Orthodox Biz Blog

 

 

 

 

 

Children's PAscha baskets, Chrismation robes, Fire Thursday Lamps, Ukrainian Hand Painted Wood Eggs, Orthodox Bears and much more!

 

 

I just got in a whole collection of children's books from Potamitis Publishing, and found myself blown away!

We've all heard of people who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." Some, for sure, are sincere about believing in a higher power to which they should submit their will, but others are more concerned about making up their own religion to suit their own preferences. We're addressing this issue because most discussion is around the "religious" versus "secular humanist" divide. It's pretty easy to distinguish between those who believe in God and those who don't. A special problem occurs with those who believe in a God of their own making.

We lived for a time in California and here are some of the ideas and their implications.

There is only one God: Christians believe this, too. However, the 'spiritual' believe there is only one God and he has many names, e.g., Jesus Christ, Yaweh, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, Gitchee-Manitou, Gaia, Seth, etc. Implication: Since every religion points, ultimately, to the same diety, one can pick and choose which rituals and moral orders to follow from day-to-day and change them as easily as one changes clothes. It's spiritual relativism.

God made the world out of himself: Selecting the very beginning of "in the beginning... " and ignoring what the first couple did in paradise, the 'spiritual' rationalize a blameless world. Implication: Since God is only good, the world is only good. There is no evil in God, therefore there is no evil in the world. Since terrorist masterminds like bin Ladin were made by God, they are not evil. The 'spiritual' rationale for the existence of terrorism is that America is reaping its own 'bad karma.' This plays into the hands of the hate-America-first crowd.

The world is a reflection of yourself: Since the world is only good, evil is only a distortion of good. Implication: Only those who are themselves "distorted" would perceive evil. Naturally, 'spiritual' people are aghast (and smugly superior) when President Bush speaks of the "Axis of Evil."

There is no hell: Since the world is only good, the afterlife must be even better. Implication: It is OK to put some people "out of their misery" because the mercy killers are merely "letting them go" to a "better place." What really matters is living with dignity and all suffering should be eliminated. Those who don't believe this have a 'distorted' view of the world.

There is no devil: Since everything supernatural is, by definition, divine, then any mystical revelation (e.g. voices in your head) could only be from God. There are no temptations from the Devil. Implication: Whoopee! Anything goes. Feel empowered to "experiment" with any sort of degraded behavior because it's just a "learning experience" and "it's all good" isn't it? And if it happens to turn out badly, just take a pill to end it all and go off to somewhere better.

So what's the danger in this self-serving, superficial spirituality? Their proponents view these bumper-sticker slogans as "progressive" in contrast to the archaic "superstitions" of Christians and the religious of other traditions. They imagine that the world is ready for a forward leap of evolving consciousness and that it is only the superstitious that are holding back the rest of the would-be "enlightened". While it's not widespread, there is a growing segment of this movement that suggests it would be better for "the world" to get rid of those who are holding back the enlightened, holding back "progress." If that sounds ridiculously paranoid, harken back to the Communist era of the 20th century for a little perspective. Recall the millions who died to make way for Mao's "Great Leap Forward."

Peter and Helen Evans, "http://peterandhelenevans.com.

Pagan Spirituality Go to www.peterandhelenevans.com for the whole articles.

Sixty-four percent of retailers have made investments in social networking, according to a study from "Forrester Research". Social network presences will perform better as a marketing vehicle than paid search, according to "Internet Reailers" recent survey.

Many experts say if merchants want to connect with customers, and is not on a social network they are missing out. Online customers are spending more time on social network sites than any other type site.

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.” Even though they talk almost obsessively about the Founding Fathers, this simple truth has been totally lost on Republicans for decades. The trend has accelerated since 9/11, but "law and order" as a Republican wedge issue dates back to at least Nixon.

 

My son is eight. Our normal bedtime routine is to read chapters from great novels and have short discussions on them before turning out the light. We recently finished up Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. The book deals with a lot of grown-up topics, and we used it as a springboard to discuss all kinds of issues, but especially the nature of crime, punishment, and torture.

In the book, Esméralda is accused of killing Captain Phoebus and of witchcraft. Since she refused to confess, she was taken to the dungeon to be tortured into confessing.

Knowing that she was just a young girl, my son sat up and asked, “Dad, who is going to torture her?”

“They’re Catholic priests,” I replied.

“They can't be real priests,” my son replied, “Real priests couldn't do that.”

 

 

 

 http://www.bestorthodoxgifts.com/. Now there is a website devoted to Orthodox Christians and their pursuit to give specialized Orthodox Gifts to their family and friends of the faith.

"Pilgrimage to Prayer.  Peter and Helen Evans will be holding a prayer vigil on January 21 after vespers until midnight.  Come (by yourself or in a group) and read Psalms or for silent prayer.  Some will be preparing for the March for Life, others will be giving Thanks and gratitude in prayer for their lives, others may be asking for a relief of troubles for themselves or others. "http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/theveil_allicandoispray.aspx"

Orthodox or non-Orthodox, members of St. Nicholas  "http://www.stnicholasdc.org/" or not - all are welcome.  As the church is lit softly with candles only, it is a perfect atmosphere to "lay aside all earthly cares" and pray, or walk around and make a prayerful connection with the Saints in the icons, or make prostrations before the relics and feel their power. 

If you would like to read the Psalms, e mail <we2rone@cox.net> to schedule a time; approximately 8:30 to 11:30.    And if you just want to come yourself or with a group, please e mail us also so we can be sure the Mass Avenue door, which will be the only entrance during the night, will be open to you.
Also, we ask you to buy several candles to keep the church softly illuminated." 

This article was written in 2003, but it just shows that truth never goes out of style. 

We had a private tour of the Leland House in DC by Dr. Land.  He explains how the separation of church and state made it into the constitution of our country. 

Fr. Valery (Shemchuk), Assistant Priest at St Nicholas Cathedral, Washington DC

http://peterandhelenevans.com/manhattan-declaration/

Here is a chilling account of what it is like to live in a country where there is no freedom of religion:

Please visit our new and improved website with lots more articles and interviews.  While there please be sure to sign up for email updates http://peterandhelenevans.com/.  On the Manhattan Declaration page we will be adding many, many more signers.  Keep up to date on what they are saying.

Christian Patriots ? You see, it isn't that Americans have lost their Christian roots, it's that Christians have lost their American roots. They don't know that the American story, and the larger story of Western Civilization, is their story. No wonder they don't vote. They don't understand America was and is the great...http://townhall.com/columnists/FrankPastore/2007/01/28/why_so_few_christian_patriots

Why I signed the Manhattan Declaration by Metropolitan Jonah of the OCA, plus see our new website which has other signers.  This site will be growing over the months, go back frequently to see new signers and new items. 

How links from other sites can improve a web site’s ranking in search listings is one of the least understood aspects of search engine optimization.

 

One of the new and exciting advantages to the computer age is the ability for people to join, meet and share common interest online. This has lead to the phenomenal growth in online forums.  
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site. From a technological standpoint, forums or boards are web applications managing user-generated content.
People participating in an Internet forum may cultivate social bonds and interest groups.
Forums are relatively inexpensive to build and no cost to maintain because members take the responsibility for monitoring the content. A good example of a forum is action can be found at http://www.corshops.com/Support.html
Forums have proven successful for e-retailers that sell products to people with a passion. Pet owner are a fine example of people with a passion.
Before the Internet, people looking for others with similar interest had limited options. The Internet made possible discussion boards, forums and social networks that attract like-minded people from around the world. This ability to bring people together is at the heart of the online forums.
To build a forum for your website is inexpensive because the structure of an online forum is inherently uncomplicated. “The price range for a forum to be added to you site is between $100 and $1500 depending on the platform you are using.” says Olan Chancy, president and co-founder of Corfun   “As a e-retailer, when you are helping people find what they want and understand what they need to know also creating an opportunity to interact with other of common interest, you have created goodwill that you can not measure.”  Corfun specializes in dynamic Websites that are easy to mange and update.
When you are ready to launch your forum’ there are ways to “prime the pump” to elicit participation. First promote the forum on you website. Second would be to do an email blast to all friends, family and past customers. Third post it to and social networks you may be a member of. Forth you or your in-house staff “seed” the forum with questions, content and comments. Fifth reach out to industry pros and experts asking them to be an active member and post a topic. This will only help them because it gives them more of an audience to show there expertise.
Now that your forum is up and running the only thing left to do is monitor it so you can answer questions, delete inappropriate content and harvest insight into what your customers like and dislike.
As the owner of the forum you have the power to delete post and ban users. Most forums require members to provide a valid email address linked to the users name to become a member.

Mary was a sixth-century hooker in the Eastern Roman Empire. She had been one from her youth. She wasn’t in it for the money, as she told a monk named Zosimas later in life, but "out of insatiable desire”. One day she saw the crowds of pilgrims preparing to go to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. She decided to go with them, out of curiosity perhaps. She went along, announcing to her fellow-travelers, "I have a body and that will serve as both fare and food for me". The trip was an eventful one, as Mary put her body to prodigious use with her fellow travelers.

Whatever Happened to the Land of the Free and What Can We Do About it.

Massad Ayoob is arguably one of the most lethal men around, in fact he even trains others in the use of deadly force. Many people cannot distinguish the difference between 'dangerous' and 'lethal.' When they hear that someone is an expert in handgun combat, urban rifle, knife/counter-knife, close-quarters battle and stressfire shotgun, they automatically think of someone to be feared. However, after reading the following we believe you'll recognize a good guy who balances lethal force and compassion. Only the bad guys need fear him.

