Day 656 – The Gallery of Fools – Proverbs 19

July 26, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 656 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Gallery of Fools – Proverbs 19

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 656 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails, we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore Proverbs 19 from The Voice Translation, which will give us a fresh perspective on this book of timeless wisdom.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. I am wrapping up my special series covering my July 8^th accident and recovery on tomorrow’s Wisdom-Nugget episode. This 6 part series started with Day 645 and was released on Tuesday & Thursday for the past three weeks. If you missed any parts of the story, you will want to go back and listen to them.

We have had quite a bit of deer activity in the past three weeks as they seem to like to bed down in the small wooded area along the edge of our property line. From what we can tell, there is a one-year-old doe, a two-point and a six-point buck, and two additional older does with 3 baby fawns. It is a pleasure to watch them each day as the graze on our lawn and especially like my roses.

Turning to our passage today, as we have the opportunity to consider the current state of affairs in our world recently, especially among political leaders of all persuasions, it is as if we are watching a sideshow at the circus. Most political leaders are oblivious to how foolish they really are to those outside their bubble of influence. Our passage today reminds me of this. Proverbs 19 could be referred to as…

The Gallery of Fools

Reading through this chapter is like visiting a gallery of fools. Step right up! In the showcase, you’ll see “a false witness,” “a foolish son,” “an idle person,” “a man of great wrath,” “the sluggard,” “the violent,” and “a worthless witness.” Hanging about each fool’s neck is a placard summarizing his fate, and, you guessed it, the ending isn’t happy. Don’t speed through this exhibit. Take your time and look closely. Listener and Reader beware: don’t be like these people!

Most of these sayings are warning you about vice. However, scattered throughout this chapter are sayings about people who have shown integrity, good sense, generosity, instruction, faithfulness, and the fear of the Lord. Compare their fates with the bad guys. Which future do you want?

Also pay attention to God’s posture towards the poor and needy in verses 1, 4, 7, 17, and 22. The poor are often abandoned and abused by the world, but they are not overlooked by God. In fact, God stands in solidarity with the righteous poor and exalts them above the gallery of fools.

Listen intently as I read Proverbs 19.

¹Better to be poor and live with integrity
than a fool with a foul mouth.
²Surely there’s no advantage for a person without knowledge,
and whoever moves too quickly misses the turn.
³Foolishness diverts the course of life,
yet the heart rebels against the Eternal.
⁴Wealth attracts many friends,
but the poor are soon separated from theirs.
⁵A false witness will not escape punishment,
and one who breathes lies will not go free.
⁶Many try to win the favor of a generous person,
and everyone is a friend to someone who gives gifts.
⁷If a poor man is hated by his relatives,
it is even more likely his friends will avoid him too!
Anyone who is calling after them
[is not to be found].^[a]
⁸Whoever gains a wise heart loves his own soul,
and whoever preserves understanding experiences true goodness.
⁹A false witness will not escape punishment,
and whoever breathes lies will not survive.
¹⁰Something is wrong when a fool lives a pampered life,
but it is much worse when a slave takes charge of princes.
¹¹A person with discretion is not easily angered;
he gains respect by overlooking an offense.
¹²A king’s rage is like the thunderous roar of a lion,
but his favor is like a cooling mist upon the grass.
¹³Foolish children bring misery to their fathers,
and a wife’s bickering is a constant dripping as from a leaky roof.
¹⁴Houses and riches may be inherited from parents,
but a sensible wife is a gift from the Eternal.
¹⁵Laziness lulls people into a deep sleep;
a slacker will have nothing to eat.
¹⁶Whoever keeps God’s commands lengthens his life,
but a careless lifestyle ends in death.
¹⁷Whoever cares for the poor makes a loan to the Eternal;
such kindness will be repaid in full and with interest.
¹⁸Discipline your children while there is still hope of influencing their future,
so as not to play a part in their destruction.
¹⁹A hot-tempered man will pay a penalty;
if you bail him out, it will not be the last time; the cycle will repeat.
²⁰Heed counsel, act on instruction,
and you will become wise later in life.
²¹The impulses of the human heart may run wild,
but the Eternal’s plan will prevail.
²²Loyalty is a trait admired in others,
and being destitute is better than being a liar.
²³Reverence for the Eternal leads to a fulfilled life;
those who have it will sleep well,
for disaster will not touch them.
²⁴Some people are so lazy—they reach for food on the plate
but lack the will to bring it up to their mouths.
²⁵If you beat one who mocks, the naive will see and learn a lesson;
if you correct someone with understanding, that’s all he needs to grow a little wiser.
²⁶Children who mistreat their father and run down their mother
are a root of shame and disgrace.
²⁷My child, should you stop listening to instruction,
you will wander from the voice of knowledge.
²⁸A worthless witness ridicules justice,
and the mouth of the wrongdoer savors every morsel of trouble.
²⁹Severe penalties are prepared for those who mock,
and fools expect their backs to be flogged.

That will conclude our exploration of Proverbs 19. The questions for today are, “What member of this cast of fools serves as your greatest warning? What must you learn to avoid their fate?”

It is only when we recognize what makes up the gallery of fools can we avoid such foolish traits in our own lives. Commit yourself to being wise and not foolish. Each week we will explore a full chapter in Proverbs. I hope that you will join us next week for Chapter 20 so that you can gain wisdom, insight, and understanding for yourself.

The entire book of Proverbs provides us with rich wisdom, insight, and understanding on a myriad of life issues. Regardless of where you are in your faith walk, if you follow the precepts in Proverbs, your life will be rich and satisfying. I encourage you to take them and plant the seeds of wisdom in your heart so that you will reap a harvest of wisdom throughout your life.

Tomorrow we will continue with our final segment of Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way on our Wisdom Unplugged series about my recent accident and ongoing recovery. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much 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.

As we take this trek of life 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 655 – Home Recovery, Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way – Wisdom Unplugged

July 25, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 1 Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 655 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Home Recovery, Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 655 of our trek, and it is time for the 5^th installment of a special series of stories that will chronicle my recent accident and recovery as we trek “Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way.” This accident is a major life event that will change life for me for several months to come.

In fact, I would say that it will certainly impact me for the remainder of my life. It is my hope and prayer that as I share that it will also positively impact your life as well. I have often said, we must accept and live life as it truly is, not as we wished it to be.

We don’t always know or understand what will become of the uphill climbs and treacherous downhill slopes that we encounter on life’s trek. The key is to learn from these events and allow them to effectively become part of our living legacy, which will positively impact our lives and the lives of all of those whom we impact. So for the next couple of Wisdom Nuggets episodes, we will look at…

Home Recovery – Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way

If you would like to catch the first four episode of this series go to Day 645, Day 647, Day 650, or Day 652.

I ended Day-652, which was my story of recovery in the hospital, at the time of my discharge Tuesday afternoon. The life lesson learned through my recovery at the hospital was that if I desire a speedy and complete recovery, I need to follow the instructions and guidelines – something that I have not always done well in the past. I realized that this time it had to be different and committed myself to this lesson learned.

I have to admit, although I am not a fearful person, this was new territory for me. With my hemoglobin levels lower than expected, and the two episodes where my pulse dropped basically to zero, there was a little bit of trepidation. Overriding that concern was knowing that God is in control of every breath that we take, and I knew that if he brought me through the fall, surgery, and recovery that He would see me through the recovery process at home.

On the trip home, the pain of the injury was evident with every bump in the road and slow down in traffic. Paula went through Wendy’s drive through, and we each got a ½ pound hamburger for our dinner. The additional iron in the red meat is just what I needed, in addition to the grease that tasted so good.

Since we were released earlier than expected, my brother Jack was not home from work yet to assist me getting inside. Paula and I were able to navigate the steps into the house and had decided not to attempt going upstairs until Jack did arrive.

