20 Crunches
Rinse and Repeat x5
Indian Run around Track – 2 laps
Mosey to the Hill:
Bear Crawl to the top – 5 Burpees
Jog to the bottom
Rinse and Repeat x5
Indian Run around Track – 2 laps
Mosey to the Flag:
Carolina Dry Docks x 16
Monkey Humpers x 16
Flutter Kicks x 33
COT/BOM
Announcements Thanksgiving Day Bootcamp pushed back to 6am
12/14 – Christmas Party
12/24 – Nativity Ruck
Devo
A Thanksgiving Meditation – Stephen Mansfield [YHC]
It must have been the most horrifying experience of their lives. Though there were slightly more than a hundred people aboard The Mayflower, only 54 were from the band of Separatists who had lived in Holland the previous twelve years to escape persecution in England. They were farmers and sheepherders for the most part, though some may have been craftsmen of one kind or another. Yet never had they been on the high seas. So it must have seemed as though the very demons of hell were loosed upon them during that fall of 1620.
The storms of the North Atlantic were so fierce and the ship so tossed that the main mast often dipped into the waves. [In fact, their partner boat, the Speedwell took on water as they left port causing both of them to turn around. When the Mayflower launched the second time, many decided that it was not God’s will for them to go.]
It was a disorienting, gut-wrenching experience even for the experienced sailors among them. The small band of believers on board¬—men, women, an expectant mother, and small children among them—were kept [below deck] for fear of the buffeting storms. Many were sick. Some wailed their agonies endlessly through the terrifying nights. The icy winds wailed with them. It was a filthy, smelly, terrifying time of testing.
The elements were not the only opposition these Christians, who would soon be called “Pilgrims,” endured. There was one sailor who persisted in calling them “psalm-singing pukestockings,” which were the two things they spent most of their time doing. Though the Pilgrims forgave and prayed for the man’s soul, he was, mysteriously, the only person to die during the voyage.
For 66 days the little ship, no longer than a modern volleyball court, made the treacherous voyage from England to the coast of what would one day be Massachusetts, [500 miles north of their planned destination in Virginia]. When the Pilgrims arrived, what must their thoughts have been as they stared at the howling wilderness that was to be their home? William Bradford, later their Governor, recalled:
Being thus passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before in their preparation, they had now no friends to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies, no house or much less townes to repair too, to seek for [aid].
What could sustain them but the spirit of God and his grace.
And perish they almost did. More than half of them died during that first winter, often called “the starving time.” At one point, each person’s ration for a day was no more than five kernels of corn and a few ounces of brackish water. Native friends like Squanto and Samoset taught the whites how to harvest the bay and the land, but the yield would not be sufficient until the next year. So they buried their dead and prayed for the mercy of God.
In the spring they planted and soon after began sensing that God had heard their prayers. The previous winter had been the worst of times, but the harvest looked bountiful now, the settlement was growing, and God seemed to be smiling upon them.
When the harvest was gathered that fall, their leaders called for some of the men to go hunting in preparation for a great feast to celebrate the goodness of God. Wild fowl, fish, and venison were gratefully prepared. They invited their native friends, too, who brought five freshly killed deer. The white women prepared hoecakes, cornmeal pudding, and a variety of vegetables while the Indian women introduced delicacies made with blueberries, apples, and cherries.
It was indeed a thanksgiving, but not just for safety and abundance of food. It was also a time to remember the words they had penned about their purpose for coming while they were still on board The Mayflower [The Mayflower Compact]. They came, they said, “for the Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith,” “for propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world; [that they would be] stepping-stones unto others for the performing of so great a work.”
So they were, and we ought to remember them this Thanksgiving, and take their mission to our hearts.
Take Away:
Thanksgiving is Thursday…
• The more you know about the history, the more you value Thanksgiving and what it actually represents.
• Remember this Thanksgiving that our Nation was founded on Christian principles and hardship. We are who we are today because of men and women who were willing to lose it all to follow a God given vision.
• This group that is here today are leaders of families, churches, businesses, this community.
• Hardship will come and it is scary (Blue Rhino is a testament to this).
• John 16:33 –“ In this world you will face trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world”
• The safest place we can be on this side of eternity is in the center of God’s Will for our own life.
• When hardship hits, learn from the Pilgrims and stay the course – this great adventure is ours and it requires enduring pain and suffering for the greater good.
• Frame all experience in light of our chief Purpose – Serve God and make him known.
In the Words of the Lion King – REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!
Hand out 5 kernels of corn – Tradition in some parts of New England is to lay out 5 kernels on a plate before your Thanksgiving meal to remind themselves of our history.
1. The first kernel reminds us of the autumn beauty all around us.
2. The second kernel reminds us of our love for one another.
3. The third kernel reminds us of God’s love and care for us.
4. The fourth kernel reminds us of all our friends
5. The fifth kernel reminds us that we are a free people
Challenged PAX to share the Thanksgiving story with their family and use the 5 kernels of corn.
Prayer