Tag: Hope

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Three Coronavirus Takeaways

None of us could have imagined just a month ago what life is like now. As of this post, my wife and I have not left the house for 10 days, with very few and abbreviated exceptions (keeping our social distance). Fortunately, we both can work from home, unlike millions who are losing their jobs. Businesses are struggling, with many at risk of not making it. All events are canceled, including Church services. With schools closing, kids are at home, putting additional stress on working parents. It’s crazy. The ripple effect is tremendous.

Our elderly and the frail are most vulnerable. While cases of Coronavirus continue to rise, the death rate is still very low. Nonetheless people are very scared. Many are in a panic, with hoarding continuing to take place. With the economy going off the cliff, our government is preparing to spend trillions of dollars, with no guarantee that it’s going to work.

Where are we? What’s happening?

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

No, this isn’t a political blog. Instead I wanted to comment on the human dynamics at play.

I think there are three primary things that have people so shaken:

  1. Lack of knowledge as to what we’re truly facing
  2. The fear that most people have most of their lives (even without a pandemic)
  3. General decline of faith in America.

Let’s look at each individually.

Lack of Knowledge

In my book, I identify the things that we most fear in life. Among the top six is the “unknown”. People fear what they don’t know and what they don’t understand. We’ve all heard that knowledge is power. While that is very true in the affirmative, it can be paralyzing in the negative.

Although the news channels are full of Coronavirus 24/7, no one has definitive answers. There are so many unknowns, including how long we’re going to have to endure this.

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

Fear

In addition to the unknown, people most fear ridicule and rejection, conflict or confrontation, being alone (loneliness), and failure. It would be my guess that among these in relation to Coronavirus, the fears include the unknown, potential conflict, and loneliness. I would assume you could add to that “pain” and “death”.

It says 365 times in the Bible some derivative of “be not afraid”. God clearly doesn’t want us to live in fear. Fear, doubt, and division are of Satan, not God who loves each of us more than we’ll ever know, no matter what we’ve ever done.

I’m well aware that knowing the above (or just hearing it for the first time), in of itself, doesn’t eliminate the fear. But know…God doesn’t want us to live in fear.

Lack of Faith

The numbers are staggering. Over the last several decades, while the US population has increased dramatically, the percentage of Catholics has gone from 24% to 20%. If the current trends continue, that number will be 17-18% soon. The same decline applies to the non-Catholic Christian community.

Those who have made the decision or had their conversion, which is a function of knowing the love of Christ, would never go back to their past lives. Not only are those who have come to this place engaged in their faith, including being active in their Churches, but they’re passionate about sharing the love of Christ with others.

If more people knew the love of Christ, our Church wouldn’t be decreasing in size.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Use Your God Given Gifts

God gave you a specific purpose for your life. He provided you with unique gifts and talents. We are called to use those gifts, doing our very best in all circumstances, not only for ourselves, but in helping others as well.

In circumstances like these, we need to make sure we understand the facts and make good decisions. If we need clarity, we should seek it as opposed to speculating or relying on bad sources of information. Taking all to prayer will do nothing but help immensely.

Lastly, we need not live in fear. We have a God who not only loves us, but who we can rely on for all. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t make our best efforts, doing all that we can to protect ourselves from danger. That said, God will provide!!!

So…do your best, fear not, and trust in the Lord. Know of my prayers for you, your families, and our country.

As always, please get to me with any questions, comments, or challenges at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph

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Where’d You Come From?

Did you ever wonder where you came from? Where your roots are? Who your ancestors are or what their lives were like?

My wife and I just spent 10 days in Ireland, visiting towns like Kinsale, Killarney, Dingle, Doolin, Galway, Spiddal, and Ennis. We saw things like the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, and the Cliffs of Moher. Instead of hotels, we stayed in Bed and Breakfasts, mostly out in the country, where the views were second only to the hospitality, including the traditional Irish breakfast.

You’ve heard the expression, “when in Rome….” Well….when in Ireland, we ate more fried food, especially fish and chips, than you can imagine. It’s amazing how good it is when it’s fresh caught fish and hand cut fries. The fish chowder was excellent as well. In addition, the restaurants we went to for dinner, where we had specially prepared fresh catch fish dishes, were wonderful, each more so than the last.

Lastly, although never going to bars back home, we made it a habit to go hear live Irish music at the local pubs on several nights. We became quite fond of Irish coffee, Irish Whiskey included.

     
 

Finding Your Roots

As great as the sites and the food, it was equally enjoyable trying to figure out our roots, tracing them back to parts of Ireland. As it turns out, my wife’s great, great grandmother was a Quinn. My mother’s maiden name is Logan. From what we could determine, the Logans came from Derry. It will be interesting to compare that against what my Aunt Gen found in constructing our family tree years ago.

Many, many of us in the US (and many parts of the world), due to long-time immigration, are now a combination of nationalities. My brothers and I are Lebanese, German, and Hungarian, in addition to being Irish. Our kids can add to that list being English.

While all the above can give us some context, it doesn’t inform us as to who we are.

So we all come from different places, with different foods, cultures, climates, and customs. That said, we have incredible commonalities:

  • While no two of us are identical, our anatomies are consistent, female and male
  • Our basic needs are the same…food, clothing, shelter
  • We all have dreams and desires, talents and gifts, each wired differently than the other

Your Real Identity

What makes us most alike and most unique is not where we are from, but how we were created and who created us. It was God our Father who conceived of us thousands of years ago, making each of us very uniquely and with our own individual gifts and talents. He put each one of us on this earth for a very specific purpose, to do great things. God made us (you) for Greatness!!!

