Tag: Greatness

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When It Gets Tough

When things are going well, it’s easy. Many don’t believe they need anything or anybody. Including committed Christians, people think things are good when things are good. If you’re like me, you believe everything happens for a reason, according to God’s grand plan. It’s easy to have that outlook when things are going well.

All that sounds great, but how do you fare during the tough times? What happens when things get challenging? It could be something at work. A health issue…with yourself or someone you love. Maybe even a relationship problem. What’s your outlook in those tough times?

Challenges can be viewed as more global things as well. One example is what’s going on in our country. It’s difficult to see the dramatic increase in violent crime, significantly rising prices, and small businesses struggling. Add to these all the conflicting messaging about COVID, threats to our civil liberties (including religious freedom) lawlessness going unchecked, illegal drugs coming across our boarder, mass censorship, and politicians on both sides of the isle who are complicit. If it weren’t so sad and alarming, it would be laughable, i.e., the new belief by some that men can get pregnant.

What’s God’s plan in the above? I’m not sure and I can’t wait to ask our Lord one day, along with many other things. I do have a couple thoughts. When as a society we have so dramatically stopped living the Christian life, is this what happens? It seems that truth no longer has meaning…is this what we get? Is God sending us a message?

An observation…when 9/11 occurred, Christians flocked to Church. Catholics were lined up to go to confession. Studies showed that statistically speaking, people prayed more and more people prayed. I know in my own life, experiencing tragedy is what brought me to my encounter with Jesus Christ…that which changed my life forever.

A Personal Issue

Or there are those personal things. I’ve had a health issue of late. Nothing too traumatic, my wife and I are concerned about where my symptoms may be leading. Over the last several months, I’ve developed a constant tightness in my hands, with occasional cramping. Although I can certainly live with the current situation, it continues to get worse. Not painful, it is affecting my grip. I’m still able to exercise daily, but I feel it. For the first time, it was bothersome when on my computer the other day. Still pursuing a diagnosis, the medical community hasn’t been able to figure it out. 

I’m sure there are others with much bigger issues than mine. In fact, I personally know several. For all of us…”why”? How are these trials, health related or otherwise, part of God’s grand plan? Remember, I’m one of those people who believe everything happens for a reason. 

Living a Life of Gratitude

You know my story and the tragedy I’ve endured. I am thankful for all of it because I know I wouldn’t’ be who I am today without experiencing those things. I live in a place of gratitude. My version of “gratitude” is believing that all things happen for a reason. I believe that for all things, the big and small, i.e., my hands. 

Jesus died a torturous death (for our sins). Given that He, our Savior, suffered tragedy, we shouldn’t expect otherwise. We’re told in Scripture that life will provide us with challenges. It won’t be easy. It’s not easy. 

Here’s what I know. Life, with its ups and downs, is better with God than without Him. I would encourage all of us to stay close to our Lord. Be prayerful. Go to Church. Maintain good, supporting relationships. Continue to discern the reasons why things happen in your life, whatever the impact. Use all to help you be a better version of yourself, for the glory of God…as difficult as that can be at times. I’ve said it before, “God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done”.  

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

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

God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

What’s Your Deepest Desire?

What is your deepest desire? What do you want more than anything in your life? What disappoints you tremendously when you don’t experience it? And provides you with great joy when you do?

In doing a quick internet search, several sermons came up, with all indicating something like….”the deepest longing of the human heart is to know and enjoy the glory of God”. I humbly disagree…with a twist.

Think about this. What is it that you truly want more than anything in the world? {Drum roll please ?} That thing which we all universally want, more than anything, is to be loved and accepted…genuinely for “who” we are, not what we “do”. We want to be chosen, to be desired.  We want to feel special, to be affirmed. We want to be loved unconditionally, accepted for the people we truly are. No pretending. No facade. Just for our authentic selves.

The above is true, as reflected in studies and surveys. We want nothing more than to be unconditionally loved and accepted. From an authentic, personal, and emotional level, we want that love and acceptance from those in our lives…our parents, siblings, and spouses, our children, other relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Here’s the bad news…we’ll never get it…not unconditionally and not consistently. Conflicts will occur. Challenges will happen. Life is messy and we’re human. We’re imperfect sinners. As such, we can’t possibly provide one another regularly with what we so deeply desire.

