Tag: Conflict

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Weekly Blog

Do You Ever Feel All Alone?

Have you ever felt like you’re running the race of life alone? You may be surrounded by lots of people every day. Or maybe you’re lucky enough to have several good friends. But still, you feel alone. You feel isolated, unable to turn to anyone who truly understands what you’re experiencing.

Yea, I hear you…because I’ve been there.

Not long ago, I read a study that indicated that 50% of adults complain of loneliness. Can you imagine the numbers for teens and young adults? Some observations. First, with social media, our smart devices, the internet, and other technology, while we’ve never been more connected, we’ve never been more isolated. Statistically speaking, people have fewer friends today than decades ago.

When things get challenging, we often are most isolated, doing it to ourselves. That was true for me. I was surrounded by all kinds of people, but felt all alone. I was an island unto myself, not sharing with anyone what was really going on. I remember after the fact, talking to an old buddy, explaining what occurred during my tragic times. He apologized for not being in touch, to which I responded that it probably wouldn’t have mattered in that I wasn’t really willing to communicate the real truth to anyone.

Sharing our true feelings, our challenges, our “secrets”, takes vulnerability, which leads to trust, the foundations to authentic relationship. You know…we’re not meant to go through life alone. We’re meant for community. We’re meant for relationship. With the exception of my wife, where that vulnerability and trust exist, the only place I’ve been able to find it is in my men’s group, where I get tother with the same 3 guys every week to learn more about our faith and grow in fellowship…sharing real life. I’d encourage you to find or start a small group. For ideas, visit https://steubenvilleconferences.com/discipleship-quads/.

There’s another way I’ve found authentic relationship. Can you guess who or what it is? Can you say JESUS? In John 15:15-16, Jesus tells us “I have called you friends…it was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you”.

Jesus wants to be your friend and is there for you. That may sound strange for some, but it’s true. It’s been true for me for the last 15 years. Fortunately, by God’s grace, I learned some critical things that allowed me to leave the loneliness, now being surrounded by the best people I ever have, including JESUS.

If you’d like to make the same transition in your life, I have a message for you today. It’s never too late to become the person God made you to be.  I invite you to attend this free webinar to see how you can accomplish the same things for your life. It starts here.

 

REGISTER NOW

 

As always, feel free to contact me at [email protected] with comments, questions, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests.

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

Remember: God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Mark Joseph

 

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Weekly Blog

Who Do You Rely On?

Who do you rely on? Think about that. Who do you need to rely on? The individuals. The institutions or organizations. What would you do if those who you need weren’t there? What would be the impact on your life?

For kids, the obvious answer is their parents. From toddler to young adult, kids rely on Mom and Dad (unfortunately many only have one). As adults, we rely on one another. For those of us married, your spouse is your partner in life. Your young adult children are often still reliant on you, maybe emotionally, sometimes even financially. The elderly rely on others, including family, for their health and wellbeing. Friends need friends. We need one another.

It goes beyond family and friends. Have you ever considered what and who it takes to get food on your table, supplies to your house, or clothes on your body? The supply chain extends from the raw materials, including our farmers, to manufacturing, distribution, transportation, etc. Add to the above our reliance on government, our employers, institutions, organizations, and more.

All of the above is critically important. We couldn’t survive without others. And although I don’t want to minimize our physical needs, here’s the thing…when it comes down to it, who do you rely on more than anyone else? If you’re like most, it’s those who love you the most…that’s who you rely on. So, the question becomes “who loves you the most”? To many of us, the answer is clear…JESUS CHRIST.

God our Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, love us more than we’ll ever know, no matter what we’ve ever done. That love is so great that God gave us His only begotten Son. That love is so strong, that Jesus Christ subjected Himself to His tortuous passion, ending in His execution by painful Crucifixion.

Here’s a visual for you. While Jesus hung on the Cross, every single face in human history…past, present, and future, flashed in front of His, where Jesus met each of us, the sinners He died for, eye to eye. If any one of us were the last person on earth, He would still have died that same tortuous death on the Cross…just for you. There is no greater love.

Here in Holy Week, as we enter the Triduum (from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday), I’d suggest that more than anything or anyone, we need to rely on Jesus. There’s a lot to that…too much to discuss here in the 600 words I allow myself. That said, I can direct you to where it all begins, that is in understanding and internalizing the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. There’s no better time to do that than during Holy Week. Here are some suggestions:

  • Watch The Passion of the Christ, produced by Mel Gibson, with Jim Caviezel as Jesus
  • Read about Jesus’ Passion in one of the Gospels:
    • Matthew 26:30–27:66
    • Mark 14:26–15:47
    • Luke 22:39–23:56
    • John 18:1–19:42
  • Read the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32

I’d suggest doing each, maybe during different days of the Triduum…taking each to prayer. Here’s where my journey has brought me. In understanding the unconditional love of Jesus Christ, I now know that the unimaginable achievable, we can live Heaven here on earth, and there is a distinct path to peace, joy, and fulfillment. Who wouldn’t want to rely on that? Or He who gives us that?

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with comments, questions, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests.

My prayer is that you truly feel the love of Christ during this Holy Week!!! Happy Easter!!!

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

Remember…God made you for Greatness!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Why Do You Second Guess Yourself? 

Why are you unsure of some of your decision? You second guess yourself. You sometimes even beat yourself up over a decision. Why? What’s up with that? 

There are two reasons why the above occurs. One is from our past. While that may imply that there’s nothing to do about it, that’s not the case. The other we can have control over as soon as today. 

The first, first. Not sure if you’re aware of it, but you most probably experienced conditional love when growing up. If you’re like most, you grew to believe that you have to earn the love of others. I like to say, “the more or better you perform, the more love you perceive that you receive”. Make sense? Can you think of an example in your life?

Although I know it occurred throughout my youth and adolescent years, it was really punctuated my senior year of high school, when I played football for our championship team. I can’t imagine how players feel on the collegian or pro level, given my experience as a 17-yearold. My fellow players and me were made to feel like gods…being celebrated on and off the field, individually and collectively. That senior year, I really internalized this…the more praise I got, the more I felt loved. Think about it in your own life. It’s:

  • Not done intentionally
  • Not done with malice
  • Just what happens

My brothers and I couldn’t have had a better upbringing. Yet I walked away from my youth believing for me to be loved and accepted, I needed to perform, to win.

The reality is that we all want to be loved…we want to be accepted. That being the case, as indicated above, we act in ways such that people will affirm us. That includes our decisions. If we don’t receive that affirmation, we second guess ourselves. We may even beat ourselves up. Unfortunately, there’s not the space here to understand how to overcome this. As such, we’d suggest you watch the free webinar we’ll be doing next month. There you’ll get the answer. Promise. More info to follow. 

The second reason why we second guess ourselves is in how we arrive at decisions. I’d suggest that taking such things to prayer changes everything. What? How? Here you go. Try this. It works. 

  • Identify to God whatever is on your heart that day…whatever the issue you’re dealing with or decision you need to make. It could be a current or long-term challenge. It’s your choice. God is interested in whatever you bring to Him. 
  • Detail the situation to God. What is the challenge or opportunity? What are your ideas to address or resolve it? What do you see as the pros and cons to your ideas? Talk through every aspect of the situation with God. 
  • Then just sit in silence, listening for the voice of God to speak to your heart. Be patient. Wait on Him. See what comes to you.
  • Journal as much of the above as you would like, especially how you believe God is speaking to you. 

You want to be sure of your decisions? Take your issues to prayer. Talk to our Lord about them. 

As always, please contact me at [email protected] with comments, questions, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests. 

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

Remember…God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Categories
Weekly Blog

Week #9 – Forgiving and Healing

This is the 9th of our 14-week program, where we provide Lesson #9, Forgiving and Healing. It’s interesting…no matter who I talk to, it seems this is a critical part to their journey. Some questions to consider as we kick this lesson off:

  • What is eating at you? What bothers you on a regular basis?
  • Are there things that you regret that took place in your life? By you? By someone else?
  • What feelings do these circumstances create within you?

In past lessons, we’ve discussed how tragedies occur in our lives, a universal truth. We also talked about how we’re sometimes hurt by others. Both create wounds.

An important part of our spiritual journey is healing from those wounds. Often much easier said than done, it takes time. And although it’s said that time heals all wounds, I needed to bring intentionality to it…it wasn’t going to happen on its own.

My Experience of Forgiving

My experience would indicate that healing has much to do with forgiving. Interestingly, for me to forgive others, I first needed to forgive myself. WHAT? Yea, for me to forgive other people, I first needed to go through the process, albeit painful, of forgiving myself. Once I did, I was able to own up to my role in the circumstances, not gratuitously but substantively. With that “power”, from a position of strength, I could now genuinely forgive.

BTW, forgiving doesn’t mean condoning the behavior of others. Although we are called to be charitable and compassionate, we can’t own others’ faults and failings. We can find in Scripture why we are called to forgive, which we’ll discuss in this Friday’s video.

Photo by Norbert Kundrak from Pexels

Sometimes It’s Not Our Fault

Be clear, I am aware that some tragedies, some hurts are NO fault of ours’. Although reflection of self is always part of the process, healing from these things involves additional principles. Sorry, but we unfortunately don’t have the time here to discuss the healing required for “no fault” healing. If you’d like more information, please reach out to me.

The truth is….there is no way to live a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment without healing from the wounds created from our tragedies and hurts.

Suggested Actions

How do we heal from our wounds? How do we forgive?

  • Think about doing the following things:
    • Bringing someone along side you, i.e. therapist, Priest or other Religious, mentor, friend (very much helps if the person has experience and can be objective)
    • Spending dedicated time thinking/praying:
      • Look at it from the other person’s perspective
      • Try to find the positive in what transpired, including lessons learned
  • During your morning prayer routine this week:
    • Try to be in a place of gratitude, thanking God for everything that’s taken place in your life. What positive thing from that tragedy would not be present in your life today?
  • Watch this Friday’s video on this same subject….it will be emailed to you.

Please join us next Wednesday for Week #10 when we talk about our Becoming the Best Possible You. As always, please feel free to get to me with questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected].

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

Mark Joseph

 

Week #1 – Being Overwhelmed
Week #2 – Earning the love of others
Week #3 – Lack of self-love
Week #4 – Fear
Week #5 – False gods, False happiness
Week #6 – Life’s Tragedies
Week #7 – Wounds, Resentments

Week #8 – Discovering God’s Love
Week #9 – Forgiveness and healing
Week #10 – Becoming the best Possible You
Week #11 – Path to Peace
Week #12 – Finding your Purpose
Week #13 – You were made for Greatness
Week #14 – True Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment