THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp in 70’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Plank Jacks, Plank Stretches, 10 Imperial Walkers, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at northeastern corner of Admin Bldg. 20 American Hammers (for count). Mosey to perimeter trail and take trail east until we hit roadway that goes toward the parking lot with CMU’s. Each man grabs CMU. We will run around the parking lot with CMU’s preferably overhead and stop at each corner to do the following exercises:
- Corner 1: 20 Overhead Presses
- Corner 2: 20 Curls
- Corner 3: 20 Rows
- Corner 4: 20 Squats with CMU at chest. 20 Incline Merkins with hands on CMU. 20 Big Boys with CMU.
Mosey past pitching cage area to perimeter trail east of the ball fields and stop at Cardiac Hill. We will run up Cardiac Hill doing the following exercises at each corner:
- Corner 1: 20 Bicycle Kicks (four count)
- Corner 2: 20 Flutter Kicks (four count)
- Corner 3: 20 Decline Merkins
- Corner 4: 20 Bench Dips
Mosey to the Bro Olympics Field. We will do sprints from sideline to flags in ground. Then sprint back to sideline. After that we do 25 Baby Crunches. Rinse and repeat three more times.
Mosey to stop sign at southeastern corner of Admin Bldg. We will do 20 American Hammer (four count).
Mosey to Mt. Everest Summit. We will do 15 Big Boy Sit Ups, then run down the summit to pine tree grove. Do 10 Burpees. Then run back up the summit and continue to do Big Boy Sit Ups until all men make it back.
Mosey to AO.
MARY:
Sky lifts with legs, then slow drops Hello Dollie position. Hold for ten count, then spread legs and hold again. Rinse and repeat four more times.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eight men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Taking Risks With God
Deuteronomy 31:8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
At age 62, I am thankful for the blessings the Lord has given me. I have sometimes been asked if I would change anything in my life – I am lucky in that nothing hits me drastically concerning what I would change. Certainly I would want to change some of my sinful actions. But I think I would also want to have taken more risks at those times I was too cautious or insecure to act.
It is through the courage to act that great things occur for us. Think of Abraham in the Bible. God told him to go to a completely new land. He did it. Moses did the same. That took courage and faithfulness. They trusted that the Lord would be there with them. Think of when you first came to workout with F3. You had to get up at some awful hour of the morning to join some weird group of guys doing strange military exercises. Think of the benefits reaped from taking that risk. One risk I took in my life was to move my family from a comfortable home in Texas, close to family and friends I had grown up with, to come to Knoxville, Tennessee where we didn’t know anyone. Because of the move, my kids have grown up in a wonderful setting. My wife, who had no job when we arrived, now is director of the psychology dept at Children’s Hospital. And me: I have this wonderful group of friends in F3 who have become an inspiration for me in my life. When we take risks, we learn, we grow. And, God is our shepherd along the way. He will not abandon us.
But what about those times when we take a risk, make a change, and meet up with misfortune instead of success? Is God there for us even when we stumble, even when the risk we take does not reap what we hope for?Barbara and Jim were a married couple, each about age 50, who bought a seafood restaurant that I was already working at as a teenager in Dallas, Texas. I knew their two sons, who were a few years older than me, from our younger school days. Barbara had already worked as a manager of the restaurant before she and Jim purchased it. They invested a great bit of money to get it. But to have their own business was a dream for them. They made some nice changes to the restaurant and, at first, the crowds coming to eat and drink there seemed to grow. But, problems came. The restaurant was located on Forest Lane in Dallas, a four lane street located between two large high schools. Forest Lane came to be The American Graffiti street of the area. Kids drove up and down the strip, revving the engines in their cars, drinking beers and basically having a great time. Fast food restaurants began to spring up on Forest Lane, all around the seafood restaurant. Kids would park in the parking lots, drinking their beers in the cars and eating fast food. The business was great for the fast food chains but not for the more expensive seafood restaurant. Adult customers began to avoid the seafood restaurant, not wanting to deal with the traffic, the screaming teenagers, and the beer cans. Barbara and Jim started losing money. They contacted the city police on numerous occasions, hoping to have them correct the problem. However, either due to lack of legal means or just because the police didn’t care that much, nothing really happened. Barbara and Jim’s dream was slipping into the abyss. On one Saturday evening, Jim reached the breaking point. He came into the back part of the restaurant (the kitchen area) with a shotgun in his hands. If the police weren’t going to run the scoundrels off, he was going to go out to the front parking lot and do it himself. That kind of action, of course, may have been realistic in the Clint Eastwood movie wild west but not in a modern city. Barbara hysterically pleaded with Jim to get rid of the gun. He finally came to himself and handed the gun to her. He was embarrassed and humiliated to have had us employees see him in this state. He slowly walked out the back door and went on home.
The restaurant continued to lose money as the crowds continued to dwindle. I remember the night Barbara and Jim decided to give up on the restaurant. The store had closed and many of us employees were still there to clean up. Barbara and Jim made their announcement to us. The side of the restaurant that had a bar also had music speakers placed at various points along the ceiling. Barbara and Jim put on a song and slow-danced together, right their in the middle of the restaurant. The song they chose to play was Frank Sinatra’s version of “I Did It My Way.” The couple had invested in a dream and lost the battle. But they had the guts to take the risk and had given it all they got – and did it their way.
I went on to college after that senior year of school. I don’t know what happened to Barbara and Jim as my life took me on to other things. I hope they sold the store – most likely to some fast food restaurant. In any case, I chose to believe that God worked with the couple. And I have some evidence that supports my belief. The primary evidence is the nature of our God, one who loves and is filled with grace. But Barbara and Jim also exhibited evidence that supports my belief: First, they hung together in their marriage through the hard times, despite the anguish and gnashing of teeth. Second, despite the losses they suffered, they were always good to us employees and paid every cent of our paychecks, never delaying the payments. And finally, on the night they conceded the restaurant, they danced a dance that stays in my mind more than 40 years later. I will close with some lines from the song they chose to dance to:
Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way.
MOLESKIN:
Praise: for Mr. Jinxy’s return post heart catheter. Prayer: that God be with Pinto, Hooker, and Mr. Jinxy after the death of Pinto’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bring non-perishable canned goods to next workout for 2nd Harvest Food Drive.