Lent 2012 – Day 4 (Saturday)

25. February 2012 · 6 comments · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Eric's Life, Lent 2012, Spirituality

I woke up this morning thinking about what I wrote last night.  I suggested I would take these 40 days to pick up some new spiritual discipline.  So my first thoughts other than the rather mundane first thoughts of morning (taking care of “business”, taking care of dogs’ “business”, turning up the heat, getting the coffee pot going) was “just what new spiritual discipline do I want to take up, anyhow?”

The first one I thought of was fasting.  After all I thought, I can stand to lose some weight.  I immediately ruled that out for two reasons:  first of all, one might fast to lose weight, though that’s not a healthy idea, generally, and secondly, if one is taking up a spiritual discipline it should be for the purpose of deepening one’s relationship with God, not losing weight.  Besides, as a diabetic, I’m already watching carefully what I eat, and fasting would adversely complicate that.  (And that diet IS working… my average daily BGL is dropping steadily AND I’ve lost ten pounds.)

So, being the technophile that I am, I pulled up our friend, Google, and started doing a search for “spiritual disciplines for lent”.  Going to the first blog I saw, I was initially surprised by the fact that it was on WaPo!  And in the second sentence was my answer.

Do you recall that the week before Lent began, I wrote a serious of posts about Excel International de Colores, the retreat program I was involved in 10 years ago, or so?  Each of Excel’s four programs has as it’s basics a “tripod” theme… three topics that are the underpinning for that program.  Alas, I fear that I don’t recall all of them for each program.  But as a member of numerous “Excel 101″ teams, how could I forget the three basic concepts of that program?  And each of them is a “Spiritual Discipline” in and of itself.  Without these three spiritual disciplines, without these three basic elements in our Christian walks, our lives are out of balance… or so I personally believe… it is for this reason that the way we most often choose to visualize these three concepts is with a 3 legged stool.  Try sitting comfortably on a 1 or 2 legged stool!

So, what are these three elements, these three spiritual disciplines upon which I believe our Christian walks depend?

My fellow Excellers who read this blog… please respond appropriately, either in comments to this post, or an email to me which I will then put in the comments to this post.

The three spiritual disciplines are:

Prayer — Study — Action …………. I’m waiting, Jerry & Karla…

Prayer: taking time each day to communicate with God, to share with our Creator what is happening in our lives, to thank and praise God for God’s presence and blessings, and most importantly to calm ourselves and quieten ourselves to listen for God’s response.

Study: taking time each day for reading scripture and other works of spiritual nature to deepen our walk with God, to mature in our belief and our faith in Him.

Action: to actively move out from focus on self to recognize our interrelationship and interdependence on all of God’s Creation around us.  ”Whatsoever you do to / for the least of these, you do to / for me.”  Or, as James would tell us “be doers of the word and not merely hearers…” and again “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”  The whole discourse throughout the past several centuries has treated this topic as either or “Only by faith is one saved” “Only by works is one saved”.  Both statements are, in my opinion, myopic and, on their face, ridiculous.

As James states, if you have faith, but do not act on that faith, what good is it to you?  What does God care about that?  God says time and again throughout the entire collection of scripture that He doesn’t really care all that much for our sacrifices to Him (our faith)… what God wants is our justice and righteousness… our care for the oppressed and the poor and the stranger amongst us.

So this is my spiritual direction for the remainder of Lent… Prayer, Study and Action (I’m still waiting!)

What will I do each day to grow in prayer to God?  What will I do each day to grow in knowledge of my faith and my God? What will I do each day to act on my faith, to bring God’s justice to life for those around me?

Stick around, perhaps you’ll find out in the days ahead!

Now, let me ask YOU:  What, if anything, are you doing during Lent this year to draw closer to God? Are you taking on any new spiritual discipline?  I’d love to hear!

Lent 2012 – Day 3 (Friday)

24. February 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Eric's Life, Spirituality

Well it didn’t take long, did it?!  I said I’d try to post daily during Lent, and here it is, Day 3, and I almost didn’t make it!  As it is, it’ll probably be short.

