F3 Knoxville

Immediate, Present, Fast & Steadfast Confession

THE SCENE: Cool (59F in June? Say what!)
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER – Administered (Hooray no distancing or partner restrictions!)

The workout below is mostly a repeat of what I did for my ‘spiritual birthday’ last year (S/O to 5k again for the idea to celebrate this): Birthday ABC’s (modified from 24 reps to other things in the workout).

WARM-O-RAMA:
Moroccan night club IC x 10
Hillbillies IC x 10
Rotational Merkins IC x 10
Tennessee Walking Chair IC x 10
Hand Release Merkins 5 OYO
Slurpee 5 OYO
All PAX on the curb
Run to first line 50%, run 60% back to curb, 70% to second line, 80%, 90% to third line, 100% back to curb
Calf Raises on the curb until the 6 gets there for a few reps.
THA-THANG:
Today’s Theme: ABC’s – Arms, Burpees, Core

Mosey to big parking lot across grassy knoll

Big Parking Lot – Do the following exercises and run to the next light pole. At the end of the parking lot do a non-burpee exercise the first PAX to get there calls out.

Arms 10 x Walking Merkins (Wide, Plank walk into Diamond, repeat, counting each Merkin as 1)
Burpees 10 x Burpees
Core BBS x 10
First PAX to the end of the parking lot leads an exercise until the 6 is up. (Guardrail led this one)

Mosey to CMU pile

Coupon Pile – 3 stations (7-minute timer)

Arms – Top of Hill 3 x Pull-ups + 10 Hand-release Merkins
Burpees – Bottom before the stairs 3 x Blockees + 10 Burpees
Together when your partner gets done do Core – Bottom after the stairs – 3 x Louganis (BBS + CMU above your head) + 20 4ct Heavy American Hammers

Call time, get a 10 count. Mosey to large parking lot.

Large Parking lot again – At the end of the parking lot do an exercise the first PAX to get there calls out. 

Arms 10 x Merkins
Burpees 10 x Burpees
Core 10 x 4-ct Flutter kicks

5k got to the end first and led (Hello) Dolly.

Mosey back to the AO for Dealer’s Choice. When the JUCO Rush PAX joined us, we did Burpee-cides! (approx 3 minutes)

Sprint/run/jog to first parking line, do a Burpee, sprint back to the curb
Sprint/run/jog to second parking line, do 2 Burpees, sprint back to the curb
Sprint/run/jog to third parking line, do 3 Burpees, sprint back to the curb

Repeat was planned but we stopped to catch our breath the last 30 seconds of the workout.

MARY:
Dealer’s Choice (Voldemorts happened) above prior to Burpee-cides

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
21 PAX (15 for the beat down [1 left early], 6 for Rush)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Where were you on the night of June 23, 2019? @5k gave me this idea in 2020. This is another thought in parallel to that but about the next step after but alongside repentance – confession. The main points of what I’m saying below come from a sermon linked here – Doug Wilson – Confession of Sin.

So where was I on June 23, 2019? I was having years of my sin exposed. There’s quite a bit more to this, but you can read Let The Word of Christ Dwell in JUCO Richly and Look a Turtle (Press On!) for more of the story. The JUCO PAX know it well as they have walked diligently with me for the past nearly 2 years. But the point I’m getting at is that June 23 I had an option and was literally asked “is there anything else you need to tell me?” I chose to hide my sin rather than confess. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” This was so very true of the decision I made and the consequences that have followed me even to this day.

So today we’re discussing confession of sin, defined here as “an ongoing form of spiritual housekeeping.”

1 John 1:5-10 – 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

From here we have 2 images to discuss and a final application / discussion point:

Image #1 – Two houses where large families live. One is always messy and the other is always cleaned up.

All other things held equal, the difference between the two is one thing: the one that is cleaned up is clean because when a meal is eaten, the dishes are washed / put in the dishwasher right away. When clothes are dirtied, they are put in the laundry hamper. When toys are played with, they are picked up right then. In the other house, “it can be done this Saturday” is the refrain commonly heard.

