F3 Knoxville

Paul Bear-er

THE SCENE: Foggy and recovering from the rain.  Temp 48 but felt cooler.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER 

WARM-O-RAMA:
Warming up consisted of multiples of 3 (3, 6, 12, 24)

  • Little Baby Arm Circles (forward and backwards)
  • Hallelujahs
  • Chattanooga Cherry Pickers
  • Moroccan Night Clubs
  • Side Straddle Hops
  • Willie Mays Hays
  • Tempo Squats
  • Tempo Merkins
  • Knoxville Cherry Pickers
    THA-THANG:
    “Paul Bear-er”
  • Mosey to the track
    • Run approximately 100 meters between stations
    • First station = 6 Burpees
    • Second station = 12 – 2 count American Hammers
    • Third station = 24 merkins
    • Fourth station = 48 air squats
  • Completed 2 rounds
  • Run 100 meters up a steep hill 3Xs
  • Mosey to pavilion
    • Hold high plank for 10:00 minutes
      • Each break, 24 bench tricep dips and 24 lunges
      • Continued until 5 minutes and switched to 30 second side planks
  • Finished with 2 minutes of WW1 straight leg sit-ups

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 HIMS handled today’s beatdown.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Word was from Luke 1:46-47 and looking at need for a Savior in Christ.  With Christmas season here, focus on the main thing.
MOLESKIN:
Prayer request for Spielberg’s wife upcoming surgery.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Oak Ridge Christmas parade tonight.  Set-up at 4:30, be there by 5:00 if possible.  Bobbit on Q for Monday.  SYITG #rampart

It Was Paul’s Fault

THE SCENE: WE FINALLY SAW THE DADGUM MOON.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Administered accordingly
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH,Tempo Squats,Cherry Pickers, Gradycorns
THA-THANG:

Look: Y’all don’t realize that it was all Paul and Linda that broke up The Beatles. Yoko is wildly misunderstood and one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. She gifted us some amazing songs and shared her husband’s (can’t remember his name) musical gifts with the world. You should all be thankful for her that he was able to continue on after Paul stole the band away and broke it up.

We had some Tabata at the Splash Pad benches to some Jingle Rock n’ Roll. 20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, do it 8x then rest for a minute.

  • Dips
  • Step Ups
  • CDDs
  • Run from the splash pad, to the bath house, around stonehedge, then back to splashpad
  • Imperial Walkers
  • Merkins
  • Lunges

Mosey to the bath house for 50 second wall sits, then watch YHC fall flat on his keister.
Mosey to Flagpole for a 30 sec plank.
Fellowship(TM) Mosey to the #shovelflag. Will request to start implementing Friendship Mosey in the future. Ask Blindside what that is.
MARY:
Nada.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 PAX, No FnGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Get your rest you animals. We can only be our best when we’re feeling our best.
MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

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.

By the bit and bridle

THE SCENE: Double helping of gloom with drippy foggy 55.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • High Knees
  • Liver Twists
  • Failure to Launch
  • Down dog/up dog
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Tempo merkins

THA-THANG:

  • Divide into crews of three or two
  • Stations (50/20 x3, 30s transition)
    • Cardio
      • Jump ropes – Singles or doubles
      • CMU for Rocky Balboas
      • Slamball – Slam
    • Arms
      • 40 lb dumbbells for chest press
      • 25 lb kettlebell for halos
      • 35 lb dumbbell for tricep extensions
    • Legs
      • Weighted vest plus CMU for squats
      • CMU for Split squats
      • CMU(s) for toe merkins
    • Back
      • Sand Kettlebell/35 lb kettlebell for Swings
      • CMU for good mornings
      • CMU/35 lb Dumbbell for rows
  • Core Break 20 4-ct of each, in cadence, rotate through PAX
    • LBCs
    • Freddies
    • Box cutters
    • Awkward Turtles
    • American Hammers
  • Round two of stations
    • Cardio
      • Jump ropes – Tricks (backwards, criss cross, alternate feet, etc.)
      • CMU for Rocky Balboas
      • Slamball – High throw
    • Arms
      • 25 lb dumbbells for butterflies
      • 25 lb kettlebell for one arm OHP
      • CMU/35 lb dumbbell for curls
    • Legs
      • CMU for Bulgarian split squats
      • Weighted vest for sumo squats
      • CMU(s) for toe merkins
    • Back
      • Sand Kettlebell/35 lb kettlebell for standing dead lifts
      • CMU for man-makers
      • 15 lb Dumbbells for wings
  • RTF

MARY:
No time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Word – Psalm 32 – Bit and Bridle