Mr. Ayoob has had stories about him and interviews in various publications and news shows such as the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New York Post, ABC's "Turning Point", National Enquirer, PBS "Frontline", ABC's "20/20" and the BBC News Magazine and we are privileged to interview him here.

We've all heard of people who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." Some, for sure, are sincere about believing in a higher power to which they should submit their will, but others are more concerned about making up their own religion to suit their own preferences. We're addressing this issue because most discussion is around the "religious" versus "secular humanist" divide. It's pretty easy to distinguish between those who believe in God and those who don't. A special problem occurs with those who believe in a God of their own making.

Di: Hi Angel, summer's flown, and there's so much to say...

Angel: I've got an idea. What if we submit my Godparents article from www.malista.com in loving memory of and gratitude to my Godmother Athena Hanzakos, who passed away yesterday (8.8.1921 to 10.13.2009)?

Di: A beautiful idea since I've been thinking about your Godmother Athena all day, and Malista (yes, in Greek) is your Godsister Elena's Detroit area site.

Angel: Amen to that, and now for the story.

An Evangelical friend of mine of was complaining about his kid learning Chinese history in school. He was incensed that his son would learn "foreign history" instead of "Western history." I laughed and then infuriated him when I said, "For your kid, Western history is just as foreign."

To have a successful business, it is very important that you have quality business relationships. You may have a great marketing plan, but one of the most important things you can do is to work on building up relationships with people you meet.

It can take some time for you to begin to see results when you use these techniques, but the results for building business relationships are excellent. So, here are a few tips that will help you build better business relationships.

 1: Work One Relationship At a Time. You don't have to work on meeting hundreds of people each week. However, you should work on meeting at lease one person each day.

Before you know it you'll have more than 100 people who you have built relationships with. The number of relationships are not important, but you do want quality relationships. Take the time to work on building quality relationships on a consistent basis for the best results.
Remember it’s not what you know but whom you know.

 2: Join Organizations. Joining organizations in your area is a wonderful idea and it can help you  work to build up business relationships. When you join clubs or groups in your area that have similar interests, you'll find that this is a wonderful way that you can build up relationships. Take the time to get active in the community around you, start a club or group, or volunteer in order to meet new contacts.
To quote the bible “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another”. ... Proverbs 27:17 and so it will be with business relationships.

3: Stay In Touch. Once you make a contact it is important to stay in touch with them. Just meeting them one time may not bring results, but if you stay in touch with them every couple weeks, you can build up a solid relationship.

4: Make Sure Your Personable on the Web. If you are trying to build up business relationships online in forums, social networking sites, or blog directories, then you need to be very personable. Leaving comments and personalized messages is important. The last thing you want to do is just send out a bunch of cookie cutter messages to everyone. So, make sure you act in a personable manner.

 5: Show Pride in Your Business. Showing pride in your business is imperative if you are going to build business relationships. Make sure that all the people you meet know about your business. Make sure you add your business website to your business cards, add a signature line to all emails, and talk about your business with pride. This is an excellent way to build up top quality relationships.

When President George W. Bush was in office, I was a flaming liberal. I opposed the Iraq War on a host of grounds, not the least of which was the Constitutional requirement that only Congress (not the president) could declare war.

I was critical of Bushian fiscal policies from profligate spending to steel tariffs to farm subsidies. I was bitterly opposed to the PATRIOT Act and other curtailments on the freedoms ordinary Americans enjoy. The various ideas coming out of the Justice Department about the ‘unitary executive' made my skin crawl, and please don't get me started at a party on the problems with torture and the ability to declare American citizens to be enemy combatants.

A friend of mine asked me why I got a reconditioned Mac for my wife, instead of a new PC that was available from a box store for less money.

"Simple," I said, "I don't have time to play tech support."

When was the last time that your image presentation in Virtuemart actually wowed a client? Okay, the default image handling isn't too bad. You get a thumbnail, which pops up into a lightbox. If you need multiple images, then you get a stack of thumbnails on the product details page - which also pop up into lightboxes.

Frankly, it's all a little ho-hum to say the least. Much of what we sell on our CorShops site is actually software, so we don't need the images so much. After all, we can demo the software and that helps sell the sizzle. But most of our development clients sell physical products, and they need to put these in the best possible light. And that light is usually not a 'lightbox,' which is why we created the FlyTabs Virtuemart Theme.

Virtuemart is a great shopping cart, but the core system has three big problems when it comes to handling images. First, the default option on a Category page is that clicking the product image thumbnail pops up a bigger image, instead of leading to the product details!

That just makes people mad. Online shoppers normally expect to get product details, not a bigger image. That is why our FlyTabs Virtuemart Theme has the option to link product images to product details.

As a company, CorFun was using Wink to do presentation and training movies. Wink is an open source application that did a decent job, and rendered its output as swf files that played nicely in a browser. However, as soon as we needed audio for training or demo videos, Wink just stopped cutting it.