I ended yesterday’s contribution by saying that Lent is modeled after stories in the Bible about periods of probation or preparation such as the 40 days of rain in the story of Noah in Genesis, or the 40 years in the wilderness of the Hebrew people in Exodus, or the 40 days of preparation and testing of Jesus in the wilderness before setting out on his ministry.

And in fact, it’s possible I may not try.  What, really, does it matter what Lent is tied to in the Bible or in the past?  Perhaps, for me at this point of time in 2012, I need to be focusing on what is to come.  Lent can be a time of thinking back, reflecting on that which has brought us to this point.  Lent can be a time of repentance for our past.

Or, Lent can be a time of preparation.  For Jesus 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, his 40 days does not appear to have been a time of repentance for what had gone before, but rather a period of preparation for what is going to come.

They say it takes about 20 days to learn a new habit, or to break an old one.  Perhaps this Lent is for me a period to pick some new discipline and then train myself in it as a way of preparing my heart for Easter Sunday.

Lent 2012 – Day 2

23. February 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Eric's Life, Spirituality

And so we come to the 2nd day of Lent, 2012.

Today, I want to explore VERY briefly the significance of the number of days in Lent.  Yesterday, I mentioned that there are 40 days in Lent, that 2 of those days are also part of the liturgical “season” known as the Easter Triduum (three days of Easter), and that between Ash Wednesday (1st day of Lent) and Holy Saturday there are 47 days.  I further explained in brief that Sundays do not count as Days of Lent.

As I type this, the obvious question arises: “Just what IS Lent, anyhow?”

Considering my motto of “Never explain in 10 words what can be explained in 1000″ let me back up a bit.  Some churches are “liturgical” in nature, others are not.  By that I mean, some church denominations look at a year from the perspective of “Liturgical Seasons” which in some way reflect the life of Jesus.  Other denominations don’t really follow such a course.  Who is right? Both, neither, who cares?

I was getting ready to go into an expose of the various seasons, but really, it’s not necessary for my purpose in today’s post.  Perhaps later, and only if asked, or if I get hard pressed for something else to write about!  Let it suffice that Lent is one of those liturgical seasons.  It is the season of 40 days of preparation for Easter, as celebrated in western “liturgical” churches.

Why 40 days?  Why not 21? or 7? Or <insert your favorite number here>?  The reason 40 days is selected here has everything to do with what Easter Sunday is.  I think I can argue relatively successfully that of all events in the Christian calendar, Easter is the most important, as it is the culmination of what most of us believe as Christians.  All other events are necessary prerequisites to Easter, but are largely pointless without Easter.  To the majority of Christians, Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead.  It is the day upon which our salvation is hinges.  Again, today’s purpose is not to explain what Easter is, but what Lent is, so I’m going to leave that previous claim hanging there for you, my readers, to either accept or not.

Furthermore, Christian teaching is that Easter Sunday is the paramount expression of God’s Grace to us as humankind.  Grace is unearned, undeserved.  There is nothing, Christianity teaches us, that we can DO to DESERVE our salvation.  Salvation is God’s free gift given to us as the result of the free gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, to death and then resurrection.  We can’t earn it.

And yet, we always will try!  Lent began as an attempt by the early church (earliest reference that I’ve found, by reference from another writer, is around the latter middle part of the 3rd Century CE (270 or thereabouts).

Lent has traditionally been a period of penetance and preparation.

So now we come back to that question, Why 40 days, and not some other number?  Open your bibles, and look for references to 40.

  • 40 days and 40 nights – the period of rainfall at the time of Noah which expurgated evil (for a time) from the earth.
  • 40 days – the period of time Moses spent on the mountain prior to receiving the 10 commandments.
  • 40 days – the period of time Moses spent on the mountain AFTER the “Incident of the Golden Calf”
  • 40 years – the period of time the Israelites wandered in the desert in punishment for failure to trust God.
  • 40 days – the period of time Jesus spent in the wilderness/desert prior to the start of his ministry

And the number 40 appears something like 146 times in the bible, almost always in the same context of probation or penitance or preparation.