 

Our Failed Attempts

I refer to the 4 Ps as prominence, possessions, pleasure, and people. With the last of the four not being able to satisfy as indicated above, we go to the first three. But as Johnny Lee sings, we are “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places”. The fact is that none of these things will ever satisfy us, never fill the God sized hole in the center of our chests.

I said above, “I humbly disagree…with a twist”. My disagreement is that I don’t believe we care where that unconditional love comes from. We just want it. As it occurs (here’s the twist), the ONLY place it can come from is God. In my view, consistent with the sermons sited above, the ONLY thing that will satisfy your deepest desire is you understanding and internalizing the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.

God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. You’ve been chosen by God. Made in His image and likeness, you’re a beloved child of God, who loves you unconditionally. He made you with special and unique gifts and talents. God put you on this earth with a purpose. God loves you and made you for greatness. Know that truth and live a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment!!!

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

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

God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Mark Joseph

 

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Weekly Blog

Planning for a Life with Purpose

It is said that most people spend more time planning a two-week vacation than they do their lives. There’s evidence that many are additionally challenged with managing the “plan”, even if having established one. Does any of this resonate with you? If so, you’re not alone. And remember this…it’s never too late to start being (or enhancing) the person you want to be, the person God is calling you to be.

We started this series by talking about your life’s experiences (lifeline), which led to your “why”. Both play an important role in your life plan (last week’s blog), which would hopefully include God’s purpose for your life. Here we talk about how to incorporate your life plan into day-to-day life.

In knowing my material, it won’t surprise you that I suggest taking the planning process to prayer. Just prior to your planning for the month, week, and day, you could say something like,

“Dear Lord, please be with me as I move through my life. Help me to recognize, prioritize, and accomplish all that you want for me and from me. Help me to continue to understand that it is not me, but You working through me in all things. Therefore, help me to do my best, then surrendering all over to You”.

Monthly Planning

To do your Monthly Plan, you’ll want to reference your Life Plan, as well as your previous monthly plans. Asking God to put the right things on your mind, record on one of the pages in your Planner your personal goals, projects, and To Do’s. All the above things apply for your professional life too.

Note – although not everyone has a job outside his/her home, there are typically things that fall into the “personal” category and others that could be referred to as “work” or “professional”. The point is that this system can be used by everyone.

Weekly Planning

For the weekly plan, I’d suggest identifying:

  • Phone calls to be made
  • Emails to be sent
  • To Do’s
  • Projects
  • Goals
  • To Do’s
  • “Waiting On”

Daily Planning

What I do first thing in the morning or the evening before, is to identify those things from the Weekly Plan that I want to get done that particular day.

 

Execution of Your Plan

As I am moving through my day, achieving the things I’ve identified, I mark them down, with a “+” if I’m waiting on something or a double checkmark when completed in total.

Prayer, Planning, and Solitude – to be done at the end of your day, week, and month.

  • Daily
    • Review what you’ve accomplished, making sure all notes and tasks are updated.
    • Set your priorities for the next day, identifying them as described above
  • Weekly
    • Construct your weekly calendar, moving forward whatever you didn’t achieve from the last week.
    • Anything that you are waiting on will go to the “Waiting On” list.
  • Monthly – referencing your Life Plan and last month’s Plan, you assess what you’ve accomplished or not and what you want to keep on the plan or not. You of course can be adding things. It will help to reference your weekly plans as well.

I hope all this was helpful. As my dear old Dad used to say, “plan your work and work your plan”. It’s worked for me. I’m confident it can work for you.

God made you for Greatness. Hopefully these last four weeks, starting with:

  • Your lifeline
  • Then moving to your “why”
  • Followed by how to do your life plan
  • And now how to plan and execute

…help you to find and maximize the Greatness God wants for you.

If you’d like more detailed documents on these processes, please email be at the address below and we’ll send them to you.

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

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

God made you for GREATNESS!!!

Mark Joseph

Categories
Weekly Blog

What’s Your Life Plan?

