F3 Knoxville

Gratitude and Recognition

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Serpentine (Jason Pierce)
PAX: Drum Major, Curveball, Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Crash Dummy, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Mr Jinxy, Kung Blue, Switchhitter (Tony), Sparkler, Lizzy, Brick, High Heels, MD Hammer, Tenderfoot
FNGs: None
COUNT: 15
WARMUP:
– SSH 20 IC
– Monkey Humpers 20IC
– Baby Arm Circles 10 up, 10 down IC
– Cherry Pickers 5 IC
– Merkins 10

THE THANG:
Mosey down Hilltop Drive to the stop sign
3 x, 20 lunges – 10 each leg, 20 lbc
Mosey down the trail to the left and stop around the rock pile area
3x 20 squat jumps, 20 American hammers
Indian run on paved trail along Lakeshore Greenway, through Pryse Garden Pavilion to the round about circle
3x Rocky Balboas 10 count IC, 10 Smurf jacks IC
Mosey to bathroom area and parking near open field below the East Terrace
3 x 20 Carolina dry docks, 5 Lunge Worms toward hill
Mosey through the field and up the hills, stopping at the last hill below the overlook
10-5-25: 3 rounds
10 merkins
Run to top of hill
5 burpees
Run down
25 squats
Sprint up hill
Mosey to first stop sign on Circle Drive
Final run up Hilltop Drive to the flag

MARY:
SSH until time

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
10 year anniversary convergence 11/8
Winter location starts next week
Ruck Event
Prayers for Crankbait

COT:
Gratitude and Recognition

Thinking about my VQ, I was reminded of something we do with our family to bring us closer and to humbly remind all of us to stop, reflect and appreciate each other, and appreciate our blessings.

So, when we do sit around the table at dinner, which sways with the waves of an active family, as sports and dance and work are in motion, our family goes around the table and each person offers up what they are grateful for and then we each compliment someone at the table (not a pet) in recognition of a positive accomplishment or worthy action that the person did.

This exercise brought us closer, diffused disagreements, and drove us to think about all the blessings we have. Blessings sitting in front of us every day. It also reminded us that we are surrounded by amazing talented people. We are all remarkable in our own God given way.

Sometimes simple, sometime deep. Perhaps it was beautiful day with the sun shinning, or just that we were all together. Compliments on a well cooked healthy dinner or a Major sports or dance achievement were the norm.

As Ferris Bueller said…Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,”

I think that is great advice on many different levels. In this case, look around, there are so many simple blessings we experience and the achievements by ourselves and our friends and loved ones that will pass us by if we fail to stop, look around, and take notice.

In that spirit, I will close with saying that I’m very grateful for F3, for Sparkler who recruited me back, and for this amazing group of men Asylum PM that welcomed me back in on a rainy day this past spring.

I also want to compliment you all. Everyone in the circle has inspired me in some way and you all are amazing men of God and it is a blessing to be with you.

Slow the World Down

AO: shamrock
Q: Anchorman
PAX: Honeydew, Baby Boomer, Lizzy, slappy, Stitch, Anchorman
FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
WARMUP:
Run in circles
Cherry Pickers

THE THANG:
Mosey to CMU pile
Stopped for 25 curb dips
Grabbed a CMU and set up Shamrock Scrabble
We played a full game and had to lunge or bear crawl to grab new game pieces.
Final score was 83-77 so it was very close.
We returned our CMUs
Knocked out 25 more curb dips

MARY:
Dealers choice

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:
I recently had a conversation with my wife about “where the heck did time go? What happened to October? “
Life is moving fast. My neighbor is the talented Erick Baker (F3 Rocky Top) who wrote this song before the pandemic. “Slow the World Down”
I love his line about sitting in the porch waving to cars as they pass because he’s the type of neighbor who really does that. He will take the time to stop and say hi and will smile and wave as you drive by him in his yard.
It’s a good reminder to slow down, listen to your loved ones, pay atttention to your co-workers, give some time to a neighbor who might really need that boost of community that 5-10 minutes will make a difference to their day. Let’s not crank through the days, weeks, months, years. Let’s enjoy today. Let’s reflect on what God has for us today.
Lyrics below