The same is true of confession – as Romans 10:8 says “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);.” When we confess our sin regularly, we keep and restore fellowship just as we regularly clean our houses.

But what if this has not been our habit? Keep reading.

Image #2 – a cluttered, dusty garage that we haven’t cleaned for 20 years.

Where do we start?! It’s so messy, so dirty, so… could it just be set on fire and everything in it be burned up so we don’t have to deal with it? The thing to do is to pick up the one sheet of paper, the one dirty towel, the (insert area of conviction in your life that you’re avoiding dealing with by confession & repentance right now) and deal with it. You don’t have to dig all the way to the floor (though you may need to at some point to be able to walk in the garage). The analogy is this: we aren’t responsible for confessing sins we’ve forgotten about. Confess the ones you do know about, and not only will be weight be lifted but also your memory will improve.

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

God will honor your diligence, but not your slothfulness and excuse-making. Confession begins now and it may take some time. It might be tempting to feel it’s too much or too overwhelming, but deal with the one thing the Holy Spirit is working on in your heart now. You will not regret it as I did.

Application point / discussion:
When you confess, especially before the Lord, we are also encouraged to confess (appropriately) to others as a means of grace that God uses to sanctify us and willingness to make restitution, as a means of accountability, or a combination of both. When most men in F3 sin, they sin against their wives (as I did). That means that when we sin, both when it’s obvious and evident and especially when we want to hide it, we need to first confess it to the Lord because it’s against Him primarily, first, and foremost (Psalm 51:4) but also to the human against whom we sinned (James 5:16).

But what if we’ve done this thing over and over? What if we’ve gone long in sin and don’t think we’ll be believed? Wilson suggests the Word points us to two ways of doing this:
The Slow (or Steadfast) Way – by walking out repentance over 20 years (which is applicable especially when we cannot wisely make confession or restitution)
The Fast Way – by confessing additional sin (explained below).

Now you might be thinking “why would I make things worse by telling on myself more here?!?” And you’d be right – it may make things worse. But only at first. The true motivation behind confession is seeking restoration of the relationship that was broken by sin. We do this with the Lord and only He can truly forgive sin. But in the same way we love because He loved us (1 John 4:19) we also do that with one another because He has forgiven us (Matthew 6:15; Matthew 18:35). So, when we confess our sin AND additional sins along with it, we show that we’re not just looking to smooth things over but instead are seeking to show true repentance (as marked by the things in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11) and genuine sorrow.

Sin clutters, gets in the way, entangles your feet. The next time you’re failing over and over again remember it’s impossible to live a godly life with unconfessed sin. Stop trying to be good with unconfessed sin in your life. Take off the backpack (or, in F3 terms, the rucksack) and run. Confess immediately, presently, and as fastly & steadfastly as you can. Trust God with the outcome. It is worth every moment of freedom from sin and in the long run will reap a harvest of righteousness.

MOLESKIN: I had trouble remembering all of the PRQ’s that were shared. Next time I’m going to just type them up on my phone so I’ll have them here too. Prayed for: Butter Knife’s friend, Booster’s

Also a hearty welcome back to Tinker Bell and a welcome to JUCO Dumpster Dive!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Wesley House workday this Saturday so let Judge Judy know if you’re a G0. Dog Pound CSAUP is July 24th has been rescheduled for to August 21

Learning more about Dolphins & Daffodils

THE SCENE: Very nice
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH
Crunchy Frog
Tempo Squat
Tempo Merkin
Freddy Mercuries
Windmill

THA-THANG:

Mosey to the Courtyard, picking up a CMU baby along the way – making sure it didn’t touch the ground the entire workout and passed around to everybody to love on it.
4 Corners to some Tunes
First Round 10, 20, 30, and 40 Merkins
Second Round 10, 20, 30, and 40 4-count Mountain Climbers
Third Round 10, 20, 30, and 40 Monkey Humpers
Fourth Round 10, 20, 30, and 40 LBCs
Fifth Round 10, 20, 30 flutter kicks (time)
Periodically taking a break and doing squats during “Thunder” by Imagine Dragon

MARY:

Hello Dolly
Big Boys

 

MOLESKIN:

Part 2 of Missionality in the life of the High Impact Man

Missionality is Service in the High Impact Zone. To Live Right, a HIM must exert the majority of his efforts to Serve within his personal HIZ, the boundaries of which are defined by his Mission.

