Category: Weekly Blog

After struggling to make first string at the University of Michigan, Tom Brady wasn’t picked until the 6th round of the NFL draft. Six Super Bowl wins later, we all know the story of Tom and the New England Patriots.

The Amazing Life of Charlie Chaplin

A story you might be less familiar with, although you know the name, is Charlie Chaplin. Born in England, due to the early death of his father and the illness of his mother, Charlie needed to begin supporting himself before the age of 10. Taking up the family business, he and his brother started acting, which brought Charlie to the US in 1910. The story of his life is incredible, with details here.

Charlie died in 1977, with a career that included the roles of actor, comic, writer, composer, musician, director, producer, and author. What a career, what a life.

Self-Love as Defined by Charlie Chaplin

Most relative to my ministry (and just sent to me by a very good friend) is the following, found here, which are Charlie’s reflections on self-love. Charlie Chaplin is quoted as saying…

• As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”
• As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody if I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”
• As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it “MATURITY”.
• As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm. Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE”.
• As I began to love myself I quit stealing my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today I call it “SIMPLICITY”.
• As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything that drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism. Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF”.
• As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is “MODESTY”.
• As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worrying about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where everything is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT”.
• As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But as I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART”.
• We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born. Today I know “THAT IS LIFE”!

Although baptized in the Church of England, Charlie didn’t practice any form of religion for much of his life, with debate over whether he was an agnostic or an atheist. That said, much of what he’s quoted as saying above fits right into what I speak to on a regular….

All Rooted in Knowing the Love of Jesus Christ

As always, please feel free to comment to me at [email protected].

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

Mark Joseph

Tom Brady has played in 9 Super Bowls, winning 6 of them. Now 41, he’s talked of playing for several more years, which means he’s in incredibly good shape. Brady holds numerous records in the NFL, including:

• Regular season wins by a starting quarterback (207)
• Most passing yards, regular season and playoffs (81,431)
• Most passing touchdowns, postseason included: (590)
• Most touchdowns thrown to different receivers (71)
• Division titles (16)
• Playoff games started (40)
• Playoff wins (30)
• Playoff touchdown passes (73)
• Playoff passing yards (11,179)
• Super Bowl appearances (9)
• Super Bowl wins (6)
• Super Bowl MVPs (4)
• Super Bowl touchdown passes (18)
• Super Bowl passing yards (2,838)

His wife is the gorgeous, Brazilian supermodel, Gisele Bundchen. Tom has 3 healthy kids and a net worth of close to $200 million (much less than his wife’s estimated $380 million). By all accounts, Tom Brady has it all. And as such, he’s looked at as a god by many, a hero by even more.

The Truth…

Here’s the truth though (what we all truly know) and that is, Tom Brady isn’t Jesus Christ. He’s not a god, nor is he our God. Tom didn’t die for our sins, nor did he rise from the dead. Tom doesn’t heal the sick, perform miracles, nor give “true hope” to those in most desperate need. Instead, Jesus Christ, the most compelling figure in all of world history, did those things.

It’s not my intent here to pick on Tom Brady, who is arguably the best quarterback in NFL history (not easy to say as a lifelong Pittsburgh Steeler fan). For many, it might not be Tom Brady who they look to as a god. But as I indicated in last week’s blog on role models, false gods for others could be additional big-time athletes, actors, musicians, or models, leaders in business or otherwise, the wealthy, the prominent, politicians, or dignitaries.

There are two primary points to this blog:

1. There’s only one God, and none of us are Him, including none of the so-called gods or heroes listed above.
2. In understanding who God is and that He created us out of His love, the unimaginable is achievable…God made us for Greatness!!!

Questions for All of Us

Tom Brady is a really, really good quarterback. No debate over that. Here are the questions though…

• What are you really, really good at?
• What are your God-given talents, those different and better than anyone else’s?
• What’s your very specific purpose in this life?
• What are you absolutely passionate about?
• Where does your greatness lie?

Each and every one of us possesses all of these things (purpose, gifts, talents, passions), on a very unique basis, given to us individually by God, out of His love. If you read my blogs on a regular basis, the following may seem repetitive, but I strongly believe we can’t hear them often enough:

• God made each of us in His image.
• As part of His grand plan, with a specific purpose, special talents and gifts.
• God doesn’t make mistakes, doesn’t make junk…we all are “10s”.
• God wants you to be happy and fulfilled.
• God made you for Greatness!!!

Jesus is There to Help Each of Us

Without question, Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but that doesn’t make him a god, nor any better than you. Ask Jesus to help you find your greatness, what He wants for you…because here’s what we know….Jesus loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. He wants you to be happy; He wants you to be fulfilled. That said, you have to do your part.

Happy to help you on your journey, including any of the above. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].

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

Mark Joseph

Who are your role models? Who do you look up to? Who do you wish to emulate or even trade places with? Who are you enthused or excited by? Who is an encouragement to you?

I don’t know about you, but over my lifetime, my list of those who I’ve looked up to or wanted to emulate has changed. When I was young, the list included Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, and Jack Lambert (yes…I’m a Pittsburgh Steeler fan). As I got older and engaged in my business career, I endeavored to emulate business leaders, both local and national.

Most Look to the Rich and Famous

Although it’s always been the case where people would imagine living the lives of the rich and famous, I think that we’ve reached a level of absolute craziness. Whether it be big-time actors, athletes, musicians, or models, the wealthy, the prominent, politicians, or dignitaries, it seems that more and more of society is fixated on being someone else.

