About Ashley

First off, I'm Ashley. Proud mommy of two, wife of one. My reason behind this quest...well, I guess at this point in my life I'm what you would say as a very "gray area" person. I don't have a lot of black and whites, but instead am perfectly happy with living in the gray area where I don't have all the answers. However, especially now as a mom, I'm going to have to figure out not only my faith, but how to explain it to our kids. Like I've said many times before, I've never questioned my belief/faith in God...but I have questioned religion. I know that Christianity--specifically Episcopalian--is where I am most comfortable. It's the religious culture I know and have been in for the past 7 or so years. Before then, I've experienced many Protestant denominations--Mennonite, Baptist, First Assembly of God, United Methodist, Non-Denominational, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal to name a few. I've had both amazing experiences and bad experiences in a church setting. I get frustrated with the perspective that, to me, seems focused on what is wrong, or a sin, instead of what is right. We strive to be more Christ-like...but sometimes get so caught up in judgments and telling others how Christ should be represented and forget to look at our own lives and the art of living day to day. We focus on one specific Bible verse and create our opinion of what God says is right or wrong, and it's not about just loving everyone and embracing them as a child of God, but of taking on the role of teacher and correcting their sin. Maybe I'm just more content in a hippie "All we need is love" perspective on religion. I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet.

I'm ready to look at all areas of faith--different religions, and my own religion, and be open to what I can find. I think God can be present in many different ways, and it's not confined to one specific denomination, or even religion, for that matter.  My reason for this quest is to bring back that spark of spirituality in my life--and to better understand how I can explain it to my children.

And I want to have a better explanation than this: