AO: Paradise Island at Wheatfields
March 13, 2024. 5:15 AM
QIC: Vandelay.
Weather- 44 degrees, not too bad of a morning for mid-March
The PAX: Tight Lip, Knoxville, May Day, Penny Marshall, Gunner (Respect), Samples (Respect), DaVinci (Respect Respect Respect), Grillz, Slow Pitch, Khakis, Stella, Invictus, Cheap Seats, Ozark (Respect), Bubbles, Safe Ride, Tater Tot, Wait Time (Respect), High Hat, Hindsight, Black Lung.
Q in Charge: Vandelay
Today was my first Back to Back Q experience and happy that it was here at Paradise.
The Pre-Run had a solid showing and great mumble chatter as always. I was excited and nervous about things for today as it is Shield Lock month at Paradise which carried some responsibility to represent properly, and we would be discussing our M at Q-Source. Definitely, a touchy subject.
I performed the necessary introductions and checked for new guys:
The Mission and Core Principles were recited, and I indicated that I wasn’t a professional.
The Mission of F3 is to plant, grow, and serve small men’s workout groups for the invigoration of male community leadership.
5 Core Principles: 1) It’s free; 2) open to all men; 3) always held outdoors; 4) peer led in a rotating fashion; and 5) ends in a circle of trust.
Today is National Good Samaritan Day, which didn’t mean too much from a Beatdown perspective but does align with our Core Values. Offer Kindness with no expectation of return.
My intent was to cover a nostalgic Paradise Run but with reversed order of the signature elements. We headed down Regency Pkwy and headed up the Rose to start, came down on the other side of the park near Regency Shopping mall, then headed to the original Warm A Rama Stop. From there the intent was to run around the lake, but I called an audible to keep people together better, and get back on time, so we went back out to Regency Pkwy and headed back to Wheatfields. I added a parking lot sprint to make up a little time and distance.
Stops consisted of:
- Base of Rose Stop
- Yoga back stretchesÂ
- Leg to Ledge Sit-ups – 50
- Park at top
- LBCs – 75Â
- Parking Lot
- 100 CT PlankÂ
- Bank Parking Lot
- Bridge Exercise
NUMBER OFF, NAME-A -RAMA :
Including YHC – 22
ANNOUNCEMENTS: most should have additional info on Slack and Twitter
- Check Slack for opportunities to help your brothersÂ
- Canyon Pop-ups during the NCAA tourney – Keep up to date.
- Gather Freed to Lead Books
- April 20th – Anniversary Convergence
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- Prayers for:
- Tea Party and M
- Sputnik
- Sammy and Borland’s family
- Riley
- Stella 2.0
- Bubbles’s M
- Izzy – past student of Samples
- Many others in need of prayers
- Many people dealing with stressful life items.
COT:
Today is National Good Samaritan Day and the month we focus on Shield Lock at Paradise Island.
I will only touch briefly on the National Day theme because of its importance. We talk a lot about what we do for our community, but sometimes being kind doesn’t require a sign-up sheet or scheduled event. How often are you kind, just because you should be? Make a difference to someone today.
My Shield Lock is incredibly important to me. I feel that I spend a lot of my life needing to be in control and providing solutions for others’ problems- whether that is family or work or times in F3. This is not a complaint, and I know that I am needed in that role at times. But rarely do I have an arena where I can express my own concerns or troubles, without feeling to be a burden to those who don’t need that burden. My Shield Lock and other close relationships in F3 allow me that opportunity.
Please ask one of us if you have more questions. It is important to understand the true structure of a Shield Lock. Although these guys are my friends – they are more than that. We have responsibilities to each other, and it is different than hanging out. Truly read and listen to what a Shield Lock is about.
YHC closed in prayer and then led Q-Source discussion on our M, which I shouldn’t have led but I gave my best shot.
Thank You for the opportunity, Tight Lip
Aye, Vandelay