I like to link Lent to just three of those events: The flood, the time of the Israelites in the desert and the period of Jesus’s temptation and preparation in the wilderness.

Come back tomorrow when I attempt, poorly I’m sure, to explain my reasons for selecting just those three.

Lent 2012 – A Journey Begins

22. February 2012 · 6 comments · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Eric's Life, Spirituality

Welcome, dear ones, to the Liturgical season of Lent, a period of 40 days lasting from now until Easter Sunday.  Wait for it.  Wait for it.  Wait for it!

“Wait a minute!” I hear someone exclaim, “Today is February 22, and Easter is on April 8… that’s, what… something like 47 days, not 40!”

“Ah, grasshoppa! You are correct!”  It’s true, there are 47 days between the first day of Lent and Easter Sunday.  Here’s something that not everyone knows (even people who grew up in a liturgical church.)  If I asked you how many Sundays are in Lent, the correct answer is ZERO!  Sundays do not count as days in Lent.  (No, I’m not going to explain that one… probably.)

Lent is comprised only of weekdays and Saturdays.  AND here’s where things get a little confusing.  In the denomination of my youth, Lent officially ends on Holy Thursday, the 38th day of Lent.  Good Friday and Holy Saturday are of two natures… they are the final two days of Lent, and the first two days of the Easter Triduum… the three days of Easter.  Please, don’t ask me to explain that.  Perhaps once upon a Catholic time, I could have, but now well, I can’t.

And so, now what?  What IS Lent?  I’ll tell you later!  This Lent, I want to immerse myself a little more fully in Lent, in the liturgical rhythm of my youth, and the first 38 years of my life.

You see, I have long espoused the importance of living with purpose (as our guest preacher last Sunday spoke about,) or as I have termed it, Living Intentionally.  The problem is, I’ve only espoused it.  I’m not so good about actually DOING it.

I think that’s because just as I was getting really into that, and really making progress TOWARD a way of living that was intentional, purposeful, rather than a life caught in the flow of some gigantic “Time River” against which current it is impossible to resist, a change came into my life.  That change was my parents.  When one becomes caregiver, it is much more difficult for one to keep focus on some ethereal goal like “Living with Intention” or “Living with Purpose”.  At least, it was for me.

So, I’m going to start Lent of 2012 with the intention of being, well, intentional!  And I am considering sharing my journey for the next 38, uh, 40, no, 38 I mean 47… oh heck, for Lent, with you all!

Scott & Karla & Eric’s Excellent Adventure – Part II

18. February 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Our Life Together, Our Travels, Uncategorized

After three days on the road, we arrived in Palm Springs, California.  In those days, it was customary for the host location for these meetings to provide housing for those travelling, whether to ATG (All Team Gathering), EC Meetings, Suitcase Team members, or whatever.  On some occasions, various members might opt to stay in motels or hotels, but the option to stay with local people was almost always available.  I have met some most wonderful people in our travels.

The home we stayed at in Palm Springs was built in the early to mid-fifties, if I recall correctly.  Nothing unusual about that, but what WAS unusual was that here we were in 2000, and the home was decorated in retro-fifties style furnishings.  They were totally cool (if a bit uncomfortable to me).  Scott loved them!  Even today, 12 years later, Scott still talks about those furnishings, especially when we see similar items on TV or in a furniture store, or what-not!  What I especially remember was that the backyard was sloped up away from the house, just a little, and about 25 feet up this slope was a jacuzzi for two!  A hot tub!  Scott loves 50′s architecture and furnishings.  I adore hot tubs!  And since this was January, and we’d had a snow storm impeding our progress our first day of our trip, that hot tub was MOST inviting!  I spent a lot of time out there the two nights we were there.

