Beginning Well: 7 Spiritual Practices for the First Year of Almost Anything

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(as of Dec 15, 2025 02:35:49 UTC – Details)

Are you starting a new job, retiring, getting married, expanding your family, or making any significant change in your life?

The first year of almost anything new can be both a blessing and a challenge. In Beginning Well, Joel Stepanek, vice president of parish services at Life Teen International, shows how being shaken out of your routine when you start something new can free you to become a better Christian. He offers seven spiritual practices to get you through transitions and help you lay a strong foundation for true happiness.

Stepanek has worked in pastoral ministry and organizational development for more than fifteen years; he understands that life’s transitions are important to spiritual and emotional well-being and provide the chance to see Christ in places you may not have thought to look before. Stepanek will help you refine your thoughts and behavior to more closely align your life to the Gospel as you grow through your first year of almost anything.

In Beginning Well, you will learn how to

let go of what you left;use what you’ve already learned;ask, listen, watch, and learn;create routines and rituals to help bridge the old and the new;pause and assess;find a good mentor; andseek and embrace joy.

Stepanek draws on his experience, personal faith, biblical narrative, and Catholic tradition to show you how to grow and thrive as you begin your next big thing.

From the Publisher

Some beginnings stick with us in memory.

We begin when we decide to go on that diet, start a new job, get sober, go back to school, or walk away from an unhealthy relationship. Sometimes beginnings aren’t our choice but rather the result of circumstances beyond our control. We have a new beginning when we bury a loved one or when we lose our jobs.

Regardless of how they come about, our beginnings present opportunities to transform us for better or for worse. What that change looks like is determined by how we embrace and navigate them. If we lean into our beginnings and recognize the ways God is present in every moment, journeying with us, we can be transformed emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

This book is meant for anyone who is beginning something. Beginnings can be overwhelming, and my goal in each chapter is simplicity so you can grab hold of each concept and apply it to your particular circumstance.

—Joel Stepanek

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ave Maria Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 11, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1646801350
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1646801350
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.96 x 0.47 x 6.93 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #1,949,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12,307 in Christian Personal Growth #12,918 in Catholicism (Books)
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