F3 Knoxville

Tag: Crawdad

Tears of Joy

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Motivators, starting with seven.  10 Tempo Merkins.  10 Cherry Pickers. 10 Windmills.  Ten Twisties.  Ten Baby Arm Circles forward and backward.
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the stop sign by the main park road and the road that goes to Admin Bldg.  We will do 10 Imperial Walkers and 10 Lunges with each foot.

Mosey to the bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will do Ten Speed Skaters, then run up Mt. Everest.  Those reaching the top can do invisible skip ropes until everyone arrives.

Mosey to the steps at the front of the admin bldg.  We will go around the loop that goes from the Admin Bldg to the Coliseum.  We will stop at the following spots to do the following exercises:

  • On porch of Admin bldg:  20 Merkins
  • At south curve of loop:  20 Squat Jumps
  • At benches of Coliseum:  20 Bench Dips
  • At north curve of loop:  20 Squats
  • Rinse and repeat above two times.

Next, we will have a snowball fight in the grassy area in the middle of the loop.  Last man hit by a snowball gets a free breakfast from your Q.

Mosey to Pavilion that is close to AO.  We will do 20 Bench Dips then run to AO parking lot to do 20 Iron Mikes (one leg = 1).  Rinse and repeat but with 20 Decline Merkins at the Pavilion.  Rinse and repeat one more time but with 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups at the Pavilion.  (Note:  we will do 20 Iron Mikes in the parking lot with each rinse and repeat).

Mosey to the baseball field directly behind AO parking lot.  We will go to grassy area.  We will have a game of Ultimate Frisbee Football.

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men, no FNGs.  Great to have La-Z Boy visit our AO this Saturday morning.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Feeling The Tears of God Brings Joy

I heard in interesting story on NPR this past Monday.  It was about a man named Brandon Jackson who was recently released from prison after being convicted of armed robbery 25 years ago.  The conviction was based on a 10-2 split jury decision in the State of Louisiana.  Louisiana courts began to allow 10-2 decisions on such felony cases during the Jim Crow era.  The purpose was to be able to dismiss the votes of the occasional black juror that might make up a jury and vote someone innocent.  No one actually witnessed Brandon Jackson commit the alleged robbery.  His conviction was based on the testimony of a witness who had changed his story a number of times and got off on a lighter sentence based on his testimony.  The Louisiana Supreme Court in 2020 declared a split-jury conviction on such a felony case to be unconstitutional.  However, the ruling was not considered to be retroactive.

Brandon Jackson spent his time in Angola prison, a notoriously violent prison.  After an altercation with correctional officers, five of his years was spent in solitary confinement.  He got out on parole one month ago.  He has always maintained that he is innocent.  I don’t know whether he was innocent or guilty of the crime but I liked his interview.  Imagine your own reactions to our world today if you had spent 25 years behind bars.  He told the interviewer about how he waited at the counter of a grocery store for a long time waiting for someone to check him out.  Finally, an employee showed him how to scan his own items.  He was baffled and amazed.

I also liked some of the things that Brandon Jackson had to say about happiness and joy.  He said happiness is fleeting but that joy is something different.  He said that he doesn’t hold any grudges or regrets about what happened to him in the past.  Now that he is out of prison, he wants to help those in his community who may also have been in trouble.  He commented that, perhaps God had allowed his imprisonment to happen to prepare him for some purpose he needs to fulfill. As for joy, he finds it in small things.  He finds joy in sipping coffee with his mother each morning and reading the bible with her.  He finds joy in simply going outside.  This man, who had spent so much time behind bars, remarked, “We had a little rain one day, so I just went outside and stood in the middle of the backyard.  I wanted to feel God’s tears pour on me, so I just stayed there.”

The great Christian theologian, C.S. Lewis, also talked about the difference between happiness and joy.  He also said happiness is fleeting.  Joy is different.  It is a walk, a journey, a state of being.  C.S. Lewis indicated that people long for joy but do not find it in riches, fame, or power.  He said that when we finally discover joy, we find that joy itself is not what we are really seeking.  It is the Source of Joy that we seek.  That source, Lewis says, is God and Jesus Christ.