The other thing I recall was the home of Rev. Pelletier  I recall entering through a hallway to a great room, or perhaps an open layout room that was tiled not with ceramic tile but with slate.  The back wall was all glass doors, which could be opened out onto a lanai, edged with stone fronted seating (sculpted to look almost natural)  I believe there was a water feature of some nature out there.  It was a most motivational place for us to meet and discuss the business of Excel!  We could sit outside in the cool, refreshing air, while at the same time sheltered above from the full force of a Palm Springs sun (even though it WAS winter).  I remember a great number of us gathered around the tables chatting about various bylaws and efforts we were undertaking.  In those days (and I do not believe anything has changed) anyone was welcome to sit in on our EC meetings.  We did from time to time, I think, have need of an “Executive Session” when guests would be asked to excuse us to discuss some issue of private nature.  One such was when we had to decide to do the UNTHINKABLE… discipline a team.

An aside, here.  In 2000, my parents lived in San Juan Capistrano, which is in the southern part of Orange County.  I wanted to visit them while we were in California, but our week was so packed with things, that there was just no way.  Instead, Mom & Dad drove up to Palm Springs on Thursday (or maybe it was Wednesday), and Karla, Scott and I spent the evening with them, wandering around downtown Palm Springs, then finding someplace to eat.  Later, back at their motel, we transferred some belongings from their car to my van.  With what we had brought with us on our trip, and what they brought from San Juan Cap. our van was full for the drive back to Omaha!  The visit was a bittersweet one, too.  This was the first time Mom & Dad had met Scott.  In 1996, when I came out to Mom & Dad (unfortunately over the telephone, long distance from Indiana) Mom had firmly told me that they never, ever wanted to meet any of my “boyfriends or whatever you call them”.  At the time of our visit in Palm Springs, our relationship was still very strained.  While I know they knew Scott was my “boyfriend or whatever”, we just didn’t address the topic, other than “This is Scott, Scott, this is my mom & dad”.  The memory of this night still has power to sadden me, even today, and as I write, I feel tears threatening.  The truth is, the years from 1996 to 2003 are lost and I can’t have them back, at least as far as my relationship with Mom & Dad is concerned.  But in 2003 when Mom & Dad moved back to Council Bluffs, I refused to allow their attitude to impede my relationship with Scott.  In short order, Mom & Dad fell for Scott almost as deeply as I had.  Now, ahem, back to the story!

On Friday, we wrapped up our meeting, and departed for Wrightwood, CA.   I wish that I could remember the name of the facility at which we held that Southlands Excel Weekend.  It was perhaps one of the most beautiful of sites for an Excel weekend! But then, I’ve always loved mountains and pine trees, and cool, dry mountain air.  The smell of pine needles in the sun, and being crushed underfoot as one walks…  I know I had a great weekend there!  I remember a reference made in one of the talks about people “armed with KJV Assault Bibles the size of a suitcase!”  I remember, too, that the locals and my fellow EC members from the more southern climes had a lot of problems, complaining about the severe cold!  For those of us from Nebraska/Iowa it was not so bad (except, I suspect for Karla, who even though she’s a veteran of the deadly Nebraska winter, get’s cold anytime the temperature drops below 85 – just kidding, Karla!!!!)

All too soon our Excel exercise came to an end, and the Three Musketeers loaded up and headed for home!  I remember that first day, I was determined we would make it to Arizona!  Normally this would not be a problem but the weekend officially didn’t end until after 4 pm!  Our drive took us north from Wrightwood through Victorville to I40 in Barstow.  I remember much of the drive, especially once we left the mountains, how flat it was!  And people say Nebraska is flat!  (A few years later, Scott and I drove through this region, this time with my Mom & Dad in a rented RV, and once again, we were under deadline and driving far into the night!)  We eventually arrived in Kingman, and stayed in the same motel we had stayed at on our trip out a week before.

On Monday, we were up early.  Our plan was to drive as far into Colorado as possible.  We made it to Colorado Springs.  If you recall, back on the first day or so of our stay in California (see Part I) Karla, Scott & I had made a side trip to West Hollywood, to the headquarters of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (our denomination) where we had purchased a cassette tape audio series entitled “The Erotic Contemplative” with an accompanying study guide.

Scott & Karla & Eric’s Excellent Adventure – Part I

17. February 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Eric's Life, Our Life Together, Our Travels

(In which we continue the thread of Tuesday and Wednesday’s posts about my involvement in Excel International de Colores.)

