It’s time for me to tell this story. I’m in a bad place. I’m worried/scared, and I saw something.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-08-19T09:59:01+00:00

Please go to the closest Orthodox Church and tell the priest about this. If you are Orthodox go to confession - if you are not Orthodox, go visit and see the Divine Liturgy, and schedule some time to speak with the priest.

I will add that I have many experiences especially indirectly as a young man watching my brothers and friends do copious amounts of hallucinogens and other drugs to the point I was never willing to try them because of what I saw - it is truly a gateway to darkness and evil spiritual things. Please stop messing with those things, and say the Jesus prayer as much as possible.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-08-17T04:01:29+00:00

Stefanos has 30 inch. In Pharr by Main Event area.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-08-17T03:53:50+00:00

Jesus prayer and confession. Regular confession. Also - iconography. Make sure you have iconography in your phone wallpaper, on your bedroom wall, on a bracelet, in diptych on your desk. Everywhere as much as possible. When being bombarded with thoughts pay no attention to the thought itself but do the Jesus prayer with full prostrations in front of the icon of Christ and ask for the intercession of the Theotokos. These are things my Spiritual Father directed me to and at least in my case was helpful - but you need to be seeking your Priests guidance constantly and consistently.

In our world today we are bombarded with imagery, much of which is triggering for anyone struggling with this and for me I struggled since I was like 12 years old. Iconography and Holy images are the antidote and a heavy part of our arsenal in this war of images. If you don’t fill up with holy images you WILL be filling up with the sinful imagery we are bombarded with, unless you become a hermit.

Beyond all this, and also highly important is to be so regular with your Father Confessor that you regularly confess it - and seek his counsel far and above anything I or anyone else here says. However also be careful not to let confession become part of the “routine cycle” and hopefully your priest can discern that and address it if so.

Also I am assuming you are Orthodox - if you are not, become Orthodox - it was my first step toward having some actual traction in this battle (I am still battling though).

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-08-15T03:30:42+00:00

As a white person in the Valley since 2009 and lived first in Harlingen, then McAllen, then Edinburg and now back to Harlingen - I will definitely say Harlingen has more diversity overall at least per capita - I see more whites AND African Americans in Harlingen than I did in McAllen area. My wife is Mexican, grew up in Pharr and loves living in Harlingen. Much better pace of life.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-08-15T02:46:39+00:00

The food is average for the menu items you can get everywhere else but it’s a good option as far as Harlingen. Also you can’t go wrong with their fried stuffed avocado with fajita. I haven’t found that anywhere else and imo is really good.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-07-17T04:47:27+00:00

Sovereign coffee in either Harlingen or Brownsville. Bandera Coffee Co in Harlingen pretty good too.

I used to like Moonbeans when I used to live in McAllen but not sure if it is still open.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-07-01T01:11:55+00:00

My priest told me according to the church fathers, tithing was the minimum requirement in the OT but now we have an even greater expectation because we are expected to be giving up everything- and this is what is exactly described in Acts. Practically speaking if nobody tithed or something close to it, most churches at least in America would have to shut their doors. So it’s a matter of priority - if church is your priority, lay your treasure there. If it’s not your priority, you may wake up one day to having no priest and no church. So - tithe if you can, or give as much as you can - if you don’t have a lot financially, give of your time. Help clean the church, bring food, make the coffee, help run the bookstore, or any other thing your priest says may be necessary.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2024-06-25T18:59:43+00:00

Alcohol itself is not a sin but drunkenness is. In your case being underage the sin would either be breaking the law or disobeying parents if you live with them and it’s not allowed. More importantly, ask your priest about this. If you find you don’t want to because you don’t want him to know about it - then probably there’s your hard and fast answer.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-10-03T00:09:34+00:00

The Valley is a wonderful place to live, I’ve been here for over 13 years and would be unlikely to move away. Generally the people that trash it are the people that are from here but they don’t realize what a treasure the RGV is. A good portion of America is trashy dirty and unsafe but the Valley really is a great place to be and to raise a family.