Brothers, may each of us find the source of Joy in our life journey.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Crawdad’s friends in the Ukraine.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brolympics on November 5 this year!

Steam Can’t Count Because He’s Not A Professional, But It Was Still A Pretty Good Q

[ The Scene ]

TBSIA (The Best Sunrise In America) was slowly beginning to arrive on the scene.

[ Welcome/Disclaimer ]

  • Welcome to F3: Fitness, Fellowship, Faith
  • My name is Steam and I’ll be your Q this morning
  • A few things before we begin however:
    • I’m not a professional
    • You’re here on your own volition
    • If you need to modify anything we do this morning feel free to do so. But in that moment of potential modification ask yourself this question: CAN I DO BETTER? Then ask the HIM on your left and right if they can as well.

[ Warm o Rama ]

  • Motivator: 5 (Steam can’t count to 5 for Motivators so he will need a Q101 soon)
  • Baby Arm Circles: 10×4 F / 10×4 B
  • Mountain Climber: 10×4
  • Merkin: 10×4

[ The Thang ]

(Mosey to the flagpole)

(1) Flagpole — 5s

  • 5 Xs: 25 reps on a 1 count
    • SSH
    • Merkin
    • Squat
    • LBC
    • American Hammers
  • 5 stations
    • Flagpole: 25 SSH
    • Corner 1 of parking lot: 25 merkins
    • Corner 2 of parking lot: 25 squats
    • Corner 3 of parking lot: 25 LBCs
    • Corner 4 of parking lot: 25 AHs
  • The movements
    • 5 rounds
    • Doing your SSHs here, running to corner 1 and doing that exercise, running back here, and rinse and repeat what you just did, but adding the next corner into the mix
    • For example: SSH, merkins, squats — back to the flagpole
    • Adding a corner each time until you’ve done all 4 corners in one round
  • Recover back here when you’re done

(Mosey to The 3 Strands)

(2) The 3 Strands

  • Strand 1 (Far Left) — run to the other side + execute 5 man-makers + run back on strand 1
  • Strand 2 (Middle) — run to the other side + execute 10 man-makers + run back to the other side
  • Strand 3 (Far Right) — run to turn other side + execute 15 man makers + run back to the other side
  • You’re always starting on this side, and running back to this side after the man-makers

(Mosey to The Dock)

(3) The Dock

  • Core 4 25×4
    • LBCs
    • Cockroaches
    • Flutter kicks
    • Reverse BBS

(Mosey back to the Pavilion)

  • 10 step ups
  • Run to the parking lot (AO)
  • Execute 50 SSH (1 count)
  • Rinse and Repeat

[ Mary ]

Down + Back sprints and squats and merkins across the parking lot

Cash-Out: ATMs

[ COT ]

  • # off
  • Name o Rama
  • FNGs
  • BOM

[ The Zelensky Leadership Model ]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s response to a potential airlift from the U.S., in light of Russia invading Ukraine, has gotten a lot of attention and spotlight over the past week or so. Here was Zelensky’s response: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

Take the politics, the names, positions, locations out of this and what do you have? You have an incredible leadership principle +  model. In this specific situation, you have a leader asking for the tools to stay in the fight, rather than taking the first chance to get out. And don’t we do the opposite of this in our lives sometimes?

If you subscribe to the Christian faith, here’s what this can sound like, at least for me sometimes:

“God if you would just airlift me out of this situation.”

“God please get me out of this.”

If you don’t, and more culturally speaking, the soundtrack of this goes something like this:

“That’s not my job/problem.”

“This is a sign that this isn’t what the universe has for me.”

—versus—

“God supply me what I need to stay in the fight.”

“God – you have me here for a reason. Please supply me with the tools to do your will.”

—Or—

“What tools do I have at my disposal to attempt to make this situation better?”

So what is the “ammunition” that helps us keep the faith + fight the good fight, even when the fight we’re in seems insurmountable? If you’re a follower of Jesus is the Bible or the word of God. So then we take this leadership principle from Zelensky and ask ourselves “Am I asking for ammunition to fight the enemy or simply looking and waiting for a way out?” 

Takeaway: The world needs more High Impact Men that are willing to stay in the fight and ask for the ammo/tools to battle, than jump ship after the first shot is fired. Because here’s what HIM do: 3 things

  • They don’t flee from the fight, they stay rooted in the darkest of night
  • They don’t look for an extraction point, they find and create rallying points
  • They don’t escape, they elevate

“Quit looking for rides out and start asking for ammunition to stay rooted where you are.”

Flying in Stormy Conditions

THE SCENE: Sunny, temp in low 20s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Twisties, 10 Tempo Merkins, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and 7 Backward, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the stop sign by the road that head to the Coliseum.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey on the perimeter trail to where it curves left by Lyons Bend Road.  We will do 10 Tempo Squats.

Next, we will run up Roadshow Run to the roadway that semi-circles around the Admin Bldg.  Each man shall stop to do 5 burpees at the top of each of the three sets of stairs on Roadshow Run.  At the roadway, men should alternate between Merkins and Big Boy Sit-ups until the six arrives.

Mosey to the stairs at the front of the Admin Bldg.  We will run counterclockwise around the loop that goes between the Admin Bldg and the Coliseum.  We will stop at the following locations to do these exercises:

  • Stairs to Admin Bldg:  20 Calve Raises
  • Southern Curve of Loop:  20 Carolina Dry Docks
  • Benches at Coliseum:  20 Bench Dips
  • Northern Curve of Loop:  20 Star Jumps
  • Rinse and Repeat two more times.

Mosey south to roadway and then to old apartments.  We will do 20 Box Cutters.

Mosey to southern parking lot.  We will run to the cones set out in parking lot. At each cone, men should turn around and bear crawl for three parking spaces.  Then turn back around and run to next cone.  Do this until last cone where, once again, men should turn around and bear crawl three parking spaces.  The rabbits who finish shall run back to starting spot, sweeping men with them.  Rinse and repeat.

Do again but hop the three parking spaces.  Then, do again but lunge the three parking spaces.

Mosey to entrance to the Caribbean parking lot.  We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to parking lot near playground.  We will do 10 Rocky Balboa (4 ct).

Mosey to AO.  At the AO we will split into two teams.  The first man of each team will throw a frisbee toward the cone near the opposite curb.  Whoever is closest wins.  His team gets to watch while all members of the other team must sprint to the opposite curb and back, retrieving the frisbees.  Then the second man of each team compete and the procedure starts again.

Run around parking lot two times.

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

Flying In Cloudy Conditions

An instrument rating is an advanced type of aviation certification enabling pilots to fly rather than be grounded even during cloudy weather and other weather conditions that cause low visibility. The Instrument Flight Rules Rating (IFR) training requirements include 30 hours of pre and post flight ground school, 40 hours of instrument flight training, 50 hours of PIC Cross-Country, and the successful completion of an instrument written exam. It is an excellent addition to a private pilot’s certificate, which by itself leaves the pilot limited to flying only during Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions.

Pilots go through a great amount of training in order to get their private pilot’s certificate to fly.  Despite all the training, that certificate limits the pilot to flying only during conditions where there is nice weather with clear skies.  Clouds, heavy precipitation, low visibility and otherwise adverse conditions are to be avoided.

In order for a pilot to be able to fly during cloudy weather and conditions that cause low visibility the pilot is required to obtain an Instrument Flight Rules Rating.  This requires many more hours of training.  Basically, the pilot must learn the instruments on a plane well enough to fly in conditions where one can’t see out the plane.  That training takes more than just learning what the instruments are.  The pilot must learn to fly while relying on the instruments in flight.  The pilot must not only read the book but put the book to use!

In life, our personal skies are sometimes clear and we can fly full speed ahead.  We can make decisions based on good old logic and we understand well what we are doing.  In life, however, the skies are not always clear.  Sometimes vision gets difficult and sometimes it is hard to see altogether.

Like pilots, we need to rely on something more to get us through difficult times – otherwise, we crash.

