F3 Knoxville

Category: Asylum AM

Founding AO

St. Ruby

THE SCENE: Cloudy, low 70’s but muggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 5 Burpees, 10 Iron Mikes, 4 Burpees, 10 Twistees, 3 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 2 Burpees, 7 Pterodactyls Forward and 7 Backwards, 1 Burpee, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey up Mini Cardiac.  We will stop to do 10 Tempo Squats.

Mosey on trail toward Lyons Bend until we get to rock pile.  We will each take a boulder to do 25 Overhead Presses, 25 Curls, 25 Tricepts, and 25 Rows.  Place boulders back in rock pile.

We will Mosey north and west on the trail until we get to a grassy area south of the trail.  There is a large tree stump near the roadway south of the grassy area.  We will stop in the grass about 50 yards away from the stump.  We will split into teams of two for Doras. While one partner runs to the stump, touches it, and runs back the other works on the exercises.  Then partners trade places.  Here are the exercises the partners do as a team:

  • 100 Hello Dollies
  • l100 Flutter Kicks
  • 100 Gas Pumps
  • 100 Freddy Mercuries
  • 200 Baby Crunches

Mosey on the perimeter trail pass the entryway from Lyons Bend and to the rock pile that is on the way to Mt. Everest.  Each man will take a boulder to do 25 Overhead Presses, 25 Curls, 25 Tricepts, and 25 Rows.

Mosey to the bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will do 20 Merkins and 20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  We will then run up Mt. Everest heading left by the split and then going to the roadway.  We will do 50 Baby Crunches and 25 Dead Bugs.

Mosey to the Space Needle.  We will go clockwise around the admin building.  First we will run up to the back porch, run across it, then run to the north side of the building.  There, do 20 Diamond Merkins.  Next, run to the front steps of the admin bldg.  Run up the right side of the stairs and run down the left side.  Next run to the south side of the building.  Do 20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Then run to the Space Needle and go up the stairs to the top and back down.  Rinse and repeat the circuit two more times.

Next we will run to the Coliseum Area. Next, we will run counter-clockwise 3/4 of the way around the circle.  At 1/4 of the way around the circle we will do 20 Squat Jumps.  At 1/2 of the way around the circle, run up the right side of the stairs of the admin bldg. and down the lefts side.  At 3/4 of the way around the circle, do 20 Smurf Jacks.  Those finishing the Smurf Jacks first sweep everyone back, clockwise, to where we started in the Coliseum Area.

Mosey to Haslam’s Rock.  We will take a 30 second gander at the best sunrise in America.

Mosey to bottom of Mini Cardiac.  We will race up Mini Cardiac.

Slow Mosey to AO.

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

St. Ruby

Matthew 20:25-28

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

Leadership comes in different forms.  I think that when we generally think of a leader, we think of someone having power or command over others such as the president, the general, the drill sergeant, the CEO, the coach, the quarterback or, yes, the N’antan.  And, certainly, those titles are examples of leadership.  But the power or command type of leadership, as Christ states in Matthew 20, is not the only form of leadership or, to God, the most desired.

Today, I want to talk about a special leader in my life.  She is my mother-in-law, Ruby Grimes.  She is such a good person that those in her family, like me, often jokingly call her St. Ruby.  What is she like?  Well, Ruby Grimes is someone that just makes you feel better in her presence.  What do you feel?  ACCEPTANCE.  With that southern voice of hers you just feel the love. Ruby is going to remember your favorite food and the next time you visit you will get that food.  For me it is always Ruby’s famous Chicken Salad.  She also remembers how I love Pecan Pie and I always get that on my birthday.

Now just because Ruby is a sweetheart does not mean that she is a pushover.  She is going to defend her Kentucky Wildcats to her dying day.  At Christmas time, Ruby has always had two Christmas trees up in the house – the normal Christmas tree and the blue and white Kentucky Wildcat tree.  When you watch a Kentucky basketball game with Ruby you must keep your hands up in the air when a Kentucky ball player is shooting a free throw shot and then come down with your hands yelling ”whoosh” after he makes the shot.

Ruby loves her grandchildren.  And, she has always thrilled with laughter to see their play.  I remember walking into her house, after taking a walk in the Grimes neighborhood, to find my two children, who were young at the time, and their cousins, who are about the same age as them, taking turn sliding down the basement stairs on an old thin mattress.  I exclaimed, what are you doing, you could mess up the stairs, tear up the mattress or get hurt!  “Naw, Gigi gave us the mattress and told us it’s ok.”  I gotta admit that I tried it a few times and had a blast.

Ruby is like a light or magnet that you are just drawn to.  If you go to the Grime’s church with her, expect to have to wait around forever after the service is over.  Ruby has all these church members crowding around her, jabbering with her before we get to ride home in the car.

It has always been tradition, since I married my wife, Jan, that, wherever we lived, we would be at the home of Ruby, and my wonderful father-in-law, Dorlan Grimes, at Christmas.  When my mother was living, she would look just as forward to going to their home for Christmas as I would.  Ruby and Dorlan were wonderful to my mother.  One year, when we were living in Utah, my mother got pneumonia and we could not go to Kentucky for Christmas.  I remember crying like a baby, not only sorry that my mother was so ill, but also that we would miss out on seeing St. Ruby and Dorlan.

Ruby is now 90 years old, as is her husband, Dorlan.  Ruby has Alzheimer Disease now, has had it for years. If you talk to her, she will sound normal for some time until she asks you the same question three or four times. She can no longer cook because her memory is going.  She and Dorlan sold their home a year ago and now live in a senior living setting – but a nice one where they can interact with friends.  Dorlan must look after Ruby, helping her sometimes with getting dressed.  Ruby can no longer bake me those famous pecan pies or make that amazing chicken salad.  Ruby cannot have the deeper intellectual conversations that she used to.  But she has kept that amazing smile and still exudes that special kind of love.  And what happens when your memory goes?  You get to look at pictures of your family and friends, again and again, day after day, and experience the same joy because you forgot you looked at them yesterday.

Ruby Grimes, you mean so much to me.  I love you Saint Ruby.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Kinsey family and Dung Beetle’s son, Baby Cronk, after a recent fender bender.  Prayers also for them financially and personally after some damage to home.  Prayers for father and father-in-law of Q-Bert, particularly for his father-in-law who had recent seizure and possible stroke.  Prayers for Matlock’s 15-year-old nephew, John, who has had significant neurological issues and recently has another surgery where he had 13 more holes drilled in his head.  Prayers for the 18-year-old daughter of one of Abacus’ friends, who also recently went through neurological surgery.  Prayers for those, like St. Ruby, who have Alzheimer’s Disease.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The F3 in the Nude event will be at 7 am at the Cove, next Saturday.  It will be a beach type workout.  Crispr will still lead a workout at Asylum Breakout that morning at 7 am.

Let Freedom Ring

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, low 80s but humid
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
25 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Tempo Squats, Patriotic High Knees Around Parking Lot, Patriotic Butt Kick Around Parking Lot, Patriotic Bernie Sanders Around Parking Lot, 7 Twisties, 7 Windmills, 7 Pterodactyls Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the parking lot with the nice restrooms.  We will Bear Crawl to First Island, Lunge to Second Island and Sprint to End of Parking Lot.

Mosey to the Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will do candy canes, moving in a counter-clockwise direction around parking lot until we get to the cone at the end of the candy cane.  We will stop at every other island to do the listed exercise.  Once the first man arrives at the end of the candy cane and completes the exercise, he sweeps all men back to the start.  We then do the next exercise.  Here are the exercises:

  • 10 Merkins.  Sprint between islands.
  • 10 Squats. Sprint between islands.
  • 10 Baby Crunches.  Bernie between islands
  • 10 Hello Dollies. Sprint between island.

Mosey to picnic tables that are east of the Caribbean.  We will alternate between 20 picnic table pull ups, 20 Bench Dips, and 20 Step Ups.