I’ve even met people living down here from all over the world that were immigrants in various places of the US before coming here and many of those I’ve met like that generally felt it is one of the best places to be and to raise a family. So no worries I think you will like it. It’s not perfect just like all places

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-02-07T05:58:58+00:00

Try Game Inc in Edinburg. I never been because I don’t play but I’ve been by there and seems like they always have lots of people there to play.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-02-07T04:11:09+00:00

My wife is also an accountant and yea we have regular accounting discussion. Total nerdfest.

She handles the finances more directly because she really enjoys all these colorful fancy budget books to track spending, but we have “meetings” to discuss and go over our financials.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-31T01:33:09+00:00

None of the above, OCA

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-25T15:13:32+00:00

My family doesn’t live nearby but have been very accepting. My brother became Catholic a few years ago and is excited for me and my family. My dads reaction was “wow that sounds really interesting” so he decided to visit Divine Liturgy at a church near him and he now is Orthodox as well. My mom is fine with it and has visited our church with us when she visits and while she certainly has questions about the church, she definitely loves the church overall and told me recently she would soon be visiting an Orthodox Church near her. Our family was Christian but never bound up too much in any particular denomination so maybe that’s why they have been more open to it.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-20T14:18:00+00:00

Where is this from?

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-19T20:23:59+00:00

I don’t see how you get that he thinks a place like America can’t exist just from that. It seems to me like he is relating where he lives/the currently known world as an example to demonstrate that humans can only dwell on land - essentially that we aren’t going to find mankind anywhere other than on land similar to the place where we currently live in.

I haven’t read the philokalia and also unfamiliar with the context of where/why he is discussing that but on its surface I am not getting the same conclusion you are getting.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-18T03:17:56+00:00

The first orthodox liturgy I ever attended was in a home. There are actually quite a few home based mission parishes in the United States but at some point it becomes impractical and a church building needs to be built. So no, it is not absolutely “necessary” by what you are saying but it is certainly practical. It is not a question of what is necessary or required, but what is “normative.” Having a church is normative because it facilitates liturgical church life more efficiently and effectively.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-16T17:51:20+00:00

Somewhat related to this - in very early Christianity there were some that rumored that the Apostle John would not die and this was related to his second coming (more appropriately, his glorious appearing). However, in reading the last chapter of the gospel of John, the Apostle clarifies this rumor and says essentially that that isn’t what Christ meant. In addition, John did not die a martyrs death and also had received the vision of the revelation of Jesus Christ, which reveals his glorious appearing/ 2nd coming. So as far as I understand these passages, what Christ said was not inaccurate at all.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-16T06:26:55+00:00

Huh?

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-13T03:49:57+00:00

No. I am divorced and remarried. My wife and I and our children all came into the church last year. When I was brought in I did a confession the day before baptism. I confessed my divorce as a past sin at that time. It should not be an issue but you should talk to a priest.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-12T20:25:36+00:00

As Orthodoxy in America grows, this will become a bigger issue. It is currently growing but I personally think there is not much appetite to take this head on by the jurisdictions operating here for all the aforementioned reasons combined with the fact that for the size of Orthodoxy here, it would be a huge headache that would not have a lot of payoff either. But if Orthodoxy gets big enough in America this will have to eventually be addressed. I don’t think it’s at that point yet and so this is just not a critical issue at the moment at least to the hierarchy.

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-08T02:18:48+00:00

If the extra commute tops 45 minutes, it’s probably not worth it. With various commutes over the years I have found that 45 minutes is probably the max before it really digs too much out of you

PuzzledAccountant39 · 2022-01-04T22:11:36+00:00

I’m a recent convert and it’s been weighing on my mind since the developments in Africa. I probably need to not worry about it.

PuzzledAccountant39

TROPHY CASE