I first started working on Web projects for the Orthodox Christian Network (myocn.net) in late 2006. At the time, OCN had one program – Come Receive the Light. Come Receive the Light was primarily a traditional radio broadcast, airing in many key markets once a week. OCN’s Website was important, but had always been considered a secondary delivery channel compared to terrestrial radio.

When you a stranger, you are planting tiny seeds of possible business relationship with each person you meet. There's no guarantee that you'll doing business right away but over time you'll harvest a large crop!

I've noticed a few common mistakes that most people make when meeting others. I made them too until I realized how to properly grow in a relationship.

Virtuemart is the best shopping cart solution around for Joomla CMS. Joomla, of course, just happens to be the best content management system around, so the combination of the two is a serious powerhouse. Joomla requires a template to operate. Virtuemart uses a theme, but since it runs inside Joomla, it works with the template also. That causes a lot of confusion for more novice users, so we would like to help clear that up. New online shop owners need to understand how they unique and look and feel of their sites will be generated.

The Great Commission wasn’t a suggestion. It was a commandment. We are to share the Orthodox Faith with the entire world. But how are we supposed to reach people? Stand on a soapbox on a street corner? Go door-to-door? Visit the sick, the needy, the elderly? Those are all good things that are worth doing. But did you ever think about using your Facebook account to spread Orthodoxy?

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites are all the rage. People use them to find lost friends, connect with others with similar interests, and as an easy way to keep everyone updated with the latest news.

My parish is in the Diocese of the South, and does not have a bishop at present. When we do have a bishop, that bishop covers an area the size of Western Europe with over 70 different parishes. The fact is that a bishop presiding over the South could spend every Sunday away from home, and still not be able to visit all of his parishes in a given year.

God's Will and Doing the Right Thing

Suicide is the active hastening of the moment of death, to the point where one commits self-murder. There is usually very little confusion or doubt about whether one is dying. In the course of a terminal disease or advanced age, the Christian prepares for the moment that the Lord will "require of him his soul," when he will enter his repose. When death is known to be approaching (and frequently, this is known to the person well in advance of the actual event), then it is better to prepare in prayer and repentance, instead of avoiding death by electing one "heroic measure" after another. A Christian is correct to forego a medical treatment that will only delay the inevitable - especially a treatment that will make his preparation for death more difficult. If he knows he is "terminal" or dying already, he is also correct to make an "advance directive" whereby he refuses, in advance, any "heroic measures" like resuscitation.

This is an article we wrote a few years ago, but feel is just as valid now; especially for Memorial Day.

Last night while flipping through the channels one last time before bed, we were shocked and amazed to see a young man urinating into a snow cone and then taking big bites of it, much to the delight of his companions. "So, that's entertainment," we thought disgustedly as we turned off the set.

Earlier the same evening we had watched with another type of amazement the 4th of July fireworks over the National Mall. We ooh'ed and aah'ed with thousands of others and felt a deep gratitude that we can witness loud, bright explosions in the sky with delight instead of running fearfully for cover, as they probably do in Iraq and Afghanistan these days.

Peter: That's the key to the whole dispute. They're basing their claims on the idea that "we're all just animals."

Brian: Of course we are animate beings, but we are not beasts - that's the key distinction. Generally, non-religious animal rights activists hold the position that we're just extremely intelligent, hairless monkeys. We evolved to that state through random mutation and natural selection with no recourse to divine guidance... we 'just happened' to turn out this way.

Of course, the Christian rejects that entirely because we are the only creatures made "in the image and likeness" of God. There was once a philosophical notion, very popular especially among secularists, that the only thing that separates animals from humans is that we are aware of our own mortality. I think that might have come out of the existentialist movement.

Many have pondered that perennial question: "What is the purpose of the universe?" and not found a satisfactory answer. Yet, in a recent interview with Michael Novak, he gives us a profoundly simple and understandable answer. It also answers our question of, "What is America for?" Along the way we also touch on the question of what legacy we want to leave to future generations.... spotted owls, obscure mosses or a free republic?

Michael Novak is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, author of "On Two Wings" and over 20 other books.

What follows here is a selection from our interview.

What is the Orthodox Church's stand on IVF and cloning? What should be done with so-called "leftover" embryos which are not implanted? What does a 2,000 year-old faith have to say to modern technology on the sanctity of human life?

"The great discomfort among many secular Americans is that the religion that they have dismissed for the last half a century needs to be revisited because we are now being visited by religious fanatics. The fanatics sense that our secularism is a great weakness of character that makes us vulnerable to defeat, and they are correct." --Rev. Johannes L. Jacobse

Helen: Does the Church consider birth control to be abortion?

Fr. Tom: No.

Helen: Does it allow birth control?

With all the new democracies that have popped up around the world in the last 25 years (80 or so), none are based on the sovereignty of the individual, except ours. We're taking this opportunity to give a history lesson about our democracy, lest we forget. We begin with a segment of an interview with Senator Wallop.

Let's Get Back to Basics.

Politicos are gearing up for the fight over who should fill the vacancy on the highest court in the land. Yet, a recent poll revealed that a vast majority of the ordinary citizens of America cannot name a single one of the Supreme Court Justices. More disturbing is that a large segment of our population doesn't understand that judges are supposed to interpret and apply the law, not make it up. It's time to get back to basics, or civics. We had a very interesting chat with a fellow who will take us through some of the basics of what our country is about.

Yesterday we had breakfast with Star Parker, along with about 300 others at the Leadership Institute. It was a very enjoyable beginning to the day listening to how the Republican party can win the votes of Joe, Jamal and Juan Jose.

This past election we the people voted for change or a fresh start. What can they do different with this administration and economic condition. I have a few ideas that might help you get a little more out of your web site in the next year ahead of us.

Many are concerned about the direction our country is going. Some call it anti -Christian, some call it post Christian, some call it secular. Whatever it is called, it is time to turn back the tide and bring Judeo Christian values back as the foundation of our culture and society.
From the video by Peter and Helen Evans

If you want to get our newsletter into your mail box, send a request to we2rone@cox.net and put subscribe into the subject line.

Jesus' attitude toward earthy riches was most succinctly summarized in the Gospel of Matthew 6:32 'For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.' His concern is that we should not assign them too high a place in our own concerns. He continues, immediately (v. 33), saying, 'But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.'

Finally a mainstream book that features Orthodox authorities! Fr. Tom Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St. Vlad's Seminary, speaks on Abortion. Fr. Hans Jacobse, President of the American Orthodox Institute, speaks on War. Fr. Jonathan Tobias, editor of Second Terrace blog, speaks on Euthanasia. There are other voices in this book, but preponderantly Orthodox. We can finally be heard in the public square.

Yes, our book; Get Serious, Whoever said Christianity was Nice? or the Church's Stand on Contemporary Culture, is finally in print and we're very excited. We want to let you know that it can be ordered from "http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60696-301-2"

Also, if you, or a group you know, would like us to speak on the topics in the book or some other aspects of contemporary culture, please contact our speakers bureau at "cynthia.damaskos@orthodoxspeakers.com".

We hope you enjoy our book! and if you want to be on our newsletter and get info directly into your mailbox, send a request to we2rone@cox.net. and just say subscribe in the subject line

Peter and Helen Evans were recently featured in an interview on Inside Catholic. Click here to see it.

ELEOS BLOG (14): PASCHA 2009: Magnify your Purpose with God’s Essential Oils, Loving EveryOne Selflessly

Di: Christos Anesti!

Angel: Alithos Anesti!

Di: Alithos O Kyrios! Which of our many beautiful oils would be appropriate for us to feature, honoring the greatest Feast Day of the year in the Orthodox Christian Church – Holy Pascha?

A: Well, sister, the name of our therapeutic-grade essential oil blend, Magnify Your Purpose, enters my mind every time I hear EIKONA sing the ancient hymn:

We are approaching that time of year when the mail box will be full of announcements from the sons and daughters of friends, relatives and acquaintances announcing the upcoming graduation of a young adult from high school or college.

Summer is here and its time to get busy! Here are some tips to getting your home ready for Summer.

Tea Party, April 25th, Washington DC

Friends, Americans, Patriots - lend me your ears!

We are gathered here on this beautiful day - not because we are filled with hate - but because we love our country.

With the economy in the tank, businesses need all the tourist dollars they can get. Which is why local police ruining family vacations with speeding tickets is a bad idea. Unfortunately, with towns and cities hurting for cash, the RADAR gun is getting more use than ever. New evidence proves that speed enforcement isn't about safety, but about making money for local governments. Not only is speeding not a serious cause of accidents, but a new study has shown a correlation between declining municipal revenues and increased speeding fines. Worse, as police focus on traffic enforement, other types of crimes tend to go up. Business owners need to get the facts to guard their businesses from the harm strict speed enforcement can cause.

NOT a Christian nation? Of course we are!

President Obama has been at it again - repeating the rather provocative statement that America is not a Christian nation. To be sure, he's said this for years and he also says that America isn't a Jewish or Muslim nation either. Rather, he says that we're "citizens" gathered around a "set of principles."

According to a recent article, dying in one's sleep is actually a frightening thing for Orthodox Christians. This seems foolish to the world, but much Orthodox truth seems counterintuitive like this.

I. Making Decisions at the End of Life in a Post-Traditional Culture: Finding One's Way to God

Orthodox Christianity offers orientation in the cosmos. More precisely, it leads us away from our passions and purifies our hearts so that we can be illumined by the uncreated energies of God and come into union with Him.