Mosey on the perimeter trail south until we get to the area that splits into three trails:  the boardwalk trail, the pine needle trail, and the concrete trail.  We will split into teams for Doras.  While one partner does the exercise, the other partner takes one of the routes to the other convergence of trails and then comes back.  Then partners switch.  Partners should take alternate routes each time. Here are the exercises that partners will do as a team:

  • 100 Jump Squats
  • 100 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 100 Carolina Dry Docks

Mosey north to grassy area by where perimeter trail and serpentine trail converge.  We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to the Pavilion near baseball field entranceway.  We will do 20 Incline Merkins on picnic tables.

Mosey to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
We had 12 with no FNGs.  Kentucky brought his 2.0s, Smartie and LeBron.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Let Freedom Ring

Herbert Hoover

“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.”

Albert Einstein

“For everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom.

Alice Walker

“No person is your friend (or kin) who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.”

The news of today is often a running complaint on American politicians, cities, institutions, and the state of our nation.  I sometimes get caught up in that stuff and wonder about our nation.  But gents, we are so lucky to live in a land that is built on the notion of freedom and continues to work to protect our rights to be free.  Many of us tend to take that for granted.  But think of people in other countries that do not have our freedoms:  the freedom of religion, to choose where we want to live, to go into the vocation that we desire, to associate with whom we desire.

I am thankful for that freedom and thankful for those who helped establish it.  I am thankful for those who fought for our independence. I am thankful for those who continue to fight for our freedom.  I am thankful for those who serve our government, whether federal or state.

Like my brother High-Heels was saying the other day, we have plenty of brothers in F3 who were born in other countries but who are thankful to be living here in the United States.  And like he was also saying, in the United States, if you are willing to work hard and put in the effort, you are going to do alright in life.

So on this independence day, let’s give thanks.  Thank you God for our country.  Let Freedom Ring.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Wedding Singer’s son who graduated from high school in May, for Soot and his health after the fainting spell, and for Q-Bert’s father and father-in-law.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at Shamrock at 7 am on July 8.  Arrive at 6:45 am.

Children of God

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Run half way around parking lot and Bernie Sanders the other half, Motivators starting with 7, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Tempo Merkins, 7 Cherry Pickers, 7 Windmills, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the roadway that head toward the Admin Bldg.  We will stop to do 20 Rocky Balboas and 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to the Stop Sign at the Northeastern Corner of the Admin Bldg.  We will be heading along the road that semi-circles around the Admin Bldg.  We will stop at each cone to do the exercises listed and then move to the next cone according to the directions given.  Here are the exercises at each cone.

  • Cone 1:  10 Burpees.  Bear Crawl to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct). Bernie Sanders to Cone 3.
  • Cone 3:  20 Diamond Merkins.  Sprint to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4:  Go down stairs by Bat Cave then head south and run up summit of Everest to roadway and Cone 5.
  • Cone 5:  50 Baby Crunches.  Karaoke Right to Cone 6.
  • Cone 6:  20 Bobby Hurleys.  Karaoke Left to Cone 7.
  • Cone 7:  20 Imperial Walkers (4 ct).  Sprint to Cone 8.
  • Cone 8:  20 Smurf Jacks, 20 Big Boy Sit-ups, 20 Merkins, 20 Squat Jumps, 20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct), 20 Shoulder Taps, 20 Iron Mikes, 20 Bicycle Kicks, Rinse and Repeat.

Run down Mt. Everest and back up again.

At incline at top of Mt. Everest we will do Sevens starting with One Star Jump on the roadway and Six Burpees where incline flattens.

Mosey to small parking lot below and south of Coliseum. We will do Doras with partners changing after one partner has run upstairs, south, and back down road to parking lot. The other partner does exercise. Each set of partners will do the following exercises as a team:

  • 100 Dead Bugs (4 ct)
  • 100 Imperial Walkers (4 ct)

Mosey to Coliseum.  We will run counterclockwise around the loop.  Starting at 6 o’clock we will do 20 Squats.  We will do 20 squats at 3 o’clock.  We will run up and down stairs of the Admin Bldg. at 12 o’clock.  We will do 20 squats at 9 o’clock.  We will stop at 6 o’clock where we started

Mosey to AO via the route past Haslam Rock.

