Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Spiritual Journey of a New Age seeker to Jesus Christ and Eastern Orthodox Christianity

How did a New Age seeker wind up in the Eastern Orthodox Church?

The Pearl of Great Price is the story of a unique Christian conversion. It is about the spiritual journey of a wayward Catholic New Age Baby Boomer to Jesus Christ and Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

  • "If you don't believe in the reality of spiritual warfare,
  • if you are convinced that miracles belong to a bygone era,
  • if you have always assumed that all paths to the Orthodox Church are basically the same,

then you must read The Pearl of Great Price.

The book is likewise a precious gem—a moving memoir that you are sure to treasure for its grateful testament to the grace of God."

Bobby Maddex, Operations Manager, Ancient Faith Radio Senior Editor, Salvo Magazine"

About the Author

My book is about seeking and finding. It is a unique story of Christian conversion. "I journeyed long and far to discover my Pearl of Great Price." As many youths in my baby boomer generation, I became disillusioned with the Catholic Church. Eventually, due to a severe health crisis which traditional medicine could not effectively treat, I turned to alternative medicine treatment, the teachings of a guru, meditation, Eastern religions, and metaphysics. I became a massage therapist, spiritual healer and teacher. Yet for all my meditation techniques, fasting and praying; true inner peace eluded me. I was told "follow your heart", but the spiritual paths and meditation techniques I used and practiced in the end did not truly quench my inner spiritual thirst.

Through a series of remarkable relationships and deep reflection I realized I had to come to terms with my past and my issues not only the church, but Christianity in general. Not until I had healed and reconciled both personally and with the church could I move beyond judging it and myself to be able to touch the heart of my personal struggles to find the "Truth, the Way and the Light" in Jesus Christ and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. How God could bring me from a total immersion into Eastern Religions and the New Age to the Eastern Orthodox Church amazes me still!  I would not have imagined becoming Christian would have been the outcome of my struggles and spiritual journey.

I live in Marin County, California, with my husband, Gregory, and our two adorable dogs, Bisou and Bubba. We currently attend St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in San Anselmo, where I sing in the choir. I am quite involved in the study and spiritual practices of the early church.  I especially want to connect with other Orthodox women about how to bring others to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and how my book would be helpful in their Christian ministry.

 

Review by Daniel R. Duncan, San Francisco, CA USA:

What's remarkable about Veronica Hughes' "Pearl" is its quiet candor, where one usually finds a strident and defensive proselytism.

She describes her previous spiritual explorations with even-handed respect, even when she has found a greater fulfillment in Orthodoxy. Especially interesting is the respectful way she describes her previous relationships in New Age organizations in which she was even a pioneer. This readiness to describe while being reluctant to judge seems to be part of an Orthodox perspective.

She does not call names, but describes events, again, in an even-handed and honest way that is rare in accounts of conversion. She thus honors the search that has led her, and may lead others, to Orthodoxy.

And now that she is fully immersed in Orthodoxy, this reader looks forward to her further adventures in its spiritual landscape for, indeed, every Christian must heed Christ's admonition to seek and to knock so that the truth may answer. For when truth is alive, it does not stand and stagnate. Veronica's account so far promises a similarly quiet candor as she finds the next steps in her journey.

Indeed, her measured perspective will be especially welcome as she goes more and more deeply into this great tradition.

Order The Pearl of Great Price from www.pearlofgreatpriceorthodox.com

 

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Monday, May 2, 2011

Business Growth | Funding Solution | Marble Bridge Funding Group, Inc.

Your Bridge to Success

Marble Bridge Funding Group is your source to immediate cash to grow your business. Since 1997, Marble Bridge has provided more than $500 million of funding to hundreds of companies. We provide ready cash through financing your accounts receivable and purchase orders.

For companies looking to grow, Marble Bridge is your bridge to success. We are a direct lender, providing flexible, quick, reliable, custom funding solutions, and superior customer service.

Find out how we can help you:

  • Expand your business
  • Purchase additional inventory
  • Acquire larger customers
  • Get cash in 24-48 hours rather than waiting 30, 60 or even 90 days
  • Simply make the payroll

Contact Us Today!

Tel 925-977-8210

Kahl Consultants client Marble Bridge Funding Group is a progressive commercial finance company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Since 1997 this privately held direct funder has been financing growing businesses – from start-ups to companies with $100 million in sales – via a range of innovative programs:

Account Receivable Financing
Purchase Order Financing
Receivables Management
Other Related Financial Services

Marble Bridge also maintain a visible presence in the community, assisting government and private institutions that serve small businesses.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Entrepreneur Magazine Tips to Start Your Own Business

Or almost nothing. Before you sign a lease (or buy a phone plan or make a hire), find out what's available for free.

You don't need a fancy telecom system and an office full of equipment to get your business off the ground. Hell, you don't even need an office, especially with the ever-growing array of virtual services at your disposal. --E.W.