This post is 3rd in a series of posts.  Post 1 is here, and Post 2 is here.

In my earlier two posts, I was a little uncertain about some of the dates.  The “Emergency ATG” was indeed held in Houston, however it was in February 1999.  The Atlanta ATG was in September 1999.  Also, the mother I wrote about was Trudie’s mother, not Rays!  (My apologies to my friends Trudie & Ray.)

The Executive Committee met twice per year over a long weekend (Thursday night through Sunday morning.)  I believe they most frequently met in the Houston area, but there were exceptions.  Our first meeting after the Atlanta ATG when I was elected to the EC and then appointed its Chair, was held in Palm Springs, CA, at the home of the MCC Pastor there, Rev. Pelletier.

This venue had been selected because an old Excel team,  the team in the Los Angeles/Southern California area, was being reformed.  It’s name, once approved, would be Excel in the Southlands (verify accuracy).  They needed some “Suitcase Team” assistance, and they needed an evaluation team.  Who better than the EC to provide both these elements?

Let me explain those two terms.  Excel provides an “Exercise in Christian Community Living”, a three day “retreat/exercise” in the format and tradition of the Roman Catholic Cursillo movement, or the “Walk to Emmaus” programs.  Each exercise is conducted by a team of volunteers that prepare for up to a year prior to each exercise.  Most of these teams are comprised of people local to the community in which the exercise is offered.  Each has a name.  For instance, the team in the Omaha area when I first got involved was called Excel of the Midlands.  There’s Excel of the Armadillo, based in Houston, Excel of the Rainbow Zebra in the south (I think it’s okay to say it’s based in Atlanta, though it has a much broader regional base than just Atlanta – many members come from Birmingham, and I believe the weekends are actually held in Alabama.)

When new teams are formed, they must be “approved” by the Executive Committee.  So, someone from the EC attends the first exercise weekend of the new team in training, and reports back to the EC.  The EC then, based on that report, either approves or disapproves the full formation of the team.

And of course, there are times when the local team just can’t quite get enough people to do each of the 9 talks, or perform other functions of the weekend.  When this occurs, the team puts out a request to the EC, who then recruits around the country from existing teams for members to travel to the location where the weekend is being held to help out.

So, back to our story!  This first “Spring” EC Meeting after I was elected was held in January of 2000.  With two of us based in the Omaha area, and of course, I would not leave Scott home alone to miss the fun, we decided to drive to California.  Initially, the plan called for us to rent an RV, however the cost proved prohibitive and we decided to drive Scott’s and my new Grand Caravan, instead.

The day of our departure coincided with a major snow storm, so we initially had to change our route.  Instead of driving to Colorado on Interstate 80, then south along Interstate 25, we chose to drive down to Kansas along US75, then take Interstate 70 to Denver.  There we were to stay with an old friend of mine, Lois Francine Smith.  Or, perhaps it was Francine Lois Smith.  Once again, time takes it’s toll, and while she was a good friend, I always just called her Lois.  It is one of my regrets that we lost contact with each other!

Our second day on the road was from Denver south on I25 to Albuquerque (with a stop in Raton… a drive-by, really, more than a stop to see where Scott had attended High School).  We had brought along apples for snacking on the road, and this proved a major problem for one of us!  The problem, as I recall it, was that poor Karla had just had oral surgery, and as a result her teeth and gums were extremely sore.  Confronted with an apple, all she could do was look on helplessly as Scott and I munched in!  Fortunately, we were able to find a cheap plastic knife, and over the course of the next 2-3 hours, Karla painstakingly carved out small bites of apple, then gingerly chewed them until she could swallow them!

From Albuquerque, we drove west on Interstate 40 to Kingman, Arizona, where we spent night number two. Our third day we dropped off the interstate system, and stopped in Lake Havasu, AZ, because I wanted to visit the London Bridge.  Yes. THE London Bridge, made famous by oh, you name it!  It was transported block by block from London, England, to the middle of NOWHERE Arizona and erected over a segment of the lake there!

Then, we crossed over through Southern California on Highway 62, through the desert regions and 29 Palms, Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley, then back east a little to Palm Springs.  I remember us just chatting away, as we came out of Parker, CA (or AZ?) flying along at probably 75 to 80 mph on this little 2 lane highway… and then AIRBORNE!

There is a segment of this highway that undulates like waves on an ocean!  Totally unaware of this, I, as driver, was caught completely by surprise as we hit the first of these little dips and became airborne as we crested the rise only to find another dip and rise on the other side.  I’m truly amazed we didn’t rip the bottom out of the van hitting these at such high speed, but eventually I managed to slow it down!

The next week we spent in meetings and attending the weekend hosted by Excel in the Southland.  There was just time in between these two events for Scott, Karla & I to make one other side-road trip… from Palm Springs to West Hollywood to the Mecca of MCC Churches in those days, the Fellowship’s HQ and “Mother Church”.  I have to confess the church was under renovation so there wasn’t a lot to see, and even the headquarters was a little underwhelming!  But it was good to visit nonetheless.  While there we bought several books, as I recall… and one tape series.  “The Erotic Contemplative” by Michael Bernard Kelly.  This would have an unforeseen repercussions!

The Trap is Sprung

15. February 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Eric's Life

While in Houston, we’d shared our email addresses, probably on some kind of sign in sheet. I confess again, my memory of these little details is a bit foggy after 15 years. Anyhow, Jerry began sending out email, as I recall, with things that needed to be accomplished. Along with these emails, Jerry began soliciting interest in running for the new Executive Committee that would be elected in Atlanta. Karla O. my friend from MCC Omaha was already on that EC.

I filled out the paperwork and resume that was requested, and brought those (along with the proper number of copies) to ATG. I was still undecided at that point, but I felt it would be good to at least have them available.

There are few things I remember about that ATG. I recall Scott and I stayed at a hotel near the church, and that in the middle of the night we were awakened by hotel security literally breaking down the door to the room next to us for some reason. I recall that there was also one heck of a party there one night. Neither Scott nor I are very nice when we are awakened in the middle of the night! And I recall having to walk from the hotel, crossing a bridge, to get to the church… and I recall this being an issue because just before we left for Atlanta, our new puppies had chewed my shoes! While there, we had to find a mall so I could buy a new pair of shoes… the shoes I’m currently wearing, if I’m not mistaken!

I remember being quite taken by the church itself. It was a beautiful facility, situated as it was, in an old theater. And of course, I recall being smitten by the wonderful, friendly people of that church! Trudie & Ray B. were there, and while we didn’t really interact too much that week, in the years ahead I was to become close to both. The mother of one of the two of them also came to the church, I believe it might have been Rays. I recall this because in a few years as I was being told who Ray was, I was reminded that he “was the one who was at ATG with his mother!”

And I recall Jerry R. finding out I had brought the application and resumes to run for the Executive Committee and trying to coerce me into running. “Don’t worry,” he said, “we just need to get x number on the committee.” I forget the number but if I recall it was 6. I would just be a regular member of the committee.

So, I ran. And so, I was elected (though I do believe there were far better persons who did NOT get elected). And that trap set by Jerry several months before in Houston was sprung!

Then we met, the Sacred Six, to set the officers. In short order all positions but one was filled… the Chair. And no one was qualified for it! I wasn’t because they wanted someone with 6 months experience, which of course I didn’t have. But, it seems that was the least reason for not being in the position. So it was that I, Eric Hays-Strom, became the Chair of the Executive Committee of Excel International de Colores, a position I would fill for, uh, quite a few years. Six, I believe!

As Chair, I traveled to Calgary, Canada – for ATG just a few weeks following 9/11 – I was on one of the first flights leaving Omaha after that horrible event; Colorado Springs, CO; Palm Springs, CA – for an Executive Committee meeting, and to assist with the re-inauguration of Excel of the Southland; and perhaps most exciting of all, a road trip, in the SPRING of 2001, to Monterrey, Mexico, to help with their first Excel team and to evaluate that team for membership in Excel International.

The Trap is Set

14. February 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Our Life Together

Some weeks ago, I asked for suggestions on what to write about. My friend, Jerry, from Houston, TX, made a few suggestions. He suggested my church and it’s new property, Excel International, and my time as Chair of its EC, as well as ATG. Did you think I was ignoring you, Jerry?

First of all, I gotta tell the world this… if you need a friend, there is few truer friends on this earth than those friends I have met through Excel! And in the top most tier of those friends, is Jerry! I’ve spent some good times at his home in Houston. I should say at his HOMES in Houston. I must also state that here I refer to Houston as much as a Region as a city. For, the first home I visited Jerry at was out on Bolivar Peninsula, in Crystal Beach (if I recall correctly). Scott and I just came across some pictures of a trip we took out there years and years ago. One is a picture of Jerry’s house, and the other is of two younger Hays-Stroms on the ferry ride between Galveston and the peninsula.

Scott and I first ran into Jerry in the late 1990s at an “Emergency ATG” in Houston (the city). My memory of that time is a bit foggy now, so I do not recall the year, nor whether or not it was truly called an Emergency meeting, or even the reason. But, as I recall the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches had just defunded Excel International de Colores. We had a constitution and bylaws to write, and other steps to prepare for operating under our own recognizance. Scott and I had just become involved in Excel as the result of attending a weekend exercise in the fall of 1996 (within the very first months of our relationship. Is it possible that one reason for the strength of our love, of our relationship, is that we began it by seeking God in our lives?)

Let me backup just a little bit. When I left the seminary in the spring of 1996, Scott and I settled down together. I told him up front that God was important to me, and that I wanted to continue to go to church. Well, Scott felt the same way. Scott came from a Southern Baptist background, I from a Roman Catholic one. Neither of us felt we would feel comfortable in the other’s churches.

In my final semester in the Seminary, I had interviewed a local “District Coordinator”, what the denomination now calls Elders, about the church. I knew it could prove a compromise for us. I did not know Scott had begun attending the MCC in Omaha shortly before I returned to Omaha. I began attending in August of that year. One of the first things I did was sit down and chat with the pastor about belonging to both MCC and a Catholic Church. While there, he recommended we attend an Excel Weekend, and as it happened, there was one coming up in a couple of weeks. The church (or perhaps the Excel team) gave Scott and I a partial scholarship to attend.

Among the team was Karla Oliver from our local church, Becky W. also local, Keith Apple who was then the director of Excel International (I do apologize to those who know better if I use improper terminology) and Peg & Diane from Des Moines, IA and our sister team over there.

Also attending were Jim M. & Jerry D., who in the months to come would become dear, dear friends, and models in a way to Scott and I. They had been married for 23 or 24 years at that time.

Soon after our weekend, Scott and I walked into church and were met on the steps by Carla & Sharon (two more friends from MCC). As indicated this is 15 years ago or so, so I’m not 100% sure which one. I do know that at this point in my life, I wanted nothing more than to go to church, sit in the pew, and go home, perhaps after a brunch with some friends. Carla (or was it Sharon? Or was it both?) were determined this was not to be the case! They drafted me into some function or another. It turns out, this was our modus operandi in those days. Wait for someone to attend more than a handful of times, then POUNCE on them to draft them.

Shortly after THAT, as I walked into church, there was Peg & Diane from Des Moines. They TOO pounced on us, and soon Scott and I found ourselves drafted into the service of the Des Moines Excel team. We soon found ourselves driving back and forth between Des Moines and Omaha.

And so, now that we were involved in Excel, it wasn’t long before Karla & Becky suggested we also become involved in the local Excel Team, Excel of the Midlands. And, no sooner had we done so that we were “invited” to attend the emergency All Team Gathering in Houston in, what, 1998?

And this brings me full circle back to my friend Jerry. We met during this first trip to Houston. He was a VIP at the ATG, so I imagine he may not recall me too much from there. That weekend we all immersed ourselves in the task of writing standard operating procedures and bylaws and what not for this new ministry we were birthing. We were then to take this material back to our local teams for their buy-in and all were to join together the following summer in Atlanta for the next regularly scheduled ATG.