We live in a society where it’s not good enough to be who we are. The secular world tells us that to be happy, we need to achieve worldly success, which to most is defined by what I refer to as the 4 Ps…Prominence, Possessions, Pleasure, and People. We are influenced by what we see in the movies and on TV (including reality shows), in magazines, in blogs and videos, and on social media, that the way to be happy and fulfilled is through fame and fortune. And we buy into it. We look to the rich and the famous, believing that their lives are so much better than ours’.

The truth is that their lives aren’t. In fact, most often they have the same challenges we do (if not more so), often compounded by their wealth and prominence (believe it or not).

The Best Examples for Us

Can I make a suggestion? Let’s be looking to those who can really be great examples for us. How about people with courage, vision, persistence? How about those who exude love? And as opposed to the current day, let’s look to history.

As I’ve grown, I now look to those of virtue and valor to emulate. Picking from the 1800s and 1900s in US history, two that immediately come to mind are Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., both of whom had absolute courage of their convictions, fought tremendous odds, and ultimately made significant impacts. What great role models.

Our Savior and the Saints

From a faith perspective, the choice is rather obvious…our Savior and the Saints. Jesus Christ is the single most compelling figure in world history. Filled with:

• Love
• Faith
• Hope
• Charity
• Courage
• Compassion
• Fortitude

…there’s no one greater who we can aspire to be more like than our Lord and Savior.

In addition, we have great examples in the Saints, starting first with our Mother Mary, who was the first Disciple. Mary was clearly led by the Spirit, always saying “yes” to the will of God. Then there were Saints Peter and Paul. Denying our Lord and often being His biggest contrarian among the Apostles, Jesus chose Peter to build the Church.

Paul, formerly Saul, made it his early mission to kill Christians, prior to Jesus blinding him as he approached Damascus. Having experienced conversion, he was baptized. Paul then traveled extensively, by land and sea, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ to whoever would listen. Being beaten and thrown in prison didn’t stop him.

What About You?

Have you ever considered this…Peter and Paul sinned dramatically against our Lord. Yet Jesus picked them to lead others in making a significant impact on the Church and the world. What does that say about us, yes as sinners, and what our potential is?

Others to emulate include Saints Monica, Therese of Lisieux, and Teresa of Calcutta, or Saints Padre Pio, Maximillian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, and Mark the Evangelist (among many others). The lives of the Saints are fascinating, filled with excitement and accomplishment, peace, joy, and fulfillment.

We are all called to be Saints. We just need the right role models.

Please comment to me at [email protected].

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

Mark Joseph

If you’re an avid NFL fan, like my wife and me, there’s nothing like playoff time. Although we typically go out to dinner Saturday evenings, we switched to Friday this past weekend so that we could watch all four playoff games on Saturday and Sunday. It’s the best of the best in the AFC and NFC. Most often the games don’t fail to entertain, regardless of whether your team (we’re Pittsburgh Steeler fans) is playing or not. Not only are the games engaging, but so is the company…my wife and I have a great time watching the games together.

What is It for You?

Is your experience the same as ours’? For you it could be baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer or hockey, high school, college, or pro. Maybe it’s not sports, but theater, dance, opera, or concerts. Or something else. What are the things in your life that really entertain and engage you…that excite you such that you rearrange your schedule to do them?

How Does It Impact You?

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but many people look at athletes and performers as their heroes, as gods. Their play and the play of their teams often impacts the mood of many fans, sometimes going into the next day, lamenting or celebrating yesterday’s game at the office cooler or coffee maker with coworkers.

So many of fans, whether attending the game or watching it on TV, pray to the god of NFL football. They are so engaged, so enthused, so affirmed in the wins, and so dejected in the losses.

I’m not saying that I don’t share in some of the above. I do. I truly like watching the Steelers and the other NFL teams. Of all the sports at all the different levels, with the exception of watching our kids do their sports and activities back in their youth, I most enjoy NFL football as my primary source of entertainment. That said, it’s different since God is now #1 in my life.  

It’s Different for Me Now

I now understand that God made me for greatness and as such, I don’t need to look to others to affirm me or excite me. Conceiving of me thousands and thousands of years ago, God created me with a specific purpose, with special gifts and talents. He doesn’t make mistakes; He doesn’t make junk. I, like you, am a “10”. He made each of us in His image, as part of His grand plan…individually and as part of all of humanity. God loves you more than I’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. He wants you to be happy, to be fulfilled.

Since my conversion, a lot of things aren’t the same for me, including NFL football. I still watch it. I’m still entertained by it. But my life isn’t consumed by it. I don’t get out of it what I once did. Believe it or not, I now understand that there’s more to life than pro football.

Knowing who I am in Christ, I don’t need to look to the NFL or anything else with envy or to be affirmed. Neither games nor events make or break my days. I recognize that those star athletes and performers are all just people too, suffering with the same things as each one of us.

It’s knowing God’s unconditional love that has changed everything for me, now understanding that with it, the unimaginable is achievable. I now know that there is a path to peace, joy, and fulfillment and that God made each of us for GREATNESS, not based on what our favorite team does, but what He (God) does through us. Praise God….what a life!!!

Please comment to me at [email protected].

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

Mark Joseph