F3 Knoxville

Author: Lillydipper

God Hears our Laments

THE SCENE: Nice evening, temps in 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Tempo Squats, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, 10 Shin Lifts on Curb of parking lot.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Southern Ball Fields Parking Lot.  We will do suicides running to each of five cones in parking lot.  At end of suicide run each man will do following exercises:

  • 15 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)
  • 20 Big Boy Sit Ups
  • 15 Hand Release Merkins
  • 20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Rinse and Repeat exercises only.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past Southern Ball Fields Pavilion.  We will run for ten lights and stop to do the following exercises after each ten lights:

  • 5 Hand Release Merkins
  • 10 Squat Jumps
  • 20 Big Boys
  • 30 Squats

When we reach Serpentine Sidewalk we will stop.  We then will do 14’s on Serpentine Sidewalk, bear crawling one light and running for four, repeating that pattern until we get to roadway.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs CMU.  We will do 20 Overhead Presses, 20 Curls and 20 Rows in Cadence.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Psalm 142:  1-2
1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. 
2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 

In our lives we need to guard against being overly negative.  We should have grateful hearts and be thankful for what God has given us.  But that does not mean that God doesn’t want us to complain to him.  He is our loving father.  Just as each of us who are fathers want to hear from our children if they are troubled, God wants to hear from us when we are sad, angry, confused, bitter, disappointed, overwhelmed, or desolated.  Go ahead and complain to God.  For goodness sake, about a third of the Psalms in the bible are laments!  In fact, just go to the Psalms if you want to learn how to complain.  Life presents us with challenges that are difficult to overcome.  God gives us life. Go ahead and complain to the Big Guy when you are upset with him and want to complain about the doggone life he has created.  I think of that great scene from Forest Gump when Lieutenant Dan, who lost his legs in the war of Vietnam, curses and screams at God, facing the storm on Forest’s boat, Bubba Gump.  Here are some of Lieutenant Dan’s words to God: “You think this is a storm!  C’mon you Son of a Bitch.  It’s time for a show down.  You and me.  Come and get me!”  Lieutenant Dan was certainly being open with God in that scene.  He was angry, bitter, desolated.  But Lieutenant Dan changes after that incredible scene.  He is kinder, tender even.  We see him thank Forest for hanging in there with him and ask for his forgiveness.  We see the lieutenant jump with joy into the same ocean that had presented the terrible storm only days before.  In Forrest Gump’s words, “He never said so.  But, I think Lieutenant Dan made his peace with God.”

If you want to see how to complain to God, look at the Psalms.  You will see complaints about being forsaken, about feeling abandoned, about feeling destitute.  You will also see recognition that God is there through it all, to protect, comfort and assist.  And so, David, who in various Psalms complains of the Lord forsaking him can also say in Psalm 22:

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 
4 The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; 
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 
When in trouble, when overwhelmed, look to the Psalms.  Read them while you talk to the Lord of your own tribulations.  Go ahead and complain to Him.  But also listen closely for His answer.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Sparkler’s friend, Randy, who died on Sunday, and for his family.  Prayers for Butter’s sister.  Prayers for Pinto who will have back surgery in early December.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at Truck Stop and 3rd F at Two Rivers Church on December 7.

First Last and Last First

THE SCENE: Beautiful chilly morning, temps in low 30’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Pinto Twists, 10 Windmills, Plank Stretches, Michael Phelps.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by Southern Ball Fields.  There will be eight cones set up in the parking lot.  Cone 1 and 8 will be on one side of the parking lot.  Cones 2 through 7 are on the other side of the parking lot.  We will circle clockwise around the cones.  The following will be the exercises at and from each cone:

  • Cone 1:  20 Squat Jumps.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 American Hammers (four count).  Crab Walk to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Star Jumps.  Bear Crawl to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  20 Hello Dollies.  Broad Jump to Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  10 Shoulder Taps (each shoulder).  Gorilla Hop to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  10 Hand Release Merkins.  Sprint to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  15 Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)  Bernie Sanders to Cone 8.
  • Come 8:  15 Dive Bombers.  Sprint all the way back to Cone 1.
  • Those finishing first rinse and repeat cycle until last man finishes first cycle.

Mosey to perimeter trail just past the pavilion at the southern ball fields.  We will do the following (what I call the 10 light nerve-wrecker) heading east and then north on the perimeter trail until we go on the boardwalk by the water and finally reach the serpentine sidewalk.  We will continue the 10 light nerve-wrecker on the serpentine sidewalk until we reach the roadway that is east of Pickett’s Charge.  With the 10 light nerve-wrecker, we run the length of 10 lights.  We then stop and do the following exercises in order:

  • 10 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 20 Merkins
  • 30 Squats
  • 40 Baby Crunches.
  • Rinse and repeat until every man has gone through the cycle of exercises.  Then run another 10 lights and do it again.

Once at the roadway, we will mosey to the playground.  We will do elevens at the benches, starting with one bench dip and 10 bench jumps.

Mosey to CMU Pile.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 50 Bench Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • 25 Rows

Put CMU’s back in pile.  Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Box Cutters
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Welcome Is Our Greeting

Matthew 20:  26- 28.  But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,c 27and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,d 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

At the Broylmpics last Saturday, I was one of the brothers who ran in the long distance run.  I started with the group and very quickly saw the group dash on ahead of me.  After about 1/4 of the race, Mandolin and I were consigned to last place.  We had already competed in all of the prior events.  Our bodies were aching and Mandolin was nursing a problematic leg.  We suffered onward.  About halfway through the race we see the brother who ended up being the overall Brolympics Champ, Woodshack, running towards us.  He joins us, at a pace that was much slower than his typical mosey, and encourages us throughout the remainder of the race.  He didn’t belittle us, didn’t ingratiate us, he just ran by us, commenting on the great effort he was seeing and inspiring us in a thoughtful and brotherly manner.  We finally get to the final stretch of the race along the Serpentine Sidewalk.  By this time, all others in the race had already finished it.  As I am running ahead, what do I see?  A whole line of bros coming towards us, giving us high fives and finishing the race with us.  I can’t tell you how good that made me feel.  These were my brothers.  I might have been the slowest on the distance run but I was one of them.  Something pushed me a little faster as I crossed that finish line.  And on past the finish line were the other bros, smiling at me, Hey Lillying me, and getting me in the breakfast line for some of Junk’s famous cooking.  A slice of heaven with my brothers.

This kind of fellowship is what we all need.  In F3, all are welcome, no matter what the age or what the athletic condition.  “No Man Left Behind” is our philosophy.  As Q leaders, we need to design our workouts to make sure that happens.  Those men who get to a particular destination first can keep on working on exercises, whether Burpees, Side Straddle Hops, Running in Place, or Big-Boy Sit-ups as they wait for the remaining men to catch up.  Sometimes, we even Wagon Wheel back to join our brothers at the six.

Here’s another thing that we need to remember in F3.  Those of us who are less athletic or less fit should not pridefully shun the efforts of the more athletic who come to meet us.  We should not be embarrassed or angry because we are slower.  We should greet those circling back with glee, accept their gift of encouragement.  We should also remember that we too, even though we may be less athletic, have so much to offer the brotherhood – whether it be our mumble-chatter, our humor, our smiles, our social leadership, our aged wisdom, or plain old humility.  We all are living examples to one another, to the community around us, and to the FNG’s we welcome to our PAX.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk and his wife, for Messi and his wife, and for Cheatsheet’s friend who died at the age of 49.  Be with the friend’s family at this difficult time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
On December 7 at 7 am in the morning we will have a Convergence at the Truck Stop.  We will then go to Two Rivers Church nearby for a 3rd F Gathering with Manilow as our speaker.  Food from Einsteins Bagels will be provided.

Hey, guess what?  Today is Crawdad’s birthday.  The man is now 40.

Thankful

THE SCENE: Rainy, temp in 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
10 Pinto Twists, 20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, Michael Phelps.
THA-THANG:
We met at Pavilion at Northern Ball Fields due to rain.  We stayed at Pavilion after the Warm-O-Rama to do Totem Pole with the following exercises, 30 seconds each exercise, five times each exercise:

  • Burpees
  • Squats
  • Picnic Table Pull-ups
  • Star Jumps
  • Big Boy Sit-ups

Mosey to CMU pile.  Each man gets CMU and puts it by curb on parking lot.  We will do the following exercises, then, after each exercise, bear crawl two parking spaces, lunge two parking spaces, and Bernie the remainder of the parking lot to the curb. Sprint back to other curb and do the next exercise, then repeat the trek across the parking lot.  Here are the exercises with the CMU’s:

  • 25 Overhead Presses
  • 25 Curls
  • 25 Rows
  • 25 Squats with CMU at chest.
  • 25 Incline Merkins with hands on CMU
  • 25 Decline Merkins with feet on CMU

Return CMU’s to pile.  We will then sprint back and forth across the parking lot.  We will go back and forth four times.

Mosey back to Pavilion.

MARY:
2 minute squat with back to wall.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Seven men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I Chronicles 16:34 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

As Thanksgiving approaches I want to say how thankful I am to have F3 brothers like you in my life.  As men, we need the bond of other men in our lives.  I have a wonderful wife, wonderful family, wonderful co-workers.  But I need to walk among solid men, men who strive to be HIM’s, men who challenge me, men who push me, men whom I can talk to in confidence, men who I admire, men whom I feel a unique bond with.  F3 has added something to my life.  I feel it each week, feel it in my step, feel it when I get together with you guys, whether for workouts, Coffeeteria, or a beer.  And, my wife sees this change in me.  She loves it that I go to F3.  She loves it that I am in community with such good, spiritual men.

So, I give thanks for you guys.  And, I look forward to giving you Hell at Brolympics!!

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk’s wife, Messi’s wife, Thunderstruck’s mother, Chaucer, and Butter’s son.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics this Saturday, 6:45 am at Asylum.

Taking Risks

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.

Ironies of Our Life Journey

THE SCENE: Cloudy, temp in high 50’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, 5 Burpees, 10 Windmills, Seven Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Seven Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:

Mosey to the landscaped island parking lot located south of the Northern Baseball Fields.  Bricks will be located at the entrance of the parking lot.  Each man will pick up two bricks.  We will do a Modified Route 66 around the parking lot.  Each man runs five parking spaces, does one Mini-Man-Maker, then runs five more parking spaces, does two Mini-Man-Makers, etc until he finally does 11 mini-makers.

Mosey to roadside start of the Serpentine Sidewalk.  We will do a Route 66 on this sidewalk as it heads to the Park Perimeter Trail running along the waterway.  We will start with one Dive Bomber at the first light and end with eleven Dive Bombers at the eleventh light.

Mosey to the end of the Serpentine Sidewalk where it meets the Park Perimeter Trail.  We will do 10 Imperial Walkers as a group.

Mosey to the beginning of Cardiac Hill.  We will run up hill stopping to do the following exercises at each turn:

  • Turn 1:  20 Carolina Drydocks
  • Turn 2:  20 Diamond Merkins
  • Turn 3:  20 Decline Merkins
  • Turn 4:  20 Bench Dips

Mosey to Parking Lot that is by the entrance gate to the Northern Ball Fields.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following in cadence:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • Drop CMU and sprint to end of parking lot and back
  • 20 Rows
  • Drop CMU and sprint to end of parking lot and back
  • 20 Chest Pushes
  • Drop CMU and sprint to end of parking lot and back
  • 20 Squats with CMU at Chest

Drop off CMU’s and mosey to Pavilion.  We will do 25 Picnic Table Pull-ups

Mosey toward parking lot with landscaped islands that we were at for the mini man makers.  Stop at grassy area by ball field.

Football challenge:  Lilydipper throws ball down field.  First to catch it and bring it back wins.  If you are tagged by anyone you must drop the ball immediately.

Mosey to landscaped parking lot to pick up bricks we had left off.

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:
15 Boxcutters.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Ten men with one FNG, a friend of Goober’s who was visiting from Indiana.  His name is Daniel and we gave him the F3 name of Shrinkwrap.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
I have been reading lately about Identity Formation because I have talked about that subject in a Sunday School Class at my church and to a group I met with in my work as a psychologist.  Eric Erickson’s theory regarding the states of Identity Formation is quite influential among psychologists.  You can Google either Identity Formation or Eric Erickson to read about the subject.  A very good book that talks about our growth in identify formation and as human beings is by a Catholic Priest named Richard Rohr.  It is called Falling Upward:  A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life.  Rohr talks about some important ironies for those who grow successfully as human beings (growing in the HIM type of way, not in the way the world might identify as successful such as in power, wealth or fame).

  1. The supposed achievements of the first half of life, we find, fall short.
  2. In our life journey we find that what we originally thought we were searching for is not truly what we are searching for.
  3. The way up, we find, is often the way down.
  4. We must sacrifice something to achieve something greater. Illustration:  the journey in literature.  (The Odyssey, Lords of the Ring, Harry Potter)
  5. Losing, failing, falling, suffering, and encounters with sin are a necessary part of the journey.
  6. It is often when the ego is most deconstructed that we can hear things anew.
  7. The demand for perfect is the greatest enemy of the good. (Rules and getting it right are more important in first half of life).
  8. Higher stages of development are often misunderstood and attacked by those in lower stages (think of how Jesus was attacked by leaders of “organized religion”).

MOLESKIN:

Prayer for Pinto whose mother passed away earlier this week.  Prayer for Hooker, her grandson, and Mr. Jinxy, her son-in-law.  Prayer for Goober’s friend, Bruce, whose mother and daughter died earlier this week.  Praise for the F3 brothers who were at Goliath last week and who did well there.  They also had a great bit of fun there.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria!