Day 176 – Thanksgiving or Thanks-Living?

November 23, 2015 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 1 Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 176 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Thanksgiving or Thanks-Living?

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 176 of our Trek, and yesterday we shared additional details about the Blessings of the First Thanksgiving. Today we want to explore the concept of Thanksgiving or Thanks-living to determine what the difference is. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This episode will air on Monday, and we are rapidly coming up on Thanksgiving this week. We still have much work and preparations that need to be completed before Thursday, but it is always such a special time of year. We have so much to be thankful for. We are thankful that we can once again celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends at The Big House. God has been gracious to allow us to be caretakers of this family heritage, and we are pleased that it can be shared by so many.

It is time to head out on our Trek for today. As we hike, we have time to remember all the blessings in our own lives, and we want to consider these two questions:

Do our lives only show thankfulness and gratitude during special times or seasons?
Do our lives reveal that thankfulness and gratitude are part of the very fabric of who we are?

Thanksgiving or Thanks-living

Our speech is a great revealer of what is in our hearts. It is from the abundance of the heart or mind that the mouth speaks. Jesus put it in these terms in Matthew 12:33-37, “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

You may be able to fake it for a while, but sooner or later what is in your heart or mind will come out when you speak.

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Jesus said again in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” We can say we are thankful, but our attitude and action will give us away. To quote Jesus for a third time in Matthew 12:37 he says, “The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” If we are truly thankful in our hearts, it will be reflected in how we live. Our Thanksgiving will become thanks-living.

Thanks-living is about attitude. Zig Ziglar is quoted saying, “Attitude determines your altitude.” I believe that is true in our spiritual and natural life. I know some gifted and talented people who seem to stay perpetually grounded and go nowhere simply because they have rotten attitudes.

The Bible is full of people who lived a life of thanks-living. This attitude helped David endure years on the run, sleeping in caves and the wilderness, while being hunted like an animal to be slaughtered by Saul. Instead of becoming a victim or an old sour puss, David allowed God to use all this to make him into one of the greatest kings to ever walk the earth.

Thanks-living is not living in denial. It is not the same as denying the pain of a situation or pretending that everything is fine when it really is not. Thanks-living is being able to be thankful in spite of our circumstances because we choose to look at our life and circumstances through the filter of God’s love and goodness. Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Thessalonica 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Thanks-living is about how we treat other people. David wrote in Psalms 16:9, “No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.” Peter quotes the same verse with a twist to it in Acts 2:25, “King David said this about him: I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”

Our tongue, or what we say, is our glory or our downfall. The word “glory” literally means weight or honor. It means to honor, to give honor, and to impart value. That is what our words are for.

We are to establish, nurture, and protect relationships with our words like Proverbs 15:23 tells us, “Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!” Also in Proverbs 15:4 we read, “Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” Ephesians 4:29 puts it this way, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Then in Ephesians 4:15 we see, “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

That is what thanks-living looks like.

Thanks-living is also about receiving and giving. Jesus was quoted in Acts 20:35, “And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” A life of thanks-living revolves around what we have received. Being daily conscious of all Christ has already given us, focusing on what God is doing rather than what He is not doing will cause our hearts to overflow with generosity.

Ann Voskamp captures this so well in this quote:

“Thanksgiving only becomes thanks-living when joy in the blessings given from above overflows into the blessings given all around. Thanksgiving only becomes thanks-living when the thanks for His vertical, coming-down grace is expressed as a horizontal, reaching-out grace. Thanksgiving only becomes thanks-living when thanksgiving to God overflows into a joy of giving.”

May our Thanksgiving truly become thanks-living.

