F3 Knoxville

Tag: Sparkler

Comfort of Judgement

THE SCENE: Sunny, hot but a breeze helped.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-straddle hops, 10 Plank Jacks, 10 Side Bend Stretches Left and 10 Right, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Tempo Merkins
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Stop Sign at southeast corner of Admin Bldg.  20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to Outdoor Chapel.  Team up into pairs of two.  We will do Doras.  While one partner runs around building on the sidewalk the other partner does exercise.  These are the exercises:

  • 100 Decline Merkins off stage.
  • 100 Four Count Mountain Climbers
  • 100 Big Boys Sit Ups
  • 100 Bench Dips
  • 100 Four Count Hello Dollies

Mosey to Playground.  We will do elevens at benches starting with ten bench jumps and one decline merkin.

Mosey to Pavilion.  We will do sevens starting with six picnic table pull-ups and one bench dip.

Mosey to stop sign at northeastern corner of admin bldg.  20 American Hammers

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Nine men including one FNG:  Joe Salamanca whom we dubbed “Nature Boy.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Finding comfort in God’s Judgement

From Proverbs Chapter 1 (24-28) in ESV Bible:

Because I have called and you refused to listen,

have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25  because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

26  I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when terror strikes you,

27  when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

Those of us who read the Bible sometimes read about God’s wrath and judgment. It can be quite discomforting when we do so.  God seems quite upset, quite irate, when it comes to sin.  Sometimes I ask myself, “Do I want that kind of God?” when I read about his anger and vengeance toward sin.  God’s wrath is difficult to think about.  We tend to like the idea of a loving God but not of a judging God.

I particularly don’t like to think of his anger and judgment when thinking of my own sins.  I don’t want that burning fire coming after me!

While God’s wrath may seem “Ungodly” in our modern world of “tolerance for others”, do we really want a God who does not judge sin?  When we see the hatred and injustice that occur in this “tolerant” world, do we want a God who sits idly by, just watching it all happen while munching on brownies?  When we see children being abused, victims slaughtered by evil dictators, people losing their fortunes due to swindlers, do we want our Creator to do nothing in regard to it?

I want God’s judgment (just not against me!).

Think of yourself as a father or father to be.  You love you children.  You want great things for them.  But are you not going to be angry and passionate when you see someone hurt them?  No way!  Are you going to sit by and just let them get hurt?  I don’t think so.  You will tear doors down to get to the one who hurts them.  Also, are you indifferent when your children themselves do wrong?  Are you going to sit by idly if they purposefully pick a fight with a younger child?  Or, are you not going to feel embarrassment, anger, and shame if they steal from a store or friend?  You are going to take action!  You won’t like doing it but you will discipline them.  You will do that because you love them.  You want them to be morally straight, to be loving to others, to be of good character.

If we look at the issue more closely, we do want a God who gets angry about sin, who judges bad deeds.  We desire a just world where evil is punished.  And we do have a God who is just.

But what does our just God see when it comes to us humans?  We all sin, after all.  Well, our sin probably stirs his wrath.  Fortunately, we have a God who loves us.  He may hate our sins but He is slow to anger.  He is also willing to die on a cross in atonement for our sins.  He loves us so much that He sent His only son to die for us.  As the great song by Stuart Townend proclaims, “Tis the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us.”

God, thank you for judging my sins.  Also, thank you for sending your only son to die for my sins so that I might live for you.

MOLESKIN:

Prayers for Steam on his new adventure of traveling with his job.  Prayers for Thunderstruck’s mother.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence and 3rd F this Saturday!

Faith of a Child

THE SCENE: Partly sunny, temp near 80 degrees.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-straddle hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Body Twists, 10 Windmills, Little of This and That
THA-THANG:
Mosey to Stop Sign at Northeast Corner of Admin Bldg.  20 American Hammers.

Mosey north toward perimeter trail and then mosey east to benches at top of Cardiac.  20 Heel Touchers.

Mosey to bottom of Cardiac.  We will go back up Cardiac stopping at the following turns to do the following exercises.  Then we will come back down to do the same two more times (three times total):

  • First Turn:  20 Hello Dollies (four count)
  • Second Turn:  20 Bicycle Kicks (four count)
  • Third Turn: 20 Decline Merkins
  • Fourth Turn:  20 Bench Dips

Mosey from bottom of Cardiac past northern fields batting cages to CMU pile. First, we will do 10 Burpees.  Then, each man picks up CMU.  We will, as a group, do the following, sprinting to the end of parking lot and back between each exercise:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • 20 Rows
  • 20 Squats

Mosey to Mini Cardiac.  We will Bernie Sanders 2/3 of the way up and then sprint up the rest of the way.

Mosey to Stop Sign at Northeastern Corner of Admin Bldg.  20 American Hammers.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Buzz Saws, Boat Canoe.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Seven men, no FNG’s.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The Trust of a Child

Let the Children Come to Me (Mark 10:  13-16)

13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

When I was a boy of about age 5 or 6, I came to the front door of our house, after playing outside, to enter.  The door was locked.  I rang the door bell but nobody came.  I could see my mother through the large front window of our house.  It was kind of difficult to see her but she was sitting on the couch.  I rang the doorbell again and also knocked loudly but no one answered.  I ran to the front window again.  My mother was just sitting on the couch. I thought she was ignoring me, shutting me out.  I was startled and hurt. How could she not come to the door?  Didn’t she love me anymore?  I ran in tears to the back yard.  I sat out there crying.  Maybe she didn’t love me.  Maybe she didn’t want me as her child anymore.  I was angry, I was dejected, I was dumbfounded.  I don’t know how long it took me to go to the front of the house again.  This time I banged as hard as I could on the window, screaming for my mother, demanding her to come to the door.  My mother had been sleeping heavily and was startled awake by the banging.  She quickly walked to the front door, probably in an angry mood because of her son banging on a window.  She opened the door and her anger quickly changed to concern.  She saw her boy in a state of agony, in despair, his face and shirt wet with tears, his voice blubbering.  She took him into her arms and held him close, asking “what’s wrong, what’s wrong.”  The boy explained that she had failed come to him and demanded why she didn’t do so?  She didn’t react in anger to his demands, understanding the shock of the boy of her not coming, the need to know she cared.  She explained she had been sleeping, explained that she would always love him, that she would never intentionally not come to him, that he could always count on her love.  We went that night to my favorite hamburger restaurant.  We ate together and she bought me an ice cream cone after that.  It was special to have that, but what was more special was the knowledge that my mother did love me, that she always did and always would.

God speaks of us coming to Him like children.  I believe he wants us to come with that same childlike need that I had then for my mother.  He wants us not just to have the faith of a child but the desperate urgency of a child who needs his parent.  After all, we do need Him.  We need Him desperately. If we have to wrestle with him to make him bless us like Isaac did, so be it.  If we have to bang on Heaven’s window, like I, at age 5, banged on the window of my house to make sure I was loved, so be it.  I don’t think God will mind too much if you, in utter honesty and desperation, call on Him and demand that he love you, demand your blessing from Him.  If your demand comes from your heart, He’s gonna be there.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Mr. Jinxy’s co-worker who has lost two friends to suicide this year.  Prayers for the family of those who committed the suicides.  Prayers to the families of the young person who died this past week in a car accident in Alcoa.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
3rd F on Saturday, August 10 with Convergence beforehand at the Big Ball.

Bump and Run

THE SCENE: 72°F, Cool, but still plenty humid
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:

  • SSH x20 IC 4-count
  • Merkins x5  OYO
  • Imperial Walker x15 IC 4-count
  • Merkins x10 OYO
  • Imperial Squawkers x15 IC 4-count
  • Merkins x15 OYO

THA-THANG:
Mosey to the Courtyard
Four Corners w/Bump

  • Cone 1 – Merkins
  • Cone 2 – Jump Squats
  • Cone 3 – Mountain Climber
  • Cone 4 – Smurf Jacks
  • 5th group run a loop around the courtyard and bumps the group at cone 1

Rinse and repeat

Mosey to the hill behind the service shed
11s- Merkins at bottom and Squats at the top

