F3 Knoxville

Tag: Commission

Don’t let the artificial distract you.

THE SCENE: Rainy with a heavy downpour that let up mid-workout.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Run in place, Arm Circles X 10, Leg swings X 10, Air Squats X 10, Merkins X 10
THA-THANG:
HIIT/ Tabata: 5 stations/rounds, 5 exercises per round. 1 minute 10 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest. 60 Break between rounds.

  • Station 1: Squat jumps, Mountain climbers, Plank jacks, Merkins, Big Boy Sit-ups
  • Station 2: Lunges, High knees, Burpees, Freddie Mercury, AirJump rope
  • Station 3: Side Straddle Hops, American Hammer, Plank hold, Tricep dips, Wall step-ups
  • Station 4: Wall sits, Skaters, Superman hold, Leg raises, Low Plank -> High Plank -> Merkin Progression
  • Station 5: Alternating side lunges, Butt kicks, Shoulder Taps, Peter Parkers, Merkin Jacks

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

How do you feel about this workout? I confess that I did not build that workout, and I did not copy anyone else’s. What if I told you that the workout was designed by an AI Bot?

The way technology has developed never ceases to amaze me. I often tell my kids how funny it is that we used to see video games released and how great the graphics were. And now there are times when the graphics honestly do look realistic. Think about how easy it is to connect with others now. Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, etc.

With the technology available I was able to prompt a program to create this workout in 10 seconds and make minor alterations; I swapped 3 exercises. It is amazing the developments that humans are making.
But how often do we get distracted by the things of this world that we change our focus (and not just the niceties, it’s the stresses and struggles too)?

While these things truly are amazing, on any given day there are a number of reasons and ways God shows his love and awesomeness. Whether it’s the beauty found in nature. Or it’s a child who gives that extra big hug, at the exact minute you need it without prompting. I recently shared that my wife hasn’t been feeling well; the amazing part of this is that you could tell that the 5-month-old could realize it. He would look at my wife and you can see he just wants to ask what’s wrong? and sometimes it’s a group of men you know you can count on to be there, physically, mentally, or spiritually…

I’m aware that I often fall victim to these distractions. Often times I get so distracted by work and finances, vehicle and house issues, social media, or games. They eat and consume so much of our time, but only if we let them.


In Matthew 22 there is a story about Jesus. The Pharisees up to their tricks again tried to trap Jesus and asked about paying taxes. In verse 21 Jesus replies ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.’ That doesn’t begin and end with taxes or money. It’s our attention, our affection, our praise, our respect, our acknowledgment.

The point is that as incredible as this world is and the accomplishments mankind is making its full of distractions that take on minds away from where our ultimate focus should be. Our master is infinitely more remarkable and we can see that everywhere.  So the challenge for you today is to give that extra attention to noticing the blessings of God in our lives and to thank and praise him for all the ways he pours his love over us.

Double Scoop of Jucomajaro with 44 sprinkles

THE SCENE: 52°, Soaked street, dry skies.  Perfect.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Harry Rockets, Grass Hoppers, 8 Count Merkin, Growing Arm circles front and back, Cross Knee Plank, Mountain Climbers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the favorite hill across the street, Jucomajaro.  At every other line did 44 “Sprinklings” of the following

  • N.E.S.W Lunge
  • Squats
  • Merkins (count down and up)
  • Cross Knee Plank
  • Bonnie Blair
  • Dry Dock
  • American Hammer

Flutter Kicks and Ring of Squatting Fire at top.  On the way down did the same exercises.

Once at the bottom, Ran for the top then picked up the 6.

MARY:
Made it back in time for some Imperial walkers, Hello Dolly, Freddie Mercury

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ that lives in me and the life I now in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave His life for me. Galatians 2:20

“The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the alter.”

I’ve been reading A.W. Tozer’s Crucified Life.  Amazing book that makes it clear that the power of the Christian life comes from dying to self and living for Christ.

But there are so many obstacles and I find this to be so true in my life. I want that verse to be true of me, but there are things we must sacrifice.

  1. Safety
  2. Convenience
  3. Fun
  4. Popularity
  5. Worldly Success

“Fun” stuck out to me, but is worth considering.  We have fun out at our AO, we enjoy fun times with the family.  But not everything is fun.  And living the life God wants for us, Fun can’t be the first priority.

