We had a great weekend and the guys are still talking about it. Big Mike’s mom is looking into taking him white water rafting on their vacation. This is just a draft if you think I need to add or take away anything just let me know.
Soul City brought 9 young men to Rocks to Rivers July 29-31. The adventure aspects were great. We climbed some of the most impressive rocks in Southeast. The Ocoee delivered on thrilling adventure. The best part of the trip however was the council fire. Watching young men come alive as they deal with thoughts, ideas and time that most of the world just skips over. I was personally challenged during these times of coaching and I am grateful for my time of coming alive.
Scott Fortenberry
Soul City Church
-Takeover Testimonials-
As soon as Bill said he was doing a trip to Colorado I knew I would be interested. I got on the plane both nervous for the week but also excited. After meeting some of the other guys I knew we would all get along great. After being home for about two weeks I am confident in saying if you are hesitant on going on a trip or not, GO. What do you have to lose? I met some guys that have some incredible stories and I wouldn’t trade the moments I shared with them for anything. We rock climbed, white-water rafted, and hiked to the peak of Mt. Harvard which sits right at 14,420 feet. The real life knowledge I gained on this trip is crazy wether that comes from God, the Leaders, or the other guys with me. I can defiantly say I put my body to the test on this trip, physically, but I also really gained confidence, self-awareness, relationship skills, and many more things. One reason I went on the trip was because I wanted to strengthen my relationship with God. I came back home so glad that I did that because I couldn’t think of any better way to do that. There’s a reason they call it “God’s Country”! Wether you want to unlock some of your potential, see things from a different perspective, learn a new direction in life, meet some awesome people or just do some really cool stuff then I would recommend this trip for you. I am so grateful for my Mom, Bill Blair, Branden Henry, God, and everyone else who has impacted me and allowed me to go on trips like these.
Bennett Weeks
Foundational Fitness for Mountain Movement
When your environment is whipping your butt, it’s hard to find joy in the mountains. Some of this has to do with the elements or the environmental risks associated with the activity, but often it is because we ourselves are unprepared for the task at hand.
For the past 3 weeks, I’ve been posting short videos about building foundational fitness for mountain movement. I share these videos because the Mountains Move Me - I love being in them and I don’t want to miss out when I’m in them. This is where adventure is your swift teacher!
Fitness helps to create space for me to be present and enjoy what is possible in the mountains. I listen to others better, I’m mindful of what is changing in my environment. I’m more confident and able to respond to emergent situations.
My experiences in the mountains have taught me that RUNNING, coupled with 4 SIMPLE MOVEMENTS lays a firm foundation to enjoy the adventure.
R2R for Mountain Movement
Let’s keep it simple so pick 2/workouts to couple with your Running and then Rotate
Here you go:
Run, Pick 2, Rotate
Pushups
Pullups
Lunges
Squats
Why Rotate?
Rotating your movement days will allow your muscles time to recover
Why so much running?
Running works your entire muscular system and builds your cardiovascular foundation. Also, when you are at a higher elevation you want to be able to draw on this foundation for sustained movement throughout the course of the day.
How many sets should I do?
Start small and build on your foundation. Remember that you don’t want to get injured, so don’t overdo it.
I hope this helps you prepare for your movement in the mountains.
Let’s GO!
Put Fear on the Page
There is a step of a personal journey that suggests we can place ourselves in the care of God. This is an acknowledgment that God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. For many of us, this is uncharted territory; it is the chasm of the unknown. Fear may be in the way of our willingness to trust, but it has little foundation since we are talking about what may happen to go wrong in our future.
A few years ago someone put to me that FEAR is an acronym for “Future Events Appearing Real.” Another friend said it stands for “False Events Appearing Real.” Whatever the approach, we can get a general sense that future based fear is a condition of feeling controlled by phantom outcomes.
That being said, not all of us come at trust in the same way. Some of us jump from the high dives and others of us want to make sure the pool is a certain depth before we ever put our toe in the water.
To place ourselves in God’s care, we may need an immediate exercise in faith, or we may need to come awake to what fears are driving our decisions before we are willing to let go. Whichever option connects with you, this is where pausing to reflect on your fears and journaling them out can be helpful.
When we get the narrative of our fears on the page they seem to lose some of their power to hold us back.
If you are at crossroads in your personal journey or you struggle to place yourself in God’s care, then take a second to put your fears on the page and see where it takes you.
Your Friend,
Bill
Sideways - a lesson in expectations and God's way.
I felt stagnant, but conscious that I needed help. I had glaring gaps in my personal life; places for growth and development where I felt emotionally stunted. I was growing aware of my need to be mended, filled, and healed. I was afraid to reach out because I felt inadequate, and certainly didn’t want others to see that about me. I was asking God for help, but desiring that he work in familiar ways; ways that I was comfortable with.
As it turns out God is a pioneer; he blazes new pathways in our hearts and minds. I see only in part but he sees the whole picture, and if I am willing, he will work to bring my prayers and his provision together. Sometimes I sense he lets us in on this process and other times I observe myself trying to place my expectation on the process.
In my story, I went to God looking for spiritual fathering and mentors. And as my common practice, I sought out an older man to be a mentor. When I subtly asked him if he would mentor me he kindly encouraged me to trust God to provide the mentoring through a collective of new, safe friends, young and old who could share their experience, strength, and hope. I was taken aback at first because I thought I was experiencing rejection from this older man, but as I leaned into the process God came in sideways. You see I had relational wounds: betrayals, rejections, and shame from multiple people and situations in my story. And as many people do, I build up walls, fighting, flighting, or freezing in some of those areas in my life. I was frozen emotionally at certain ages and phases of my development. I needed some type of safe avenue where I could grow up emotionally and God knew that new healthy relationships could develop those ars of my life that lacked courage, confidence, and acceptance. When I let go of controlling the process, he provided me with deeper friendships, mentors and father figures, young and old, that have helped to heal and grow areas of my life as a man.
What I'm learning is that God doesn't always work through the lens of our expectations but often he meets greater needs beyond our scope through new and unexpected avenues. This process grows my consciousness of his presence and how he sees far beyond what I can, even as it relates to me on a personal level. I'm not always an expert on me, but God is. I'm trusting God in a way that I haven't since early childhood, and I've found new courage and kindness growing in me through the process.
I'd like to add that sometimes I'm not always able to see the growth and healing, so I'm glad that my new friends and mentors hold up mirrors to show me who I truly am today. They do this through honest feedback, holding space for my uncertainty, acts of kindness, and by trusting the process themselves.
Thank you, God, for coming in sideways. And for showing me how big you see. Keep my head on a swivel to see more of the ways you work.
Let’s GO!
Bill Blair
Into the Wilderness
A couple of years ago I was in a personal slump.
I was trying to hold together a changing work environment and desperately battling deep feelings of loss and inadequacy. But beneath this narrative was the greater story of the death of my dreams. Through bouts of resentment and depression I struggled for the answers to why I was so unhappy.
The Upside of Down
Without A Doubt
In the 90’s I was with hanging off a climbing tower with some colleagues and a boy named Nick.
Nick was there for climbing camp had been working for several days of working through his fear of heights. This was Nick’s final day of camp and even though the rest of his cabin had gone on to dinner, Nick and one of his counselors stayed back so nick could give the rappel challenge one more try.