Mission is the course of action taken to achieve an articulated Purpose. The course of action is comprised of the individual Tasks the HIM undertakes to bring his Purpose into fruition. These Tasks are not random, but are the outgrowth of the Skills for which he is most suited, the things that he does with the most ease and familiarity and constantly improves through Practice.

Building on Kickflip’s message about the Dolphin, The Daffodil represents the people-category that a man is born to Serve with his Dolphin. Like the Dolphin, a man’s Daffodil is a matter of hard-wiring. There are men who continue to coach soccer even after their kids have stopped playing. It took me awhile, but my Daffodil is engaging, collaborating, and helping veterans in their post-military career. Each one of us has both a Dolphin ability and Daffodil passion. The HIM loves all of mankind equally, except for his Daffodil. He loves his Daffodil more, because that is who he was born to Serve.

Part 3 on Friday!

JUCO MEMORIAL DAY MURPH

THE SCENE: Super Nice
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER✔
WARM-O-RAMA:

Cherry Pickers, Tempo Merkins, Tempo Squats
THA-THANG:
The Murph

MARY:
N/A
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
11 Strong
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Ecclesiastes 7:2 – Be thankful and always assessing your relationship with the Lord.  There is more wisdom to be gained from a funeral than a party.  Eternity matters.
MOLESKIN:
N/A
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
None.

Undignified

THE SCENE: Dry; no longer cool
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

Harry Rockets | Overhead Claps | Seal Claps | Maracan Night Club | Channuks| Twinkle Toes| Let It Hang | Reach for the stars

THA-THANG:
Warm up across the parking lot at 50% and 75%, then Duck Walk to the Duck Pond.

20 Guardrail hops, hold a plank for the 6 and then line up in 2 lines for double black snake.

We arrived the newest parking lot did Skipping Bernie Karaoke in one direction and frog jumping, boo boo bear, crab walks in the other direction.

Mosey to a pit we’ve always skipped where we found 6 balls with numbers and 6 exercises.  Putting the two togehter we did star jacks, peter parker merkins, crabby pickles, and other things that made us look silly.

Mosey to a brick bench for some step ups and monkey humpers.

MARY:
Monkey Humpers | Flutter Kicks | Super Man | Hello Dolly | Pickle Pointers | Calf Raises
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
22 HIMS (2 2.0’s, one got his age right, well done Blow Dart)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Today’s exercises were selected with the criteria of looking ridiculous.  It worked, well done.  We don’t hesitate to look undignified out here.  We do monkey humpers and skip and karaoke and overall look nuts.

It makes me think of King David’s second act as king.  He kicks some sweaty Philistine butt and then brings the Ark back to Jerusalem.  And he is so filled with the joy of the Lord he finds himself dancing in a linen ephod.  After his first wife gives him a hard time about how ridiculous he looked, he made it clear some things are worth cashing in our chips.

If you get a chance to stand for the name of Jesus Christ, do not give in to fear or worry about what you look like.

“I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.”
2 Samuel 6:21‭b-‬22a NIV

And I will be undignified
And I will praise the Lord my God with all my might
And I will leave my pride behind
And I will praise the Lord my God with all my life
Everything on the altar now
I won’t hold back, I won’t hold out
I don’t care what the world may say
I’m abandoned to reckless praise
Oh my soul, will not bow to the fear
Oh I will not bow
MOLESKIN:
Take some time today to worship along with my Irish friends in an undignified way.

 

Hills and Valleys

THE SCENE:  So nice.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:  Administered
WARM-O-RAMA:

Cherry pickers
Al Gore
Squats
Michael Phelps
Down/up dog
Mountain climber
Projectivator

Mosey to the big lot.  Run across.  At each line, turn 90 degrees (i.e., sprint, side shuffle, bernie, side shuffle, etc.)