At age 65, I have learned to rely on a number of valuable tools to get me through the darkest of times.  First, I rely on the Bible.  It is my “life manual.”  The lessons in it are priceless, give me direction, and teach me who God is.  Second, I rely on teachings from others about the Bible, whether from my attending church, going to Sunday school and bible studies, reading bible commentaries, or discussing the bible with others.  The Bible is a large and complex read.  I can’t rely on my own reading of it alone to fully comprehend its meaning and direct me through the challenges of life.  Third, I rely on practicing the principals I have learned.  Pilots need many hours of training before they get their Instrument Rating and I need many hours of practice myself to manage life’s difficult time.  Living like Jesus isn’t something that you just “do.”  It takes a lifetime of practice to get it right and I am still working on “getting it right.”  It also takes talking to God, through prayer.  Finally, I rely on other people to help me out.  Pilots need to have instructors with them as they are learning to master flying and the use of instruments in cloudy weather.  Commercial pilots need co-pilots sitting beside them.  I rely on others to negotiate my foggy skies and you brothers are some of those I rely on.  I try to gain wisdom from the words of the Q of each BOM I attend.  You guys teach incredible life lessons.  I also know that, when I am in a pinch or feeling lost, I can call on my brothers to help me out.  I have done just that with some of you.

In summary, we need more than our senses to get through the cloudy and dark skies of life.  For me, the Bible, teachings about God’s word, application of God’s word and using the help of Godly people are what I have found necessary to get through the most challenging of times.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Drum Major’s wife and family as his wife’s mother died this last week; prayers for two missionary friends of Crawdad who are serving in Ukraine; prayers for the Special Olympics – Cheatsheet and Lilydipper will be at an event today, the Polar Plunge at the West Town YMCA – registration fees and donations serve the Special Olympics in East Tennessee; prayers for fathers and for the underprivileged who are facing troubles at this time.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP on February 26 at 6:30 am, the Asylum.  Also, when registering for the event on Slack, please consider making a donation to the Wesley House.  The link for doing that will be with the CSAUP registration notice.

Live in God

THE SCENE:  Partly cloudy and cold, temp about 20 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Twisties, 10 Tempo Merkins, 10 Windmills, Michael Phelps, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign by intersection of main roadway and road that goes to the Admin Bldg.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey on perimeter trail until it intersects with trail coming from Lyons Bend Gate.  We will do 20 Hello Dollies.

Next, we will head west and then east on the perimeter trail.  We will do nickel, dime, quarters with the following exercises:

  • Jump Squats
  • Iron Mikes (both legs = 1)
  • Dive Bombers

We will stop when we get to the Northshore Gate.

Mosey to Area 51 and go to the curb.  Find a partner for teams of two.  One one partner runs to the entrance of Area 51, does 5 merkins, and runs back, the other partner works on the listed exercises below.  Then partners trade places.  Each team will do:

  • 200 Baby Crunches (4 ct)
  • 150 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)
  • 150 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)

Next, we will run up hill above area 51.  At the top, we will alternate between 10 Merkins and 10 Big-Boy Sit-ups until the six is there.

Mosey to the stop sign by the roadway that goes to the soccer fields.  We will stop to do 20 Box Cutters.  Mosey to the soccer fields.  We will do suicides, with Bernie Sanders to each cone, a mosey to the left of cone parallel with that cone, and then sprint back.  We will do 20 Baby Crunches each time we get back until we finish the suicides.

Mosey to the open outdoor structure that is close to the outdoor chapel.  We will do 20 four count bench dips and 20 decline merkins.

Mosey to parking lot by the playground.  We will do 20 Georgia Cheerleaders (inverted Pickle Pounders).

Mosey to the bottom of mini-cardiac.  We will Bernie Sanders to park sign, then sprint to top.  We will then run back down to AO.

MARY:
We will cash out with ATMs.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
19 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

LIVE IN GOD

Psalm 19: 7-10:

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,[c]
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

I need to remember that the law and ways of the Lord are perfect.  They are more to be desired than gold.  As Van Morrison asks in his song by the same name, “When will I ever learn to live in God.”  He goes on to say, “He gives me everything I need, and more – when will I ever learn?”  I don’t know about you, but I find myself getting caught up in the ways of the world time and time again.  Am I successful enough in my job?  How does my house look compared to my neighbors?  In an effort to “get ahead”, to be liked, to be popular, to be “a winner”, I focus on things that may be out of sorts with how I truly should be.  I may go along with a business idea that is not truly honorable.  I may cut corners to get something I want, not considering how that will impact others around me.  I might participate in conversation or laugh at jokes that, if I look closely, are belittling to certain segments of our population.  Our brother, Rooney, gave a message at a recent BOM that I need to consider more carefully for myself.  He said that when we consider what we are willing to do in our life, it should align with our moral compass.