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

7 You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.

11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

This psalm has hit me from several angles over the past weeks. The message is fairly direct, but I want to focus on verse 8-11, especially 9, because they carry a hard message. God will instruct you in the way you should go, whether you like it or not. Your choice is only whether to listen and trust in the Lord (like a human) or to be curbed with bit and bridle, i.e., pain and force (like an animal). The wicked, who choose the bit and bridle, have many sorrows from this instruction, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Another way to say it is “Do you want the stick or the carrot?” But this undersells the challenge, because it isn’t a one time choice, it’s an all-the-time choice. And choosing the listen and trust the Lord requires constant attentiveness. It taxes our resources, demands of us to have our eyes and ears open. We have to engage in the work. By contrast, the bit and bridle require minimal effort on our part. Just plod along and move away from the pain. You aren’t engaged in the work, simply a tool in the hands of the driver. Personally, I often find myself slowly drifting into the “bit and bridle” zone. Distraction, busy-ness, anxiety, and over-commitment lure me out of good habits and rhythms, leading to fatigue, dropped balls, and self-punishing guilt, which then cycle back into the loop. It doesn’t take long before I feel like a boxer just covering up in the corner praying for the bell to ring. That’s the trouble with the bit and bridle, it saps your strength and leaves you exhausted. Or you might say “[your] strength [is] dried up as by the heat of summer.” By contrast, while being attentive to listen and trust is demanding and requires self-discipline, it makes your efforts efficient because you are working in cooperation. This is because, as the psalmist says, “you preserve me from trouble”. If you will listen and trust, you will be guided out of trouble that you could never foresee. “Surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach [you]”. So, knowing which path pays off in the long run, can you stick to it? As CS Lewis says, this is the true function of faith, to keep to the truth which our reason has once showed us in spite of our changing moods.
MOLESKIN:
I hope everybody tried something new today. I said I would give a prize to anyone who hit the roof with the slam ball, and darned if Tuba didn’t do it. Gonna have to figure that one out…
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PARADE SATURDAY. Meet at 4 to decorate, 5 to walk, step off at 6, done by 8. Check Slack channel #christmas-parades for details.
Sign up for Papa Lock’s Christmas shindig on the 22nd.

The Stubborn Ounces Of My Weight

THE SCENE: REAL gloom in the Fake Gloom.  Misty, steamy, not too cold, not too warm.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

Performed adequately.

WARM-O-RAMA:

-20 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence

– 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence

  • 10 Temp Merkins (4-ct IC)

– 10 Tempo Squats (4-ct), in Cadence

– 10 Moroccan Nightclub (4-Ct) in cadence

– 10 Overhead claps (4-Ct) in cadence

THA-THANG:

MOSEY to Caribbean

CANDY CANE ESCALATORS (addressed questions from Swimmies)

  • Run to first cone. Do exercise then run to second cone, do exercise, run back, etc.  Go to 8 Cones. Exercises are:
    • Cone 1: 5 Burpees
    • Cone 2: 10 Bobby Hurleys
    • Cone 3: 15 Carolina Dry Docks
    • Cone 4: 20 BBSs
    • Cone 5: 25 LBCs
    • Cone 6: 30 iron mikes (single count)
    • Cone 7: 35 Hello dollies (single count)
    • Cone 8 : 40 Imperial Walkers (single count).

MOSEY to bottom of Cardiac (addressed more questions from Swimmies), stopping at Intersection to do some maintenance exercises.  Where’s Switchgrass??

Steam goes back to check, he had a ruck so will meet us later… but where? The plot thickens…

  • CARDIAC WORKOUT PYRAMID (addressed more questions from Swimmies):
    • Do the following exercises at the bottom then Bernie up to first turn and back. Do 5x reps the first time, then 10x, then 15x.
      • Star Jumps
      • Mountain Climbers (2-ct)
      • Froggie Jumps
    • Run back up the entire hill, doing 15 merkins at each turn

Where’s Switchgrass??

  • Mosey to Parking Lot  THERE’S Switchgrass!!!!
    • PARTNER UP. Partner 1 does exercise, Partner 2 goes to far end of parking lot by method indicated, does 5 SSH, and returns the same way.  Partners switch. The exercises and traveling method are as follows ((addressed more questions from Swimmies):
      • CURLS / KARAOKE LEFT
      • AROUND THE WORLDS / KARAOKE RIGHT
      • What did we do here??? / SPRINT

MARY:
About 20 seconds of STS (Stretching with Steam) before time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 Studs!!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The holiday season can be awfully exciting… but there can be a weariness that sets in too.  Weariness of parties, shopping, commercials, food/clothing/toy drives, parades and then you can add to that non-holiday related stuff… election cycles, home repairs, what have you.  And there’s also a more general sense of weariness, that despite all of our efforts to do good, sometimes it seems like we’re not making a difference.

Take a deep breath, the long view, and the celebrate the small wins.  We don’t have to save the world.  Small wins sometimes add up to God’s miracles. St. Augustine lived in N. African town of Hyppa.  (Algeria) “Architect of the church”.  Wrote incredible works and classics that have defined Christian faith for generations in a time when the Roman empire was collapsing around him. At the end of his life he was watching barbarians storming his town, knew it would burn to the ground.  Went up to the battlements, and prayed.  One of his prayers, one of his last, was this one: “Lord, my one hope, hear me that weariness may not lesson my will to seek you.” He passed away never giving up to despair.

Ted Loder was a retired Methodist minister who was known for his artistic political activism and passion for social justice.  He was named at one time One of America’s Outstanding Creative Preachers

He wrote about an older woman in one of his congregations. She was nearly blind, bad arthritis, home bound.  Lived on a small teacher’s pension that she mostly gave away to causes she believed in.  She gave to Loder a poem.  “You say the little efforts that I make will do no good. They will never prevail to tip the hovering scale where justice hangs in the balance.  I never thought they would.  But I am prejudiced beyond debate in favor of my right to choose which side shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.”  Even on days when it doesn’t seem to matter, where will you put the stubborn ounces of your weight?  Let us not be weary of doing good.

As Paul wrote in Galations 6:9-10 “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith”.  Don’t give in to weariness this holiday season.  Learn to Rest, Not Quit.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.