the Zone and the Lutherans

I am not athletic. I am not coordinated. Playing sports is not my thing. At all. I am also not a girly girl. My favorite color is pink, yes, but I think deep down that it's only because I want to be a girly girl, but fall short many times over.

My mother works for Ralph Lauren, and my sister is a High School Senior. Therefore, shopping is their sport. I do not like shopping. I especially do not like shopping with my mother and my sister. For them it is a sport. For me... not so much. Until, last night, that is... I was in the Zone. The Shopping Zone.

My sister is graduating from high school and my cousin is getting married. I needed something to wear, and I was determined to find a dress. Despite my earlier disclaimer regarding my lack of girly-girlness, I have mostly skirts and mix-and-match outfits. But this time, I was going for it all. I wanted a dress.

Last night, I found it. The dress. In an evening that was brilliantly orchestrated, I found a dress to wear to the graduation and the wedding, and a skirt to wear to the graduation banquet. O'Doyle rules!!!

Here's the best part... I did all of this with time to spare and was able to make it to Bible Study. One of the local Lutheran churches is having a Bible Study on Islam in light of the Cross. It's really good. It's not just facts about Islam, but instead, it's a scriptural look at their religion, and what God has to say about it. I'm learning so much. My church has done a couple of different studies like this, but I've had to miss them because I teach church kids at the times that they were being held. So, when I drove past and saw the banner, I decided to come.

Last week was great, but I got there at 6:59. Last night's experience was different. I got there at 6:45. So, I had to sit there. I wrote in my journal, because my head is always buried in that book, but I had this weird feeling that everyone there knew I wasn't a Lutheran. Like I had a big neon sign over my head that said "Not a Lutheran!!! Baptist Infiltrator!!!" The people there were very nice, and I actually like the church a lot. I have three friends whose families are members, so I know the kind of people they have running around in the community, and they are great people.

The thing that struck me the most was that this must be what it feels like to go visit a church for the first time as a non-member of the faith. Those people who believe in God and Jesus and all, but don't have a denominational affiliation and what I guess would only be a small understanding of a personal relationship with God and Jesus (like I have such a huge understanding). Those people that maybe grew up in the church, maybe not, but for whatever reason have decided to go back to the basics and get up early on a Sunday morning and go to a church. It gave me an interesting perspective on what they were looking for and what their fears were. Something I will definitely be thinking about for the next few days...