Mark Gilroy

Bringing Books to Life!

Can You Transform Your Life From the Outside-In?

What happens when a homeless vet meets a hair stylist? And what does that have to do with personal transformation? Watch and you will be amazed.

Some would argue that true transformation only happens inside of us – it’s a matter of the heart. Others point to the outside and argue that if you change a person’s external circumstances that person has a much better opportunity to become a new person from the inside out.

I am a firm believer that there is a God who created the world and who is the giver of all gifts, including faith and the ability for us to make decisions that change us for the better or the worse. We are designed to be active participants in who we are and the person we are becoming.

For that reason, my answer on whether life is transformed from the inside or the outside is YES.  [Read more…]

The Secret to Getting Rich Fast

If you want to get rich fast, there are habits you must cultivate, but most of all, knowing what wealth means to you.If you want to get rich fast –

  • rework your budget and cut out some extras and immediately grow richer in your ability to save and invest.
  • invite new neighbors to your house for dinner and immediately grow richer in hospitality.
  • read a great book and immediately grow richer in knowledge.
  • introduce your child to a new hobby you can work on together and grow richer as a parent.
  • find a way each day this next week to practice a random act of kindness and grow richer in kindness.
  • write a check to a ministry or charity you believe in and grow richer in generosity.
  • think of a friend who is going through a tough time, write him or her a heartfelt note to say how much you believe in them, and grow richer in encouragement.
  • forgive someone who wronged you and immediately grow richer in grace.
  • volunteer to help at a homeless shelter and immediately grow richer in compassion.
  • make a list of as many of your blessings as you can think of and grow richer in gratitude.
  • spend time in prayer and immediately grow richer in your relationship with God.
We usually think of getting rich fast as getting more money. Cultivate the right habits and that just might happen. But the first step in growing rich is knowing what matters most to you. Then you can pursue dreams and riches that reflect your values.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
– Jesus (Matthew 6:21, NIV)
What do you value most? How can you get started getting rich fast?

We Need Daily Grace

A Year of Devotions to Draw You Near to the Heart of God

The new Fall River edition of Daybook of Grace

I wrote and compiled most of A Daybook of Grace a couple years ago and “packaged” it for Fall River Press (an imprint of Sterling Publishing, owned by Barnes & Noble) as part of their exclusive in-store value line. After three years in the market, the publishing team at Falls River recently updated and upgraded it with an exquisite new cover for the trade. (Thanks Stefan and Betsy.)

This project will always be near and dear to my heart for a couple of reasons. Of course I like (and really need) a daily devotional book to help me focus spiritually and emotionally each morning. I also like the title and the theme of daily grace. There are certainly some mad-dash sprints in life, but overall it is a marathon that takes daily endurance.

But what really makes the project special to me is how many problems I had during the process of preparing it for publication. I can’t go into details, but one of my vendors had a personal crisis that spilled over into the development and timeline, which meant unplanned late night and early morning writing sessions, and a couple rounds of re-budgeting. (What I dealt with paled in comparison to what my friend had to go through.)

My wife likes to remind me that when strange, idiopathic challenges arise, “something good is about to happen.” And as Daybook went to press that was indeed the case. The new release is another good thing to happen. It is even better that it happened a couple years later – that means the book has done well.

Daybook of Grace is my lovely reminder that grace really is a daily need and blessing.

Daybook of Grace is available at all Barnes and Noble stores and B&N.com, Amazon.com, and other fine booksellers.