In the last couple weeks, we’ve discussed your life’s experiences (lifeline) and how to discern your “why”, that which gets you up in the morning, what motivates you on a daily basis. Those things are foundational to helping you develop a plan for your life and manage it to success, subjects of this blog and next week’s.All of this speaks to the unique God given gifts you have, coupled with your special purpose on this earth…all for God’s glory and the only way to bring you true peace, joy, and fulfillment. To that end, let’s get started.Like with anything, I would suggest that you take your life planning process to prayer. Like with any goal, it helps to understand where you want to finish. For purposes of a life plan, it also makes sense to understand how you want to be remembered. Finally, in understanding where you are currently, you can identify the steps you need to take to reach your long-term goals.Steps for your Life Plan include:

  • Identifying those you want to leave an impact on; then describing that impact over the course of your life and theirs’.
  • Identifying the priority areas in your life, including the people who are priorities
    1. Identify the goal…what you want the future to be
    2. Detail the current situation
    3. Discern and detail the steps to go from the current situation to your goal
  • Revisiting of the Life Plan

Example from Mark
Identifying those you want to leave an impact on; then describing that impact
My list includes the following:

  • God (my Faith life)
  • Cyndi (my wife)
  • Danielle, Tricia, Robert (our kids)
  • Kids’ Spouses and Grandchildren
  • My Parents and Brothers, their Spouses and Kids
  • Colleagues and Associates, including Volunteer Organizations
  • Friends and Acquaintances
  • Parish Community and the Broader Catholic Church

Picking from one of the above, a sample from my Life Plan is:
 

  • Colleagues and Associates, including Volunteer Organizations    
    • I want my colleagues and associates to remember me as a strong and compassionate leader, who loved them more than the cause or the organization. I want them to have known me as their brother in Christ, someone who lives his faith, always puts God first, and exudes the love of Christ. I pray that they remember me as always helping them be a better version of themselves, helping them internalize God’s unconditional love, with it being my desire to love them into loving themselves, having a healthy self-love, and realizing that they were each made for greatness, thereby living lives of peace, joy, and fulfillment. I hope that what I’ve done in my life serves as an example to them, living out Jesus’ Great Commandments…to love God, love our neighbors, and Great Commission, to make disciples; and how these things combined with finding my life’s purpose, gave me great peace, joy, and fulfillment. Finally, I hope that they view our work together as significant and impactful, helping people feel the love of Christ and sharing that love with others, being disciples and making disciples, ultimately revitalizing and reenergizing the Church.

Identifying the priority areas in your life
The priorities I’ve established for my Life Plan include:

  • God
  • Cyndi
  • Health (Self)
    1. Physical
    2. Intellectual and Emotional
  • Kids – D, T, RJ, and their families
  • Ministry/Career
  • Family and Friends
  • Finances

As indicated above, the steps include:

  • Identifying the goal
  • Understanding your current status
  • Discerning the steps to go from current to goal

An example from my Life Plan is the following:

  • Physical Health

Long-Term Objective:
To be the healthiest and most energetic possible version of me, allowing for the great and impactful life that God has planned for me. Detailed Desired Outlook:I am 177-179 pounds, in great cardio shape, and have very good muscular tone, working out 6 days per week (3 cardio, 3 weights/bike), always endeavoring to improve. I eat in moderation, a very healthy diet, 99% of the time. I don’t drink, smoke, or take any drugs. Under the guidance of my health coach and wife, I take supplements and engage in homeopathic remedies. I am highly energized throughout the day and sleep well at night. Knowing how to relax and being at peace, my stress level is low. I have a zest for life and love my wife.Current Situation:

  • I exercise at least 5 days per week. I eat healthy most of the time as well, although I sometimes eat too much. I have room to improve on both.
  • I have a chronic sleeping problem, waking up 2-4 times each night, sometimes not able to get back to sleep.

Steps:

  • Exercise 6x/week, building on past success, getting stronger and in better cardio shape
  • Eat in better moderation; continue very healthy diet and regiment of supplements
  • Investigate ways to sleep better

Revisiting of the Life Plan
My suggestion is the following:

  • Quarterly Review – that you revisit your Life Plan quarterly, reviewing it to remind yourself of what it includes, then having it be reflected in your Monthly Plans.
  • Annual Study – that you take additional time, more than a review, to study and amend your Life Plan. Make it a working document, updating it and dating those updates as you go, so that you can track how the Lord is working in your life.

As always, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with questions, comments, concerns, challenges, or prayer requests.God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!
God made you for GREATNESS!!!

 

Mark Joesph