Author: Mark Joseph

Are you happy with your life? Is it what you dreamed of in your youth? Have you accomplished what you’ve wanted? Done what you’ve desired? Seen what you’ve aspired to see? Are you fulfilled in your work? Pleased with your relationships?

What If You Could Change Your Life?

It’s said that most people spend more time planning a two-week vacation than they do their lives. I don’t know if that’s true for you, but for the longest time it was for me. Sure…there have always been plans and schedules that I’ve executed to at work. As another example, there’s exercise that has a plan or routine to it. Various activities are planned and scheduled. But none of these speak to “life” more broadly.

I’ve written blogs related to this subject. You can get:

• What If You Could Change Your Life? – HERE
• Steps to Accomplishing Your New Years’ Resolutions – HERE

Neither one of those really speak to the idea of dreaming, creating a vision for what you want your life to look like…which is where it all starts.

Like in the second blog listed above, you can think of your life in terms of the:

• Spiritual
• Intellectual
• Emotional (relationships)
• Physical
• Financial
• Professional

When dreaming you can also consider including the concepts of “purpose” and “legacy”. Why were you put on this earth? What are you to leave behind?

What Are Your Dreams?

Here’s my suggestion. In prayer (nothing formal, just sitting with the Lord, asking for His guidance)…DREAM. Dream about what you’d like to have accomplished or be doing in 20 or 30 years. Dream about the same related to the next 5-10 years. Take notes. This doesn’t need to be done in one sitting (in fact, it really can’t). Try to do it during a dedicated time during the day or your week, taking it to prayer.

Related to the categories above (the ones I’ve listed or others, a greater number or fewer…you decide), as the thoughts flow, just write them down. Think about what you want your life to look like. Paint a picture. What are your dreams? Your aspirations? Not worrying about the “hows” or the “why nots”, just write. Just dream.

Here’s the interesting thing….your hopes and dreams align with your strengths and desires (the things you like). It’s the way God has wired you, the way He made you…wanting you to be happy, to be fulfilled.

You Need A Vision

Zig Ziglar, who died in 2012, is one of my favorite trainers and speakers, always entertaining and always making a great point. One of his old quotes is, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any old road will do”.

Knowing where you’re going all starts with identifying your hopes and dreams, then creating a vision for your life. With the notes you’ve taken, you can construct a narrative, the future you want for your life. This is what you want in your mind’s eye when you begin to strategize and plan, ideas for which are in the blogs referenced above.

Hope this helped. As always, please reach out to me with questions or comments at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

As parents and grandparents, we love our kids, hoping for the very best for them. We want them to be safe and healthy. We also want them to be prosperous, to have good lives for themselves and their kids.

In discussions that I have with folks of faith, their GREATEST DESIRE for their kids and grandkids is that they have faith, that they believe in God and experience the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.

Why Do We Care?

It’s my experience that once you’ve experienced conversion and/or made the decision to live your life for Christ, that you’ll never go back to the previous you. Life just wasn’t the same then. You didn’t live with Peace, Joy, or Fulfillment. Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly”. Those of us on the journey know this to be true for us and want our kids and grandkids to experience it as well.

What Do We Do?

Just love them. Love your kids and grandkids. There’s an expression I heard long ago that still rings true today, “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care”. As an old friend of mine likes to say, “we need to earn the right to share the Gospel”. And we’re not going to do that unless they know we really care.

I’m not preaching here. God knows I could be a better father. What I do know, having failed for quite a while, is that we need to invest in our kids. We need to really try to understand them and to accept them (which doesn’t mean that we condone everything they do). Here’s what I also know…sitting in judgment and hitting them over the head with the Bible doesn’t work.

A Great Resource

In researching the subject, I found a great book, God’s Guide for Grandparents, by Susan Erschen, an Our Sunday Visitor (my publisher) author. You can get information on the book here.

Susan points to Grandparents having the unique opportunity to be holy role models by continuing to grow in their faith and by living the values of the Gospel message in the following ways:

• Putting others first
• Accepting without judging
• Showing compassion to the needy
• Looking with awe at God’s creation
• Living peacefully
• Having courage
• Being generous
• Being content with what you have
• Loving unconditionally
• Being joyful
• Expressing gratitude

The above applies to parents too. There’s no greater argument for living the faith than seeing the example of faith in others.

Question – What could you do differently to help your child or grandchild grow in faith?

