Invictus - Team Unconquerable

Last night was great!

There’s something special about the first night back after a break. You can hear the excitement before class even starts. Students catch up with friends. Instructors catch up with families. And before long, everyone is working and sweating together like we never left.

Thanks to everyone who came back ready to work! We’re excited to see what the Lord has in store this month!

Happy Independence Day! 🎆❤️🤍💙

Today we're grateful for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and for the men and women who have sacrificed to protect them. Freedom is something that's easy to take for granted until you stop and think about what it cost someone else.

As Christians, today also reminds us of another freedom we're thankful for. Because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we're no longer defined by fear, shame, or our past. That's a freedom no one can ever take away.

We hope today is filled with family, laughter, great food, and time with the people you love most. Have a safe and blessed Fourth of July!

What's one thing you're especially thankful for today?

We use the word love so often that it can be easy to forget how radical it really is.

Most of the time our culture treats love like a feeling. If we feel loving, we love. If we don't, we move on.

But the love Jesus demonstrated looked very different. It was patient when people were difficult. It was compassionate when people were hurting. It forgave when forgiveness wasn't deserved. It sacrificed when walking away would have been easier.

That's why we define love in our curriculum this way: giving someone what they need most when they deserve it the least, even when it comes at great personal cost to us. None of us does that perfectly, but all of us can grow in it.

As we start this month, maybe don't ask yourself, "Who do I love?" Instead ask, "How can I demonstrate love today?" Sometimes the answer will be encouragement. Sometimes it will be forgiveness. Sometimes it will simply be showing up for someone who needs you.

What's one practical way you can demonstrate love to someone today?

One of our favorite things about the beginning of each month is that our curriculum gives us something new to grow in together.

This month we'll be talking a lot about love. Not the version our culture usually talks about, but the kind of love that keeps showing up, keeps serving, and keeps choosing what's right even when it's hard. We'll also be working through our fifth self-defense principle, Target Vulnerable Points.

At first those two ideas don't seem related, but they actually have a lot in common.

Both require us to be intentional. You don't accidentally become someone who loves people well, and you don't accidentally become someone who responds wisely under pressure. Both are developed one choice at a time.

We're looking forward to the conversations we'll have this month, both on and off the mat. We've got a feeling they'll challenge all of us...ourselves included.

What are you hoping to grow in this month?