With the lessons learned on our hike today, let us turn our occasional Thanksgiving into daily Thanks-Living. One way to do this is to encourage your friends and family to join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we continue our trek and focus on how wise it is to be thankful in a series of short, inspiring stories and concepts.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

If you would like to be added to our weekly email update for Wisdom-Trek, just text the word “Wisdom” to 44222 on your phone, and you will receive a message asking for your email address. It is very quick and easy to do.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)
Love Unconditionally
Listen Intentionally
Learn Continuously
Lend to others Generously
Lead with Integrity
Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Day 175 – The First Thanksgiving

November 22, 2015 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 1 Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 175 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

The First Thanksgiving

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 175 of our Trek, and yesterday we located the 7-mile markers to boost your gratitude. Today I will share additional details around the Blessings of the First Thanksgiving. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This episode is being released the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and if things go according to our plan, we should have most of the leaves harvested. I will update you with those details once it is accomplished.

The sinusitis or cold that I have been battling for over a week now is finally starting to wane although it has really zapped my energy this week, which is unusual. I spoke with my brother Jack today, and his family has had the same type of cold. He also mentioned that it has really drained him of energy also. It is good to know that soon I will be back to normal, or at least normal for me.

It is time to head out on our trek for today. As we hike, it is a time to remember all the blessings in our own lives and discover how the first Thanksgiving Day was established. I will share this story with you so that we can remember it, gain wisdom from it, and apply it to creating our living legacy. Our story today is…

Remember the Blessings of the First Thanksgiving

This week Americans across the country will sit down and devour their turkey dinner with all the trimmings, including pumpkin pie. Some will bow their heads and say a humble “thank you” to God for their blessings of the year while others will just dive in and eat. Regardless of your family’s practice, most people agree that this is one of our country’s most popular and enjoyable holidays. But how many of us talk about the history of this particular holiday that makes it so unique? Let’s do that right now!

Thanksgiving is our oldest national holiday and is the only holiday in the United States decreed by a joint resolution of both houses of Congress and yearly proclamations by our presidents. Each proclamation has expressed gratitude to God, making Thanksgiving the only holiday of a religious nature that seems to be politically correct today. Thanksgiving is a holiday that can be celebrated without religious reservation by Jews, Christians (Roman Catholics and Protestants of all denominations), Muslims, or, for that matter, followers of any religion practiced in the United States. While a few other countries have similar celebrations, Thanksgiving as we know it is a holiday observed only in the United States. It truly is unique.

Thanksgiving is a time for all of us to give thanks to our creator for His bountiful provisions.

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From our earliest days in school, we have heard the story of that first Thanksgiving. Having arrived in the United States after a very difficult sea voyage that took much longer than expected, a group of 102 people (44 men and 58 women and children) made their way to shore. It was on Dec. 21, 1620, and the bitter cold of winter had already set in.

They took shelter for the winter in a makeshift building that the men had gone ashore and built during the previous weeks. They had intended to land in Jamestown, VA, where friends and relatives were expecting them and had made arrangements for getting them settled. But because of ship repairs and problems of navigation that resulted in their being considerably off course and spending several extra weeks trying to find Virginia, the ship finally dropped anchor for the winter at Plymouth, Mass., far north of their intended destination. These settlers had no place to stay or people to assist them.

It was a grueling winter, and, although accounts differ slightly, apparently during that first winter 49 people died – 22 men and a combination of 27 women and children. So when spring came, there were only 53 of the original group remaining, 22 men and a mixture of 31 women and children of different ages.

Not only had the weather and sickness made the winter difficult to undergo, but different people had come to America for different reasons, leading to disagreements. Some were pilgrims seeking religious freedom, some were explorers seeking new frontiers, others had gone astray and were seeking to avoid the long arm of English law, and some were just looking for a new beginning in life.

The sea captain and his crew had remained on the ship during the winter, and when the worst of the winter was over and it was safe to sail back to Europe, the captain offered to take any or all of his original passengers back to England. You would think that, under the circumstances, there would have been at least a few who would have, perhaps reluctantly, taken him up on the opportunity to return home. Instead, everyone decided to remain in Plymouth. And in spite of their different backgrounds, they worked together to survive and to succeed.

These early settlers made friends with the Native Americans who helped them get through that first winter, and during the following spring and summer, the Native Americans helped them plant and harvest crops. Everything seemed to go well, and when fall came, they had a bountiful harvest.