Everybody’s in a hurry
Caught up in keeping up with things that don’t matter at all
Searching for short cuts
To speed things up as if life is not fast enough
What happened to the front porch
Passing the day with a wave to all the cars as they pass
Time stops for no one
We’ve got one thing in common and its that we’re not growing young
So let’s unplug the clocks not let another minute pass
Help me find a way to stop this life from moving so fast
Won’t you come and slow the world down
Slow the world down
Slow the world down with me
Don’t think about tomorrow
I make a toast to just enjoy the taste of today
Cause life is such a short song
We’ve got to dance to the beat of the second hand slowly counting down
Let’s unplug the clocks not let another minute pass
Help me find a way to stop this life from moving so fast
Won’t you come and slow the world down
Slow the world down
Slow the world down with me
I’ll take the quiet of the country or the sand of the beach
A place where telephone lines don’t reach
Far from the city lights that steal the stars from the night sky
And high rise shadows that block out the sunlight
Where the sand castle is safe cause the tide is always low
And there’s always time and it always runs slow

God is Good All of the Time

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), High Heels, Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), bfarthur, Brick, Natty, Dung Beetle, Crash Dummy, Drum Major, Lizzy
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: 20 Side-Straddle-Hops, Curly Stomps, 10 Rockettes, 10 Windmills, 10 Dive Bombers, 6 Twistees, 7 Pterodactyls Forward and 7 Backward.

THE THANG: Mosey up Mini-Cardiac and stop at grassy area to left of crosswalk. We will stop to do 10 Tempo Merkins.
Mosey to the top of the dragon tail. We will run down, stopping at every other light to do 5 Bobby Hurleys. We will stop when we get to the nice restrooms.
Mosey to the parking lot across the street that is close to the playground. We will stop to do 20 Hello Dollies. Mosey to the pavilion that is just east of the playground. Do 20 picnic table pull-ups, then run clockwise on sidewalk that goes toward the Caribbean parking lot but turn on sidewalk that leads to the playground. Go into playground and 20 Bench Jumps at bench. Then run back to the pavilion to repeat the process. We will do this for 10 minutes.
Mosey to the Caribbean parking lot. We will stop to do 20 American Hammers.
Mosey to serpentine sidewalk and then head east until we converge with the main trail. We will stop to do 10 Tempo Merkins.
Mosey to skunk hill. We were going to do sevens, starting with six burpees up top and one Carolina Dry Dock at the bottom of the hill. However, it was so wet that we stopped after the second run up the hill.
Mosey back to the pavilion and then to the AO Parking lot. Divide into two teams. Each team will have a Pickle Ball. This will be a relay. A man from each team runs clockwise around the parking lot but stops at buckets that will be placed on the south and north end of the parking lot. At the buckets, each man must throw the pickle ball into the bucket before he can keep running. The first shot must come from the cone that is farthest away from the bucket. If missed, the player must retrieves the ball and then shoots from the cone that is closer to the bucket. If he misses that shot he must retrieve the ball and then dunk it into the bucket. After a shot is made, the player picks the ball out of the bucket and continues running around the perimeter of the parking lot to the next bucket where he goes through the same process as with the first bucket. After making the shot at the second bucket, the player continues running around the perimeter and brings the ball back to the next man on his team for the relay. Those team members not running and shooting will run in place where the teams are gathered. The team that finishes first in the relay is the winner.
Next, we will go to the western curb of the parking lot. We will sprint to the other end of the parking lot and then Bernie Sanders back to the western curb.
Next, we will run up mini-cardiac to the cross walk, then do 20 Imperial Walkers. From there we will go again on the dragon tail, running four lights, walking two lights, and running another four lights before moseying back to the AO parking lot.
We will gather again at the western curb of the parking lot where we will sprint at 60 % pace to the other curb and back, then spring at an 80% pace to the other curb and back, and finally finish by sprinting a 100% pace there and back.

MARY: Stretches.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Ten Year Anniversary will be at the Asylum, 7 am on Saturday, November 8. We will also have a social from 6 to 9 pm at Xul downtown on Friday, November 7.

COT:

Message: Good is Good All of the Time
Gents, Hurricane Helene hit Tennessee and North Carolina over a year ago on September 24, 2024. Over 100 people were killed by the storm in the two states. Many had homes and property devastated. I was listening to our local public broadcasting radio station several weeks ago to an interview with a man who lives in Greene County, Tennessee. His name is Frank Brough. He is 76 years old. He and his wife restored and moved into a home about 30 years ago that was built by the Sevier family in the mid-nineteenth century and which fronts the Nolichucky River. On September 24 they watched from their home as the river appeared to rise about 6 feet per hour. They made the wise decision to vacate. Friends of theirs had a home and a small church chapel in Cocke County up on a mountaintop. Frank and his wife spent the next three months at the chapel, living on air mattresses in the back of the chapel where they had a small kitchenette and the ability to cook and take care of themselves. On September 29 of 2024 they were able to see the damage to their own home. Waters had engulfed the home and risen approximately 12 ½ feet to the joists of their second floor.
What I liked so much about this public radio story was how Frank and his wife never lost faith in God through their ordeal. I also loved how the community responded to help Frank and his wife restore the home.
There is a Christian Ministry Retreat in Greene County called Longview Ranch. It is a retreat center for people of all ages but primarily children and youth. Volunteers from Longview Ranch and others in the community helped clear mud and rock out of the Frank’s house that in some areas was up to 30 inches deep. Frank is a well-spoken and educated man but he sometimes tripped up and broke into tears when he spoke of how the community responded to help him. Frank and his wife should be able to move into their home within a few months. That would be a nice Christmas gift!
I loved Frank’s answer when the interviewer, Pierce Gentry of WUOT, asked him: “What does healing after Helene mean to you?” Here is Frank’s answer:

The after Hurricane Helene thoughts are summed up essentially in the fact that God is good all of the time and all of the time God is good. He is in control. He knows our past, He knows our present, He knows our future. My wife and I live in faith, believing all things work together for good for those that love the Lord. And we will survive.
We chose to go on living, loving God, rebuilding and making it happen all over again. Trying to wear smiles when we can, and sometimes sitting in the living room crying. But it’s going to happen. It’s going to be a real home again, thanks to all of the efforts of people like Longview. And we are so thankful.
Gents, I love how we in F3 serve our community just like those volunteers from Longview Ranch served their community after Helene. I am glad the guys with the Asylum PM were able to respond to the request from the Lakeshore Conservancy to collect and remove the large amount of rocks and stones from the fields above Cardiac and Mini-Cardiac so that the Conservancy can continue their beautification efforts. Thanks to Pele for talking to the Conservancy personnel to get this coordinated and to all the F3 brothers who have helped.

Prayers:

Prayers for those impacted by Hurricane Helene and prayers of praise for those who have helped people who were impacted. Prayers for colleague of Crawdad who is coping with cancer. Prayers for mother of Dung Beetle who, after living in her home for so many years, is moving to Asheville to live with Dung Beetle’s sister. Prayers for our brother, Brick, who is dealing with many stressors at this time, including a divorce last year, a move to a new household to be closer to his children, and a new job.

BFF

AO: shamrock
Q: Stitch
PAX: Mermaid, Drano, slappy, Anchorman, Lizzy, Spackle (F3 Indy)
FNGs: None
COUNT: 7
WARMUP:
Run in place with high knees
Ghost jump ropes
Hallelujahs
Seal Claps
Hairy Rockettes
Tempo Squats
Mountain Climbers

THE THANG:
Mosey to the field

Line up at the Goal line and everyone will:

Run to the 10 yd line for 5 Burpees and back to the GL
Run to the 20 yd line for 5 Burpess and back to the GL
Continue this circuit every 10 yards and back until we get to the far GL and back. That’s 50 Burpees total.

Lap through the bleachers and back.

Start at goal line. One person has frisbee and the remaining PAX all go out for a toss. ONE person catches it and the group continues to run until they reach the other goal line and back. On a drop, pick up the frisbee and run back 10 yards before continuing with the throws. There will be a 2 minute timer to get down the field and back to the goal line.

MARY:
N/A

COT:
Let’s continue to strive to be different. Different from the world. The world wants to divide and isolate us. The world wants to make us enemies with one another. I challenge us here today to be fruits of the Spirit… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. F3 is open to ALL men, but if we aren’t leading with those qualities, then we are not “invigorating”. We are simply being the world. Discouraging and not encouraging.

I want to give opportunity for everyone to pray for something on their hearts. You don’t have to say anything but if you have a prayer request, then this space is for you to offer that up. I’ll give us some time and then close us out.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Halloween – Mermaid shared an idea and I am encouraging anyone that shows up here on Friday October 31st to dress up for the workout. It’ll be fun!

2. November 7th and 8th – 10 year anniversary convergence. Xul meet up on Friday night and workout on Saturday morning at Asylum. Let’s get signed up. Donate and volunteer to help clean up.

3. Christmas Cards – Another clever idea is that we will pinpoint a date in early December to show up at F3 with your ugly sweaters, Santa hats, etc, and pose for the post beat down Christmas card that we will create and send out to anyone who hasn’t been here, or been here in awhile.

Skeleton Hunters

AO: shamruck
Q: Mermaid
PAX: Mermaid, Lizzy, Drano, Eliza
FNGs: None
COUNT: 4
We took off to check out some halloween decorations. The route was a little longer than normal and we ran about 5 minutes late.

COT: f3nation.com/sua Here is an excerpt of what we discussed relative to leadership

In F3, a Sua Sponte Leader is a man who has been freed to Lead. He is a Leader who exercises Individual Initiative (I2) by taking action in furtherance of his Group’s Articulated Purpose without specific instructions. He initiates Movement toward Advantage for his Group in the absence of explicit authority because he is that rare man who will Lead with or without another Leader to direct him. He is That Somebody.
F3 could not function without HIMs willing to be That Somebody. It is an Organization that was created in order to invigorate male Leadership in Charlotte (the Community we happened to be Members of when when it started). We did it without authority from any existing Organization or any request from the Governance of our Community–we acted on our own accord, sua sponte. The Movement we initiated was driven by our belief that dormant Male Leadership was a Problem that could and must be solved in our Community. For us, it was an Iceberg. Ultimately, this Movement has spread to other Communities outside of Charlotte because the men who lived there also believed that they had the same Problem, and (more importantly) were willing to be That Somebody too.


Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined method WP_Script_Modules::get_queue() in /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-content/plugins/gutenberg/lib/compat/wordpress-7.0/script-modules.php:51 Stack trace: #0 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(324): gutenberg_print_script_module_translations('') #1 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(348): WP_Hook->apply_filters(NULL, Array) #2 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/plugin.php(517): WP_Hook->do_action(Array) #3 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/general-template.php(3208): do_action('wp_footer') #4 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-content/themes/treville/footer.php(32): wp_footer() #5 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/template.php(810): require_once('/home/f3knoxvil...') #6 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/template.php(745): load_template('/home/f3knoxvil...', true, Array) #7 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/general-template.php(92): locate_template(Array, true, true, Array) #8 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-content/themes/treville-child/archive.php(45): get_footer() #9 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-includes/template-loader.php(113): include('/home/f3knoxvil...') #10 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-blog-header.php(19): require_once('/home/f3knoxvil...') #11 /home/f3knoxville/www/www/index.php(17): require('/home/f3knoxvil...') #12 {main} thrown in /home/f3knoxville/www/www/wp-content/plugins/gutenberg/lib/compat/wordpress-7.0/script-modules.php on line 51