F3 Knoxville

Author: Kick-Flip

Milestones

THE SCENE:  High 50s and clear.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • RFTS / LIH
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Willy Mays Hays
  • Down/Up Dog
  • Merkins
  • Mountain climbers
  • Projectivator

THA THANG:

Mosey to the big lot.  Flutter kicks for the six.

Run the length of the lot.  At each line, rotate 90 degrees – so you sprint, side shuffle, bernie, side shuffle, sprint, etc until the end.  LBC for the six.

Mosey to Sophomore Hill and partner up. (Hat tip, Archie!)  Pairs spread out across 6 stations.  At each station there is a “stationary” exercise and a “move” exercise.  First partner does the “stationary” exercise until the second partner does the “move” exercise to the cone and back.  Two minutes each station.  20-second recovery and rotate.  Performed 10 sets.

Exercises were;

  • Station 1:  Bear crawl / Flutter kick
  • Station 2:  Sprint / Carolina Dry Dock
  • Station 3:  Broad Jump / Heels 2 Heaven
  • Station 4:  Sprint / Burpee
  • Station 5:  Lunge / Merkin
  • Station 6:  Sprint / Mountain Climber

Mosey back to the big lot.  Dolly for the six.  Run and rotate again – same as before.

MARY:

Imperial walkers

Jailbreak!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

Me and 13 of the best men I know

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Joel 1:3, “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.”

Ps 78:1-4, “Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!  …We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done.”

Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

We will have a theme for you during the BOM this week – and the theme is Family Discipleship.

Family discipleship is telling the coming generation about the character of God – and teaching them His instructions – or, to use F3 language, teaching them to live and lead virtuously.

Each of the Qs this week is going to present one way that can be done.  These are not exclusive of each other – rather, they really complement each other…

This morning, I talked about milestone occasions.  It’s not very often that we get these opportunities…  BIG moments – special times when your words and actions as a father – which are already so powerful – are magnified tenfold again!  Things like;

  • Birthdays
  • First / last day of school year
  • Move homes
  • Buying their first car
  • Profession of faith
  • First breakup with boyfriend / girlfriend
  • Death of a loved one
  • Formative talks (e.g., the sex talk)

These days could come and go like any other – or, with some planning and deliberateness on your part, these could be memorable or even life changing moments in your child’s life.  You have an awesome opportunity to mark your children and make those occasions like a pillar on the timeline of their lives.

What can you do to make these times deeply meaningful?  Maybe…

  • A well-thought out talk, speaking blessings into their lives.
  • A special gift that reflects the occasion.
  • A trip with just that child.
  • A hand-written letter.
  • Others!

I talked about one way that I’m doing that in my children’s lives.  Every fourth birthday, my sons have received a special gift and a blessing from me.  Each of those birthday blessings is about two paragraphs that I’ve scripted to say exactly what I want to say to them – and it is themed around 2 characteristics that I want my sons to grow to be as men.

We are striving to be men of high-impact.  Where that begins – where we have the MOST IMPACT – and where it is MOST IMPORTANT – is at HOME.

MOLESKIN:

This morning was about discipling your kids by planning for and facilitating meaningful milestones in their lives.  Come back for Part 2 on Wed and Part 3 on Fri!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Diligently

THE SCENE:  54 and clear
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:  OYO

THA THANG:

IPC Week 2

Line 1: 5 Blockees, then rifle Carry 25 yards to Line 2.

Line 2:  CMU exercise, then farmer carry back to Line 1.

AMRAP for 45 minutes

Line 2 exercises were;

  • 10 We’re Not Worthy
  • 15 Goblet Squat
  • 20 Tricep Extensions
  • 25 CMU Swings
  • 30 Curls

MARY:

None

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

12, including FNG Pleasantville

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“Diligently”: adverb.

  1. in a way that is careful and uses a lot of effort.
  2. With conscientious and persistent effort or attention.

In Scripture, we are commanded to diligently teach our children about God and His Word.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.”

I’ll suggest that the vast majority of the way we “teach” our children is not with words, but through our modeling.  What you think, say, and do will make a profound impression on what your sons and daughters will think, say, and do as they grow into maturity.