I settled in my Lazy Boy chair, and Paula and I consumed our dinner while we rested and waited. Once Jack and Ann arrived about an hour later, we decided that it would be best for Paula to pick up the prescriptions and a few other items. As we talked I realized that Jack was the only person who truly witnessed the fall from a third-person perspective, and he admitted the night of the accident was a fitful one for him as he kept revisiting the images of the fall. I assured him, that it was completely my responsibility and was glad that he was there to assist.

Once Paula returned, we decided it was time to head to my 2^nd story sanctuary where I would invest the majority of my time during recovery. The first time up I used both crutches and Jack stood immediately behind me to assure that I did not fall backward. We scaled the 18 steps without too much difficulty, and then I used the walker to proceed to the front Birdseye maple bedroom that we designated for my recovery.

Paula and I have slept in a full wave waterbed for over 30 years, which would have been more comfortable to lay in, but it is too low to the ground and would be nearly impossible to get back out of. A higher bed with a firm mattress was much more suitable for my recovery.

I settled in for the night and quickly fell asleep. Paula insisted that she be with me anytime I had to get up during the night. Little did either of us realize that it would be every hour that I would need to use the bathroom and make the 50-foot trek down the hallway.

After that first night, I assured Paula that I would be fine making the hourly trek myself so she could get some semblance of a good night sleep. Even after being home for two weeks now, nights are still rough, but the days are getting much better. The lack of moving at night, swelling in the leg, wearing very tight compression hose, and the majority of cell regeneration occurring at night may all be contributing factors to more discomfort at night.

Friday morning we were scheduled for a return trip to the lab for a blood draw to check and see if my hemoglobin was recovering. Jack came over once again to stand in front of me since this is the first time I was attempting to go down the stairs since returning home. We determined that going both up and down on the stairs is much easier using one crutch and the hand rail than two crutches. We were able to navigate the stairs and headed off to the hospital to give up a little more blood.

It was still fairly painful to travel, so we headed back home immediately afterward. We thought it would be best if I remained downstairs until we heard back from the doctor, just in case we needed to go in for a blood transfusion.

I was resting in my Lazy Boy and fell into a deep sleep when the phone woke me up with a bit of a start. It was our family physician with the blood results. The threshold for a blood transfusion is Hemoglobin less than 7.0. My results came in at 6.9.

She had consulted with the hospital doctor that I had previously discussed my levels with, and they both agreed that although it was lower than before, and below the threshold that they did not want to treat a number. They asked if I was okay waiting until the following Monday for one more test. Since I was not dizzy, lightheaded, and felt fairly good, we all agreed that would be best.

After a weekend of eating iron rich foods, taking iron supplements, and regaining some strength, Monday’s blood test showed that my hemoglobin had increased to 8.2 and my palette count was higher than it has ever been. This was a big relief as we did desire to allow my own body to regenerate itself if at all possible.

Our next big events on our road to recovery were the follow-up visit with the surgeon on Wednesday and then to our family doctor the following Tuesday. Since we had not had a chance to talk with the surgeon at length, had not seen the X-rays, and did not know what the incisions looked like under the bandages, we had several questions that needed to be answered. We will save the remainder of the home recovery story for Thursday’s trek, which will be our final chapter in this special saga covering my fall.

My life lesson learned the hard way for today is to be patient and allow God and time to heal. This brings to mind Psalm 139:14, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged, join us on Thursday for one more life lesson learned the hard way as I share some recovery stories.

As you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.

Thank you so much 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.

As we take this trek of life 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 654 – When You Fall, Get Back Up – Mindshift Monday

July 24, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 654 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

When You Fall, Get Back Up – Mindshift Monday

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 654 of our trek, and it is time for our Mindshift Monday series.

Wisdom-Trek’s primary focus is to assist you in creating your living legacy. Creating your living legacy can only be accomplished by gaining wisdom in many areas of life. You can only gain wisdom by changing what you allow to go into your mind, which is a result of changing the way you think.

