comfort zone? what comfort zone?

i'm drained.

if you read my husband's blog, you know that he was assigned (and gladly accepted) the associate pastorate at the gospel service here on post. if you know anything about me, you know that i am not exactly "gospel service" material.

in my background, "expressive worship" means you smile. and... that's about it. during songs, you probably fell into one of four categories:
1) stood there and looked grumpy
2) stood there and looked pleasant, sometimes mouthing the words
3) sang (most people were in this category)
4) smiled while you sang
those in the fourth category were the charismatic expressive folks. they may have even raised their hands on occasion, but you brushed it off because, well, they came from a different background.

if you are like me, you also attended a service that ended by the designated time (either noon, or possibly 12:15) to allow for the lunch crowd to get to their favorite restaurant- and if you weren't out by that designated time, the pastor probably heard about it. you may have even had a burnt roast on those sundays because the longevity wasn't expected.

fast forward to february 18, 2007. picture me, with the afforementioned religo-cultural background (i may have made that word up), standing (even swaying sometimes!) in a service, a quite expressive (putting it mildly) service... for two and a half hours... suffice it to say it was a different experience.

i have to admit, i enjoyed it. the people were loving and friendly, welcoming us into their congregation with open arms. i am quite excited to get involved in the group and get to know these dear folks better. the senior pastor (a chaplain) and his wife seem like really neat people that we will benefit greatly from working with.

there were times during the service that i just wasn't quite sure what to do. each tradition of worship has its own mores and norms... and this was not my tradition. i'm sure that the more i attend there, the more comfortable i will become with it. in "prepping" me, jon had encouraged me to just do whatever i felt like doing, and not try to make myself be someone i wasn't. on the other hand, i didn't want to look disapproving (my resting facial position, i have been told, looks "mad" or "stern"). so, this morning, i decided to stretch myself... i smiled.