F3 Knoxville

Author: Guardrail

In Tents Rain

THE SCENE: pouring rain, 40°
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Delivered
WARM-O-RAMA:
Grasshopper, Baby Arm Circles, Harry Rockets, 8 Count merkins (not as good as Butterknives counting Monday)
THA-THANG:
Quickly ran for cover in the ‘circus’ tent behind the building that makes an appearance in nearly every picture.

While one HIM did a farmer carry around the building (lap 1), around the tent (lap 2) and rifle carry down the stairs and back) the remaining HIM’s did rounds of the following

Since last week there was so much moaning about abs, we did more:

Cross Knee Planks, Heavy American Hammer, Torture Tucks, Heavy Big boys. CMU paddleboats, 1 Up 2 Down (Really slow, really big flutter)

Then Legs: Heavy Squats, Wall Kicks (minus the wall), Bonnie Blair, 4 Way lunge

Then we switched to Arms: Curls, Merkins, Dry Docks, Donkey Kicks

Finally we rolled some 8 sided dice for more core, arms and legs.

MARY:
No time for it and it was really dang wet.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I am not a professional …. and that applies to this topic as well.  I am NOT a therapist.
I’m not good at Loss, Lament or Listening.  But we are out here to get better where we are weak.  No man left where he is, right?

We are good at some aspects of grief – I’m so proud of how F3 Knoxville has collectively mourned the loss of Cardinal.  We are good a doing grief. 170 show up for a memorial workout. GoFundMe climbs to 100k in a week.  We buy t shirts. Make videos.
But we are not good at verbalizing grief.  First to God. out loud. Nor are we good at sharing it with brothers.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22 ESV

Next Level: be more like David.  Have the courage to ask questions we can’t answer and ask them with someone hurting.
“Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Psalm 10:1 ESV
Can it get awkward?  Yes.  Lean into that.
What if I say the wrong things? What if I forget? that information is a burden. What if I can’t carry it?
What if I don’t have the right response – (they are not looking for a response – they are looking for connection.)
What if I make them cry? What if I cry? How do you hold it together? YOU DON’T!
We have that point of connection in Christ. Sin keeps us from being able to connect… but as we journey closer to Christ, less obstruction, more connection, more healing.
I don’t know what “science” says about growing your EQ… but in Christ, your ability to Empathize will grow. We have the Holy Spirit.
It’s what I want to work on. By God’s grace we all can become better listeners. Better at Loss and better at Lament with one another.

MOLESKIN:
Continued prayers for Andrea, Cardinal Jr and Evie.  Prayers for Jen and Rob as they have 9yr old John’s funeral Thursday

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
VQ from Trash Panda on Friday!

Will Power has limits

THE SCENE: 23° wonderful dry and windless
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Grasshoppers (thanks Dartgun for the introduction to those), SSH, Butt kicks, Reverse Planks, grady corns and tempo merkins
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the guardrail for 10 colds dips, then at each stopsign or crosswalk burpee till the 6 arrives and do 1 more.  We were going to go around campus but the east side was too icy so just a big arch to the lake and back where we did 4 corners.

  • 1st Corner: 20 SSH, 15 High Knees, 10 Butt kicks and back up the ladder. Bonus: mtn climbers
  • 2nd Corner: 20 Flutter, 15 Freddy, 10 Reverse Planks.  Bonus:Superman
  • 3rd Corner: 20 Merkins, 15 Dry docks, 10 Wide merkins. bonus: Welsh dragon
  • 4th Corner: 20 Jump Squats, 15 Squats, 10 Pistol squats.  Bonus:  Toy soldiers

A little CMU time to make sure they were  not too cold or frozen to the ground.
MARY:
American Hammer and Hello Dolly
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“so shall my word be that goes out
from my mouth; it shall not return
to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which
I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11 ESV
Being out here we’ve found our limits
We also have limits when it comes to will power.
I read about a guy who had a resolution for a Cold shower every day.  He grew to like it, then hate it.  But he put on 15-20lbs because he used up his will power and didn’t eat right or do other things.
In my case, step goal streak.  I let my steps and hitting my goal every day this year take up too much of my thought, family time and will power.  Didn’t blow off the important things, but could have done them better.
It’s less about streaks and goals and more about habits, character and who we really are.