In other words, to create your living legacy you must choose to be in a continual mode of “mindshift,” or “changing the way you think.” It is easy to get stuck in a mindset that your current circumstances cannot be changed. This is not true, but you must understand this fundamental principle…In order to change your life, you must change how you think and what you think about. Our Mindshift Monday podcast and journal serves to provide you practical ways to make a mindshift to a rich and satisfying life.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. I am finally caught up and back on schedule with the Wisdom-Trek podcasts that were delayed due to my accident. I will be releasing a couple of more episodes this week covering my accident and recovery on Tuesday and Thursday.

Since I have always been a person who enjoys working long hours and am very active, this time of recovery has been a mindshift challenge for me. I know if I am to recover properly, then it cannot be business as usual for me. Paula has been assisting a lot, and we are adapting to this change in our normal schedule.

Even with an unexpected major life event, we continue to positively look toward the future and what we can learn. Our mindset is very important with every aspect of life. If your first inclination is to think negatively, then a mindshift is required. You cannot get trapped by your current situation and feel there is no way to change it.

Just as my literal fall and accident two weeks ago, we will have many times in our lives where we will fall. The key is that each time we need to get back up, recover as needed, and then keep moving forward. So on our trek today I desire you to have a mindshift that will allow you to realize…

When You Fall, Get Back Up

When you are teaching a child to walk, they will fall down, usually many times. They may also get bumped and cry. When they do, we don’t tell them to give up. No, we instead encourage them to get up and try again, as many times as necessary until they are able to walk, and then run.

Life is very much like a baby who is just learning to walk. There are days in which the going is smooth. Success is ours to enjoy. There are also many days of distress, hours of hindrances, minutes of misunderstandings, and seconds of stumbling falling flat on your face. Since the path of life’s trek is rocky, and the trail to the top has many unexpected turns, it is important for you to realize three things concerning the obstacles, and wash outs, on the trail to the top.

1. There will be times when you will fall.

Anyone who hikes down the trails of life not only has the privilege of enjoying all that is around them but also must take the risk of falling. When you rise to the occasion, you may fall prey to the enemy. Any person that is willing to stand for something may at times be knocked down. Just like a baby learning to walk, we become careless and get in a hurry. Many time this happens just before we reach our goal. It looks as though we’ve been successful. The obstacles have been overcome. The sweet smell of victory permeates the air. But then…we lose our footing, and down we go. Just as with my fall from the ladder, it was right after I made the final cut in the tree limb that the limb pushed back against the chainsaw, pushing it and me away from the ladder onto the cement below. The satisfaction of cutting the limb through was quickly replaced by the agony of a broken femur bone right below my hip.

Sometimes our inexperience causes us to fall. Sometimes lack of preparation is the problem. Maybe the problem is overconfidence. For me, it probably was all three. One thing is certain…Regardless of the reason for falling, we all at times trip on the trails of life and down we fall.

2. The more we attempt to do, the more likely that we will fall.

Those people who never attempt anything in life, may not fall as often, but their lives are so poor in experiences. It is much better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all. Every experience we have in life enriches us and helps us to create a living legacy that is rich and satisfying. You are the sum of all the experiences of your life. Good or bad, they make you who you are today. Never hesitate to live life fully.

3. The difference between success and failure is how we react after we fall.

If we become involved with life and become players instead of spectators, the obstacles of life will sometimes trip us and cause us to fall. The lives of many people have gone awry because of mistakes they made or bad experiences that came their way. They have allowed the bitter taste of defeat to remain in their mouths until only thoughts of negativism spew out. Their lives have been centered on the fall instead of the excitement of their journey.

The Bible gives a classic example of how reacting to a fall determines our outcome. King Saul and King David both sat on the throne of Israel. Both were chosen of God and had many talents. Both had massive falls. King Saul allowed his mistake to harden his heart, and he died a violent death. King David repented and asked God’s forgiveness and had many fruitful years of leadership after his fall.

