[Why I'm Not Joey Anymore]

Words are important. And so are names.

Your name is important because it shapes who you are and who you are becoming. Many people do not know the meaning of their own name and neither did I until several years ago. But I had a Godly man in my life share with me his vision statement for his life. And when I heard him speak it, I was invigorated with purpose. It made me realize that no small attribute about me was made by mistake. God is very purposeful with how He designs each of us and our name is arguably one of the most important factors that shapes our destiny and purpose in life. So I started looking at my name and figuring out what it means. This is what I discovered:

Joseph means God will Increase

Michael means Who is like God

Maloney means Consecrated to God

As I meditated on these things and realized that my name means that God will increase in my life I began to write a statement of purpose and vision for my life that began something like this “I am Joseph. I am a dreamer, a creator, and a true worshipper. As Joseph God’s promise to me is that He will increase in every area of my life: Hunger, Faith, Wisdom, Creativity, Leadership, Perspicaciousness..” It goes on, that’s just a taster! Anyways, I declare this over myself every morning looking in the mirror and I would advise you to consider doing so as well because it is Powerful and will change your life.

So, I was at a crossroads in my life transitioning from working for a church to pursuing medicine, and after a church service a guy named Michael came up to me and said “You are no longer Joey, you are now Joseph!”. In that moment I felt like I finally had license to go by my original name. I felt a significance of the moment almost of me going from a boy into a man or a stepping into the greater calling that God had for my life. As I thought more about it I realized that when people call me Joseph they are declaring God’s promise over my life and saying to me “GOD WILL INCREASE IN YOUR LIFE!”, every time someone calls me Joseph, that is what they are doing and I kinda like that!!! Because a Joey is a kangaroo that hops around in the Outback of Australia but a JOSEPH is a man with a promise over his life that God will bless him with abundance!

SO, I’m no longer going by Joey. Now I’m going by Joseph.

To those of you who have called me Joey for years and years and feel weird calling me Joseph, that is totally ok, you can still call me Joey if you want to. But know that I am Joseph, that’s always been my name and I am now stepping into the fullness of it. And I hope that every time you think about how weird it feels calling me Joseph instead of Joey, it makes you think about the significance of a name, more specifically the significance of YOUR name and you begin to discover what your name means and what people are declaring over you every time they say “Hey Sheila! (or insert name of person reading this right now)”

Thanks for reading this, God bless you. You matter. Your name matters. And the name of Jesus has authority over anxiety and depression :)

Let your love be strong,

Joseph