I was convicted as I read this is a Poem written on new years day 1945.  With yesterday being my birthday makes me ponder the year behind and ahead in a New Years kind of way:

With every power for good to stay and guide me,
comforted and inspired beyond all fear,
I’ll live these days with you in thought beside me,
and pass, with you, into the coming year.

While all the powers of Good aid and attend us,
boldly we’ll face the future, be it what may.
At even, and at morn, God will befriend us,
and oh, most surely on each new year’s day

The old year still torments our hearts, unhastening:
the long days of our sorrow still endure.
Father, grant to the soul thou hast been chastening
that Thou hast promised—the healing and the cure.

Should it be ours to drain the cup of grieving
even to the dregs of pain, at thy command,
we will not falter, thankfully receiving
all that is given by thy loving hand.

But, should it be thy will once more to release us
to life’s enjoyment and its good sunshine,
that we’ve learned from sorrow shall increase us
and all our life be dedicate as thine.

To-day, let candles shed their radiant greeting:
lo, on our darkness are they not thy light,
leading us haply to our longed-for meeting?
Thou canst illumine e’en our darkest night.

When now the silence deepens for our harkening,
grant we may hear thy children’s voices raise
from all the unseen world around us darkening
their universal paean, in thy praise.

While all the powers of Good aid and attend us,
boldy we’ll face the future, be it what way.
At even, and at morn, God will befriend us,
And oh, most surely on each new year’s day!

But here is the thing. That was written 1945 by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In prisons on the first day of the year he was killed for his faith.
We have to be willing to give up our lives for God’s glory. Most of us won’t cash that check, but we need to write it and be willing to.
Show that by giving up
Saftey | Convienince | Popularity | Fun | Worldly Success
Instead set your mind on Christ and be able to, at the end of your life, not just the peak and say with Paul:
I have been crucified with Christ, It is no longer I who live but Christ in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave his life for me.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
VQ Friday!

Feb 25: AO scouting at Melton Lake Park, Oak Ridge

Painting Cardinal’s widow’s house.  March 18

Wild at heart retreat: March 24-26 REGISTER HERE

Be a Kingdom Man!

THE SCENE: 48 and probably too nice for the gloom
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Side Straddle Hops (IC) X 10
  • Cherry Pickers (IC) 4 CT X 10
  • Baby Arm Circles Forward X 10 (IC)
  • Baby Arm Circles Backwards X 10 (IC)
  • Tempo Squats (IC) 4 CT
  • Temp Merkins (IC) X 10
  • 1 minute any stretch you need
  • Mosey to Sophomore Hill

THA-THANG:

Doras at Sophomore Hill

  • 25 Burpees
  • 50 Big Boy Situps
  • 75 Diamond Merkins
  • 100 Lunges
  • 150 Merkins
  • 200 Squats
  • 250 Flutter Kicks

Coupon Work –

  • 20 CMU Curls
  • 20 CMU Tricep Extension
  • 20 CMU Bentover Rows
  • 20 CMU Overhead Press
  • Run to the parking lot
  • Rinse, Repeat

MARY:  LBCs X 25
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA   16 men trying to get better

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

I saw Dr. Tony Evans at the 865 Mens Conference last weekend.  Dr. Evans was amazing.  He preached 2 separate 45-minute sermons without looking at his notes.

He brought the heat, challenged each of the 1,900 men there, and prayed for us to be the men we need to be and God called us to be.  He shared that NFL officials have a book of rules to follow…sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.  Men of God do too…the Bible…sometimes we follow it and sometimes we don’t.

Tony encouraged us to be Kingdom Men, Kingdom Husbands and Kingdom Fathers.

Dr. Evans shared about his rough childhood in a non-Christian home.  His parents weren’t believers.  Two strangers poured into Tony’s Dad and led him to Jesus.  Things were still bad at home but his Dad had changed and loved and supported his wife, Tony’s mother even more than ever.  Why?  Because he was a changed man.

