F3 Knoxville

By the bit and bridle

The Project

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.