When I consider what I am to do this day, does it align with God’s laws and way?  They are perfect and I need to remember that.  I don’t have to worry so much about getting ahead, pleasing other people, or being successful.  If I act as God asks me to do, that is success.  That is what I should live for, not what Gentleman’s Quarterly, Money Magazine, Newsweek, or the latest get rich book tells me to do.  God’s ways are finer than gold and sweeter than the drippings of a honeycomb.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for the disenfranchised, for those who have lost loved ones, for Operation and his wife who are hoping she gets pregnant, and that F3 brothers will find activities that continue to help our community.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSAUP!!!

These Are the Days

THE SCENE: Windy, windy, windy, temp about 66 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 second squat, 10 Mountain Climbers, 20 second squat, 10 Cherry Pickers, 30 second squat, 5 Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward as well as 5 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 60 second squat.
THA-THANG:
We will split into two groups.  Group 1 start in the pavilion while Group 2 will start on the Playground.  We will do 10 Picnic Table Pullups and 10 Incline Merkins at the picnic tables.  We will do 10 Bench Jumps and 10 Decline Merkins on the benches.  After each man does the exercises he should run to his right side of the pavilion do the next set of exercises at the next spot.  Rinse and repeat 3 times.

Mosey to the bottom of mini cardiac.  We will Bernie Sanders to Park Sign then run to the crosswalk.

Mosey to the stop sign where the road goes to the admin bldg.  We will circle up to do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to the parking lot that is below the Coliseum.  Men will split into teams of two and will do Doras.  While partner one runs up stairs, across the coliseum area to the end of the parking lot, and back to the spot we are gathered at, partner two does the exercises.  Partners then switch.  Here are the exercises:

  • 150 Jump Squats
  • 150 Iron Mikes (both feet = 1)
  • 150 Bicycle Kicks (4 ct)
  • 150 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)

Mosey to roadway that semicircles by the soccer fields.  We will run around the semi-circle doing two burpees after every ten stakes in the grass.  Men finishing first will alternate between Merkins and Big-Boy Sit-ups.

Mosey to the large parking lot is near what used to be the southern ball fields.

We will do suicides to each light post and then the end of the parking lot.  Each time a man comes back to the curb he should do 20 Baby Crunches.

Mosey to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 men with one FNG, Darrell Roberts, whom we dubbed “Hochuli.”  We were also blessed to have Trunk and Submarine visit us as they are usually at the Truck Stop on Saturday mornings.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ask guys who are in their 60s like me.  Life is short.  We need to accept the glory and beauty of what God has given us here.  Man, we need to savor these days, bless them, hold them in our hearts.  The time is now.  Why wait until we are in retirement or on our deathbeds to enjoy God’s gift to us.  The other day, I was listening to one of my favorite songs by Van Morrison, one that you might not have heard as it isn’t as famous as some of his others.  It captures the idea of our needing to cherish our time here on earth while thinking of our savior who has blessed us with the gift of life.

“These Are The Days” by Van Morrison

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there’s only future
There’s only here, there’s only now
Oh your smiling face, your gracious presence
The fires of spring are kindling bright
Oh the radiant heart and the song of glory
Crying freedom in the night
These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one magician
Turned the water into wine
These are days of the endless dancing and the
Long walks on the summer night
These are the days of the true romancing
When I’m holding you oh, so tight
These are the days by the sparkling river
His timely grace and our treasured find
This is the love of the one great magician
Turned water into wine
These are the days now that we must savor
And we must enjoy as we can
These are the days that will last forever
You’ve got to hold them in your heart.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Cheatsheet as the new parenting plan that will be made for he and the mother of Cheatsheet’s daughter, Willow.  Prayers for all those impacted by the tornados that swept through Kentucky last night.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Christmas Party!  Also, great job by F3 men in helping with Christmas projects to help others in our community.