MARY:
Absominals.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
We had 12 men with no FNGs.  It was great to have Lebowski back with us.  We were also honored to have Sanctions visiting us from Franklin, TN.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My best friend growing up was a fellow named Neil Deutsch.  We were next door neighbors in Dallas, Texas when I was age 3.  I cried the day Neil and his family moved to Memphis, TN.  Neil and I had just finished 3rd grade.  But, we stayed in contact.  Sometimes I would go to Memphis to visit him and sometimes he would come to Dallas to visit me.  The two of us decided to go to the same University – Baylor University – after completing high school.  Neil decided to go even though he was Jewish.  Baylor actually was one of the less expensive universities in Texas that Neil could attend as an out of state resident as it had great alumni support which drew down tuition.  Neil has remained a best friend to me.  I was best man at his wedding and he was best man at mine.  Pele got to meet Neil when both of them attended the wedding of my son, Bennett (aka Puddle).

Going back to our preschool years, Neil and I did all kinds of things together.  I remember playing “guns” at his house with his Uncle Steve who was about ten years our elder.  Whoever was “it” went to hide in the house and also got to possess Neil’s toy machine gun that sounded awesome when you pulled the trigger.  The pursuers had to count and then come hunting.  They had the lesser guns but also were allowed to possess one hand grenade (the grenades were actually boxing gloves).  Uncle Steve made sure everyone played fairly.

On Saturday mornings Neil and I would sit in front of the TV set with our cowboy hats on and watch westerns. We filled his dad’s shot glasses with Red Kool Aid and called it “Red Eye”, slugging the shots down like true cowboys.  We might also go outside and climb fences.  One of our favorite places to climb was a fence between my house and another neighbor’s.  It was a high spot and Neil and I liked to see who could pee the furthest from the top of the fence.

Now best friends do fight when they are young boys and Neil and I had our fights. Since I was about ten months older and was taller by nature than Neil, I always won the fights . . . that is until we had our great great fight of Religion.

Like I said, Neil was Jewish.  I was Christian.  One fine day we were playing on the See-Saw in my back yard and started talking about religion.  I, as a Christian, claimed that Jesus was the Son of God.  Neil, being Jewish, and not being as familiar about the son of God business, claimed that Moses was the son of God.  Well, I flat out told him he was wrong and he flat out told me I was wrong.  The conversation got more heated while we went up and down on the See-Saw, which was on of those flat board like structures.  When I was down on the ground and Neil was high up in the air on the other side of the See-Saw, I, in my anger, decided to scoot off the seat of that See-Saw.  When I did, there was absolutely no weight to hold Neil up in the air.  He came crashing down with a great Kerbannnnggg!

That boy who had never beat me in a fight was mighty angry and if he were David he would have certainly slew Goliath.  He came running after me and grabbed after me by pulling on my shorts.  I fell to the ground with my shorts down and my buttocks exposed.  What did Neil do?  He bit my butt!! He bit hard!! I ran to the house crying and screaming, with Neil following me, in tears himself.

Imagine my mother, hearing both of these boys crying and telling her what happened.  And then this Christian woman was asked by each of us, “Who is the son of God?”  My mother looked at me and looked at Neil, each with teary eyes and questioning faces.  She paused and then put her arms around both of us.  Her answer to us?   “We are all the children of God.”

Gents, take comfort in that.  Isn’t it good to know that each of us, no matter what our backgrounds or beliefs are the Children of God?

MOLESKIN: 
Prayers for safe travel for Sanctions as he had on with his trip to North Carolina today.  Prayers for Dung Beetle who is in the process of looking for a new job.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at Shamrock on July 8.  Be on lookout for special Ruck opportunities that will be announced on Slack.

Miracles

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators starting with 7, 10 Mountain Climbers, 7 Windmills, 7 Rockettes, 7 Twistees, 7 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Little of This and That.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to dirt path south of the Admin Bldg Road and then go to the Cul de Sac at the southeastern corner of the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to the Coliseum. Then mosey downhill downhill to the main park roadway.  Stop at the top of each of the three hills on the way down to do 4 burpees.