Remember, failure is not the fall. The failure is in allowing our fall to keep us down and control our lives. Even after my recent accident, it will not stop me from climbing ladders or using the chainsaw. I have learned that I will never use them together again.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter Philippians 3:12-14, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and as we do, make a mindshift in your life for every time you fall, which you will, that you are committed to getting back up and keep moving forward.

Next week we will continue our trek of Mindshift Monday. On tomorrow’s trek, we will continue with my journal of my recent accident and recovery. I appreciate you allowing me to share my story so that we can all grow from Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much 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.

As we take this trek of life 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 653 – Why Are We Afraid? – FearLess Friday

July 21, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 653 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Why Are We Afraid?

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 653 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.

For the next several weeks, we will focus on how to live with less fear. We will explore the trails on our trek of life that will help us to be fearless. This does not imply that we will reach the point where were are completely without any fear, for that is not only impossible, but also not wise. There is a time and a place for an appropriate level of fear, but most fear that we experience on a daily basis has no grounding and can be eliminated as we grow in wisdom, insight, and understanding. So our objective for these next several Fridays is to experience a FearLess Friday on our trek of life. Today is our second trail on our trek covering Imagine a Life Without Fear.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. As mentioned on previous treks, on July 8^th I suffered a fall from a ladder that fractured my upper femur bone. I am focusing the next few Tuesday and Thursday “Wisdom-Nugget” episodes sharing my story of the accident and recovery. The story begins with Wisdom-Trek.com/day-645. A major life event such as this strikes fear into our hearts of how our lives will change or how it could have been even worse. Last Friday we started a series focusing on imagining a life without fear. The focus of our trek today is…

Why Are We Afraid?

In Matthew 8:26, Jesus asked his disciples who were in a boat with Him in a middle of a violent storm, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!”

At first glance of this verse, if you were one of the disciples in the boat with him, you would be thinking, “Jesus, are you serious?” Is he kidding, teasing, or being sarcastic? This is kind of like one swimmer asking another, “Why are you wet?” I don’t think Jesus was smiling. He was very earnest. So are the men to whom he asks the question. A storm has turned their Galilean dinner cruise into a white-knuckled plunge that was so severe that seasoned fishermen are scared to death.

Here is how the Apostle Matthew remembers the trip in Matthew 8:23-24, “Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’”

Matthew remembered well the pouncing tempest and bouncing boat and was careful in his wording. The English word “fierce storm” minimizes the actual word that Matthew chose in the Greek language. Matthew chose the word Seismos – a quake, a trembling eruption of the sea and sky. We could translate this verse as “a great seismos arose on the lake.” A seismograph is an instrument we currently use to measure earth quakes.

The disciples had “sudden fear” – the kind that makes you go pale or faint, a fear that leaves you unable to speak or scream.

Not all storms come suddenly. Prairie farmers in the US or hunters in the Serengeti can see a formation of thunderclouds hours before the rain. This storm, however, springs like a lion out of the grass. One minute the disciples are playing dice on the deck, and next thing they are drenched with waves as the boat rides over the mountains and valleys of water.

Peter and John were seasoned sailors and may have struggled to get the sails down in time. Matthew, a tax collector, was not used to this type of storm and probably struggled just to keep his dinner down. Although there was some passage of time from leaving the shore, at least enough for Jesus to fall into a deep sleep, the storm rose up almost instantaneously.

How could this be happening to them? In obedience, they followed Jesus into the boat. This is a not so subtle and not too popular reminder that as Christ followers, we follow Him through the calmest of days and fiercest of storms. As another character in this story, the disciple John relays Jesus’s words to us in John 16:33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Christ followers have granddaughters who contract leukemia or family members who fall and break their femur bone in a freak accident or relatives who suffer financial losses, or even those who bury loved ones. As a result, we as Christ followers face real fears, just like the disciples did in the boat. It is not the absence of storms that sets us apart. It’s whom we discover in the storm – the unstirred Christ.

