tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314819162011-04-21T15:15:59.729-04:00An Adventist on a quest to find truth within life's shades of grey.Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-91487041122567533132008-04-21T23:27:00.002-04:002008-04-21T23:44:10.089-04:00

It's been awhile. I've failed to document my spiritual journey over the last several months. It's been quite the trip. I've stopped going to church - the idea of walking into a sanctuary makes me want to throw up. I've had enough of the belittling people who aren't from our tradition, inflating our own egos to how fabulous we are, and the general denial that all human beings are part of the

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-28180915022487688192007-12-05T08:20:00.001-05:002007-12-05T09:05:32.620-05:00

If you know anyone who is going through a breakup right now - send them this. Now!Ahem. But while that is interesting, it is not what I came here to write about today. I came to begin my story. Before I do that, however, there is one thing I want to note here at the very beginning because I'm a little afraid of where this might go and how I might feel about it. So before I begin, I'd like to

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-40689856883782787662007-11-25T15:40:00.000-05:002007-11-25T16:00:08.638-05:00

I have been doing a lot of soul searching in the last few weeks. That tends to happen when you go through a break up as I have just done. Part of my soul searching was reading Paulo Coelho's "the Zahir" (a novel about obsession). In that book, one thing really stood out to me was the healing power of telling your personal story/history - how it closes the circle."I am free, but, as I'm sure

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-32402205027342481622007-09-04T16:09:00.000-04:002007-09-04T16:37:33.443-04:00

Oh my word this is so hard!!!! How do you go about separating out your identity from that special someone in your life when you've grown up in a co-dependent family? And how do you do it when you're freaking out about moving and finding a job? All of my anxiety about finances and job hunting is getting mixed up with my feelings about my boyfriend right now. And I'm having a hard time

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-42930178756922582862007-07-28T06:57:00.000-04:002007-07-28T07:24:45.420-04:00

It's true - I'm a upper 20s virgin. It's so odd being a virgin. Everyone around you is talking about sex. They all expect that you're having it and I rarely attempt to correct them because it becomes this major thing when I do.I've been thinking a lot lately about how I got here and why I've never decided to sleep with anyone. I keep wanting to say it's a religious/spiritual choice and maybe

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-64542858271692308582007-07-20T06:57:00.000-04:002007-07-20T07:03:35.831-04:00

Thank you for saying exactly what I was thinking (see my post on Alcohol for anonymous' comment)!"seek first the kingdom of God" and the rest are just details. Behaviors - not very important in comparison to seeking the kingdom of God is it?And yet, your comment has made me start to think about why we become so preoccupied with things like alcohol and other behaviors? I think that we begin to

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-17666913723289370902007-07-01T21:15:00.000-04:002007-07-01T21:24:19.442-04:00

It's hard to believe that one month ago I was single. That's right, I have finally found that ever elusive spark. Love is strange that way - you go for a long period of time with no connection, you begin to wonder if you will ever find it, and then BAM! it hits without warning.In only one moment everything got turned upside down. And looking back, I laugh at how little confidence I had in

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-48387997875167321572007-05-04T14:27:00.000-04:002007-05-04T14:47:05.944-04:00

One month has gone by since my last post and so much has happened. I've gone out with two more guys in my quest to find that elusive spark. I'm quickly tiring of the search, however. It's difficult and tiring to go out with people who don't understand your background. Yes, I consider myself mostly a cultural Adventist but I still observe Sabbath (although rather loosely since my only criteria

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-33311430882553627982007-04-10T19:01:00.000-04:002007-04-10T19:02:29.722-04:00

I went on a date on Friday. It was a second date with a charming guy who had a passion burning in his eye. He took me to a great 40s pub that the likes of Frank Sinatra used to haunt. At first everything was great: we were both leaning forward, engaged in interesting conversation. But as the lunch wore on, he stopped talking as much, leaned back, and about the time I tried to compliment him on

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-59844774488996838302007-02-28T21:45:00.000-05:002007-02-28T21:56:34.136-05:00

I keep coming to my blog and trying to construct a post but nothing seems to come together. It wasn't until today that I realized why. I'm censuring. Why? Because I fear disrupting other people's expectations of me. This is particularly difficult for me because religion holds a lot of guilt for me if I feel that I've failed to comply to some religious expectation. The problem is that, as

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1170598181362369852007-02-04T08:48:00.000-05:002007-02-04T09:09:41.376-05:00

It's definitely that time of year again. People pairing off, preparing for Valentine's day. I've actually found myself on a few dates myself recently.But this whole dating scene is completely different from what I'm used to. And I'm guessing that anyone who grew up in an Adventist community can relate. Dating an Adventist is very different from dating non-Adventists because of the unique

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1168265379147911142007-01-08T09:08:00.000-05:002007-01-08T09:09:39.160-05:00

"It is not the critic that counts. Nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and who spends himself in

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1166321763871050002006-12-17T12:00:00.000-05:002006-12-17T13:06:22.510-05:00

Today I've been thinking a lot more about this whole idea of moderation. Why is it that we're all more than happy to believe in the idea of moderation but when it comes to making hard, concrete statements, we back off and stick to black and white policies? I've noticed this a lot. When it comes to applying religion to social issues, there seems to be a love of only printing conservative or

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1166281395316341502006-12-16T09:35:00.000-05:002006-12-16T10:03:15.336-05:00

It happens a lot - me going out for drinks with friends. And every time I go out, I wonder about drinking alcohol or not. The good, raised-in-Adventistville self says absolutely not, but the more progressive and accepting me says one drink is ok as long as I don't get drunk. And as long as it's not something I do on a regular basis. So I waffle back and forth: this time choosing a glass of

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1166243349097060082006-12-15T23:19:00.000-05:002006-12-15T23:29:09.106-05:00

I have a confession to make. I don't feel as though I have been living a very Christian conscience life lately. It's hard out here, trying to figure out how to be in the world but not of it. Ambiguity is everywhere and figuring out what is right and in which context is wearing and difficult but at the same time it is essential.For awhile I stopped reading anything spiritual which kept the

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1156218885123875712006-08-21T23:48:00.000-04:002006-08-21T23:54:45.123-04:00

A lot of things have been happening to me in the last few weeks. I've been thinking a lot about relationships and what makes them tick. I wish I had answers but I don't. I just have a lot of questions.1. What attracts us to others?2. All the people out there who don't care about you or your well-being but are willing to have a fling with you - they have to be attracted to you on some level...

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31481916.post-1153540033240448272006-07-21T22:58:00.000-04:002006-07-22T18:49:07.816-04:00

So here's the short of it: I grew up in an Adventist community, went to the Adventist schools, and after graduating from college decided my faith and spirituality could only expand by leaving the confines of the "Adventist Ghetto". Leaving was the best thing I could have done but it has left more questions than answers as I have struggled to adapt and test my beliefs and ideals in the world.And

Aphroditehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11908908138521370874noreply@blogger.com0