Mosey to the Caribbean Parking Lot.  We will run East on the South side of the parking lot stopping at the 2nd and 4th island to to the first of the listed exercises below.  We will then Bernie back on the West side of the parking lot stopping at the 2nd and 4th island to do the second exercise listed below.  We will repeat the above pattern with the 3rd through 6th listed exercises.  Here are the exercises:

  • Bear Crawl 10 Lengths
  • Backwards Lunge 10 Lengths
  • Standing Broad Jump 5 times
  • 20 Baby Crunches
  • Lunge Forward 10 Lengths
  • Backward Standing Broad Jump 5 times

Mosey back toward the roadway.  Next, we will run the Pickett’s Charge up to the Coliseum.

Mosey to the small parking lot down the stairs and to the south of the Coliseum.  In the parking lot we will do the first of the listed exercises below. We will then run up the parking lot, up toward the cul-de-sac, then toward the stairs that go back to the parking lot.  Those getting to the stairs first will sweep everyone back to the starting point.  We will then do the 2nd exercise but go the opposite direction with the rabbits sweeping us back when they reach the upper part of the parking lot.  We will repeat the above pattern for the 3rd and 4th exercises.  Here are the exercises:

  • 15 Imperial Walkers
  • 15 4 ct. Flutter Kicks
  • 10 Hand Release Merkins
  • 10 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)

Mosey to the steps of the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 4 ct Calve Raises.

Mosey to the AO

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

Miracles

If only you believe like I believe baby in miracles – we’d get by.  – Jefferson Starship.

Surely the lord is in this place and I did not know it.  Jacob speaking in Genesis 28:16

Many of you may have heard of Salmon Rushdie’s book, The Satanic Verses.  It is a famous book because after it was published, in 1989 the country of Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa against Rushdie, proclaiming that the novel was blasphemous to Islam and calling for his death.  Rushdie has received protection in both Great Britain and the United States since that fatwa.

I have read the book and it really is a great book.  I don’t think Rushdie meant it to be a blasphemy of Islam although he does make some criticisms of Islam writings.

I bring the book up because there is an amazing passage in it where humans fall from a hijacked Jumbo Airliner to the earth below.  By miracle, two of the passengers survive.  One of those is the main character in the novel.  He knows it is a miracle.  After all, how could a person survive such a fall?  Yet, over time, he forgets the miracle.

How often do we do the same in our own lives?  We have a miraculous experience, so thankful at the time for what we have experienced . . . and yet, over the years, we forget about it.

I personally need to hang on to those miracles, pin them to my chest.  I know that miracles have happened in my past that I have simply forgotten.  I do remember some.  One example:  I didn’t think it would be possible for me to get into a doctoral psychology program after I had spent years studying law and floundering in that profession.  It would take too much time and money and it would be crazy to make such a change in careers.  On a day when I was ready to quit the law practice my boss convinced me to take undergrad courses in psychology and, afterwards, apply to doctoral psychology programs.  I did so but didn’t get into the program in Dallas I was hoping for.  Instead, I was accepted by a program in Aggieland – Texas A&M.  Through loans, stipends, and very cheap housing, I was able to get my doctorate.  What I had only dreamed of actually happened.  And, another miracle:  I met this woman from Kentucky who just happened to apply there as well – that woman became my wife.

I never want to forget that miracle.  I still thank God for it.  There are others I remember but some that I unfortunately have forgotten.

What miracles have happened to you in your lives?  Are there places where God is working in your life but, like Jacob, you don’t know it?  Search for the miracles that God has presented to you.  Write them down and remember them.  Finally, wait for more miracles to occur.  They will happen. God remains with you and will continue to perform them for you.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for On Star regarding his citizenship status.  Prayers for those impacted by the fires and smoke from coming from Canada, including the wildlife impacted.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
This Saturday we will gather at 9 am to help work on and beautify the Asylum. On Saturday, June 17 we will have a F3/Fia team for the KARM Dragon Boat Race. Through the following 1 1/2 weeks, F6 and the Tennessee Valley Players will be performing Beauty and the Best at the Auditorium of Catholic High School.  The website for tickets is posted on Slack.  Our own F6 will be in the performance.

Listen

THE SCENE: Partly cloudy, temps in upper 50s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Rocking Chairs, 10 Gas Pumps, 7 Twistees, 7 Pterodactyls Forward, 7 Pterodactyls Backward, Little of This and That

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do Elevens starting with 10 Picnic Table Pull-ups and 1 Step up.

Mosey to beginning of Cardiac via the batting cage area.  We will run uphill stopping at the following areas to do the following exercises:

  • First Corner:  20 American Hammers (4 ct)
  • Second Corner:  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • Third Corner:  20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)
  • Benches:  20 Bench Dips.
  • Rinse and Repeat

Mosey to the top of the Dragon Tail.  We will run down the trail and past the restrooms until we get to the roadway.  We will stop every five lights to do 10 Merkins.

Mosey to the Caribbean.  There will be cones place at every other island.  There is a list of exercises below.  We will do a candy cane run around the parking lot, stopping at every cone to do the first exercise listed.  This will continue until the end of the candy cane.  However, the first man who completes the exercise at the top of the candy cane (where two cones are placed together) will sweep all men back to the start.  Then we will do the same but with the next exercise on the list.  Here are the exercises:

  • Bear Crawl for 10 paces
  • Broad jump forward 5 times
  • Lunge backwards 10 paces

Next we Gentleman’s Mosey to the street, then run up Pickett’s Charge.  Those getting there first circle back to the six encourage them up the hill.

From the Coliseum we will run counterclockwise around the loop.  We will stop at 3 o’clock, 12o’clock and 9 o’clock to do the the listed exercise. The first man to complete the listed exercise sweeps all men back to 6 o’clock.  Here is the exercise:  20 Carolina Dry Docks at 3, up and down stairs at 12, and 20 Carolina Dry Docks at 9.

Mosey toward Haslam Rock.  Stop to gaze at the best sunrise in America.  Then mosey to AO.

MARY:
Abdominals.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
12 Men, no FNGs.  We had Eliza, who calls his home Shamrock, working out with us this morning.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

James 1:19  :  My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

I think it is the tendency of us men to want to fix things. That can be good when it comes to repairing your home.  But it can be bad when it comes to hearing someone who needs to talk or helping those in mental pain.  Perhaps our desire to “fix it” is why men are often accused of not listening as well as women. Someone shares their sorrows with us and we want to fix it, to make it right.  It is difficult to listen to the cries and tribulations of others.  Knowing the other is hurting, we may be too quick to give advice that the sufferer has already heard before. We don’t like it that the other is in pain – it disturbs our own world and we want to make that world right, smooth and non-painful.  So we dole out the advice without fully listening.

Here’s some advice when someone needs to talk or comes to you in mental pain:  LISTEN.  Be there for that sufferer.  Frankly, sometimes there is no worldly solution.  Life can hurt and sometimes there is no answer other than “Live and Let God.”

Here’s a quote from the theologian, Henri Nouwen, that I think is quite apropos:

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.  The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.

True listening is a skill that all of us need to learn.  It can hurt to truly listen to someone who is hurting because we suffer too.  But, in so doing, aren’t we becoming more like Christ or God would want us to be, taking on the wounds of our fellow humans?

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for our Veterans with praise for them serving our country; prayer of praise for the good news about Matlock’s nephew, John, who had successful brain surgery; prayers for those traveling, including high school students like Snitch’s daughter who will be traveling to Colorado to a Christian based camp there; prayers for Sparkler’s father-in-law who is critically ill.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

There is a flag posting ceremony at the Veterans Cemetery across Lyon’s Bend starting at 8:30 this morning.  Men are invited to join the Boy Scouts who will be posting the flags for the veterans.  Some of us will also be going to Hardship Hill today to help set up obstacles.  The race is Monday.  On Saturday, June 10, we will have a workday here at the Asylum to help beautify this wonderful park.  Drum Major set up this service opportunity up for us.  On June 17, F3 and FIA will contribute to the KARM Dragon Boat Festival.  And, registration in now open for FORG3, a F3 brotherhood event that will occur in September.