Was Jesus even concerned about the storm? After all, it said in this passage that Jesus was sleeping. How dare He? Doesn’t He even care? It was more than just sleeping. In the Good News according to Mark, this same story tells us in Chapter 4 verse 38, “Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’”

To understand more fully where Jesus was on the boat, we need to understand a little bit about the boat. First-century fishermen used large, heavy nets that would hang vertically from the ship while they were fishing. When not in use, they were stored in a nook below the deck in the back of the boat. It was the most enclosed and only protected part of the boat. So Christ, weary after a day of ministry, crawled beneath the deck to get some sleep.

His pillow was not likely anything soft, but the heavy sand-filled ballast bag, which is used to stabilize the boat while fishing. Jesus was probably very worn out, but he may have also had full knowledge of the coming storm and the lessons that were to be taught through it. Regardless, Jesus decided to crawl into the nook and take a much-needed nap.

Once the storm hits, his disciples were very troubled by Jesus’s choice to sleep. Not only that, but He did not wake up when the storm hit. The disciples had to wake him with shouts of fear, their urgent plea is recorded in Matthew 8:25, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Mark even questions whether He cares in 4:38, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

It is interesting what we pray for in times of storms in our lives. The disciples did the same thing. They do not ask about Jesus’ strength, “Can you still the storm?” or His knowledge, “Are you aware of the storm?” or His know-how, “Do you have any experience with storms?” The same thoughts rise up in our minds as did in the minds of the disciples on that stormy day, “Don’t you care…?”

Fear does this. It is a destroyer of our faith. We are all too familiar with why we are afraid. The question is, “What are we going to do about it?”

Next Friday we will delve deeper into the subject of fear and ask the question, “Does God Care?” I know you will find these insights interesting and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life. Our next trek is Mindshift Monday where we will help you live differently by thinking differently. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much 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.

As we take this trek of life 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 on Monday!

Day 652 – Hospital Recovery, Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way – Wisdom Unplugged

July 20, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 652 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Hospital Recovery, Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 652 of our trek and time for the 5^th installment of a special series of stories that will chronicle my recent accident and recovery as we trek “Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way.”

This accident is a major life event that will change life for me for several months to come. In fact, I would say that it will certainly impact me for the remainder of my life.

It is my hope and prayer that as I share that it will also positively impact your life as well. I have often said, we must accept and live life as it truly is, not as we wished it to be. We don’t always know or understand what will become of the uphill climbs and treacherous downhill slopes that we encounter on life’s trek.

The key is to learn from these events and allow them to effectively become part of our living legacy which will positively impact our lives and the lives of all those who we impact. So for the next couple of Wisdom Nuggets episodes, we will look at…

Hospital Recovery – Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way

It is my hope to get caught up to current on all my podcast episodes and journal this coming weekend so that the release dates correspond to the actual date they are released. If you would like to catch the first three episodes of this series, go to Day 645, Day 647, and Day 650.

I ended Day 650, which was my story of the surgery, with the somber thought that not only could the accident have been fatal if I had landed on my head, but both during surgery, and an episode afterward, my pulse had dropped to zero for a few moments. We really do need to treasure each day of life and make the most impact possible as we live out our living legacy each day.

Sunday night after surgery was not a very good night of sleep as I was still in pain, and my mind wandered to the two episodes where my pulse had dropped. I dozed off and on, but between the monitoring, lab work, and my roommate’s loud snoring, I did not achieve significant rest. Paula once again slept in the reclining chair, and although she did sleep more than I did was not very comfortable either.

After a good breakfast on Monday, the hospital staff seemed very positive about how quickly I was rebounding after surgery and that I was able to be up and working remotely on Monday. We saw several additional staff members throughout the day, each with his or her own area of expertise, as we planned my physical therapy and when I would be able to be discharged.

One concern they had was that my hemoglobin and red blood counts had dropped after surgery, which usually indicates a loss of blood. My left leg was swollen significantly, and we started to ice it in hopes of reducing the swelling. I believe the tightness in my leg was actually causing more pain than the surgery itself. With these factors and since we had not met with physical therapy yet, we all thought it would be best to stay at least one more night.

In the afternoon, occupational therapy came and guided me on walking with a walker up and down the hall. They were very pleased with how quickly I adapted to the walker and that I was able to go quite a distance without getting too worn out. I let them know that we did have stairs at home both going into the house and also 18 steps to the 2^nd floor. They assured me that they would provide stair training for me the following day. I was so glad to be able to now get up and walk with the walker now although with limited distance. At least that freed me to use the bathroom.

A couple of hours after that, another person from physical therapy came in and tested my strength in both legs and reviewed a few exercise routines with me. They were somewhat painful, but she assured me that I had a really strong right leg and even my injured leg already showed encouraging progress. Since we felt that we could handle most exercises, she said she would provide us with an in-home instruction sheet that we could continue with.

The rest of the day was filled with meals, visiting, working remotely, and a nap. I encouraged Paula to go home Monday night so she could get a better night of sleep. Although we were both somewhat emotionally drained, she agreed that it would be best.

Monday night’s sleep was a little better for me although still not great. I was able to get up and go to the bathroom myself, and my roommate’s snoring was not quite as bad.

The night nurse came in the very early morning and said she was instructed to put my back on an IV. She indicated that my hemoglobin and red blood counts had gone down again and there was some concern about possible internal bleeding in my left leg. It was still swollen significantly, and the skin was very tight on it.

Paula arrived early, and although we were not overly concerned, we were hoping that it was improving and that we would be able to go home that day. I felt fine and was not lightheaded or dizzy.

After a good breakfast, the nurse practitioner came in, and we discussed physical therapy, our comfort level of going home, and the possibility of a blood transfusion to raise my hemoglobin. About an hour after that, she returned with the hospital doctor who indicated that in fact my hemoglobin level had dropped with each blood test since surgery. As of that morning, it was down to 7.5 where 13.7 is the low range for normal and where my count had been when admitted to the hospital.

The doctor said that they could give me a blood transfusion if I desired, and it used to be automatic if the hemoglobin fell below 10. He said in more recent studies, they found that if the count did not drop below 7 and the patient was able to produce it on their own, then long-term results were much better. We told him that we were comfortable waiting a couple of more days to see if it would rebound. They scheduled outpatient blood work for Friday to check on my blood counts.With that, the doctor mentioned that as long as I got the occupational therapy training done, then they would release us from the hospital that evening.

Shortly after that an occupational therapist came with a set of crutches and worked with me on walking up and down the hall with crutches. We then went to a set of stairs and worked on walking up and down the stairs. He was very positive on how quickly I was able to adapt and felt that I would be able to handle the stairs at home without any issues.

Next, we met with the family services director who made sure we had the appropriate equipment at home, that we felt comfortable with doing our own physical therapy exercises at home, and that we had all of our questions answered.

After lunch, I worked a little more, and Paula watched TV. We thought that we had several hours to wait. At about 1 pm our nurse came in and said that he was working on our discharge information and it would take a couple of hours to complete it all. He actually finished a little bit earlier than that, but by the time we left the hospital for home, it was about 4 pm.

I believe that covers most of the details of my hospital recovery program. On our next Wisdom-Nugget episode, I will share how our home-based recovery has gone so far and what the long-term prognosis is.

So my life lesson learned the hard way for today is, “That with the proper training and guidance you can overcome just about any obstacles, as long as you follow the guidelines.” Proverbs 1:5 – Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance.

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged. Join us on the next couple of Tuesdays and Thursdays for more life lessons learned the hard way as I share some recovery stories.

As you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much 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.

As we take this trek of life 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 for FearLess Friday!

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