Does that mean we put on an act for them?  No. “Your kids learn how to love God by watching how you love God. While you are called to disciple your kids, the call is not to give them a fictitiously polished version of yourself.” (Hat tip to Matt Chandler).  But as HIMs, we must Get Right and put persistent effort or attention toward Living Right and Leading Right.  

Two chapters before the commandment to teach our children diligently, we are commanded to diligently…take care of our own souls.

Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.”

– “It has been said that as goes the family, so goes the world. It can also be said that as goes the father, so goes the family.” Voddie T. Baucham Jr., Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes

“A man cannot give away what he himself does not possess” (Q Source 2.4, Positive Habit Transfer).

MOLESKIN:

IPC Week 2…WOW!

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

9/24     Kids triathlon (The Project is a race sponsor!)

10/27   Oak Ridge Halloween

11/4     Brolympics

12/2     Knoxville Christmas parade

12/10   Oak Ridge Christmas parade

Shovelflag Handoff at The Project

THE SCENE:  68 and clear – perfect.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

RFTS/LIH
Willy Mays Hays
Seal squats
Down/up dog
Mountain climbers
Merkins

Mosey to the Friendship Bell
10 lateral box jumps
20 dips
30 derkins

THA THANG:

Dirty MacDeuce
1. 12 Flutter kicks (4 count)
2. 12 Shoulder taps (4 count)
3. 12 Hello dollys
Run a lap.
Repeat x 4

Mosey to K-25 Hill
11s – Burpees and Freddy Mercury (4 count)

Long Bernie up the road

MARY:

Mosey back to the Friendship Bell

Mucho Chesto

Freddy Mercury IC

Another Mucho Chesto

Another Freddy Mercury IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

Me and 22 of the best men I know

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

We showed honor to Erector and acknowledged that The Project exists today because he and others (Rocket, Chaco, Snaggletooth, Samaritan) launched it in February 2019.  What a positive difference it has made in my life – and in the lives of many other men in the Oak Ridge area.  T-Claps, brothers!  Erector led for a while, then Snaggletooth, and it was my joy and honor to lead for a season, and today it was a privilege to pass the flag to a man whom I esteem so highly.

The mission of F3 is to plant, grow, and serve small workout groups of men for the invigoration of male community leadership.  Fitness is not the endgame or the goal.  Your virtuous leadership – in your family, in your work, at your church, in this community – that is the goal of F3.

What makes a man a Leader?  What enables a man to do what a Leader does?

What F3 says it takes to be an effective leader are these four capabilities;

  • Vision – the ability to recognize Advantage and the Movement required to achieve it
  • Articulation – the act of describing his Vision to others
  • Persuasion – the initiation of first Movement
  • Exhortation – A leader is ready to use Exhortation to incentivize his followers

But an Effective Leader is not necessarily a Virtuous Leader. For that, F3 says he must also possess the Leadership Virtues.

  • Candor: graciously telling the hard truth and demanding to hear it from others
  • Commitment: unwavering loyalty to the Group and unflinching determination to accomplish its Mission
  • Consistency: to be unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time
  • Contentment: stability of emotion engendered by the Consistent pursuit of Joy rather than Happiness
  • Courage: setting aside fear to turn hardship into grace

To Lead Right a person must be both an Effective and Virtuous Leader

We could have a BOM on each one of those capabilities and virtues separately – but I wanted to cover the whole F3 leadership model this morning as an introduction for the man who is accepting the shovelflag.  That dude is the whole package.  He possesses every one of these capabilities and I’ve seen each of the virtues reflected in his life.  Mathlete is going to be an outstanding leader of this group – and I look forward to following his lead and am excited to see where we go!

MOLESKIN:

If he had been there, Baby Chest would have loved the double Mucho Chesto.

Mucho gracias to our visitors from JUCO, Shamrock, and Equalizer – awesome to see you guys!

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for Ribbed’s wife’s healing, for Boy George’s wife’s interview today, for an unnamed F3 brother.

Ungroomed

THE SCENE:  68 and clear
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Blurted out at 0529 so we could squeeze every last minute of fitness in.  No FNGs…you all know the drill.  
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Phelps
  • Fence steppers
  • Grady corns
  • Finkle swings
  • Cherry Pickers
  • Willy Mays Hays
  • Merkins
  • Mountain climbers
  • Down/up dog

THA THANG:

  • Mosey to the guardrail. 20 bulgarian split squats (10 each leg) + 20 Dips + 20 Derkins

 

  • Mosey across the street to JUCOmanjaro.  Mosey up the hill to a cone.  Stop for some merkins and flutter kicks, then back down the hill.
    Give each man a playing card.  When I say “go” – sprint up the hill toward the cone.  The first man who makes it there will turn around at the cone and come back down.  When that man passes you, lay your card down where he passed you, then come back down the hill with him.
    Back at the bottom…we do some Mary and a short rest.
    Time for another sprint up the hill.  You know how far you made it last time (where you laid your card down).  You can make it farther this time!  When your legs and lungs are aching, dig deep and keep going.

 

  • Mosey to Tune-Up Salon.  7 of diamonds with…
    • Diamond Merkins
    • Iron Mikes
    • Burpees

MARY:

3 minutes of Mary – dealer’s choice

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

Me, 14 of the best men I know, and two of the best 2.0s I’ve ever known

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I combed my hair this morning…because every third Friday in August is “National Men’s Grooming Day”.  So, that’s what we talked about…grooming.

Of all the books in the New Testament that are attributed to Paul, the book of 2 Timothy is believed to be his last writing.  Paul was imprisoned in Rome and knew that he would be executed soon.  In writing to Timothy, Paul warns him about types of men that he should avoid.  Paul says to avoid men who are arrogant…abusive…ungrateful…treacherous…reckless… he names 19 characteristics of men to avoid.  The last of those is “have nothing to do with men who have the appearance of godliness, but deny its power”.  Men who have an appearance…who created and maintain a façade…men who groom themselves to look like something that they are not authentically.  Avoid that type of men.  We talked this morning about how we can avoid being the type of man who grooms himself to try and look like something that he is not. 

In F3, we use the acronym EQV.  It’s short for the Latin phrase, “Esse Quam Videri” – “to be, rather than to seem.”  To BE…rather than to seem.  All these things that you are called to be as a HIM – faithful, trustworthy, kind, supportive, generous – to strive to genuinely BE them in your core, not just to seem to be them.  EQV means your motives and thoughts match your actions.  We are striving to be the Real Deal.

“To be, rather than to seem.”

Here’s the hard question:  Is there an area of your life that you’ve groomed yourself to have an appearance of something instead of genuinely being?

I have two.

  1. I want to BE a fully devoted and faithful husband.  By that I mean not only outwardly…not just 99.9% of the time… but also in every action…in every secret thought…in every private moment… Truly faithful at all times, in all ways, in my very core.
  2. I want to BE an authentic friend.  Not just the appearance of a friend – but a real, genuine, valuable, friend.  That requires me to be transparent and vulnerable with my friends.  It also requires me to speak hard truths to my friend about his missteps, it requires me to hold him accountable to a high standard*.  None of those I enjoy – but they are what an authentic friend does.

I’m working on those things.  How about you, BB reader?  Will you do some work today on living authentically?  Work on BEING instead of SEEMING.  Not groomed, not appearance, but the genuine real deal.

Proverbs 10:9, “The one who walks in integrity will experience a fearless confidence in life, but the one who is devious will eventually be exposed.”

MOLESKIN:

*Hat tip to Guardrail for being this kind of friend.  After a time I was Q a few weeks ago, he caught up with me and corrected me on an important point I made during the BOM.

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for BK’s uncle, for Guardrail’s daughter, Dart’s father, Shrubbery’s friend, for Wingman’s family.

Passing the shovelflag at The Project on Tues.

Borrowed Ethos

THE SCENE:  73 and clear.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered faithfully, even though the PAX were eager to get started.
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH
  • KCP
  • LBAC F&B
  • Mosey
  • Tempo Squat
  • Mountain Climbers

THA THANG:

Mosey to the Rock Pile.  Toys are set out in a circuit.  Visit each station for 50 seconds, switching with the timer.  No rest in between.  Keep track of your total number of reps.

