F3 Knoxville

JUCOnapolis 500

THE SCENE:  Perfect Morning
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith, Free, Modify, Not Professional, Own Volition, Social Distance, Phone

WARM-O-RAMA:
Cherry Pickers IC, Harry Rockettes IC; Grady Corns in Squat IC, Projectivator IC
THA-THANG:

Indianapolis 500 may have been cancelled this week but the JUCOnaplis 500 was a GO!

Quick mosey to Coupon Pile – stopping for 20 Merkins halfway.   Grabbed a coupon and started tabata timer – 10 AMRAP exercises for 50 seconds each with 10 second recovery between exercises for a nice 500 second push.  Did Walkover Merkins, Swings, Curls, Goblet Squats, Tricep Extensions, Heavy Freddy Mercuries, Overhead Press, Rocky Balboas, Bench Press and Squat Thrusters.   Dropped the coupons and headed over to the parking lot for our time trials.

Lined up on the curb across the parking lot.   Ready / Set / Go!   5 Burpees – Sprint to other side of Parking Lot; 5 Burpees; Bernie Back; 5 Burpees; and line up in the order you finish.

Now that we had our pole positions set it was time for the race.   Everyone ran the first lap (0.4 mi) without stopping at the pit (pain) stops.   At the start of the the second lap the pit (pain) were now open.  When you came to an open cone with no one at it you would stop and do the exercise on the ground then get up and start running again.  Ended up modifying to have two at each cone to make sure we didn’t run too much.  There were 10 cones with 50 reps at each cone.  10 exercises were Merkins, SSH, Flutter Kicks, Iron Mikes, Box Cutters, Single Leg Calf raises, Plank Jacks, Hello Dolly, Overhead Claps in Squat, and Mountain Climbers.

Mosey back to the AO; with a tire squealing JAILBREAK at the end.

MARY:
No time for Mary
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
20 HIMS in attendance
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Here is my best effort to put several rambling thoughts into one message for the day.   We talk about it often in F3 that we are all called to be HIMs (High Impact Men).    While we all got the Man part down…even clean shaven.   I know for me personally I can struggle with the first part – HIGH IMPACT.    When I reflect on my life, I often question am I making the high impact I am called to.   While I know I am far from perfect, I can make myself feel pretty good when I think about serving and impact those closest to me.  My family, my friends, co-workers, church community and next door neighbors (or at least those I know and like).     Where I have struggled in being a HIM is serving those that have nothing to give me in return.

You read from Matthew 5 and 6 – Jesus sermon on the mount and in Matthew 5:46-47 – Jesus says….If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?   Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?

Those are hard words to speak, to hear, to digest.  Because I know if I am honest with myself they expose the realities of my sinful nature.   But they are in red letters, Jesus is calling us to be different, to be set apart.   Mark 10:45   For even the Son of Man came to serve, not be served and to give his life as a ransom for many.   Jesus during his entire life was serving and ultimately gave his life to people who had nothing to give in return.

I can click on the link to donate money or hand out a $20 dollar bill here and there to the cause of the day and try to convince myself I am doing my part to help those in need but I know that in that moment that small token of generosity, while the right thing to do isn’t really a sacrifice.    Once again if I am honest how often am I willing to sacrifice myself, my time, my comfort, my needs, for those in true need, the orphans, widows, foreigners, poor.   That is the part of my life where I have been feeling God pull at me to make a change.   I am far from a finished product but want to be a doer of the Word, not just one who hears (James 1:22).  One who without hesitation knows the right thing to do and does it.   (James 4:17)

I stand here today thankful for many things.   Thankful for men around this circle who are constantly speaking truth and challenging one other to be the men God called us to be.   Men who are challenging each other to spend more time in scripture and prayer.   Men who are encouraging self reflection and repentance.  Men who are challenging one another to step up and help those in need.   Men who are living on mission day in and day out in the forgotten places and looking for others to join them.   I know I wouldn’t have done it on my own, I am too selfish.   But luckily, I have found you all and I have chosen to not do life alone.   

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Coffeeteria at DD still on even if GUMP isn’t here.

V(alentine’s)Q

THE SCENE:   Perfect…might have been a little cold (29F) but it wasn’t raining and it was dry.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:   Almost nailed it but Judge had to remind me this is my VQ and I am not a professional.

WARM-O-RAMA:
Burpees, Cherry Pickers, LBAC, WWII sit-ups, Tempo Diamond Merkins.  Paused to appreciate that we were still dry after Warm-O-Rama

THA-THANG:

Headed over to the guardrail for 41 tricep dips and a musical serenade to Guardrail to recognize his 41st trip around the sun.   Mosey over to the coupon pile.   Everyone grabbed a coupon, circled up and held an air chair while I explained “Capture the Coupon”   Counted off into teams of 4 and headed over to the parking lot and each team took their corner.   Each coupon had been labeled with an exercise and number of reps before the beat down.   Each HIM did the exercise on their individual coupon and then left it behind at their base while going to attack another team’s coupon supply and bring one back to their base to perform the next exercise found on the coupon.  It was mayhem for a little while but eventually the PAX got the hang of it and their was a full melting pot of the Lexicon going on simultaneously.   It was quite a beautiful scene.   Trolley tried to only capture the burpee coupon but KickFlip perfected the cup and ball magic trick and left him with bear crawls, which was still fine with him.   It was chaos but everyone seemed to enjoy it.   Mosey back to the shovel flag and had time for one more push before we timed out.   Eye of the Tiger came over the sound waves and the PAX performed Rocky Balboas until the chorus finally came.   We dropped and did merkins during the chorus and then back to Rocky Balboas during the second verse.   Did one more round of Merkins during the second chorus and then stopped for a quick Mary.

MARY:
Did pickle pounders in cadence.   Once you reached the number of years you were married you stopped and held plank.   Curveball was our most experienced pickle pounder – still in perfect form after 25 years (I believe).  RESPECT

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
29 HIMs in attendance.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
James 1: 2-4   “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”   Guardrail prayed this verse over my wife while helping stay with our children for another late night trip to the ER.   It has been on my mind ever since.   There is something about counting it ALL joy that is so beautiful but also so difficult in reality.   We all have those people in our lives that have perfected it and always have a smile on their face and you know there is nothing FAKE about it.   It is a contagious JOY that always brightens my day when I get to be in their presence.   We should all strive to live every moment of our lives with a posture towards JOY.   We can’t let the trials of the day overcome the blessings as they are always abundant when we choose to look for them.   Trials are the way God brings us closer to full dependence on Him.   It exposes the weakness in our Faith and the more we need his Grace.   We all face choices when trials come our way….turn to sin (doubting God, angry with God, turn to substance, bad relationships, etc) or submit to our inability to do it alone and the necessity of being fully dependent on Him.   In time the patience, endurance, steadfastness learned through trials sharpens our FAITH and makes us perfect and complete.    Last night my wife unbeknownst to her that I had chosen this verse to talk about said “I am so filled with JOY.  I haven’t felt this good in so many months.”  Hearing that was by far the best Valentines gift I have received in all my years and just one more confirmation of how good He is ALWAYS.   I want to thank everyone that has prayed for her and our family over the past several months,  it has been such a blessing for us all.   Let’s strive to always count it ALL joy, today, tomorrow and ALWAYS.

MOLESKIN:

Prayers for Trolley’s wife ankle and ability to see a doctor quickly.   Prayers for Commision’s friend who is recovering from an appendectomy.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
7 HIMs joined for coffee at DD.