Prayer life or Cold showers?
Step goal or time face to face with your wife and kids?
Sticking to some strict diet or getting deeper relationships with some men at f3?
Becoming more accomplished in your career or becoming more like Christ to those you work with?

None of these are mutually exclusive, but at some level they are.  God is infinite. We are not.
Choose how you will spend your 2023 wisely.
Choose habits and trends that produce more fruit where you really want to see it.
2 Tim 4:5 As for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelsit, fullfill your ministry.
“1 Tim 4:8 For physical training is of some value,
but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence January 7th.

Uphill Service

THE SCENE: 60, damp but not raining!
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Side Straddle hops, moracan night clubs, Imperial Squat Walkers (botched the counting on that one)
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the guardrail for 20 dips.

Then 20 Merkins followed by 20 BBS, then 15, then 10, then 5 of each.

Black snake the long way to the handy CMU pile where we grabbed a CMU for every other HIM.  Guantanamo Circle for 1 round holding the cmu off the ground.

Mosey to Jucomojaro and partner up for a dora.

  • 20 Moving Blockies
  • 40 Tricep Curls while walking uphill
  • 60 OHP while walking uphill
  • 80 Squats moving uphill
  • 100 Curls while walking uphill

Partner would run up to the next street drain with headlamp and shovel or rake and clear the debris from the clogged drains.  running back down to swap with the partner.

The water will now run down Juco so much better.  might even be dry next time.

MARY:
Hello Dolly, Crabby Rockets, Superman, Freddie Mercury, LBC, Heels to heaven
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I recently had a chance to talk to some newly married couples and they were to ask us questions about life and marriage.  A) this made me feel old, but that’s okay.  The first question of 10 we pulled out was a great and hard question:  How do you interpret Phil 2:12 that says “to continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling?”  Not the question I was expecting, but it taught me 2 things:

  1. People are hungry for opportunities to talk truth.  Challenge: Make those conversations happen.  Ask hard questions, find someone to mentor, join a men’s group, read and discuss a book with a group.   Serve the community by making this happen.  Service isn’t just clearing drains on Jucomojaro or giving to the poor.  Give to your brothers by talking truth with them this year.  23 days left.  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”
  2. I’m encouraged by young people in the church asking great questions.  Learn from them and ask good questions.  Don’t fly over familiar passages like they are just nice sayings or familiar text.  Wrestle with it. In fact, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”  If you are in Christ, given your life to Him by putting faith in Jesus alone for your salvation, the work and fear and trembling isn’t over if you are saved.  That work is finished, but since you are saved, take the work of responding to God with the greatest level of seriousness that you have – it matters to the Kingdom and it matters to God.

MOLESKIN:
Thanks brothers by serving each other by being out in the gloomy mornings to encourage us to grow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Dec 21, Climb Clingmans with HIMs for the latest sunrise of the year.  See Kickflips email or ask me for details.

Play House and 6pack hunt

THE SCENE: Cool, dry and perfect
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Insert information about the warmup.
THA-THANG:
Run to the Clayton Performing Arts Center, aka the Playhouse

  • SSH in each brick Cubby
  • Bear Crawl the short stairs
  • Hop on the loading dock
  • Run to each entrance to the building and do 20 of the following and then move to the next door
  • SSH
  • Kick throughs
  • Donkey Kicks
  • Dips on the bench
  • 1 Leg squat
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Newton’s cradle
  • Diamond merkins
  • Merkins
  • Jump Squats

Grab some lights and head to Jucomajaro

1 “scout” went up 1 line while the rest did the following until his return

  • Flutter Kicks
  • Imperial Walkers
  • LBC
  • Side Crunches
  • Plank
  • Hello Dolly
  • Superman

At the power lines, did “11’s” with X man Crunch and Crabby Rockets but with the #6 instead because running short on time.  Ran to the top of the regular Juco, Mosey down.

