The Ladies of Leon

QIC: Speedo

Pax: Geronimo, Shooter, G&R, Ron Swanson, Evel, Energizer

The Thang:

The Ladies of Leon met up at the Astray in anticipation of major thunderstorms despite the forecast shift from 95% to 5% chance (FYI: 5% is not 0%).  Based on a courageous game-time decision, we ventured outside the friendly confines of the parking deck into the night.  Moving as a close-knit unit, we crossed Tennessee up East Georgia Street to the main event at Carter-Howell-Strong (C-H-S) Park.

The Q shared a prayer by St. Francis.  A line of the prayer was read by each person followed by an exercise then a half loop around the C-H-S Park pond.

“My God, Source of life, source of love, may we be your messenger in a world that is in desperate need of you.”—40 Iron Mikes

“May we be an instrument of your peace, in a world full of division and discord.”—20 Merkin Claps

“May we bring love where there is anger and hatred.”—50 Mountain Climbers/per leg

“May we bring compassion and understanding where there is hurt and suffering.”—20 Burpees

“Where there is doubt and fear, cause our faith to rise up.”—75 Plank hand-slaps w/ partner

“Where there is despair, may we be a voice of hope.”—100 lunges

“In darkness, may be bring light; in sadness, may we bring joy.”—40 Archer Merkins total

“Most high God, rather than seek our own comfort and consolation, may we show mercy and be a comfort to others.”—15 Tuck Jumps

With time running out, we safely returned to the Ashtray for one last exercise.

“Rather than needing to be heard and needing to be right, may we bring patience, understanding, and a willingness to listen.”—20 Plank Ski-Abs

COT

We came close to finishing the prayer.  The remaining lines were:

Rather than seeking to be loved, may we be love.
For it is in giving that we receive and in forgiving, that we are set free.
And in dying to self, that we are born into our true and eternal life.
Let it be so, let it be now, let it be.
Amen

Pax is all good.  Congratulations to Ron Swanson for his 100^th Post this year!  He and the rest of the family are getting ready for the upcoming arrival in the coming weeks.  Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.  Both Energizer and Shooter had an excellent run at the 8K over the weekend.  Evel’s got the Q at Cascades Saturday.

Speedo raised a challenge for the group and the wider F3 community.  In light of the recent mass shootings and awareness of many anonymous social media sites that are unfortunately influencing many young men, we discussed the possibility of supporting a troubled teen or mental health organization.  In the spirit of “Iron Cowboy”, Speedo proposed finding a Friday night to organize a marathon of 10 F3 events in a row starting at Leon and ending at Cascades Saturday morning.  Whether you can do 1, 2 or 10, the vision is to bring awareness to troubled teens and gain traction across all F3 groups in support of such an event.  More details will be forthcoming.

Prayer—Ron Swanson

Pledge