F3 Knoxville

Faith through Doubt

  1. THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
    F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
    WARM-O-RAMA:

    10 Windmills, 10 Cherry Pickers, Little of This and That, Michael Phelps.
    THA-THANG:
    Mosey to large parking lot with gardens in middle.  We will perform Iron PAX Week 0 challenge, doing the following exercises six times:
  • 24 merkins
  • 24 squats
  • 24 lunges where both legs = 1
  • 400 meter run

Those men finishing first will do the following exercises:

  • 40 Baby Crunches
  • 30 Big Boy Sit-Ups
  • 20 Side Straddle Hops (4 count)
  • 20 Hello Dollies (4 count)
  • 20 American Hammers (4 Count)
  • 20 Mountain Climbers (4 Count)
  • 20 Bicycle Kicks (4 Count)

Mosey to AO

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Twelve men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The whole problem with the world is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.  –Bertrand Russell

As a Christian, I get pissed off by people who are so damned sure about the bible and about God.  I’m talking about the guy who arrogantly proclaims that it is sacrilegious for us to question God.  Do these people really think about God?  With all the pain, injustice, greed, and despair in this world, don’t we have a right to question?  Are we supposed to follow God like robots, like automatons, never wondering, never doubting?

As a Christian, I have found my knowledge of God and faith in God strengthened by my questioning and doubts.  For, it is through my questioning that I seek, read, talk to others with more knowledge than I, and ultimately ponder, wrestle with, and finally converse with God.

It is nice to know that I am in good company.  Look at Christ’s disciples when he was taken to be crucified.  Look at Peter.  Christ told him that he would doubt and deny him, saying that before the rooster crowed Peter would deny his three times.  And, having done so, when the rooster crowed and Peter remember what Christ said, he wept bitterly.  But, like Paul, Peter would become a great apostle who spoke for and spread the word about Christ.  And, like Paul, he was willing to be killed to do so.  And most of Christ’s other disciples, who doubted just as Peter did, also died proclaiming Christ.

I read a 2014 Oped in the New York Times by Julia Baird.  In it, she talked about the backlash he received when Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has admitted that he sometimes questioned God.  The International Business Times proclaimed his statement was the “doubt of the century.”  The Australian atheist columnist, Peter FitzSimons, tweeted, “Victory.”  The Archbishop is a man who has reasons to doubt God.  As a teenager, he cared for an alcoholic father.  He lost his first daughter to a car accident when she was seven months  old.  But, as a follower of God, his questioning has strengthened him.  He understands others because he has suffered.  He understands doubt because he has doubted.  And, he knows that Christ, whJen he died on the cross, spoke for our doubts when He cried, “My God, Why have you forsaken me?”

As Ms. Baird aptly stated in her Oped, “Just as courage is persisting in the face of fear, so faith is persisting in the face of doubt.

So brothers, when you question this world, when you question it’s creator, know that you are in good company.  Doubt, but persist in the face of your doubt.  Persist in seeking answers to your doubts.  And have faith that God understands your doubts, but seeks you.

MOLESKIN:
Insert any personal comments, notes, devotion content, etc.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Insert information about upcoming events, 2nd or 3rd F opportunities, and any other announcements.

Be There

THE SCENE:

Cloudy with a chance of burpees.  No rain.  Around 70ish degrees or so.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

I’m still not an expert, so it’s still free and the usual disclaimers.


WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 20, baby arm circles forward x 20, baby arm circles backward x 20, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, tempo squats x 10, tempo merkins x 10, cherry pickers x 5.

That was going to be it as I had just mentioned to Preacher (who was back from AZ) that we would not do burpees because they are not a warm-up, but Cheat Sheet arrived at that time, so we did 5 burpees OYO.

PAX counted off – 24 HIMS, so, when we do reps, we will do 24 of them.

THA-THANG:

Mosey to Everest via the long, windy path with all of the light posts (not sure if it has a name).  Pass a light post, do a burpee.

Carolina dry docks x 24 at the bottom of Everest

Run up to the first tree, do 24 squats

Run back to the bottom of Everest, do 24 merkins and then hold plank until the six arrives and finishes the merkins

Rinse and repeat, this time running to the second tree up Everest and back

Rinse and repeat, this time running to the tree at the top of Everest and back

Back at the bottom of Everest, we were on the wrong side of Everest, so we had to run all the way to the top of Everest to the area formerly-known-as the rock pile (we skipped the exercises on this trip)

Mosey to the monument for some family that gave a lot of money where the normally-wonderful view of the sunrise was dampened by clouds, but it did not affect the 24 American hammers that we did on a 4-count

Mosey to the CMU pile and battle-buddied up

One person runs across the parking lot, down the hill, around the Pavilon (counter-clockwise), stops at the picnic tables in the Pavilon, does 24 pull-me-up rows on the tables, and returns to the CMU pile

The other person does Mr. Spectaculars using the CMU until his battle buddy returns

Switch out and repeat – each person ended up doing each exercise at least twice

Mosey to the Cloud and find a bench

Derkins x 24

Dips x 24

Box jumps (or step ups) x 24

Only had time for one round of those before holding a plank until the six finished

While planking, right arm up, right leg up, down, left arm up, left leg up, down

Mosey to the AO

MARY:

Proton led the PAX through some flutter kicks while the Q grabbed his phone, and Proton didn’t stop until 30 (on the 4-count) for some reason (after all of those reps of 24, you would think he would have gotten it, but Proton loves exercise so much, he probably just wanted to do those extra 6 reps)

Q returned and led the PAX through box cutters x 30 and hello Dollys x 30 (both on the 4-count) since Proton went to 30

Finished out with boat/canoes until time expired (some PAX mumbled that the workout went over, but it was 8:00 by the Q’s watch, which is the only time that matters – and it matched the time on the Q’s cell phone, for what it’s worth)

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

We started with 24 and ended with 25.  Assfault completed a Flyin EH on someone he knew along the way, so we were able to welcome Real Chill.  Another FNG started with us and ended with us – welcome Caitlyn.  Tank, the dog, also joined us.

Nacho and Jumbo were also there, but they did not have tags that showed up, so there are only 23 tags, but there were 25 HIMs.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Caedmon’s Call had a song out in the 90s called Center Aisle that was about the writer’s first experience at a funeral, which happened to be the funeral of his friend’s sister who had committed suicide.  It is a good song, check it out if you haven’t already.  This line from the song has always stuck with me: “There aren’t words to say/Words aren’t remembered/But presence is.”

Show up.  Hopefully, we can also say the right things and do the right things, too, but we can’t if we don’t show up first.  And, if we can’t say and do the right thing that will make everything better, then at least we can be there, which is important, both in bad times and good times.  There are moments in people’s lives that they will remember who was there and who was not, e.g., funerals and weddings, and often times we would rather not be there because it makes us uncomfortable or it is too much of a hassle or whatever.  But that doesn’t matter.  What matters is this: should we be there for that person for that moment in his/her life?  (I’m not talking about the times that you cannot because of work, family, or other commitments – I’m not suggesting that we, as humans, can be everywhere and do everything.  I’m talking about the times that you can, but you just don’t.)

The Bible has a lot of references to God’s presence in our lives, e.g., Matthew 18:20, Matthew 28:20, and John 14:18, and Jesus is the manifestation of God’s presence.  Let God be present in your life and then be there for your wives/girlfriends (as long as you don’t have both at the same time), be there for your kids, be there for your parents, be there for your other family members, and be there for your friends.

Your presence will be remembered.  Your absence may not be forgotten.

MOLESKIN:

Props to Archie for posting after being up since Friday morning.  And, he took the message to heart and attended a wedding the same day that he thought about missing.  How about that?  That is either good timing or bad timing.  Part of me wants to apologize to Archie since he probably needed to sleep.  

Good to see Preacher again as always. 

Abscess took a lot of photos and videos. 

Still praying for Junk’s wife. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Someone said something about something that was coming up, but I can’t remember what it was now.  It might have been about the IronPax Challenge and/or Truckin to the Pound on 9/14.  I do know that there is a 2.0 event coming up on 9/22, but I did not say that then.

Don’t be a JackAss- you get further in life with a positive attitude

THE SCENE: 

72* Clear 97% Humidity
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

You’re here on your own volition…

WARM-O-RAMA:
20 x Side Straddle Hop Seal Claps
THA-THANG:

  • Half of you pick up a weight(Burden) to carry to Lower Baseball Field Lot when tired pass of to your brother(lesson is we help carry our brothers’-burdens together
  • Stop at lower lot and participate in Trolly’s Grid (in honor of Trolly at JUCO) 3 Merkins at every star-Run,  2 BBS at stars-Lunge, 3 jumpsquats-bear crawls,  2 burpees- broad jump…RR
  • Mosey w weight to playground parking lot stop and do 11s w Dive Bombers/Carolina Dry Docks
  • Mosey w weight to Pavilion Wall exercise is BoKnows- do wall sits while hold weight while battle buddy does High knees for 100+ count then switch x 2
  • Mosey back to AO w weight circle up do curls/triceps/squats w weights

MARY:
Hello Dolly x 20 Box Cutters x20

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
35 Strong w 2 FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
You get more outta life by maintaining a positive attitude!
MOLESKIN:
Don’t be a JackAss cuz no one will like you!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Prayer

Keeping it in the shade

THE SCENE: 93, hotter than the devil’s armpit
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 20, variable speeds

Cherry pickers

Imperial Walkers x 10

Merkins x 10

THA-THANG:
Mosey across street to Saturday morning AO and get a CMU for each Pax.  Place CMU’s in the shade along edge of parking lot.

Pax is to run to other end of parking lot, do one of the exercised listed below, then run to the CMU pile and do 30 curls, then repeat until all exercises are completed.

Round 1 – 30 CMU curls

4 Exercises

  • 20 merkins
  • 20 CDD
  • 20 BBS
  • 20 Squats

Round 2 – 30 CMU OH Press

4 corners

  • 20 merkins
  • 20 CDD
  • 20 – BBS
  • 20 Squats

10 Merkins

Mosey to the concessions stand and partner up for Dora.

100 Hand release merkins

200 Decline Merkins

300 Step Ups (single count)

Partner runs back to the parking lot and does 3 burpees

Mosey to CMU pile still in the corner and still in the shade.

25 CMU Curls

CMU OH Hold while we put the CMU’s away

MARY:
Ring of fire Merkins.  Started at 5, then went to 10.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Personal relationships are more important than knowledge.
MOLESKIN:
It was too hot to be in the sun so we modified and kept everything in the shade as much as possible.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
9/14 Trucking to the Pound CSAUP.  T-shirts will be available for order soon.  Must act quickly

November is Brolympics.  Beer ruck, picnic, competition.

Fake Doras

THE SCENE: Humid, very humid
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Additional disclaimer:  the Q went to a concert last night and is now deaf (and tired)
WARM-O-RAMA:

SSH x 20 IC; 10 burpees OYO; Tie Fighter baby arm circles F&B IC; high knees and butt kickers across parking lot; karaoke across and back.
THA-THANG:
Mosey up the hill toward Everest Base Camp.  Stop at each stop sign and go up the ladder.  Add one of the following with each stop:  10 BBS; 20 Merkins; 30 squats (4 ct)

From Base Camp, sprint to midway tree for more BBS, Merkins and Squats; back down to base camp

All the way up Everest, continuing on to the top of the space station. At the base of the base station, hold plank while waiting for the 6.

Mosey past the old rock pile (short moment of silence) down the west side of the drive about midway.  Find a battle buddy and do fake Doras.  One partner runs, the other does sets of 10 man makers and then LBCs until the partner returns.  Swap out.  Rinse, repeat x3.

Run back up to top of Everest, over to other side.  Real Doras:  100 merkins and 100 LBCs (4ct) while partner runs to stop sign and back up.

Start back down the ladder with BBS, Merkins and Squats

Realize we’re about out of time and quick mosey back to AO

MARY:
Cat Gut led in a little Boat/Canoe
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Followed up on Cap’n Crunch’s 3rd F message:  Find a Paul, Barnabus and Timothy in your life.  Have to reach out to do it.  I need to do a better job of intentionally mentoring those in my life.
MOLESKIN:
Lift up Timber’s M and family for some surgery this week.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CSUP – Trucking to the Pound plug.