In November of 1621 this small community, in spite of the hardships that had been endured, set aside three days to celebrate the blessings of the past year, especially the bountiful harvest. We refer to these people as the Pilgrims.

Each year, when we celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving, we commemorate those three days when the Pilgrims joined by about 90 of their Native American friends, found different ways of expressing their gratitude to God.

After that first Thanksgiving, different colonies and states periodically observed a Thanksgiving of their own for one reason or another. It was not until 1789 that there was a presidential proclamation making Thanksgiving a national day of celebration for our country. It was in that year that George Washington declared a national day of Thanksgiving in honor of the new constitution.

In 1795, Washington declared another national day of Thanksgiving out of gratitude for the overall welfare of our young country. And during the 1800s, several individual states paused to thank God on special occasions.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation declaring that there should be a national day of Thanksgiving on the last day of November. Although there was no law requiring a national day of Thanksgiving, every president since Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving in the fall of the year. Except for a few early deviations, every president after Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as the date of Thanksgiving.

On Dec. 26, 1941, a law passed by both houses of the United States Congress and signed by President Roosevelt settled the matter; it set the fourth Thursday of November as a federal legal holiday of Thanksgiving to be observed annually from then on.

So, this week, when you are observing Thanksgiving with your family or friends, take some time to remember the rich history of this very popular holiday and focus on your blessings of the past year. This has always been the purpose of our Thanksgiving holiday.

Even if you have personally had a difficult year, just remember that in spite of the terrible hardships the original Pilgrims suffered, they found reasons enough to be thankful to celebrate for three days. And since then, there have been years of war, famine, dust bowls, depression, and so forth, yet our nation has always found reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving. We can all find reasons to be thankful this year.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Church in Ephesus in Chapter 6 verse 20,“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

King David wrote in Psalms 100:4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.”

Let us remember the story of Thanksgiving and then establish your own stories of Thanksgiving to be shared with your family. Encourage your friends and family to join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we continue our trek and focus on how wise it is to be thankful in a series of short, inspiring stories.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)
Love Unconditionally
Listen Intentionally
Learn Continuously
Lend to others Generously
Lead with Integrity
Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Day 174 – 7 Ways to Boost Your Gratitude

November 21, 2015 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 1 Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 174 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

7 Ways to Boost Your Gratitude

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 174 of our Trek, and yesterday we hiked on the trails of unleashing gratitude in your life. Today as we hike on our trail, we will search for the 7-mile markers to boost your gratitude. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. By the time this episode is released, we will be back at The Big House for a couple of weeks. In addition to a smaller family Thanksgiving celebration, we will be headlong in the leaf harvest. Most of the leaves have fallen, and the ground is covered quite thick with leaves. With about three acres of open area to collect from, that is a lot of leaves. On Wednesday this past week, we were able to spend an evening out with my sister Rebecca, which is one of the monthly blessings that I look forward to as we always enjoy the time reminiscing and sharing God’s blessings in our lives. Rebecca is a marvelous piano player, and as I approached her door to let her know we had arrived, the beautiful playing of the old hymn “Count Your Blessings” was flowing from her fingertips. One of the best ways to boost your gratitude is to count your blessings and name them one by one. It is then you will see that your life is full.

So let’s get started on our trek in our exploration for the…

7 Mile Markers to Boost Your Gratitude

It is the season to be grateful. After all, the dictionary defines the word “thanksgiving” as “the expression of gratitude.”

Gratitude refers to feeling thankfulness and appreciation for people, places, and events. An attitude of gratitude can really change your life. As Willie Nelson once said, “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”

When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.

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How do you boost your attitude of gratitude?

Okay, I will admit, there are times when we just don’t feel very thankful. Sometimes life deals us a bad hand, which may be completely out of our control. But how we play that hand is what counts. Let’s hike our trail today and look for the seven mile markers to help you boost your gratitude. I will let you in on a little secret here…Most of these take very little time and absolutely no money! I want to challenge you to make a point to try any one (or more) of these today to improve your attitude of gratitude.

1. Say thank you more frequently.

Thank everyone around you, from the people who serve you or those who simply exist in your life. No need to wait until someone does something huge for you. Just the mere fact that your spouse or friend is in your life can warrant a “thank you.”

More than just saying it, it is also important that you really feel it. President John F. Kennedy put it this way, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”

We focus so much on saying “thank you,” in our society (especially with children) that sometimes we don’t make the connection between the words and the genuine, heartfelt gratitude they should convey. Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful reminder for all of us to take some time to thank the people in our lives for all those intangible gifts they give us every day – gifts of compassion, friendship, laughter, support, and love. So much to be thankful for!

Make sure when you do thank someone you also experience the sense of appreciation for them.

2. Be present.

Many of us are well versed at juggling dozens of different thoughts in our heads at once. It is tough to feel true gratitude when your attention is divided. Take the time to really focus on the person you are with or the event that is happening at the moment. Stop, even if just for a moment, to concentrate on how much you appreciate a sunny day, the food you are eating, or the person sitting next to you.

3. Write a letter of thanks.

Identify someone who has impacted your life, perhaps an elementary school teacher, an old friend, or a family member. Write that individual a letter explaining why they are so important to you, what you have learned from them, and how they have affected your life. This is not the time to be reserved; really share your heart in the letter. Simply the act of conceptualizing and writing this letter can boost your feelings of gratitude.

4. Schedule “gratitude moments.”

We all get so busy with life that even our best intentions do not always come to fruition. To help incorporate more gratitude into your day life, schedule at least a few minutes each day to focus on gratitude.

For some people, doing this first thing in the morning is optimal because it starts their day on a positive note and helps them bring gratitude into rest of their day. At the end of the day before bed can also be a terrific time to focus on what you appreciated about your day. It is a nice way to review what happened and go to bed on a positive note and can even help you get a better night of sleep.

Another option is to actually schedule gratitude time as if it were an appointment. I find that I am actually happier and more productive as a result of a quick gratitude break.

5. Have a “happy” meal.

I’m not talking about the kind of happy meal that comes with French fries and a plastic toy but rather the kind that offers the gift of gratitude. Sit down with family and/or friends for a “happy” meal. Take turns talking about each person and what you appreciate about them. Offer specific examples, such as, “I really appreciate that you took the time to call me after my big presentation, even though you were busy with your work.” This mind shift helps you and those around you feel more connected and loved.

6. Avoid complaining or passing judgment for an entire day.

When we judge and criticize others (and even ourselves), we cannot truly experience gratitude. Being nonjudgmental can be difficult for most people as we often think in judgmental ways without realizing it. Take control of your thoughts and notice the benefits to you and those around you. Once you have become proficient at this, challenge yourself with the 21-day gratitude challenge – No judgment, gossip or criticizing for 21 days!

7. Start a gratitude journal.

Write out things each day that you appreciate. Don’t feel like the things you write in your journal need to be big or life changing. Even being grateful for something seemingly simple or small, like the sun shining, counts too!

If you are struggling with someone or something in your life, make sure that at least one of your daily journal entries is related to that person or situation. Most of us are better at identifying things we don’t like about ourselves or things we should do better, rather than the good things, which leaves us with low self-esteem and greater stress. Challenge yourself to identify at least one thing you appreciate about yourself each day. This is not being egocentric; it is being kind to yourself. That kindness will not only be a benefit to you but also those around you. After all, the happier you are, the more likely people in your life will be happier, too.

And a bonus tip…Let us never forget the one that we owe all thanks to as is mentioned several times in the book of Psalms, such as in 118:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”

I want to challenge you today to try at least one of these tips and report back in the comments of our journal page for Day 174. What was the experience like?

Boosting your gratitude takes very little time and does not cost anything. Have you had your gratitude boost for today? One way to encourage your friends and family is to invite them to join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we continue our trek and focus on how wise it is to be thankful in a series of short, inspiring stories.

If you would like to be added to our weekly email update for Wisdom-Trek, just text the word Wisdom to 44222 on your phone, and you will receive a message asking for your email address. It is very quick and easy to do.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)
Love Unconditionally
Listen Intentionally
Learn Continuously
Lend to others Generously
Lead with Integrity
Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Day 173 – 4 Steps to Unleash Gratitude in Your Life

November 20, 2015 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 1 Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 173 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

4 Steps to Unleash Gratitude in Your Life

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 173 of our Trek, and yesterday we hiked on the trails of gratitude and thanksgiving through a series of inspirational stories for our trek of life. Today and for the next week, we will continue this hike on the trails of gratitude and thanksgiving. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As we continue our focus on the season of Thanksgiving, regardless of how difficult life may or may not have been during this past year, each of us has much to be thankful for. The best way to maintain an attitude of gratitude is to make a gratitude list and review it daily to focus on those blessings that we have each day. It’s the best way to start each day.

On today’s trek, we want to head down memory lane and learn how to…

Unleash Gratitude in Your Life!

I have many wonderful memories of Thanksgiving on the Farm. Mom always prepared a huge turkey with all the trimmings and side dishes. I have continued that tradition with hosting family Thanksgivings at The Big House for many years. During my trek of life, I had a mom who loved us and taught all 10 of us to cook. I especially enjoyed the times in the kitchen that we spent together as she taught me the love of cooking. One of my favorite memories is mom and I making fruit cakes. It was one baking event that just mom and I did together.

It’s been over 16 years since mom lost her battle with cancer, but I am so thankful for the 68 years of life that she was granted. She lived life to the fullest. While it would be wonderful if she were still with us to impact our lives and the lives of her grandchildren and now great-grandchildren, in a very real way she is through the impact that we can make each day. All who knew and loved her are reminded and thankful for all the great moments they shared. The laughter, the lessons, and the wisdom that she shared with me is invaluable. What I have learned is that she is not in my past but in my future. I celebrate her life and blessing of mentorship that she shared.

During this next week in the United States, everybody is getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy spending time with my family, sitting around the table and enjoying good food and the incredible opportunity to express gratitude for all the many blessings in my life. Thanksgiving is not something that should be restricted to a day, though. Thanksgiving is a lifestyle that anybody can cultivate. Gratitude is one of my favorite things in the whole world. Here are a few lessons on how you can unleash gratitude in your life.

1. Gratitude is one of the most important habits you can ever develop.

As a business person, church leader, gramps, dad, and husband, I have been privileged to influence and encourage many throughout the world to have a greater impact on their world. Many people wonder and desire to learn how to be happy and successful. However, many don’t immediately realize that the first lesson they must learn is in gratitude. This may be puzzling at first, but I know that no other force but gratitude will empower you for true joy and success in life.

For many years, I have made a conscious decision to keep a list of what I am grateful for. I then review that list first thing every morning and thank God for each blessing on the list. There are seasons and circumstances that change, so I edit and update the list as it is ever evolving with the seasons. This exercise in gratitude has changed my life. Not only do I find myself being more appreciative, but I also find myself with greater joy and success in every area of my life. Gratitude is a practice that will forever transform your life.

2. Gratitude will destroy the root of pride in your life.

The great thing about gratitude is that it humbles the heart. So many times we are being controlled and directed by our ambitions. We live in a very self-seeking and self-absorbed culture. I have been guilty of this as well. However, as I practiced gratitude, I lost the, me, myself and I mentality. I embraced a selfless mentality and became more focused on serving others. Gratitude forces us to mature. Gratitude is learning how to appreciate everything that arises in your life. You lose the “I” mindset and you develop a “we” mindset. No other force but gratitude can soften and open the human heart to unconditional love. Gratitude checks the ego and destroys pride in our lives.

