F3 Knoxville

THE SCENE: 70 and clear
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

Cherry Pickers – IC
Windmill – IC
Tempo Squats – IC
Motivators – Single count
LBAC (F/R) – IC
Tempo Merkins – IC

THA-THANG:

Everyone partner up with a “friend” (a.k.a. a CMU) and mosey to the Friendship Bell (a monument at Bissell Park) for the CMU Deck Workout (hat tip to Cap’N Crunch!)
– Draw a card and perform the exercise.  First one finished draws the next card and starts immediately.
– Work at the pace of the fastest man.  If you are lapped, skip the next exercise and get back in rhythm with the PAX.
– For all suits with a card value of A-5 = run that number of laps around the Friendship Bell (with your “friend”, of course)
– For the rest of the deck, perform the number of reps based on the value of the card according to the list below:

Next up….45-second intervals.  Perform each exercise for 45 seconds – 15 seconds of rest in between sets.

Flutter Kick w/ CMU
Merky-Derky
CMU Iron Mike (or lunge)
Dips w/ CMU in your lap
Lion Kings
Crunch-press w/ CMU
Curls

Mosey back.

MARY:
Heavy Freddies
Derkin Pyramid

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
8 HIMs

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

In April 2011 the General Assembly of the United Nations declared July 30 as official “International Friendship Day”.  I’m thrilled to be standing here this morning with one of my oldest and dearest friends (Archie) and six of my newest and dearest friends.

William Penn was a Quaker and a writer in pre-revolution America.  Notably, he was an early advocate for democracy, founder of the colony – later state – of Pennsylvania, and planner of the city of Philadelphia.   He wrote a book titled “Some Fruits of Solitude” – a collection of sayings (similar in tone to Ben Franklin’s Farmer’s Almanac).  It is included in Volume 1 of Harvard’s Non-fiction Classics.  In this book, Penn wrote of pride, of education, of justice, of fidelity…and of friendship.

About friendship, Penn wrote;

“A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.”

That’s what I would call a “high-impact friend”.

Let’s zoom in on those first two characteristics.

One:  As a high-impact friend, you must be advising your friends justly.  This means speaking candidly into the lives of your friends who are falling short of a high standard.  It means giving straight talk to those men around you who are acting foolishly, who are harming themselves and others around them, and who are temporarily blind, ignorant, or uncaring of their foolishness.  Our culture will accommodate, and even encourage, their foolishness.  If you are their friend, you owe it to them to show courage and speak correction and truth into their lives.

Proverbs 27:6

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend [who corrects out of love and concern]…”

Two:  In order for you to have any credibility whatsoever to speak candidly to a hurting friend, you must first consistently unbosom yourself freely to him – which is an old-fashioned way of saying “open your heart to him”.  You must be candid about your own struggles, fears, insecurities, shortcomings, dreams.  Only then have you earned to right to speak truth to him about his struggles.

As high-impact men, you are set apart from your peers – held to a higher standard.  Friendships built on common interests alone are cheap.

I challenge you today, on International Friendship Day, to unbosom yourself to a friend (share your heart) and to speak courageously into the life of a friend who is headed down a destructive path.  Uncomfortable as it may be at first, be a High-Impact Friend and you’ll be valued and cherished by those who are dear to you. 

MOLESKIN:
Praises for Samaritan’s 20th anniversary and for the safety of KickFlip’s friend’s daughter – who nearly drowned over the weekend.  Prayers of peace for Erector’s friend.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Do your friends a favor and invite them to F3!