Northeast Tennessee

Dancing in the Rain

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Northeast Tennessee Johnson City Iron Horse (Founders Park)

16 PAX and 50º for an arts appreciation Q in the light and steady rain.

DISCLAIMER
PRAYER
COP

  • Merkins 10 IC
  • Through the Tunnel 10 IC

THE THANG

Section 1: DANCE

Note: In hindsight, I probably could have just done one dance but — I really wanted to get our heart rates up and — I really wanted to help equip you men to be more comfortable dancing with your daughters at next year’s father daughter dance or with your wives on a get-outside-your-comfort-zone date night. Plus, it just made me smile every time I thought about it. The Rockette thing was just a bonus because I knew it would be hard to do for four minutes, and it would make us laugh. It’s good to laugh at ourselves. I can’t believe it didn’t occur to me to take a picture of this shining moment in F3NETN history.

  • Cupid Shuffle to “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid
  • Waltz to “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman
  • Rockette-style kick line to “I’ve Got the World on a String” by Michael Buble

P.S. Thanks for continuing to waltz in the amphitheater circle, even though the Channel 5 news van drove by. I’m sure all of us had a momentary identity crisis and had to make a choice to preserve our dignity or maintain solidarity with our waltzing brethren. Thanks for choosing the latter.

P.S.S. Apparently Twilight doesn’t know the difference between a very manly waltz-circe and a mosh pit. FYI. I believe there was a moment where Chum actually feared for his life.

Section 2: Music

We moseyed from the amphitheater to the far side of the Farmer’s Market, back to the amphitheater, over to the retaining wall near the temporary bridge, up and around the high side of the park and around to Tombstone Hill, then back to the amphitheater, stopping six times to do perform the following:

  • 10 Merkins IC
  • 20 Squats Single Count
  • 30 Little Baby Crunches IC
  • + Bonus Burpee Train in the middle of our second set.

For those keeping track, that’s 60 IC Merkins for the March Challenge, plus 120 single-count Squats, and 180 IC Crunches (360 single count).

The soundtrack for our work included music from a variety of genres — an ongoing music appreciation component of today’s workout.

  • “Andromeda” by Gru
  • “Back in Black” by AC/DC
  • “Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean
  • “Can’t Stop The Feeling” by Justin Timberlake
  • “All We Got” by Chance the Rapper
  • “Work in Your Favor” by Hezekiah Walker

Section 3: Art

I had intended for our third section to include art but — the rain crashed my plans to plank while we drew with sidewalk chalk on the amphitheater floor, so we extended the music appreciation section to include four minutes of plank variations to choral music from John Rutter’s “Requiem.”

  • “Pie Jesu” performed by the Cambridge Singers

Section 4: Literature

We spent the last three minutes of our Q (and two extra minutes) listening to what is, in my opinion, the most beautiful song ever written (noted below) while I read some of my favorite literature. More on that in the Moleskin.

  • “Due Tramonti” by Ludovico Einaudi

MARY

No time for Mary.

CIRCLE OF TRUST
PRAYER
MOLESKIN

When I started to assemble inspirational speeches, quotes, and passages for the literature section of today’s Q, I grabbed Patton’s Third Army speech where he talks about “grabbing the enemy by the balls and kicking their a**es.” I grabbed that great Crispin’s Day speech from the movie, “Renaissance Man.” I Googled “inspirational speeches for men” and “motivational quotes” and reviewed quotes and monologues from “Braveheart” and “Independence Day” and “Beowulf” and a handful of other movies that I knew had powerful man moments.

But when push came to shove, and I reviewed those speeches, and read a few of them out loud, they all felt lacking.

So… I fell back on literature that has been the most meaningful and powerful and inspirational and instructive, and life changing for me — The Bible, and four passages that have been in my heart, and kept in front of my eyes for a long time now. Before I share those though, I want to share two other passages:

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I don’t know what your experience with the Bible has been, but for me… I’ve experienced the “living ad active” reality of God’s Word. I don’t ever read these passages out loud without being moved, and being changed. The Truth revealed in God’s Word truly cuts through all of the B.S., through the misguided justifications of our hearts, through our insecurity, selfishness, sinfulness, pride — separating even the soul and spirit, revealing truth. Not our version of the “truth,” but THE TRUTH under which we all must submit some day, eventually, revealed in Scripture, timeless, and perfect.

With that said… Here are the passages I shared today, consistently meaningful and helpful to me over the past 30+ years of attempting to follow Jesus. I hope they are meaningful for you too.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mou ntains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, what is in part disappears.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. For now we see only a reflection, as if in a mirror; but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13

“I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” – Deuteronomy 32:3-4

“Now, to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” – June 1:24-25

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • We need a couple more guys for the F3 Heavy. Join the #growruck and/or #csaup channels on Slack to stay in the loop on that, or holler at Donatello.
  • Our 1st F climbing-not-sliding area of focus is the Merkin Challenge. Each AO is competing to see who can get the highest # of Merkins completed in-cadence, in the month of March. Note: In cadence means that 2 merkins are performed to a four count, but only count as 1. Example: 1, 2, 3, “1.”
  • Our 3rd F climbing-not-sliding area of focus for the month of March is the Bible. Download the Bible app and pick a 30 day study. I’m committing to reading at least one chapter a day, and doing one section in the Read Scripture app with my kids every night. Join in.
  • I know of at least two marriages that are close-to-divorce struggling, plus two more that are all but over. Let’s leverage that 1 Corinthians passage above to remind us how to love our wives well — not to control them, manage their behavior, or manipulate them to meet our expectations, but just to love them, and sacrifice ourselves to meet their needs. That’s an area where we should all be climbing and not sliding.

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