The un-office
Save the rent and work with your colleagues anywhere that has a Wi-Fi signal. Basecamp--a web-based project-management app--lets you assign tasks, send instant messages, collaboratively edit documents, create presentations and track projects with employees and clients. A good service for web design professionals and other creatives completing longer-term assignments. Plans start at $24 a month for as many as 15 projects and go up to $149 a month for unlimited use. But if you can find office space at that price, we suggest you take it.

Basecamphq.com: From $24 a month.

Credit cards
Setting up a conventional credit card payment system involves contracts, equipment rental and thousands in transaction fees. Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has a new startup called Square that allows you to swipe plastic with your iPhone or iPod. Simply plug Square's, er, square, into the headphone jack and your customers can make a purchase from anywhere. With instant photo verification, on-screen signature technology and e-mail receipts, the system is paperless, too. It's still in beta testing, but expect Square to arrive this summer.

Squareup.com: $1 for the app, plus 2.9 percent of each transaction. Hardware will be free.

The phone
Telecom systems killed the receptionist. Now Google Voice is set to kill telecom. Voice gives you the local number of your choice and lets you forward it to as many landline or cell phones as you please, giving you an "office number" even if said office consists of nothing more than you and your cat. Voice kindly transcribes voicemails for access through text message or e-mail, and incoming calls can be recorded and played back on the web. Local calls are free; long distance starts at just 2 cents a minute.

Google.com/voice: Free, or close to it.

The fax
Buying a bulky fax machine is so 1993. And then there's the monthly cost of the dedicated landline needed to run the thing. With eFax, $16.95 a month gets you a local fax number of your choosing and 130 incoming pages each month. And eFax sends incoming faxes as e-mail attachments--very 2010, indeed.

Efax.com: $16.95 a month.

IT department
Get the perks of a corporate computer network with Dropbox's free downloadable software: Just drag and drop files into a desktop folder to sync them to computers and PDAs--no IT guy needed.

Dropbox.com: Free.

Accounting department
Freshbooks--an online invoicing, time-tracking and expense service--automates the accounting department with an easy web interface that sends documents (with your logo) to clients. Manage as many as three clients for free; a $19 monthly upgrade increases that to 25. Getting clients to pay on time? That's another matter.

Freshbooks.com: Free.

Complaint department
Get Satisfaction--a startup that mint.com and Nike are already using--collects questions, complaints and feedback from throughout the social media universe and organizes it into a customer service platform that can be used on your website. Led by CEO Wendy Lea, Get Satisfaction has plans starting at $19.

Getsatisfaction.com: From $19 a month.

Make it legal
Create a simple LLC or trademark your business name with LegalZoom, a low-cost alternative to hiring counsel. LLC document preparation starts at $149 (about one-tenth of what an attorney would charge) and includes all filing fees and a custom operating agreement.

LegalZoom.com: $149 for an LLC document.

Ready to start your own business? Worried about the expenses?

This article has excellent tips for free or almost free services and tools to get you going when you are short on money.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

myearthdaymarin.org

Thank you for visiting the My Earth Day Marin Coalition Homepage – your source for information on environmentally focused service projects organized in honor of Earth Day throughout Marin County! Opportunities abound for those interested in giving back to mother nature, but sometimes it is difficult to know where to begin.  That is why agencies across Marin have come together to collectively advertise Earth Day service projects and celebrations.  We hope that your celebrations this April leave you with a greater understanding of, and appreciation for the incredible land and wildlife of Marin County, and the people who reside here.  Together we can make a great difference; thank you very much for your time!

“Let it rain, let it pour, let the sun rise and roar, whatever the weather we are here to serve, to celebrate, nurture, preserve and observe, the endless wonders of earth!” -Marin County Park Ranger Kirk Schroeder

hiking-trail-with-broom-puller

If you are interested in volunteering for an Earth Day service project, please visit our VOLUNTEER page for information on a wide variety of projects across the county.  For more information on the My Earth Day Marin Coalition, please visit our About Us page.  If you have general questions about the My Earth Day Marin Coalition, visit our Contact Us page.  Note that our listed volunteer opportunities have specific contact persons pertaining to each event.  If you are interested in promoting a volunteer event that is not listed on our VOLUNTEER page, visit our Add an Event page.  We look forward to hearing from you!

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My Earth Day Marin Partners:

Marin County Parks and Open Space District
City of San Rafael Volunteer Program and Public Works Department
San Rafael Clean
Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program
Marin County Department of Public Works
Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin
Marin Municipal Water District
Marin County Community Development Agency

 


Founded by:

Marin County Parks and Open Space District
City of San Rafael Volunteer Program
San Rafael Clean
Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin
Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program

April 22 is Earth Day! Celebrate Earth Day by giving back to Mother Earth and volunteering for community service projects.