I’ve never met Heather.

Heather’s never met DeAnn.

DeAnn’s never met Gretchen.

Gretchen’s never met Kellee.

Kellee’s never met Edie.

But one week from tomorrow, Heather, Jan, DeAnn, Kellee, Lauren, Gretchen, Edie and I will all converge on a little cabin in Fredericksburg, Texas, for a weekend of Lutherany, bloggery awesomeness.

On the agenda?

(1) Boot signing. It’s tradition. Ricky Skaggs put his name on this boot. Wylie (the guy who does the Yahoo! yodel) signed it. The members of Riders in the Sky have scribbled on it. And, uh, you know, well . . .

Ok, so those are really the only people who have Sharpie-ed it, but I’m determined to fill it up with signatures of fabulous people. First step, father of modern bluegrass. Next step, faithful Lutheran bloggers. I think you see the connection. (Do you? I sure don’t.)

(2) Wine tasting. Fredericksburg is in the heart of Texas wine country. Wine gladdens the heart. We’re all Lutheran. We like gladdened hearts and big, full lives. Yeah. That’s so going to happen.

(3) Two-stepping. We Dorr daughters heard this song a million times growing up. You better believe that we’re puttin’ on our boots, gettin’ down to some basics in love, and goin’ to Luckenbach, Texas, with Waylon and Willie and, um, ok, scratch that last part.

 

(4) Shopping. We’re women. You really should have seen that coming.

(5) Reveling in Lutheranism. We love being Lutheran. We love talking theology. We love our Bibles, catechisms, hymnals and Lutheran Witnesses. (Ok, I just threw that last one in there.) You better believe that when we’re sitting around the campfire at night, we’re going to be talking about Jesus.

(6) Eating. If everything is bigger and better in Texas, you can bet we’re going to be eating our collective weight in BBQ, sweet potato fries, um, more BBQ, and basically whatever else it is they eat in Texas. We’re not “Oh, I’ll just have a salad and water” kind of women. That’s all I’m saying. 

 

(7) Laughing. There’s a lot of crud in the world. People can be annoying. Jobs can be frustrating. Money can be depressing. Lutheranism can get you down. (HT: Dr. Scaer)

But we’re baptized. That makes life huge, limitless, fascinating. It means there’s something new to discover around every dance hall, behind every winery, next to every log cabin.

It means we simply get to enjoy time with other Lutheran women, learn from them, challenge them, encourage them, understand them.

It means we get to laugh at each other’s jokes; at big, teased, Texas-sized hair; at our profound inability to line dance; at how much luggage eight women will need for a three-day trip.

Texas. Boots. Laughter. Lutheranism. Can it get any sweeter?

Oh, yeah.

It can.

I forgot the BBQ.