Why do you worry?

Since God is continuously present, why do you worry? For in Him we live and move. We are carried in His arms. We breathe God; we are vested with God; we touch God; we consume God in Mystery. Wherever you turn, wherever you look, God is everywhere: in the heavens, on the earth, in the abysses, in the trees, within the rocks, in your nous, in your  heart. So can't He see that you are suffering, that you are going through tribulations? Tell Him your grievances and you will see consolation, you will see healing which will heal not only the body, but even more so the passions of your soul.

 Monastic Wisdom - The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast

 Thirtieth Letter

Looking for the truth

"Do you know what it is for your tongue to have dried up from thirst, to have a little spring next to you and yet not approach it to be refreshed, but instead settle for swampy waters? do you know what it is to tremble from cold, for the fire to be next to you and for you not to extends your hands to get warm? Miserable people!" (Counsels for Life, by Fr. Epiphanios)

For indeed we are so, when we do not see the truth and still look for surrogates. When we get so busy with all the cares of life, but forget about true prayer and God.

Beet Pancakes

This recipe will help you start your day with an Anti-Candida friendly delicious breakfast (vegan, no sugar and no gluten).

Ingredients:

2 small raw beets, washed well
2 cups of quinoa or chickpea flour
½ cup ground flax seeds
½ cup walnut meal or pecan meal
1 ½ cups water
Dash of salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup Coconut oil (optional)

Directions:

Blend the beets with water to a smoothie consistency. Add the dry ingredients and vanilla. Mix well. See the batter below:

Use a non-stick skillet and make the pancake as usually.  Add fresh fruit and marmalade as desired.

Enjoy!

 

What the Church IS

"Our Orthodoxy is the Church just as it came out of the hands of Christ and just as the holy Apostles handed it down to us: undefiled, unadulterated, virginal. Orthodoxy is the pure, Apostolic Christianity."

 

http://orthodoxwitness.org/come-and-see/

Orthodox Chant of Psalm 102 103 from St. Anthony Monastery

and another version:

or:

https://youtu.be/dwp6ttLBwLQ

POLYELEOS: PSALM 135 (Tone V) - Monks of Simono Petra Monastery

Please listen to this wonderful chant:


 

Psalm 135

¹ Praise the Lord.

Praise the name of the Lord;
    praise him, you servants of the Lord,
² you who minister in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God.

³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.
⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own,
    Israel to be his treasured possession.

⁵ I know that the Lord is great,
    that our Lord is greater than all gods.
⁶ The Lord does whatever pleases him,
    in the heavens and on the earth,
    in the seas and all their depths.
⁷ He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
    he sends lightning with the rain
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

⁸ He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    the firstborn of people and animals.
⁹ He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
    against Pharaoh and all his servants.
¹⁰ He struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings—
¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites,
    Og king of Bashan,
    and all the kings of Canaan—
¹² and he gave their land as an inheritance,
    an inheritance to his people Israel.

¹³ Your name, Lord, endures forever,
    your renown, Lord, through all generations.
¹⁴ For the Lord will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    made by human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but cannot speak,
    eyes, but cannot see.
¹⁷ They have ears, but cannot hear,
    nor is there breath in their mouths.
¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

¹⁹ All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
    house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
²⁰ house of Levi, praise the Lord;
    you who fear him, praise the Lord.
²¹ Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
    to him who dwells in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

(NIV)

On Holy Tradition

"Holy Tradition is the Gospel of the Lord Christ, and is the Lord Christ Himself, whom the power of the Holy Spirit brings into every believing soul, into the entire Church. Everything that is Christ's becomes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, ours in the Body of the Church…. What is Holy Tradition? It is the God-Man, the Lord Christ Himself with all the riches of His divine Person and, through Him and for His sake, the Holy Trinity. This is most fully given and expressed in the Holy Eucharist in which, for our sake and for our salvation, the Saviour's entire theanthropic dispensation of salvation is performed and renewed."

Archimandrite Dr. Justin Popovic (Now St. Justin Popovic)  - The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism

Lambathes or Paschal Candles

There are a multitude of Easter candle ideas and creations for Pascha on internet. I prefer the ones done in the monasteries that have the true orthodox spirit. Check them out:

 

 

 

 

Flu Fighter Tonic

A friend of mine mentioned to me about this very affordable way to avoid getting the flu, especially if anyone in the home already has it. Try and let me know how it does for you. I may have to recommend it to other patients.
                                                                  Flu Fighter Tonic

And yes, I forgot to say that I really like Garden of Life products and I hope they will keep up the good job and test all their herbs and products for heavy metals.

 

Books Every Orthodox Child Should Own

Spring break is just around the corner and reading together with your children during this time can be a wonderful experience and an opportunity to share with them the rich orthodox faith.

Below is a post by Sylvia Leontaritis, whom I admire greatly:

"I was asked to compile a list of my all-time favorite Orthodox children's books. Immediately, I started pulling book after book from baskets and shelves. Most people know better than to ask me to talk books, but I was asked nonetheless, and so I tried hard to make this post as brief as possible and have only listed my absolute favorites.

These are the books that can never quite stay on the shelf, the ones chosen over and over again and have found themselves in the middle of cozy couch snuggles and flashlight sessions under little-boy bed covers.
So, here they are–my list of Books Every Orthodox Child Should Own:

                                              Books Every Orthodox Child Should Own

Streptococcus Salivarius Lozenges

    "NOW® OralBiotic™ contains the naturally occurring probiotic organism Streptococcus salivarius BLIS K12®, which has been clinically shown to support oral and throat health.  OralBiotic™ BLIS K12® successfully colonizes the oral cavity at the expense of other bacteria, promoting oral and upper respiratory health"http://www.blisk12.com/tag/lozenges/ 

There are some interesting studies below. The lozenges may help our children prevent getting sick, as they go back to school this week:

1.     Drug Healthc Patient Saf. 2016 Nov 21;8:77-81. eCollection 2016.
Positive clinical outcomes derived from using Streptococcus salivarius K12 to prevent streptococcal pharyngotonsillitis in children: a pilot investigation.

 

2.      J Med Microbiol. 2016 Dec;65(12):1456-1464. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000377. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

Oral cavities of healthy infants harbour high proportions of Streptococcus salivarius strains with phenotypic and genotypic resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics.
Palma TH1, Harth-Chú EN1, Scott J2, Stipp RN1, Boisvert H2, Salomão MF3, Theobaldo JD1, Possobon RF4, Nascimento LC5, McCafferty JW2, Faller L2, Duncan MJ2, Mattos-Graner RO1.

3.      Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2016 Nov;20(21):4601-4606.
Effect of administration of Streptococcus salivarius K12 on the occurrence of streptococcal pharyngo-tonsillitis, scarlet fever and acute otitis media in 3 years old children.
Di Pierro F1, Colombo M, Giuliani MG, Danza ML, Basile I, Bollani T, Conti AM, Zanvit A, Rottoli AS.