It's impossible to put up everything here, we encourage you to visit Orthodox Biz often for all the great stories, but if you want to enjoy every article on our site, please sign up for e mail updates delivered directly into your mailbox whenever something new is posted.  Visit now www.peterandhelenevans.com and sign up.  It's totally free and you won't miss a thing.

April 2, Good Friday, Prayer Vigil 10pm to 7am at Saint Nicholas Cathedral http://www.stnicholasdc.org/. Come for silent prayer or to read the Psalms.   All are welcome. Come and go as you please.

To enrich your prayer life, follow this link http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=194 and we also recommend a book called "Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom." Contact Peter and Helen Evans at <we2rone@cox.net> if you want to schedule a time to read Psalms.  The Mass Avenue door only will be open during these times.   When you come, consider buying several candles.

It a new twist on global warming, read carefully.

 http://www.cornwallalliance.org/articles/read/an-evangelical-declaration-on-global-warming/

"It's About Government, Not Health Care," by Mark Steyn on National Review Online.

You may click here to view this article: http://article.nationalreview.com/427119/its-about-government-not-health-care/mark-steyn

March 6, Prayer Vigil 8:30 to Midnight at Saint Nicholas Cathedral http://www.stnicholasdc.org/. Come for silent prayer or to read the Psalms.   All are welcome.  Another vigil will be held all night on Good Friday, 8pm to 7 am. 

To enrich your prayer life, follow this link http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=194 and we also recommend a book called "The Way of the Pilgrim." Contact Peter and Helen Evans at <we2rone@cox.net> if you want to schedule a time to read Psalms.  The Mass Avenue door only will be open during these times. 

http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=video&video-id=3116

Seeing our picture you would never believe we love this festival??? Of course, you would.  It's a beautiful time of year here.  Let us know if you are going to be in town.    Yes, over 3,000 trees, and more information below

http://dc.about.com/cs/familyactivities/a/CherryBlossom.htm

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.

"Too few Christians understand how to defend what we believe. It's great to believe, but we need to defend it, because it is under attack in the culture."

Go here to see our interview with Robert George, professor from Princeton, on why he signed the Manhattan Declaration http://peterandhelenevans.com/. 

Plus interview with Jim Jatras, Congressman Frank Wolfe and Tony Perkins. 

Fr. Tom Palke of St. Raphael's of Brooklyn Mission in Virginia.  Why I signed the Manhattan

http://peterandhelenevans.com/2010/01/fr-tom-on-man-dec/

Here is an interview with Faith McDonnell who works with Congress and other groups to help the persecuted Church in all areas of the world, including the former Soviet Union, Iraq, etc.  She gives her contact information so that she can help with resources and contacts to those who want it.  http://peterandhelenevans.com/manhattan-declaration/   Go to the middle column under Met. Jonah for her interview. 

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

"Having No Money Doesn't Mean You're Poor"              714 words

There's a proverb about sailing on the notoriously shallow Chesapeake Bay, "If you haven't run aground at least once, either you're not sailing or you're lying."  And so in every life, if you have never found yourself wondering where you're going to get the money to meet your financial obligations, either you're not responsible for yourself or you're lying.  However, even if you only had a nickel in your pocket, we wouldn't necessarily say you were poor. 

There's a difference between simply being 'broke' and being 'poor.'  Almost every one of us has been broke at some point in our lives. Sometimes it was an intentional choice, like subsisting on a part time job while going to school.  Sometimes it's just bad luck or the consequence of bad choices.   Life sometimes has its downs and we adjust; that's broke.  But, when we give up trying to better ourselves, that's poor.  And lack of money isn't the defining factor of poverty.

The difference between broke and poor is not a new concept.  We've known for ages that if someone doesn't work toward something themselves they don't value it.  The "greatest generation," who lived through the Depression and went on to win the second World War tried to give their kids everything they had to work hard for themselves.  But they couldn't 'give' them the values and stamina that made their success possible.  That was the difference between the war against Hitler and the "War on Poverty."  Just look at the housing projects to see what happens to something given to someone who has the poverty mindset.  We've seen the same cycle with many lottery winners or rock stars; suddenly they're rich but, within a short time they're bankrupt.  Remember that old adage, you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy.  The same holds true for the poverty mindset. We can't just throw money at poor people or the poor countries of the world, or even a poor cousin and expect them to suddenly have the motivation to make something of themselves.

Dr. Ruby Payne has written a great book for educators, "A Framework for Understanding Poverty."  In it she lists eight resources a person must draw on to abolish poverty or the 'poor' attitude.  Money is only one of them; the others are emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationship/role models. The eighth, and most interesting, factor is Knowledge of Hidden Rules.  She explains that in each class there are unspoken rules of conduct and behavior.  To escape the poverty mindset, new rules must be adopted.

So what are the implications for our national welfare system and the global welfare system?  That just giving money away doesn't eliminate poverty; that we're actually creating more poverty by down-playing or distorting the other seven resources a person needs to become self-sufficient.  President Bush's Millennium fund is one response to the hard problem of poverty in other nations, but it doesn't get alot of press and  the poor countries, which might benefit from it, are trying to change its un-hidden rules.  Why?  Because they must live up to certain standards in order to receive funds. In other words, they must 'work' for the money and that doesn't hold with the so-called Liberals of the world.

Of course we can't 'give' anyone emotional stability or mental clarity.  All we can do is expect it, and reward it.  Failure will provide its own corrective stimulus... if we don't intervene with a mis-guided 'compassion' that attempts to 'protects' people from learning the error of their ways.  As a society, we must demand that people accept the consequences of their own actions.  We can expect that people must learn the difference between right and wrong.  We can't take all the evil influences and bad people out of the world, but we can expect that people learn to recognize them for what they are and reject them, for their own benefit.

We all have a role to play to by our expectations, as expressed in law.  The so-called compassion that makes pets out of welfare recipients has to be re-examined.  If we are to survive as a society, we must expect the best from people.  Money alone won't solve the poverty problem.

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

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. 

http://peterandhelenevans.com/2010/01/church-state-in-america-since-when/

Be sure ot sign up for updates while there.

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

"I was impressed by the spirit of this inter-confessional document.... Not being abusive, not being aggressive, but being firm."

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

http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/2009/11/24/fr-symeon-danger-of-christian-persecution-in-america/

See more information about freedom of religion, including how the separation of Church and State became part of the United States of America. on www.peterandhelenevans.com

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. 

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

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

submitted by Peter and Helen Evans, join us on our website also at

www.peterandhelenevans.com

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.

Please sign the Declaration

The Manhattan Declaration is the result of several months of dialogue among Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christian leaders culminating in a gathering of approximately 100 leaders in New York City on September 28, 2009," Catholic News Agency [CNA] reports. "Attendees considered an early draft... but the document was entrusted to a drafting committee."
>
> "We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right-and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation-to speak and act in defense of these truths," the Declaration reads. "We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.
>
> "We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral," the signatories explain.
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> But, CNA reports, they also made clear that "we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family."
>
> The signatories explained that they speak now because in order "to defend principles of justice and the common good that are now under assault."
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> "We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's, but we will under no circumstances render to Caesar what is God's."
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> The full text of the declaration may be read at http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/
>

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.

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 spoke 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.

see the rest of this article on http://peterandhelenevans.com/articles-bogus_spirituality.html

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.

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."

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.

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.

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?