MARY:
Box cutters & Done!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

We have the promised Holy Spirit – don’t miss this power.  It’s not from you.

Acts 1:8 But you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses ….to the end of the earth.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit is a reminder to be Bold.

  1. Speak for Jesus
  2. Know that you are not the power source
  3.  Be refreshed and respond in obedience.

Constant Promised Growth

THE SCENE: 59, Misty Rain (that wet stuff, if you recall)
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Step overs, Tempo Merkins, Mountain Climbers, Cherry Pickers and OYO
THA-THANG:

Today was all about measuring some physical achievements to see how we are progressing.  Is our effort producing fruit?  Remember, this isn’t a competition expect for against yourself.  We last did this on a hot day in July.

  • 100m dash
  • Max Pull Ups
  • # of heavy thrusters in 2:00
  • 1 Mile Run time
  • Time to do 50 Curls
  • Time to do 50 Tricep extensions
  • Max Merkins consecutive

MARY:
Had time for some Imperial Walkers when we got back and then counted off.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs (1 runner joined us for the prayer)
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Some of you may have found today you were faster and stronger than last time in some things. That’s awesome and maybe IPC was good for something.
But for those of you with a few trips around the sun, you know that isn’t always going to be the case.
Being out here with Respect or Double respect probably means you are not as fast as you once were.
The graph of max merkins over the years is more of a mountain than a growth chart.
Do I share this to bring you down on a Monday morning?
Not at all. Because progress and growth on biceps means nothing compared to the plans God has for your soul.

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Tim 1:8

The graph of your soul’s growth has some peaks and valley’s in the beginning but once God will takes hold of your heart and He works on it and ultimately sanctifies you, it’s a rocket launch once you zoom out enough.

Are you growing as a worshiper? That’s what we’ll be doing forever.
Is your soul able to sing like never before (see Matt Redmond’s 10,000 reasons for an awesome song and inspirations to this word)

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matt 24:13
So regardless of progress measured today, know that God is in the process of making all things New.

Consider the 10 yr old boy who upon asking his mom about the MRI results (news wasn’t good, 20% growth) here is how the conversation went:

In true John fashion, he has handled the news better than the rest of us. The first thing he asked me when he walked in the door after school was, “So have we heard about the MRI yet?” I told him that the tumor had grown, though just a little bit. His immediate response was, “That’s OK, God has it ALLLLL under control and after here, we will get to be together forever in heaven!” He didn’t have any questions for us, other than he wondered what day of the week it would be when he got to heaven, and if they would have the same days of the week that we have here. Heaven is a very real place to him, and God‘s promises are very real to him. The faith of a child is an amazing thing, and we are so grateful to the Lord for the way we see His Spirit in John!

We should all think a bit more like John.  The graph of his soul’s growth and faith is a rocket launch!

Here are the numbers from last time and this time for the guys here today.  Bold = better.  Keep up the strong work.  Shrubbery, way to crush it on the pull up, mile time and merkins!

HIM
Butter knife
Data
Guardrail
Guardrail
Nadia
Shrubbery
Shrubbery
Survivor
Wanderer
Wanderer
Date Oct 31 Oct 31 July 25 Oct 31 Oct 31 July 25 Oct 31 Oct 31 July 25 Oct 31
100M 19 15.51 17 16 15 16.92 15.48 skip 15.85 16.75
Pull ups 11 15 26 26 4x 21 24 5 5 4
Mile 7:06 6:55 7:27 7:11 6:56 6:30 6:18 9:46 9:11 9:40
Thrusters in 2:00 45 60 27 cmu 44 47 42 35 45 35 coupon 48
50 Curl time 44 50 1:00 cmu 54 1:10 :43 40 1:30 :46 coupon 1:04
50 Tri ext time 45 dnf :47 coupon 42 45 :37 47 1:00 :45 coupon 42
Max consec. Merkins 36 23 22 35 40 34 56 29 13 30

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for our John (see above), Booster (see Slack), Wanderer’s dad and Data.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics Saturday!  Get signed up to help.