Here, in Atlanta, I was to meet my next Excel friend, Trudie and Ray B. And here, too, Jerry was to spring his trap!

Stay tuned for part II of this story, “The Trap is Sprung!“

Ixchel Sees the Doctor

09. February 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: 2012 Resolution, Our Life Together, Pets

Last Saturday, Ixchel saw her vet.  Does that mean we have another 6 weeks of puppy?

Not much has happened since I reported on our snowfall earlier this week.  But I promised a 2nd post to make up for not posting last week.

When we first got Ixchel we promised each other two things.  First, we’d get her microchipped and second, we’d get her spayed.  While we don’t imagine she’ll ever run free, or be allowed access to intact male dogs, accidents happen.

So, this past Friday at 8 am, we took our little lady to the veterinarian to be spayed.  While we were there we wanted to have her microchip implanted (we’d been told that the needle they use to implant was quite large and it would probably hurt her a bit, so we asked to have it done while she was anesthetized.)  The other operation we wanted done at the same time was to have her dew claws removed.  Most of our “Dachshund owning friends” had advised us to do this.  However, it turns our our veterinarian advises against it, so we chose to go along with him (actually he doesn’t advise against it so much as he recommends it only be done when the pups are REALLY young.  Apparently 6 months isn’t REALLY young.

Now, you may recall that Friday last week was the day we were waiting for snowmageddon to strike.  I called the vet, as advised, about 3 in the afternoon.

“Oh, yes, Ixchel (she pronounced it icks CHELL) came through her operation just fine!  In fact, she’s sitting up in her cage with her tail going a million miles an hour!  She’s the cutest dog here!”  Yes, of COURSE she is… she’s the cutest dog ANYWHERE… but I decided to keep that gem to myself (here I apologize to all my dog owning friends… sorry folks, I cannot tell a lie!)

“And she’ll be ready tomorrow?” I ask.

“Oh, yes.  You can pick her up anytime after 10 am.  We close at 3 pm.  But if the weather makes it too hard to get here by 3, call us.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” I say, “I’ve got a BIGOLE truck with four wheel drive… there ain’t nuttin stopping me from getting there by 10!”  I put on a bit of hill billy twang when I start talking truck… it just goes with the territory!

And so, sure ’nuff, at 10 am, Saturday morning Scott and I arrived at the Vet, ready to pick up our “little darlin’”.  We chatted about something, I honestly don’t recall what, while we waited for the techs to bring Ixchel out to us.  We had a waiting room filled with an audience by the time the technician came in to the lobby holding – I should say “attempting to hold” – Ixchel.  When she saw us, she went from placid to SQUIRMONSTER” (that’s the combination of “squirm” and “monster”, don’t'cha know?) instantaneously.  Everyone in that waiting room broke out with the giggles!  And of course, Daddy put aside his “hill billy truck talk” and went straight to little doggy-ese!

“Ooooh, how’s my yittle gurl? huh?  OOOoh, Daddy sure did mis his yittle bug!”  Okay, I’m not proud of it.  We generally keep our “Puppy talk” for the privacy of our home… but hey, this was a big deal!

She’s come through her operation with flying colors!  The incision site is not at all red or even very pink… it’s a nice healthy color!  She gets her stitches out NEXT weekend.

And all is right at the Hays-Strom household!

My Family

06. February 2012 · Comments Off · Categories: Our Life Together

This post is short. It’s not part of my 2012 effort to post 1 or more posts per week (even though I have said I’d post 2 this week). This is simply news about my family.

My brother-in-law, CPT Bruce Hays was killed in Afghanistan in September, 2008. Before he deployed, he bought his wife an anniversary present, a beat up old 1959 Chevy pick-up truck. He paid a local mechanic nearly $20,000 to fix it up. The mechanic pocketed the 20k, and skipped town. The following is a story about what happened next. Be sure to view the news clip, as well!

Click here for the Las Cruces Sun-News article about this old truck, and one determined lady… my sister-in-law!

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