Orthodox Biz Blog

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.