3. Gratitude makes every moment in your life special.

During the holiday season, I reflect on Mom and how she always made the holidays extra special more and more. I do miss her and especially the impact that she had on so many. I am grateful for the impact that she continues to have through subsequent generations of family. I am grateful for the times that I was able to share with my mom. I am grateful for the memories, the lessons, the laughter, and the tears that we shared. Gratitude is powerful because it empowers us. Gratitude is what causes the events that happen in our lives to produce a revolution. Gratitude has become such a part of my life that I have learned to be thankful for even the simple things. Some days or seasons are sunny and warm while others are cloudy and cold. However, I have learned to be thankful for both, and they are both important and serve a purpose, and so it is with our trek of life. When you can be thankful for every moment in your life, you can make the most of your life. We shift from being ungrateful, uncaring, and unfulfilled to grateful, giving, and grounded human beings. Gratitude does a work in the heart.

4. Gratitude enriches your life.

You have heard me say this before. We are all on a trek in our lives. We are on the trek to become the best versions of ourselves. No other force will empower you to become your best self but gratitude. The more grateful you are, the more you discover what it means to live an authentic life. As human beings, we all have a core desire for contentment. Our culture encourages covetousness; however, when you live a heart-centered life, your goal is contentment. When you become proficient in the practice of gratitude, you will contend for contentment in your life. Contentment is reaching the place in life where nothing has the power to move you. Contentment is refusing to allow anything to distract you and change the direction of your life. Contentment produces joy and causes you to live in the center of your calling. Contentment is finding perfect peace and certainty in every season of your life.

As the Apostle Paul taught his protégé Timothy in his first letter in Chapter 6 verses 6 through 8…

“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.”

Gratitude is a habit that everyone can learn. Gratitude will destroy the root of pride in your life and allow every moment to be special as it enriches your life. As you learn each day, you are responsible for sharing with others. So, encourage your friends and family to join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we continue our Trek and focus on how wise it is to be thankful in a series of short, inspiring stories.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)
Love Unconditionally
Listen Intentionally
Learn Continuously
Lend to others Generously
Lead with Integrity
Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Day 172 – 3 Trails of Gratitude

November 19, 2015 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 1 Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 172 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

3 Trails of Gratitude

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 172 of our Trek. Yesterday we asked the question, “Are you affecting or infecting others that you impact?” Starting today and for the next week, we will hike on the trails of gratitude and thanksgiving through a series of inspirational stories for our trek of life. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. While I enjoy all seasons of the year, fall seems to be extra special for me. It may be from growing up on an apple orchard when we would pick apples and make fresh apple cider and apple butter in the huge copper pot over an open fire. It may also be that the crisp fall air carries with it a fresh relief after the hot and humid days of summer.

Growing up in a family of 10 children with loving parents, for me fall also meant a huge Thanksgiving feast and then on to Christmas. Both holidays hold a very special meaning for me. As we trek through life, let us always be thankful for the bountiful blessings that we have. Let us also remember the birth of Christ who provides us with a rich and satisfying life on earth and eternal life.

Even if you do not live in the United States, where we celebrate Thanksgiving in November, take this time to share in our celebration of thanks and gratitude.

Let’s hike three trails of gratitude today, which we will title…

Gratitude Stories

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the following gratitude stories might be helpful to you. They all fall under the theme of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Of course, this verse doesn’t mean that everything that happens to us is God’s will. It’s not God’s will that we lose our jobs or get a diagnosis of cancer, or that our children make poor choices. What this verse does say is that it’s God’s will for us to be thankful people in all circumstances, even in hard times — especially in hard times.

Consider these three trails.

1. Robinson Crusoe

When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew two columns and listed the good and bad of his situation. He was cast on a desolate island, but he was still alive. He was divided from humanity, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but he was in a warm climate and didn’t need them. He had no means of defense but saw no wild beasts which threatened him. He had no one to talk to, but the destroyed ship was near the shore and he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic survival. He concluded, therefore, that no condition in the world was so miserable that one could not find something to be grateful for.

2. John Claypool, Part 1

When the late John Claypool lost his ten-year-old daughter to leukemia, gratitude was the only way he survived. He tells about that experience in his profound book, Tracks of a Fellow Struggler. After his daughter’s death, John walked down three different paths. The first path was to say, “Well, it was just God’s will. I have to accept it.” But that was not helpful. He could not believe that God willed ten-year-old girls to die of leukemia. A second path was to try to find an intellectual answer as to why this happened. He tried to make sense of it. But that didn’t work either. His daughter’s death didn’t make any sense. Finally, John walked the path of gratitude. He realized that life is a gift. We are not entitled to it. That we have any life at all is a pure gift and pure grace. Therefore, John chose to be thankful for the ten good years they had together rather than being consumed with resentment for the years he did not have with her. This path of gratitude wasn’t easy, but it was the only path which offered any help.