  1. Tire hit
  2. Goblet squat
  3. Ball Slams
  4. Jump rope
  5. Battle rope alternating waves
  6. Thrusters
  7. Stack squat
  8. CMU swings
  9. Heavy Lunges
  10. Curls
  11. Bench Press
  12. Single Arm Row (Left)
  13. Pull ups
  14. Hanging Leg Raises
  15. Mountain Climbers

Mosey recovery.

Round 2:  Flip the cards.  Can you beat your total number of reps from Round 1?  Exercises were;

  1. Tricep extensions
  2. Tire flip
  3. Jump rope (double under)
  4. Slam ball launch
  5. Blockees
  6. Battle rope slams
  7. OHP
  8. Plyo merkins
  9. Heavy Al Gore
  10. Good mornings
  11. Single Arm Row (Right)
  12. Farmer Step-ups
  13. Hanging Leg Raises
  14. Pull ups
  15. Flutter kicks

MARY:

5 minutes of Mary – dealer’s choice

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

Me and 11 of the best men I know

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The United States Coast Guard tracks its lineage back to August 4 of the year 1790, when acting on the recommendation of then-Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, Congress established the Revenue Marine and authorized the construction of a fleet of ten small ships, whose responsibility would be enforcement of our nation’s first tariff laws.  In the early 20th century, that organization would merge with the U.S. Lifesaving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard, dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing our nation’s maritime laws.  On this, the birthday of the Coast Guard, we drew our inspiration from that organization’s Ethos.  The United States Coast Guard’s Ethos is this:

  • I am a Coast Guardsman.
  • I serve the people of the United States.
  • I will protect them.
  • I will defend them.
  • I will save them.
  • I am their shield.
  • For them I am Semper Paratus (“always ready”)
  • I live the Coast Guard core values.
  • I am proud to be a Coast Guardsman.
  • We are the United States Coast Guard.

When your life’s purpose is outside of yourself (and bigger than yourself), living purposefully requires self-sacrifice.  To be a high-impact man, we are called to self-sacrifice and to live not for ourselves, but for others.  Within F3, we say “Live Third”, which is to “consistently and deliberately place oneself behind Creator and Community”.  God, then family, then me.

Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

I frequently struggle with this, but this morning shared a recent victory.  Tomorrow, we close on a new home.  We’ve been looking for almost 2 years and the reason it has taken so long is 100% me.  The reasons we started looking for a new home were, 1) to have more bedrooms so we could become a foster family, and 2) to be closer to the activities for my wife and kids.  I then layered on top of that short list ALL my interests; a pool, a workshop, the right “look”, a short commute…me…me…me.  I lost track of our original two objectives and became consumed with my own interests.

About a month ago, the reality of my selfishness hit me like a falling ton of bricks and I vowed to set my long set of “wants” aside.  So, when my wife brought me a listing that she wanted to see, I said, “go and see it, I’ll watch the kids”.  When she came home and said it would work for us and wanted to make an offer, I agreed without stipulation.  We offered…they accepted…we’re moving.  It’s not exactly the home I would have picked for us (which, BTW, probably does not exist) – but it is perfect for what the family needed.  After 2 years of thinking and acting selfishly, I was finally able to Live Third and put their interests ahead of my own.

In homage to the Coast Guard, we borrowed their ethos and re-purposed it for application in our lives.  We substituted “husband” and “father” into that Ethos – and it made a pretty good operating standard for Living Third. 

  • I am a father. I am a husband.
  • I serve my family.
  • I will protect them.
  • I will defend them.
  • I will save them.
  • I am their shield.
  • For them I am Semper Paratus
  • I hold myself accountable to high values.
  • I am proud to be a father. I am proud to be a husband.

BB Reader,
In what ways are you putting your interests ahead of your family’s interests?
How can you practice Living Third this week? 

MOLESKIN:

  • Nice to have Chit Chat from downrange again!
  • Ocho is crushing it!  Keep it up!
  • What?!?  Nobody beat their score from Round 1???
  • Missing you, Snaggletooth!

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • Workday this Saturday
  • Family Workout this Saturday
  • Shield Lock Pool Party this Saturday
  • Prayers for Tuba and Boy George