Thank you for the responses. I may have come off sounding whiny, maybe you even think I expect the gods to be hooking me up at every step of the way.

At this point I think it's fair to say I've spent half of my time in the game reading help files. After the considerable time that went into creating my character and getting through the academy (making my description and choosing a sphere) I found I was still sitting somewhere resting my feet looking through help files.

Yes, I did see "SEE ALSO EMPOWERMENT, .." mentioned. I didn't look at it because by that point I wanted to do some exploring, actual playing I'm sure. By the time I read the helpfile I had already chosen a sphere, leaving me feeling very frustrated:
" Yes, we will sometimes grant empowerment to those who follow a sphere without a god.."
" Those who wish to follow this route be warned; only ultra-elite roleplayers will be granted clerical powers."

There's just too much to look at and read. If I hadn't noticed the difference between my available spells and my available spells to be practiced, I probably wouldn't have figured it out yet. I just think it could be a lot more straightforward. If you want to label me S-L-O-W, that's fine, but I know I could have been a lot S-L-O-W-E-R :).

Anyway, thank you all for the ideas and suggestions. I will take them into consideration as I explore CF areas and establish my character.