3. John Claypool, Part 2

Dr. John Claypool often spoke about the importance of choosing to be grateful. His personal experience allowed him to pen one of his many renditions of the story on Thanksgiving Day:

“Those of you who know a great deal about the past will undoubtedly agree with me that often history turns on slender hinges. What I mean is that events that seem at the time to be very small turn out to have tremendous consequences. This is certainly the case in the earliest days of our country’s formation.”

“The story begins in the summer of 1620 when one hundred twenty-five eager Christian folk set out from Southhampton, England, hoping to come to the new world and establish a faith community. They were on two leased ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell. But as they made their journey around the southern tip of England, the Speedwell developed problems so they both had to pull into Plymouth. There it was determined that the Speedwell was not able to cross the Atlantic. So twenty of the original group gave up and went back home. One hundred five crowded onto the Mayflower and set out well behind schedule hoping to get to the colony of Virginia in time enough to build some shelter before the winter came.”

“Navigation in the seventeenth century was a very primitive affair so it took them a lot longer to cross than they had expected, plus they were blown hundreds of miles off course without realizing it. They didn’t see land until the last part of November and what they saw was not Virginia at all but New England. They had hoped to get there before the winter set in but that was not the case. They went ashore. They were not able to build very substantial shelters and as a result disease began to sweep through the little community.”

“Before the spring came to break the terrible cold, exactly half of the original group that had set out from Plymouth were in unmarked graves because they had been devastated by so much disease. It was at that point that what was left of the crew of the Mayflower started to go back to England and the whole group wondered whether or not they should just give up and go back with them. But courage overcame despair and so they decided to stay. At that point their fortunes turned. The Indians were wonderfully hospitable. They shared with them their land, and they taught these pilgrims how to plant and how to cultivate. That summer they built very substantial housing, and they were able, when the harvest came in, to be amazed at the fertility of this new country.”

“These were religious folk, and so when the first anniversary of their being in the new world began to loom on the horizon, they wanted to devise some kind of ritual to acknowledge this significant event. Not surprisingly, the first suggestion was that they have a day of mourning. Every family had lost at least one person, many had lost several members of the family. They argued that the best way to commemorate their time there was to remember those who had sacrificed their lives.”

“There was another group that said, ‘Yes, we have lost a great deal, we have undergone great tragedy and grief, but we also have much to be thankful for. The Indians had been wonderful, the land here is wonderfully fertile, and we have survived. Why don’t we make that first anniversary a day of thanksgiving rather than a day of mourning?’ ”

“Well, the record is that a debate went back and forth between the mourning party and the Thanksgiving party. And as you know, because of a national holiday that we still recognize the last of November, it was the Thanksgiving party that actually prevailed. So the first anniversary of these hearty people was a day in which they expressed profound gratitude for all the things that were going for them.”

“Historians have said that that simple decision to opt for gratitude rather than mourning may have been the most significant factor in giving those people the energy and the courage to meet the challenges that were yet to come. Truth be told, whenever we face ambiguous situations with things going for us and things going against us, I would suggest that gratitude is the most creative thing we can possibly do because it puts us in touch with the positive energies that are at work in our lives. It gives us a way of having confidence, and it gives us a way of having hope for the days that lie ahead.”

As Thanksgiving approaches, take the time to reflect on all the blessings in your life. And, encourage your friends and family to the join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. Between now and Thanksgiving Day, we will focus on how wise it is to be thankful in a series of short, inspiring stories.

The journal for today’s Trek can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com. Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)
Love Unconditionally
Listen Intentionally
Learn Continuously
Lend to others Generously
Lead with Integrity
Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

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