F3 Knoxville

Friends of God

Asylum AM

THE SCENE: Windy, temp in high sixties.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 8 Twisties, 5 Burpees, 10 Windmills, 10 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward.

THA-THANG:

Mosey to beginning of the Dragon Tail.  We will do Route 66 up the Dragon Tail with Squat Jumps as the exercise.  Those getting to the top first circle back to the six and go up with them.

Mosey on perimeter trail to the stop sign by the road that goes to Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies and 15 Merkins.

Mosey on perimeter trail until it gets close to Lyons Bend.  We will do 20 American Hammers and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to bottom of Mt Everest.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to the Utility Bldg.  We will do 20 Bicycle Kicks and 15 Merkins.

Mosey up the road from Northshore Gate until we hit parking lot on left.  We will do 20 Box Cutters and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to Parking Lot by Apartments.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to roadway that goes by Outdoor Chapel.  We will do 20 Bench Dips at curb and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to parking lot that goes by new restrooms.  We will do 20 American Hammers and 15 Merkins.

Mosey to parking lot by entrance to ball parks.  We will do 20 Flutter Kicks and 15 Merkins.

Next, we will sprint from one curb in the parking lot to the other and back, doing 3 burpees at each curb.  We will Bernie Sanders from one curb to the other and back, doing 3 burpees at each curb.  We will rinse and repeat above.

Mosey to AO.

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

Some of you may have heard of a signer called Nightbirde.  Her actual name is Jane Marczewski.  At age 30 she has survived very difficult stints of cancer.  The first time she was diagnosed in 2017, she was told she would live for only 3 to 6 months.  She was cancer free after treatment but the cancer came back in 2018.  At that time, her husband of five years left her.  Through painful treatment she became cancer free again in July of 2020.  She went on to perform her own song, “It’s OK” in the 16th Season of America’s Got Talent in 2021.  Her song, “It’s OK” went to number one on I Tunes and number two on You Tube. Before the quarterfinals of American’s Got Talent, she announced she had cancer again and had to withdrawal.

Something that has been both surprising and inspirational about this 30-year-old woman is her faith in God through the torment and continuing battles with cancer.  Her relationship with God is certainly not a simple and sweet one.  But it has been very personal, and God wants us to have that same personal relationship with him.  She says:

“I am God’s downstairs neighbor, banging on the ceiling with a broomstick. I show up at His door every day. Sometimes with songs, sometimes with curses. Sometimes apologies, gifts, questions, demands. Sometimes I use my key under the mat to let myself in. Other times, I sulk outside until He opens the door to me Himself,” she continued. “I have called Him a cheat and a liar, and I meant it. I have told Him I wanted to die, and I meant it. Tears have become the only prayer I know. Prayers roll over my nostrils and drip down my forearms. They fall to the ground as I reach for Him. These are the prayers I repeat night and day; sunrise, sunset.”

Nightbirde proclaims that her relationship with God has grown through the process. She states:

“Call me bitter if you want to—that’s fair. Count me among the angry, the cynical, the offended, the hardened. But count me also among the friends of God. For I have seen Him in rare form. I have felt His exhale, laid in His shadow, squinted to read the message He wrote for me in the grout {of the bathroom floor}.

As for the name she chose to go by as a singer, Jane Marczewski says, “I want to be the bird that sings in anticipation of the good things that I trust are coming.”

Gents, let us take courage from the words of this small 30-year-old woman who weighs less than 100 pounds.  Let us count ourselves among the friends of God.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for safe travels for Pusher and family to San Francisco on Thursday; for Corona Weight and his family as he will have over 180 days of travel with his job in 2022; for Rooney’s church family; for Swimmies and his family as they move to new home this week; and, for Jinxy and his family as his daughter, Carli, and his son-in-law, Hooker, are going to have another baby.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Asylum workout on Saturday will be at 8:30 am instead of 7:00 am.  Polar Bear Plunge will be at noon at fork in river near Townsend.