Angel: Hi, Di! We’re over halfway through the Great Fast, during which we often recite or read silently the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim:

O Lord and Master of my life, take away from me the spirit to be lazy and neglectful, the desire for lust of power and idle talk. Grant me, your servant, the spirit of moderation, humility, patience and love.
Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and keep me from judging my brethren, for You are blessed now and forevermore. Amen

In last night's "Prime Time Press Conference" the Dear Leader promised that he would "cut the deficit in half" by the end of his first term. Sounds like a good thing, right? Wow, he's going to cut something bad that starts with a "d" in half! With all the bad financial news lately, this sounds like dramatically good news. Not so fast. Sit down, take a deep breath and pay close attention.

Let's discuss this article http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/03/09/barna-9-of-american-adults-have-a-biblical-worldview/.  It says that only 9% of Americans have a Biblical worldview.  Alot more think they are Christian and we've seen surveys where about 90% think they are "spiritual."  What that usually means is they make up their religion as they go along.   

D: Hi, Angel sis. Today let’s clear up some misconceptions about MLM and our Eleos business, clarify how Young Living (YL) is neither a “Ponzi” nor a “get rich quick” scheme, and show that is an equitable, private, debt-free, green, grass roots, and seed to seal company that offers rewards to everyone from new customers to entrepreneurs.

Angel Hi, Di. Isn’t it wonderful that Young Living (YL) has just had an incredible harvest of Idaho Balsam Fir?
Di Hi, Angel, that’s so true! The harvest was at the YL farm in Idaho, of course, only thirty-five miles from the Canadian border, and it was done under ideal conditions – in extremely cold and pristine soil!
A Like in Michigan! The soft, evergreen fragrance makes me think of our Greek Orthodox summer camp in Rose City, Michigan. This is what led me to give our YL conifer blend Evergreen Essence the nickname of “campessence”. (Laughs)
D Exactly! Our sense of smell is very profound and evokes even our earliest memories from childhood!
A What do people say about Idaho Balsam Fir?
D It’s been called the “jump in the bottle oil” because that’s what it might make you want to do, and “the happy oil” and the “put it wherever it hurts oil” for obvious reasons!
A Where is this exhilarating oil found?
D Idaho Balsam Fir is exclusive to YL and is bottled in 5ml and 15 ml sizes. It‘s also in Animal Scents Ointment (for pets and their owners), the supplement BLM (for bones, ligaments and muscles) and in the essential oil blends of Believe, En-R-Gee, Egyptian Gold, Gratitude, Sacred Mountain, and Transformation. And before I forget, it’s in the new Deep Relief Roll-On, YOUR favorite, sister!
A Oh, Di, you know me SO well. I carry the roll-on in my purse at all times, and I use it if I feel a headache coming on, am stuffy or have pain from tendonitis. …Don’t you have a quote from St. Basil or another church father about balsam?
D Yes, in the Prolog, Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic (1880-1956), the “Serbian Chrysostom”, states, “For Christ’s presence is like that of some life-giving, scented balsam which restores health, enriches life and gives savor to man’s soul, thoughts and words.”
A Wow, the wisdom of the church fathers includes knowing the benefits of God’s incredible trees!
D Our “green” Patriarch, Bartholomew continues to remind us to be stewards of the earth.
A And as we can see, using the earth’s treasures wisely is good for us and for the earth. In concert with this, whenever YL chops down a tree, it plants another in its place, as part of its dedicated reforestation program.
D When we breathe in the essence of forest trees captured within essential oils, we breathe better like we do in the forest itself. The trees produce oxygen, and their aromatic oils carry oxygen swiftly to all our cells.
A How does Idaho Balsam Fir work, Di?
D You can hear Gary Young speak about Idaho Balsam Fir’s global effects by going to the YL site, www.youngliving.com, under opportunity (conference calls). He explains that Idaho Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) is anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-coagulant, anti-depressant, and anti-stress.
A It’s calming and uplifting.
D Yes, this oil relieves stress by lowering cortisol levels. In fact, its universal benefits are much like those of lavender, the “Swiss Army Knife” of oils. But that’s enough technical stuff. To my mind, the best part is its “sparkly” aroma that inspires me to think of Christmas!
A I agree and just love it. To encourage us to try this awesome oil, YL has a special promotion this month and next; anyone earning 165 PV in one order will get a free 5 ml bottle of the lovely Idaho Balsam Fir AND a 10 ml Deep Relief Roll-On!
D Generous! And these unique products come from Young Living farms -- nowhere else!
A We’re so blessed to have these oils and to be able to share them through our blog!
D To explain just a bit more, the PV (product value) listed in the catalog and online is roughly based on the product’s wholesale dollar value.
A Thus the PV total of your order is what gives you the free products. To obtain Idaho Balsam Fir or anything else from our extensive virtual online health and wellness store, visit us at www.youngliving.org/eleos (6422) or www.youngliving.org/angelbrock (287231).
D Since we’d love to hear about and answer your questions, we invite and encourage you, our readers, to respond to our blog in the comment box below!
A Until next time, blessings!
D Amen!

www.peterandhelenevans.com/Our current crisis is not a financial crisis. It was not caused by some complicated financial dealing that only a few 'experts' can understand. No, it was caused by a whole lot of people doing things that they knew were wrong. Our current crisis is a moral crisis.