While it’s neat to see where you came from, who your ancestors were, what the culture and customs were like, what’s most important is who you are, what your identity is:

  • You are a child of God, loved unconditionally
  • As exemplified by His Son’s death on the Cross
  • Through Jesus’ resurrection, you are made to live in His glory.

Remember….it’s not where you’re from (although that’s neat to know), but who you are that really matters. You’re a child of God, made for Greatness!!!

Please get to me with questions or comments at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com.

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

Mark Joseph

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What If You Knew the Truth

What if you knew the truth….how would it change your life? 

Did you ever think to yourself, “if I could only do this” or “if I could only do that”? Or how about, “if I were only better at….” You believe that if you were better at something or had a different skill set, your life would be better. 

In addition to the above, you think, “if I could only have ‘X’, I would be happy”. If truthful, most often you’re thinking of ‘X’ as prominence, possessions, or pleasure. 

We’re constantly searching for and trying to do all of the things that we think are going to make us happy. 

What I Thought Would Make Me Happy

The above was true for me for the longest time. It was all about the prominence, possessions, and pleasure. Those were the things that I thought were going to make me happy. Those were the things that were going to prove to other people my success, my place in this world…which would contribute to my happiness. 

I worked endless hours. I pushed and pushed and pushed related to my career. And I bought a bunch of really nice, cool stuff. 

Guess what…none of it made me happy. 

Then I Learned the Truth

Then I learned the truth…something that changed my life forever. Did you know that…

  • You have a God who loves you unconditionally
  • Who gave His only begotten Son to die a torturous death for your sins
  • Who (Jesus) rose from the dead so you can live in His glory
  • God conceived of you thousands of years ago
  • He made you in His image and likeness, individually and as part of all of humanity
  • God made you with special gifts and talents
  • He made you with a specific purpose
  • He wants you to be happy and fulfilled
  • God made you for Greatness!!!

All of the above is true. And here’s what else is true…the only way we’re ever going to be happy is to understand our identity as a child of God, use our God given talents, fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives, and abiding in His will. That’s it…the ONLY way.  

It’s true, it’s Scriptural, as referenced below: 

  • Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations.”
  • Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
  • John 10:10 – I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.

God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. He made you a specific way and knows what is best for you. Embrace this truth and live a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment. 

As always, please get to me with questions or comments at Mark@MarkJosephMinistries.com. 

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

 

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Joy in the Midst of Overwhelming Challenges

Have you ever encountered people who are dealing with things that appear to be incredibly challenging and instead of being overwhelmed, they are joyful? It might be a disaster that they’re facing or the everyday drudgery of life. Regardless they always have smiles on their faces and in their hearts. You look at them and think to yourself, “I want some of that”.

I’ve certainly seen people like this in the U.S., but not nearly to the degree that I did during a recent experience I had in Haiti. I had the privilege of being on a mission trip with Life Teen, the largest Catholic youth ministry organization in the world. For a week, 16 of us from the U.S. lived on Life Teen’s Mission Base, in the Diocese of Anse-a- Veau et Miragoane.

Culture Shock

Having never gone camping in my life, the living conditions were tougher than anything that I had ever endured. Ten men slept in one room, with a concrete floor, and the occasional critter visiting. We slept with nets over us to protect us from mosquitos. We walked to another building to use the restroom, which was more like an outhouse. With no hot water, showers were very cold and very quick. We had electricity from 5-10PM daily, only because the base was fortunate enough to have a generator.

Here’s the thing, compared to how most Haitians live, we/I had nothing to complain about. Typical houses are incredibly small, maybe 2-3 rooms, with no plumbing (so no water supply, no showers, no toilets), no electricity, and no gas.

In Haiti, there is a total lack of infrastructure, the most glaring example of which is that there is no garbage collection. Something we take for granted in the U.S., no one picks up the trash and there’s nowhere to dispose of it, so it’s just everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Then given that there’s no electricity or gas, everything is cooked using open flame, the fuel of which is Haitian made charcoal. That charcoal creates a smell in the country that you encounter immediately upon exiting the airport and doesn’t depart from you until you leave the country. The odor was so strong that it overpowered any smell of garbage.

The poverty is so dramatic that it is overwhelming. I was literally in shock the first three days I was in Haiti, pondering how we possibly allow our fellow man to live like this. I saw things that I had never seen before, things that I just can’t erase from my eyes.

Simple but Joyfull

So with all that as a backdrop, I’ve never encountered more joy filled people in my life. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had big smiles on their faces and were super, super friendly. In addition, you ought to see how the Haitians worship our Lord.

As most of us have experienced, Churches in the U.S. are rather lethargic, with very few singing. In contrast, not only do the Haitians sing at the top of their lungs, but also dance to worship music. They are both exuberant and very reverent. It is incredible to experience.

In the midst of the extreme, awful poverty that they live in, why do you think the above is the way it is? My guess is twofold:

  • The Haitians don’t have near the distractions that we do. Life is simple and to many of them life is good, even in the midst of what they face daily.
  • The Haitians know the love of the Lord, the peace of Christ, in a way that many of us in the U.S. don’t. As such, they know what’s really important. They have peace and they have joy.

We live in a culture in the U.S. that loves things and uses people. I think we could learn a lesson from the Haitians in that we are called to use things and love people. Maybe then we could experience their joy.

My God Bless you on your journey of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

 

What do you think? Please share your comments with me at
mark@markjosephministries.com.

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