Hope the above helped. Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

This past Thursday, April 25th, was the Feast Day of St. Mark. It was also the one-year anniversary of me beginning to post my blog, which goes out every Wednesday at 10AM. As such, you can find all of the 50+ blogs that have been posted over the last year here.

I thank you for your support, without which I couldn’t do what I’m doing. I thank you for your questions, comments, and encouragement. I thank you for your “yes” to the Lord, your desire to live a better, more fulfilled, peace-filled life.

Updates!

On this one-year anniversary, I thought I’d share with you what we’ve been working on, the things that you’ll be able (in addition to my weekly blogs) to see in the not too distant future:

• Weekly Vlogs – short 1 ½ – 3 minute videos…like my blogs, they speak to real life issues. This vlog here speaks to why I launched the ministry and wrote my book, titled Overwhelming Pursuit: Stop Chasing Your Life and Live.
• Speaking – while doing a lot of speaking local to the Pittsburgh and Steubenville areas, with the launch of my Speaking Page, I’ve started promoting nationally. Please visit the page for the numerous topics I can speak on, in keynote, workshop, or seminar formats.
• Social Media – we’re combining my previous Facebook sites, The Catholic Connection and Conquer Fear with God, with my new site….Mark Joseph Ministries. Please follow us here, where we’ll be actively posting going forward.
• Instructor at Franciscan University of Steubenville – based on the content of my book, coupled with my leadership experience, I am part of the Master of Leadership Program, where I’m being marketed nationally to put on 1/2, 1, and 2-day workshops.
• Online Course – to be launched this coming Fall, we’re developing an online course, with two primary sections to it:
  • How to Go From Overwhelmed to Fulfilled
  • You Were Made for Greatness

Based on the feedback I continue to get, I am more passionate than ever about the message of the book, wanting to share it with as many people as possible.

Again, thank you for your wonderful and ongoing support. If there’s ever anything I can do to help you on your journey, please contact me at [email protected]. And I mean it…I’m here to help. I want to help.

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

Happy Easter!!! Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

Did you ever wonder why? Is it for more people to go to Church, like at Christmas (not a bad thing)? Was His objective for people to have an opportunity to dress up in their new colorful, spring outfits? Or maybe it’s the family gatherings or candy for the kids (and adults)? Why Easter? Why did Jesus rise from the dead?

I’m not suggesting that celebration is a bad thing, especially as related to Easter. Celebration, whether for spiritual reasons or not, can be good. It brings people together. It not only creates community, but enthusiasm for what just occurred. It allows us to recognize others for their accomplishments. We can aspire to greater things, witnessing what others achieve.

Just Another Holiday

I used to treat Easter and Christmas much like Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day…time off with family and friends, for rest and relaxation, but nothing really more. Although I grew up Catholic, overtime Christmas and Easter had lost their real meaning. Instead, they were about the gifts, celebration, and time off rather than our Lord and Savior.

To know my story is to know that I had my conversion (some would say reversion since I’ve always been Catholic, never missing Sunday Mass) back in 2006, for the first time experiencing the love of Christ. When something that profound happens to you (at least to me), you start to pay attention, wanting to learn more.

Lessons I’ve Learned

Here’s what I’ve learned…

• The “why” of Easter isn’t for dressing up, candy, or family gatherings, although all good
• God loves each and every one of us so much, that He gave us His only begotten Son
• Jesus died a torturous death that He didn’t deserve, to save us from the torment we do deserve
• Jesus rose from the dead so that we can live in His glory

The Reason for the Season

That glory gives us HOPE in a world of death and destruction, of sin and suffering. Satan is trying his hardest and tragedy is a bound. If we’re honest, we all have our hurts and wounds, those things that we suffer with, often in the silence of our hearts. Related specifically to Jesus’ resurrection, early in Luke, Chapter 24, it says, “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb”. Likewise, there is no stone that God can’t roll away in our lives. Nothing is so great, that God can’t help us with it, transform us through it. We just need to say “yes” to His Son, Jesus Christ.

God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. He made you with a specific purpose, special gifts and talents. God made you (all of us) for Greatness!!! The hope of Christ is the reason for Easter. So is the glory of God in our lives. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly”. He did that through His death and resurrection….that’s the “why” of Easter. Thank God!!!

Having read the above, what does Easter mean to you. Please share your thoughts or comments with me at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph