F3 Knoxville

Tag: Oh Brother where art thou?

Testing is Purifying

THE SCENE: A crisp, wet 50, Almost new moon
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Projectivators
  • Hairy Rockettes
  • LBACs
  • Tempo Squats

THA-THANG:
March Metric Workout

  • Mosey to the recruiting center
  • Everybody get a block and line up along the parking lot
  • 15 minutes of work, change exercises every minute, count total reps as you go, move a parking lot line every 50 (everything is with a CMU)
    • OHP
    • Goblet Squats
    • Bent over Rows
    • Big Boy Situps
    • Curls
    • Lunges
    • Derkins
    • LBCs
    • Tri extensions
    • Deadlifts
    • Thrusters x5
  • 3 minute rest, then DO THE WHOLE THING AGAIN
  • Put up the blocks and head back to the flag

MARY:
No time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

The prospect of being tested doesn’t usually make me excited. Thanks, I expect, to our public education culture, most of us associate testing primarily with being judged, usually based on a comparatively short and only vaguely representative sample of our performance. Too often, it seems that the circumstances of the test have more to do with the outcome than our preparation.

Consequently, most of us avoid tests when we can. Our experience says that we get better outcomes when we rely on more controlled vehicles like 1001 take home worksheets. We don’t like the risk if failing. But I am here to tell you that this perspective is a wound and scar that is crippling your growth, and it’s time to start stretching it out.

This model of testing is shallow and unhelpful. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I think the model presented by the bible provides insight. In the preblast, I quoted Psalm 66 v. 10 “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.” Here and in many places, “test” is the Hebrew word is Tsaraph, which is directly related to the process by which impurities are removed from silver or gold, what we would call smelting. Through heat and pressure, the precious metal is separated from the dross and purified. So while evaluation is one aspect of testing, by its nature, it is also a means of purification. It is through repeated testing that gold becomes pure, and likewise, it is through repeated testing that we grow, develop, and become stronger. And, in truth, we want to be tested. From our youth, we seek out challenges. Easy is boring. It’s only under the weight of time with nagging fear and doubt that this inclination gets slowly crushed out of us.

Tsaraph – 1) to refine, try, smelt, test 2) to find out who is qualified for battle, as with Gideon in Judges 7:4 3) to smith, as in shaping metal (Jer 6:29-30, Is 40:19) 4) to refine by means of suffering (Ps 66:10-12)

Is 1:25 – “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.”

Zec 13:9 – “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”

Mal 3:2-3 – “But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto The LORD an offering in righteousness.”

Finally, I want to show how this directly connects to the F3 leadership process, Q4.5, here is an excerpt:

So where does Failure fit into the Leadership development equation? What does it add to a man’s Leadership Foundation? If he already knows what a Virtuous Leader does and is–and is able is able to do and be those things himself–why must a Leader also Fail?

The reason is that Failure is a crucible. It is the forge by which a Leader is purified through the burning away of his me-first self-regarding nature. It matures him. Without Failure (and lots of it), a Leader will retain too much of who he was and keep doing what he did, rather than being fully transformed into what a Virtuous Leader is and consistently do what a Virtuous Leader does.

MOLESKIN:
We were late getting back. In September (ouch…) probably gonna need to get right over to the recruiting center and warm up on the way.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Wild at Heart, Escape from Haw Ridge, Hardship Hill

Pi and other Universal constants

THE SCENE: Cold for March. Actually, cold for anytime.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Projectivators
  • Tempo Squats
  • Grady Corn
  • Moroccan Nightclubs
  • Tempo Merkins
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Newton’s Cradle

THA-THANG:

  • Mosey to the bell
  • Pi = 3.14159265359
    • 3 burpees
    • 14 Merkins
    • 15 Squats
    • 92 LBCs
  • e = 2.71828 18284
    • 27 dips
    • 18 Merkins
    • 28 Lunges
    • 18 Wide Merkins
    • 28 Split Squats
    • 4 burpees
  • Mosey to the Pool wall
  • Golden Ratio = 1.618033988749
    • 16 Wall-ups and 18 Pull ups, divided as you think will be golden
  • Planck’s constant (J/Hz) = 6.62607015×10−34
    • 6 diamond merkins
    • 6 Catalina Wine Mixers
    • 26 shoulder taps
    • 34 seconds of PLANK
  • Gravitational constant (m3/kg s2) = 6.67430×10-11
    • Find another body, as a team do 66 BBS, 74 Squats, and 30 wall-ups
  • Avogadro’s Number (mol-1) = 6.02214076×1023
    • 60 LBCs, 22 Tie fighters
  • Speed of Light (m/s) = 299,792,458
    • Dash 299.792 meters, 1 millionth of a light second

MARY:
We did some.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. – Luke 16:10-11

When I read this first, I was planning to talk about the first bit, the struggle that I have with being faithful in little things. And that’s a good thing to ponder, to be disciplined in the details of our lives because how we deal in these small things inevitably forms our response to the big things, i.e. you perform the way you practice.

But the middle verses struck me. Nestled between these two classically quotable lines, there are two strange questions. “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” This clearly implies that when Jesus says “a very little” he means wealth. Do I think of my wealth as “a very little”? NO, I don’t. A massive portion of my waking hours are consumed by my wealth: acquiring, distributing, and managing. Even if it doesn’t steal my allegiance, it still feels like a big responsibility. The follow up is no less baffling: “And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?” This plainly indicates that my wealth is not my own, an idea which is oft floated from the pulpit but difficult to really embody. It leaves me wondering, What would it be like to have something that is actually my own? Because evidently, I have a twisted idea of what that even means. The sense in which my wealth is “not my own” seems to me the same sense in which everything else is given me by God. So again, what frame of reference do I even have for what might be “my own?”

MOLESKIN:
Timed out pretty well. Plan was on the complicated side, so I missed a couple things I had wanted to do.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Cardinal Widow House Painting, Escape from Haw Ridge April 14th, Hardship Hill Memorial Day, Wild at Heart Retreat.

Dirty Kraken McDeuce for a Dirty Dozen

THE SCENE: A frosty 29 with a westerly wind at 2mph can only mean one thing: HAPPY SPRING EVERYBODY!

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER: Check!

WARM-O-RAMA:

  • Projectivator – Counting down from 1? (just…ok?!)
  • THE (Knoxville) Cherry Picker x5 (Much noise was made. Missing 3-Peat right about now!)
  • Willy Mays Hayes x6
  • Tempo Merks x10
  • Tempo Squats x10
  • Tennessee Rocking Chair x10
  • Shoulder Burn
    • FLBAC x12
    • RLBAC x12
    • Grady Corn x12
    • Chattanooga Cherry Pickers x12
  • SSH x15

Mosey to the Tennis Courts.

THA-THANG:

Agility Drill – Run the boundary lines of the 3 tennis courts – sprint/karaoke on one side, burnie/karaoke on the other. Split into 4 teams.

Team Sprints – Each team has a sprinter, man in plank, man doing squats, and a man doing flutters. Sprinter is to run, touch the fence, do 1 burpee, and sprint back. The plank man sprints, squat man planks, flutter man squats, and sprinter moves to the back and starts flutters. Winning Team – 3 burpees. Losing Team – 5 burpees.

Dirty McDuece – 4 circuits of 3 exercises done to 12 4-count reps (or 24 reps). Each set has one chest exercise, one leg exercise and one core exercise. Lap around the tennis courts after each station.

Station 1 – HR Merkin, Lunges, Undertakers

Station 2 – Diamond Merkins, Bonnie Blairs, Hello Dollies

Station 3 – Merkins, Apollo Onos, Heels to Heaven

Station 4 – Wide Merkins, Monkey Humper, Box Cutters

Rinse and repeat.

RTB for Mary.

MARY:
LBCs – x15
Side Crunches – x10 each side

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

There have been 3 significant leadership roles in the last few years that YHC has had to hand off. A 15 year youth ministry, 2 years as a pastor, and a year as AOQ. YHC has discovered in that time that there is a natural leadership arc. There is a beginning or “honeymoon phase”. This phase is really exciting, you get to be the star or the new hero. You get to carry the hopes for the future for the people you are leading. Then comes the end of the honeymoon phase. Suddenly, you’re no longer special. You get a sense of the dirty laundry and they get to smell yours. This develops into a place of deeper connection and cooperation. Finally, there’s the period of time when the end is in sight or or the “lame duck” phase. This is when someone else’s leadership matters more than yours. Suddenly, you don’t pull the amount of weight you once did.

These phases are also true in many aspects of life; fathers who release their young into adulthood experience a change in the role the play, work related relationships leading all the way to retirement, the phases of life from being a young man to earning your double or triple “respect”.

In his book, The Second Mountain, David Brooks tells us…

“The first mountain is about building up the ego and defining the self, the second mountain is about shedding the ego and losing the self. If the first mountain is about acquisition, the second mountain is about contribution. If the first mountain is elitist–moving up–the second mountain is egalitarian–planting yourself amid those in need, and walking arm in arm with them.”

I read a great analogy for this: the racecar driver (RCD) vs the right-front-tire guy (RFTG). When you’re the RCD, you get all the glory. It’s all about you. You’re the star of the show and it’s a glorious rush. For the RFTG on the other hand, it’s all about OTHERS. He’s willing to take the position that supports others.

The RFTG actually has a lot more influence than you think. He can use his encouragement and skill to build up and create MORE leaders while the RCD is busy DOING everything he can to stay on the road. The fact is, when you consider how often we get to be the RCD and how short lived the “honey moon” phase is, we’re very rarely in the driver’s seat. We are more often than not the RFTG.

Moses handed off leadership to Joshua. He saw into the Promise Land but pushed Joshua forward. Paul was imprisoned and saw his ministry and life dwindling. He got in the coaching seat and pushed Timothy forward. Jesus’ tone began to change with the disciples in the Gospels.

John 14:12 – “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

Jesus gave His life, was glorified, took his seat next to the Father, and sent His Spirit to empower YOU to do even greater things!

  1. Are you in a seat of influence as the RFTG and don’t know it because you’re wishing you were the RCD?
  2. Are you experiencing a “lame duck” phase in some place in your life and need to consider how to be a better RFTG?

Who in your life can you be a better Right Front Tire Guy?

MOLESKIN:

  • See further discussion on “Legacy” in Q4 “Leave Right” in the F3 QSource!
  • Welcome FNG – Gas-X!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • You v You Fitness Metric on this Thursday’s Workout!
  • New Shieldlock forming on Wednesday morning at 0500.
  • Haw Ridge – April 14 (Get signed up! See Slack for details!)
  • Hardship Hill (May 29) is fast approaching. Get your team and get your team registered.

What’s for dinner?

THE SCENE: it was a little cool

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:

Beginning of the best day ever..
Projectivators, big and little arm circles, Moroccan nightclubs, and a few merks
THA-THANG:
Appetizer- 50 pull-ups and 100 hanging crunches

Salad- hill runs with 7s. Diamond merks at the top and wide merks at the bottom.

Main Course- 13 block exercises 10 reps each: OHP, tri-x, bench press, butterfly bench, Freddy press, inside curls, outside curls, man-makers, sq thrusters, and  heavy dips.

MARY:
No time

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Proverbs 5 – what are we giving our strength to. Will it be worth it. Should we rethink where our energy goes?

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
ESCAPE FROM HAW RIDGE

Quarter Murph Endurance

THE SCENE: A perfectly balmy 53 degrees with stars overhead and dreams in our hearts.

F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
Yup, we did all that.

WARM-O-RAMA:
15 each of:
SSH
Mt Climbers
Tempo Merkins
Tempo Squats
Moroccan Night Clubs
Knoxville Cherry Pickers

THA-THANG:
Quarter-Murph Repeats
One traditional Memorial Day work out is a “Murph”. Named after Lt. Michael Murphy who gave his life valiantly during a recon mission in Afghanistan in 2005. A full murph is: 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 merkins, 300 air squats, 1 mile run. Normally done for time. (Usually w/ a weighted vest – we did not do vests)

Today, we divided a murph by 4, then broke down the sets into manageable bites. We went one quarter-murph at a time and worked to see how close we could get to a full murph.

  • 400 M run from the playground around the building and back.
  • 5 sets of: 5 pull ups, 10 merkins, 15 air squats
  • 400 M run

That’s one quarter-murph. Then start over at the top (so two runs in a row in between exercises) and do as many quarter-murphs as you can in our time.

We had several bros who knocked out a full murph! IM-pressive.

MARY:
None needed.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Did that.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
James, the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the early church in Jerusalem wrote a little epistle. In the very first chapter, he drops the line:

James 1:2–5 (ESV) — 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

In the same way a hard workout can absolutely crush you, but leads to growth in strength and endurance, trials in our lives can have the effect of growing us in Christlikeness. No one wants trials. No one thinks they’re good when they’re happening. But we have a promise that there is a plan behind it all that will end with our good and will even have a ‘perfecting’ effect on us.

Charles Spurgeon said, “I’ve learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.”

We can learn to kiss the wave as we lean into our challenges knowing that we may not need to be rescued from them, but only seen through them. So lean in and know that God is doing more than you can see through your trials!

MOLESKIN:
Enjoyed leading this one. It was largely self-directed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Escape from Haw Ridge T-shirt orders are due by Fri. Register for Escape from Haw Ridge. Anyone who can should sign up for painting at Cardinal’s wife’s new place.