Dolly
Flutter kicks

THA THANG:

Mosey to the coupons.  Grab a block.  Walking 20 curls, 20 overhead presses, 20 tricep extensions

Line up at the cones in a low plank.  At “3-2-1, Go!”, get up and sprint to the top of the hill.  First person to touch leaves on a tree wins and gets to watch while everyone else does burpees at the top.

Back down the hill.  Winner starts 50’ further back.  Do one block exercise then hill sprint again.
Repeat the sequence – each time adding one more block exercise.

  • 5 plyo merkins
  • 10 block pullovers
  • 15 heavy LBCs
  • 20 lunges (10 each side)
  • 20 single arm thrusters (10 each side)
  • 10 CMU swings
  • 6 uneven merkin T planks (3 each side)

Murder bunny thrusters up the hill.

Walking 20 curls, 20 overhead presses, 20 tricep extensions

Twenty-ones on the steps.  CMU exercise (your choice) + pull ups.

Rack ‘em.

MARY:

Indian run in two lines.  PAX call out 3-2-1-Go!, last man in each line races up the middle of the lines.  Repeat until we are close to the flag.

Mountain climbers

Jailbreak!

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

15 for bootcamp, 3 for rush

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

It was common in ancient pagan nations to perceive each god or goddess as having a particular domain or sphere of power on earth.  A goddess of fertility…  A god of the forests, or the river… Monotheism was unique and the idea that any god was supreme in all areas was unheard of.

In 1 Kings Chapter 20, we read about the Israelite city of Samaria under attack by the Syrians, a rival nation.  The Syrian king gathered 32 other kings – and brought a massive army to besiege the city.  Against all odds, and with their God’s intervention, the Israelites repel the attack.  The Syrians retreat and regroup to strategize.  Since the city of Samaria is in the hill country of Israel, they mistakenly think that the God of the Israelites must be a god of the hills.  So, they make a new plan, assemble another massive army, and attack Israel again – this time in the plains (where, presumably, the Israelite God does not dwell and has no authority).  Speaking on behalf of God, a prophet tells the Israelite king, “Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand…” – and He does.  The Israelites rout their enemy in the valley, just as they did in the hills.  The one true God is sovereign over all – He is a God of both the hills and the valleys. 

For me, May 20 is a date unlike any other.

Five years ago, May 20th, my son Caleb was born.  He is a beautiful kid – he is everything that you would want in a son; wicked smart, good natured, daring, funny, creative, kind, loving – he is a great kid.  The day he was born into this world was joyful and exciting and amazing – it was heaven!  May 20th is the anniversary of one of the best days of my life!

But…

One year ago, May 20th, I was heartbroken.  My wife was pregnant again, but this time the pregnancy was not going well.  Several days before, we had been told that the baby had no heartbeat, and we would very likely have a miscarriage in the coming weeks.  We prayed that God would reveal his strength in a miraculous way and the baby would live…But short of that, if we had to walk that terrible road in the next few weeks, we prayed that the miscarriage would not happen on Caleb’s fourth birthday.  But it did.  The day we lost that baby was devastating and painful and raw – it was hell. May 20th is the anniversary of one of the worst days of my life. 

Life’s hills and valleys – the one true God is sovereign over them all.  Life is full of both wonder and wounds.  How does our faith stand up to them?  The “hills” of life can draw us closer to Him in joy and with grateful hearts – or they can arouse in us an arrogance which causes us to forget His presence.  The “valleys” of life can drive us into His arms and onto our knees – or can drive us to curse and blame our Creator with misplaced resentment.

We need to keep working toward having a faith that thrives in both the hills and valleys of life.

Closed with a pair of Pslams.

For when you go through a valley –

Psalm 4: God, you are my righteousness, my Champion Defender. Answer me when I cry for help! Whenever I was in distress, you enlarged me. I’m being squeezed again—I need your kindness right away! Grant me your grace, hear my prayer, and set me free!

For when you are on a hilltop –

Psalm 100: Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

MOLESKIN:

This workout and word was inspired by Monday’s great workout and word – offered up by the true HIM, Mailbox.

PRAYERS / ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Prayers for our good friend, Spotter, and for his family

Prayers for Stitch’s family relationships

Prayers for Jordon