Happy December 1st, my friends. Day 1 of no social media is here, and I'm so excited for it, honestly. I wanted to kick this off by asking a question: Why are you doing this? Whether it's to control your dopamine addiction, or get some time back, why did you choose to get rid of social media for a month? For me, I just wanted to slow down and focus on prayer, reflection, and planning this month. I'm tired of the go, go, go, and I really want to press into the Advent season and give Jesus as much time and devotion as I can, while giving my family the same, and I couldn't do that with having to post, respond, and keep up with Instagram and all that comes with running a business on there. @Andrew Walters brought to light a great scripture to focus on during this time: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor 4:18 The question that's prompted is, what do we fix our eyes on? When we aren't pulled in the directions of our busy schedule, it's probably our phones. So we put those down. Good. Now what? Today is the first day of Advent. Let's settle our hearts on the notion that we are waiting for a savior. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel... A passage that's fitting for us on our first few days of this challenge: "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18 Prayer: Our Lord, Thank you for being so kind to us. Our focus hasn't been on you, and yet you love us and call us beloved sons. Forgive us for our distracted minds and burdened hearts. Help us give those temptations, the free time that we've pulled out our phones; help use press into the small moments with our family during this time and always. Holy Spirit, lead us during this Advent season. Show us the heart posture we need to truly dwell in your goodness and understand the depth of your love, God, in sending your son into this broken world to redeem the lost and usher in your kingdom. We long for you, Jesus. Help us wait for you patiently, with hands ready to serve, and hearts ready to receive the fullness of your love.

The week of Thanksgiving is getting blown out of the water in our "I can't wait for anything special" American culture. Christmas is overshadowing Thanksgiving by a mile, and it's not that it shouldn't, but all in good time, yes? We basically go from Halloween to Christmas now, and Thanksgiving is such a good pause to cultivate reflection, we can't allow society to push it aside on the way to a 60% off sales and Instagram worthy Christmas decor. I recently did a teaching cohort on 1 Tim 4:1-5. There's a lot in that passage that we could unpack, but what I want to focus on is verses 4 and 5. "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." (ESV) This encouragement Paul makes to Timothy comes after his warning of false teachers leading others away from the faith by turning what God made for our pleasure and his glory into a "not to do list" that leads to destructive legalism. We know God created everything good. He says it in Genesis 1 after each element of our world he created. After he created man, he called is very good. The word “good” is “tov” which means to be in harmony with God. Therefore, what we consume, enjoy, take part in, etc. it's all for our deepening relationship with God through our constant giving of thanks. I told a story on my first blog about how I was eating lunch and was lead by the Spirit into a deep sense of gratitude for the pretty basic meal I was eating. I thought of the farmers who grew the food and raised the cow. The hard work that was put into stewarding the resources to create a delicious meal. The thankfulness that I felt made a seemingly routine lunch turn into an act of worship. How, then, can we cultivate this in our life with everything? I think it's worth practicing. And not in the sense of it becoming "I must do this so I can experience that." That's essentially what Paul was warning about, although he mentioned false teachers' emphasis on abstaining from God's good creation.

What's up, dudes?! I want to do a personal challenge in December to get off social media for the month, except for this Skool Community, and focus on family, advent, prayer, and personal growth and reflection. I want to invite y'all into this, as well.⚡ I'm still planning out the details, but essentially it would be deleting Instagram, Facebook, X, etc. off your phone for the month, and return here daily for scripture reading, discussion, workouts, and weekly Zoom calls to get together and discuss what we're up to. It also will give plenty of accountability as we look to workout daily with a rest day on Sundays. So if you are looking to: - Slow down during the holidays - Reduce your dopamine addiction - Develop a consistent workout routine - Keep the holiday weight off - Grow deeper in community with like-minded men - Connect with your family during this special season - Develop a sense of reflection on the scriptures and your life - Have accountability in all of it Just comment below if you're in and invite other guys who you think could benefit from this to the Skool.👍 Let's grow in faith, fitness, and family this December while cultivate a contemplative and reflective life of slowing and intention. Hugs and High Fives, Ryan

These workouts are 🔥

Check the workout in the Classroom under Daily Workouts! I used 135 for the first set of strict press and then moved to 95. I’ve had a long term shoulder injury, so any barbell pressing hurts, but I’m trying to (intelligently) get my range of motion and strength back without hurting myself. On the Metcon, I got 13:31. I used 115 for the Push Press and 106# Kb for the squats and swings. That got me! The pull-ups were strict. What’s your time?!