Mosey back to the SP
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
15- Chaco, Kenjo, Mandolin, Sparkler, Spotter, Trolley, Weedwacker, 5K, Judge Judy, Sty, Booster, Erector, Finger Food, Anchorman, Archie (QIC)

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.””
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:21-24‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/59/lam.3.21-24.esv

Be a Sheep, Not a Goat

THE SCENE: Sunny and give-me-a-breeze-because-it’s-90-degrees-oh please oh please Hot, around 90 degrees
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER  Check.  I may not have clarified I’m not a professional. But I am not.
WARM-O-RAMA:

30 Side Straddle Hops (4-ct), in cadence, 10 Cherry Pickers (4-ct), in cadence, 20 Imperial Walkers (4-ct), in Cadence, 10 Baby arm circles forward/backward, Little of This and That, 10 plank jacks (4-ct) in cadence (had to add these on waiting for Hooker to dress himself… insert eye roll here)

THA-THANG:

Mosey to random shady area south of Admin Building before Chapel

  • Mucho Chesto #1: 10 x Merkin / 10 x Wide Merkin / 10 x Diamonds / 10 Stagger Merkin Left / 10 Stagger Merkin Right.

Mosey to Chapel

  • CHAPEL 7’s
    • Part 1: Mountain Climbers (4-ct)/Bench Dips
    • Part 2: Froggie Squat Jumps/Decline Merkins

Mosey to big tree outside of chapel that had a sort of circular shade pattern.

  • Catch Me if You Can!
    • Partner up. One partner Burpee Broad Jumps around perimeter of shade.  Other partner does 10 LBCs and then GORILLA RUNS to catch up.  Then partners switch. 3 minutes.  Rinse and repeat, except with Lunges and Bear Crawls.

Mosey to CMU pile.

  • DORAS
    • Use same partners as before. One partner DUCK WALKS ½ way then sprints to end of parking lot, does 3 merkins, then sprints and switches.
      • 100 curls (Q pulled up lame with a tight calf here.  Dang!!)
      • 100 overhead press (RIP to the CMU that Tank dropped.  We all pitched in on the punishment burpees)
      • 100 triceps (didn’t have time for these last two)
      • 100 squats

Mosey to start of Dragon Tail

  • Mucho Chesto #2, 1/2 reps: 5 x Merkin / 5 x Wide Merkin / 5 x Diamonds / 5 Stagger Merkin Left /5 Stagger Merkin Right.Mosey to monument up the Dragon’s tail
      • 20 American Hammers

Mosey to AO

MARY:
No Time
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 HIMs, J-Lo not tagged
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Certain current events in the news have been disturbing to me, and I felt the urge to recite this Bible verse that contains some sentiments that I feel we need to be reminded of collectively as a society.

Matthew 25 verses 1-13, Parable of the Sheep and Goats

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’

“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for several PAX who have family members who are going through health issues, and praise for some news of recovery for several as well.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Fourth of July F3/FiA parade news (check Cap’n Crunch’s email) and Goliath at the Gorge mud run/obstacle course near Johnson City in late October.  F3 Knoxville is coordinating with other F3 groups and the organizers to get an F3 discout, arrange some fellowship options, and perhaps volunteer.

Give In To God

THE SCENE:  Sunny and humid, temps in 80’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-straddle hops, 10 Iron Mikes (four count), 10 Windmills, 10 Twists, 10 Cherry Pickers
THA-THANG:
Mosey to stop sign at southeast corner of the Admin Bldg.  20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to parking lot near Area 54.  20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Cones that will be in grass on others side of the street from parking lot near Area 54.  The cones will be set up in four corners.  We will be going to each cone by the following methods and doing the following exercises:

  • Cone 1:  20 Merkins.  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2.
  • Cone 2:  20 Big Boy Sit Ups.  Grapevine, right foot in lead, to Cone 3
  • Cone 3:  20 Carolina Dry Docks.  Sprint to Cone 4.
  • Cone 4.  40 Baby Crunches.  Grapevine, left foot in lead, to Cone 1.+
  • Rinse and repeat two more times.

Mosey to shaded area on perimeter trail that is near the North Shore Gate Entrance to park.  20 Buzz Saws.

Mosey down perimeter trail to bottom of Mt. Everest.  20 Hello Dollies. 20 Merkins.  20 Big Boy Sit Ups.

Run up Mt. Everest to street in front of Admin Bldg.

We will run in a counter-clockwise square doing the following exercises at the following locations:

At Bat House:  Do 20 Star Jumps then run down steps.

At grassy area at bottom of steps:  20 Carolina Dry Docks then run to tree grove below summit of Mt. Everest.

At tree grove:  10 Burpees then run to top of Mt. Everest.

At top of Mt. Everest:  20 Big Boy Situps

Mosey to wall on other side of street from Admin Bldg parking lot.  We will pair up into two man teams.  While one partner does 20 dips at wall the other partner does merkins.  Then partners trade places.  Rinse and repeat.

Mosey to AO.

MARY:
20 Buzz Saws, 20 Pickle Pounders, 15 Shoulder Taps, 20 Merkins
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Eleven men, one FNG, Robert Land whom we dubbed “Hot Lips.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Give In To God

“Never give up.”  “When the going get’s tough, the tough get going.”  ” Go the extra mile.”  “Give 110%.” “When you think you have had enough, find that extra in reserve.”

These are phrases we can relate to in F3.  We are a group of men who encourage each other to push ourselves to our limits so that we can better ourselves in health and as members of society.  These are good phrases and they ring with truth.  To succeed in life we must push ourselves, even when the chips are down. To be true HIM’s we must also sometimes carry others with us along the way.

But as HIM’s who live in a world that has tainted views of what true success is, we must also think on these phrases with discernment.  We must realize that their are exceptions to every rule.  We must learn that it is important to have balance in our lives.  We must see that even Jesus took time to rest and pray.  And, in F3, we must remember that one of our often used phrases is, “Modify!”

As a psychologist, I see people who definitely need to listen to the “don’t give up” types of statements.  I see people quitting jobs just because they had a bad day at work, because a co-worker or boss said something negative to them, because they don’t like getting up on dark and cold mornings.”  This type of attitude leads to defeat, to failure, to depression.

But I have also seen people who are anxious, depressed and miserable because they think they have to hold everything together or else they are failures.  These people are not the “I give up types.”  But they are burning the candle at both ends, failing to “sharpen the saw”, and failing to turn to God and trust in Him at their greatest time of need.  I was watching a television show on Netflix with my wife on Saturday night.  Part of the show focused on an attorney who had been very successful at her job.  She also wanted to be a good mother.  She and her stay-at-home husband were doing the best they could to raise their young daughter and they had also recently adopted a nine-year-old boy who came from a very difficult background and had some behavioral issues because of it.  The attorney was trying to meet the needs of her family and the needs of the job.  She was getting further and further behind because of the many demands facing her.  She had her daughter getting angry at her for missing one of her school musicals (due to job necessities) and she had her employer and clients getting upset at her for making mistakes on the job that she had not made in the past.  She was reaching the breaking point.  In one scene, she has a panic attack in front of her husband, almost fainting, something that had never happened to her before.  Finally, in a critical scene of the show, leaders of the law firm let her know that she has been on track to become a partner in this highly successful firm.  Noting her recent mistakes, they ask her if she is willing to give 100% to the law firm.  She makes an important decision, one that the society she runs with would see as a mistake, as a sign of failure.  She decides to quit the firm.

I bring this up because there will be times in each of our lives when we must choose to give things up.  A great way to recognize this is when we see that we are taking on too much, when our life feels out of balance.  We are not failing when we make the decision to give up in such a case.  We are, rather, choosing something greater.  In the case of the female attorney in the show I mentioned, she chose to spend more time with family.  She could take on a job with less pay so that she could have a better relationship with her daughter and adopted son.

What can we do when we experience ourselves off kilter?  We can pray to God.  Too many times we try to handle things on our own without asking God for direction.  We can also talk to our friends.  God often speaks to us through friends.  In our prayers we may hear that we need to hang in their for a while, that things will slow down, that life will get back to balance.  But we may also hear that it is time to give something up.  We may also see that we have been trying to manage things without God without giving in to Him, allowing him to guide us, freeing ourselves up to give Him control.

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