The financial meltdown was caused by the failure of credit markets. When you boil it down, credit is really just another name for trust, which is another name for a mortgage, too. As long as we trust that our debtors will pay us back, the system works better than anything the world has ever seen. But, as soon as doubt and uncertainty replace trust, the whole structure falls down. That's where we are today.

In one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories, the esteemed detective had deduced that the villain was an American. But, all the suspects were purporting to be British. How to figure out which one was lying?

Elementary, my Dear Watson! Holmes tossed the prime suspect a ball. He caught it with his left hand, at which point Holmes promptly arrested him.

Why, you might ask? Because the man was right-handed. A right-handed European man would catch a ball thrown to him with his right hand. A right-handed American, however, would wear his baseball glove on his left hand. That means a right-handed American would catch a ball with his left hand, which is the exact opposite of how the rest of the world works.

Globally, Orthodox Christianity is known to be highly conservative concerning what is frequently referred to as "traditional Christian morality." In Europe, for example, more progressive and liberal elements of society spare no effort in attacking the Church as a bastion of traditionalist repression, especially concerning homosexuality.

Ironically, however, in the United States an image seems to be growing of the Orthodox Church as more liberal towards sexual sins than, for example, the Evangelical denominations. Quite a few people, judging by chatter on the Internet, are getting the impression that Orthodoxy is similar to the Episcopal Church in respect to moral issues.

Obama's stimulus plan won't help the economy, and might actually sound the death knell of the dollar. After all, the whole thing is predicated on the idea that you can borrow and spend your way to prosperity. That is just plain nuts, of course. You don't borrow your way to wealth - you produce your way to wealth. Americans are tapped out and swimming in debt, so producing for the domestic market is a tough slog right now. Good thing there is a big world out there, and a good way to sell what you produce is to target it.

Last month I issued an invitation to harpists to upload their favorite arrangements to my website: www.HarpMusicNow.com and I am pleased with the response. These uploads add an element of diversity as they are very different than the kind of harp music that I produce. Ruthann Ritchie uploaded a harp and voice version Caledonia, a tribute to Scotland by Dougie MacLean. Alice Freeman of Windy Wyoming shared two traditional Celtic pieces, The Cutty Wren and The Star of County Down. And Susan Strick graciously uses the website to debut her original composition Amandina, flamboyant piece and the first installment in a series of "gypsy" pieces. A sound sample of each of these pieces can be heard on the home page.

I offer my heartfelt thanks to these harpists. There are now a total of 33 titles available for download on the HarpMusicNow website! If you have not visited the site, please do.

There is still room for plenty more uploads. I am particularly looking for arrangements for wire strung and triple or cross strung harps. If you have a contribution and you are not yet a member, please contact me directly. A timely upload could earn you a complimentary membership!

Maryjean Zarick
www.HarpMusicNow.com

Angel Hi Di, this is so awesome to get together for our blog. Several people have emailed to ask us how to use Clarity and all our other Young Living therapeutic grade essential oils. We need some clarity on this issue (laugh). To start, the easiest way is to inhale them.
Di Right, sister, just open the bottle, take a deep breath, and take in the aroma of the oil.

In the U.S., Orthodox Christians rarely get the opportunity to feel good about celebrities. There are quite a few people who claim to be Orthodox who work in movies, in politics, and in the arts. Unfortunately, almost all of these people are not what could be termed spiritual role models. Nominally Orthodox politicians get busted for corruption, Hollywood Hellenes live tabloid lives that shame everyone, and our artists cause no end of mischief. We are so used to this state of affairs, most of us don't even react anymore. Which is why when someone who is genuinely Orthodox, and famous, does something important we need to take notice.

Di Here we are finally on OrthodoxBiz together writing a blog, talking on our cell phones and looking at our computers, you in Michigan, and I in Pennsylvania.
Angel We joined the twenty first century (laugh).

What is Joomla? Joomla is an award-winning Content Management System (CMS) that is used world wide to generate everything from simple personal home pages to complex corporate web sites. Joomla has been developed and is maintained by a world-wide community of programmers. Their individual effort and collaboration includes the availability of thousands of ready-made additional features (known as extensions) which can be added to your website as your needs grow.

Rod Dreher is an Orthodox Christian and columnist for the Dallas Morning News. He's also a contributor to the Orthodox Christian Network, where his Just Thinking podcast is one of the network's most popular shows. He was also the target of a critical article recently published on a prominent conservative blog site.

The economy is down, unemployment is through the roof, we’re in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. Sounds like the worst time to start an online business right? Wrong! The year 2009 could be the perfect time to start an online business because of all the turmoil going on in the business world. Let me explain…

My first Christmas Eve in Poland, I was invited to a friend's house to celebrate. It was 1992, and though I had been teaching in Poland for six months, most of my time had been spent around other ex-pat Americans. This was my first real Polish holiday, and I had looked forward to it eagerly.

A Website exists for a reason. That seems axiomatic, but the fact is that many Website owners lose site of that fundamental fact. Before taking on any Web project, I always ask future Web entrepreneurs, "What is the purpose of your Website, and how do you plan to make money off it?"

Growing up in Northeastern Ohio with an Italian mother meant that Christmas was a time for bringing out the vinyl Mario Lanza record. This amazing tenor of a by-gone era could really belt out those classic Christmas songs. If I close my eyes, I can still experience the smell of Christmas cookies baking, the sight of frost on the windows and the sound of Mario Lanza nailing the high note in “O Holy Night.” In 2004 when my youngest brother was dying, he took great comfort in listening to the CD version of this same album, especially one particular song called “Guardian Angels.” The lyrics tell of an angel with shining wings, standing at the bedside, ready to lead one to Paradise. This song was played at his funeral in December of that same year. The melody haunted me until I finally sat down to work it out on the harp. Each time I played through the piece, I found myself wondering who had written such a comforting melody. A Google search revealed that the composer was none other than Arthur “Harpo” Marx.

Content Management Systems are growing in popularity as a framework for running Websites. A Content Management System (CMS) automates many of the repetitive tasks associated with running a Website. Using a script framework and a database, a CMS lets organizations sponsoring Websites focus on publishing content to the Web. A CMS framework also comes bundled with all kinds of capabilities such as interactivity (discussion forums, comments, blogging), membership, syndication (RSS feeds), podcasting, and a whole lot more.

Are you an Orthodox Christian with friends or relatives in or around Damascus, Syria? Do you belong to the Antiochian jurisdiction, and so have ties to Syria that way? If so, you might want to notify all your Syrian contacts that Damascus, ancient seat of civilization and the home of the Patriarch of Antioch along with thousands of Christians, is about to be destroyed by Israel.

There are quite a few great programs out today, including the VERY FIRST episode of our newest series with Dr. Demetrios Katos, so please spread the word. Direct links and descriptions are available below.

Of special note: The newest episode of "OCN Now," on which I briefly discuss our current End-of-the-Year Matching Campaign. Please listen in, share with friends and consider giving to OCN during this great opportunity. When you do, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar. Find out more below...and thanks for your support!


OCN Now: Would you like to help OCN share Orthodoxy with the world?



Come Receive the Light: Was Jesus God? A Rational, Philosophical Defense of Christian Faith



Worship in Spirit & Truth

Just Thinking: Orthodoxy & America



Special Moments in Orthodoxy: Book of Acts, Part III



Theologically Thinking: Truly Universal Health Care!?

Get Wisdom: A weekly Bible study program for teens and young adults


Turning to the Fathers


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Let me tell you something Google and the other Search Engines don't want you to know.

Several studies have shown that web surfers' eyes jump over paid results and go directly to the natural results. One study on Google showed surfers preferring natural results 3 to1. So instead of shopping for Google Adwords, consider the natural method for getting more traffic.

My family members are Evangelicals of the Pentecostal variety. I was raised in that faith, but being Orthodox for almost 10 years has distanced me quite a bit from the world of megachurches and televangelists. Still, visiting home frequently means coming face-to-face with it, as my retired dad usually watches several hours of televangelism a day. He's good about keeping the TV off when my kids are awake, but after they are in bed, he often turns on programs he's recorded during the day.

We got herded into the room blindfolded. We knew that we had gone down some steps into a basement and that it was cool. Other than that, we weren't sure where we were or what was happening.

We heard chanting. Suddenly, the blindfolds were removed, and robes were hurriedly put on us. As we stood there blinking, we found ourselves in a candlelit room with various symbols on the wall. On the floor, was a great diamond around which we found ourselves arrayed. As we stood there, a ceremony began that would bind us to this brotherhood. The service was intoned by robed men reading from leather-bound service books.

Handy links to all of the Orthodox Christian Network's new shows are included below.

In addition to those mentioned in the title of this post, be sure to check out "Journeys to Orthodoxy" for the story of an African-American jazz musician and Assistant Professor of Music at Ohio State University who recently entered the Orthodox Church.

When it comes to search engine placement, content is king. One way to get content on your site is to have a blog component installed. The other day I was checking out how people were getting to www.freebeerbuddy.com. One of the keywords that people had typed in was Mark Dallmeyer.

What a week! All our shows are back, now that a couple have returned from their summer siesta. You can listen to all 10 of them by clicking on the links below or by tuning in to any of our 27 online Orthodox radio stations at the listed times (EST).

When it comes to web site design, e-tailers today face many choices. They have more technology than ever at their fingertips to create a site full of bells and whistles, but at the same time, they want to deliver a quick and seamless shopping experience so consumers can get in, get their product, and get out.