One night, Tony’s Mom came downstairs crying and told her husband that the more she hates him and fights with him, the more he loves and supports her.  She wasn’t sure what being a Christian was but she wanted to learn about it.  From that point on, his family worshipped and studied and loved the Lord.  This included all of his siblings who were baptized.

After college, Tony started a church with 10 people in the living room of his house.  He was the first African-American to earn a doctorate at the Dallas Seminary.  His church in South Dallas now has 10,000+ thousand members.  Tony’s preaching now spans the world, with his broadcasts airing on over 1,400 radio outlets and in over 130 countries, reaching millions each week.  All of his 4 children are in the ministry.

He has been the chaplain for both the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Mavericks.  Tony has written more than 100+ books, is on YouTube, has his own websites, etc.

Tony and his family are everywhere sharing about God’s love.  Why did he share all of these accomplishments?  It wasn’t to brag, it was to challenge those of us there to be like the 2 strangers who poured into Tony’s Dad and brought him to the cross.  Their work led to a transformation of his family which led to the transformation of thousands if not hundreds of thousands who deepened their relationship with Christ because of those 2 men who made a family go from non-believers to disciples.

MOLESKIN:

They plan to make this 865 Men’s Conference at least an annual event; F3 should be involved

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
VQ week next week

Celebrating 5 Decades

THE SCENE:

Perfect gloomy cold

WARM-O-RAMA:

Some Burpees, some SSHs, some Cherry Pickers, and some Tie Fighters… just right to knock the chill off

THA-THANG:

Commemorating 5 decades of life and a great way to gain some respect… 5 progressive rows of fun… Reps were 5 to start – special movement across – 10 reps on the other side – and special movement back… then we moved up the ladder:

Row 1 – 5 merkins… bear crawl over… 10 merkins… bear crawl back

Row 2 – 5 burpees… lunge over… 10 burpees… lunge back

Row 3 – 5 SSHs… sprint over… 10 SSHs… sprint back

Row 4 – 5 squat thrusters…. rifle carry over… 10 squat thrusters… rifle carry back

Row 5 – 5 curls + 5 overhead presses… farmer carry 2 cmus over… 10 curls and OVP… farmer carry back

Worked up and down the ladder as many times as possible

MARY:

Stopped on the way back to the CMU pile to do 25 Grady Corns

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

21 HIMs with no FNGs (all dressed in khaki cargo shorts, knee socks, and Hawaiian shirts)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“You do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” James 4:14

Time is precious.  We are fragile.  Life is short. Eternity is long.

“Redeem the time” Ephesians 5:16

Life is a gift that can be over before we know it… Cardinal recently but other fallen friends remind us how abruptly it can end – by God’s perfect design and providence.  Embrace each day… be intentional… love those closest to you and work at being the best you.  Leave a legacy worthy of respect.

El Momento Adecuado

THE SCENE: 35 degrees and a little windy.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Baby arm circles forward x 11.
  • Baby arm circles reverse x 10.
  • Side Straddle Hops x 10.
  • Tempo Merkins x 10.
  • Mountain Climbers x 10.

THA-THANG:

Mosey to the Courtyard (behind Technology building).

We partnered up and cracked open some Easter eggs, inside the eggs there was different exercises. One person should perform the exercise while the other was running a small loop. After 5 minutes, the small loop became double. The partners switched back and forth during 10 minutes.

Mosey to parking lot in front of the Recreation Center.

We played a game (Wolf vs Sheep). There were three base lines in the parking lot and three different exercises to perform in those lines as follows:

  • 10 Merkins (15 for wolves).
  • 10 Burpees.
  • 20 Squats.

The wolf could not catch the sheep until he completes his merkins, once he completes his merkins, the he can catch as many sheep as possible and then the sheep become wolves. The game will finish when there is no more sheep left. We played the game several times and we changed the rules a little to add some fun :).

Mosey to the CMU pile.

We teamed up.

The person that stayed downhill would perform these exercises:

  • Curls x20
  • Over-head press x20
  • Squat x20
  • Swing x20

The person that jogged to the pull-up bars should perform a ladder pull-up from 1 to 10.

MARY:
NA.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Intrépidos.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”. Reflected about the right moment to make things happen.
MOLESKIN:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Leadership survey, Escape from Haw Ridge, VQ Week, etc.