Day 646 – Harmony And Restraint – Proverbs 17

July 12, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 646 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Harmony And Restraint – Proverbs 17

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 646 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 17 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. If you are a regular listener or reader of the Wisdom-Trek Podcast and Journal, you may realize that we are publishing these episodes a couple of days late this week. This is due to an unfortunate and serious accident I had this past weekend.

I will be chronicling the accident and my subsequent recovery on our Tuesday and Thursday “Wisdom-Nugget” episodes for a few weeks. I published the first segment on Day 645 if you would like to follow along with my saga of “Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way.” I think that you will enjoy the story as we all realize that at age 60 there are still some hard lessons about life to be learned.

Our granddaughter Hazel will return to Columbus Children’s Hospital for more bloodwork. If the counts are high enough, she will begin her next regimen of chemo treatments. If not, they will test her bone marrow again to make sure that it is continuing to produce the good cells needed for full recovery. Life is one of balance. Proverbs 17 describes it as…

Harmony and Restraint

The proverbs are so good! Check out the first verse in this chapter about household harmony, “Better to gnaw on a bit of dry crust in peace than to feast in a house full of stress.” Solomon gets it – whether you’re a father, son, brother, friend, old or young, harmony is always more favorable than strife.

How do we foster harmony? Because harmony comes from exercising restraint these proverbs really emphasize self-control. Look at the chapter’s design…The first 14 proverbs end with a compelling image about self-control – “Picking a fight is like leaking water from a crack in a dam, so walk away from an argument before the outburst.” – while another 14 proverbs end with even more wisdom on self-control over our words. The self-control at the end is about how we use our words. Words can get us into a lot of trouble, and Solomon reminds us that less is often more.

Much of the wisdom in this chapter is directed at the fool, particularly the foolish son. It would seem from Chapter 17 that the household is the natural place where fools learn and grow. Let’s instead make our homes laboratories of wisdom! As I read Chapter 17, think about your home and how you can make it a place that embodies self-control.

Listen intently as I read Proverbs 17.

¹Better to gnaw on a bit of dry crust in peace
than to feast in a house full of stress.
²A wise servant will be put in charge of a child who behaves badly
and will take a share of the inheritance like one of the family.
³Silver is purified in the crucible, gold in the furnace,
but motives of the heart are judged by the Eternal.
⁴Wrongdoers perk up when listening to gossip,
and liars lean in close to hear talk of mischief.
⁵Anyone who makes fun of the poor disparages his Maker,
and those who celebrate another’s misfortune will not escape certain punishment.
⁶Grandchildren are the crowning glory and ultimate delight of old age,
and parents are the pride of their children.
⁷Elegant speech sounds odd when it comes from a fool,
and a lie on the lips of a leader is even more out of place!
⁸A bribe is like an enchanting charm to one who counts on it—
everywhere he looks he sees the illusion of success.
⁹Those who forgive faults foster love,
but those who repeatedly recall them ruin relationships.
¹⁰A single correction makes a more lasting impression on one who is wise
than a hundred lashes do on a fool.
¹¹Evil people are determined to rebel,
and so a merciless messenger will chase them down.
¹²Better to face a mother bear stripped of her cubs
than to encounter a fool caught up in his foolishness.
¹³Those who repay good with evil
bring unrelenting trouble upon their families.
¹⁴Picking a fight is like leaking water from a crack in a dam,
so walk away from an argument before the outburst.
¹⁵Both of these deeply offend the Eternal:
one who acquits the guilty and one who condemns the innocent.
¹⁶Even if fools had the means to obtain wisdom,
they would not be able to benefit from it.
¹⁷A true friend loves regardless of the situation,
and a real brother exists to share the tough times.
¹⁸Only a fool shakes hands on a deal
and guarantees repayment of someone else’s loan.
¹⁹A person who loves sin loves a fight,
and one who builds a grand entrance dares others to tear it down.
²⁰Crooked-hearted people never recognize anything good,
and those who distort the truth court disaster.
²¹Having a fool for a child is misery;
there is no joy in parenting a fool.
²²A joy-filled heart is curative balm,
but a broken spirit hurts all the way to the bone.
²³A wicked person accepts a bribe under the table
to derail the course of justice.
²⁴Those who understand look to wisdom for guidance,
but fools fasten their eyes on some distant horizon.
²⁵Foolish children irritate their fathers
and embitter their mothers.
²⁶Also know this: It is wrong to penalize those who do what is right
or to lash the noble because of their integrity.
²⁷Those with knowledge know when to be quiet,
and those with understanding know how to remain calm.
²⁸Even a fool who keeps quiet is considered wise,
for when he keeps his mouth shut, he appears clever.

That will conclude our exploration of Proverbs 17. The question for today is, “Do maintain harmony and restraint by not using unwise and inappropriate words in your relationships?” If so, you will discover more peace and joy each day of life. Each week we will explore a full chapter in Proverbs. I hope that you will join us next week for Chapter 18 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 Life Lessons Leaned The Hard Way on our Wisdom Unplugged series about my recent accident and on-going 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 645 – The Fall, Life Lessons Learned The Hard Way – Wisdom Unplugged

July 11, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III 11 Comments

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 645 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Fall, 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 645 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. Today we are taking a break from our normal wisdom nugget to update you and chronicle 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. I guess I also must practice what I preach. So for the next several Tuesday and Thursday Wisdom Nuggets episodes, we will look at…

The Fall, Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way

First, for my faithful readers and regular listeners to my Wisdom-Trek Podcast and Journal, I want to apologize for the delay in episodes over the past couple of days. I will get caught up on all the days and get back on schedule as soon as feasible.

2017 is turning out to be a year of life-changing and very challenging moments for the Chamberlain family, as I have mentioned in several podcasts and weekly newsletters previously. On April 15^th our granddaughter Hazel was diagnosed with leukemia. This has been a life-altering event for the entire family, and her path to recovery is a long two-year process, with the potential for many twists and turns along the way. We are already realizing this as her immune system has been too low this past month for the normal treatment regime. I will keep you posted of her progress in the intro comments to our podcast as they become available.

This past weekend yet another life-altering event took place. Here is the beginning of my story that started this past Saturday. I enjoy working outside on the weekends, and this past Saturday was no different. The storms of last week brought down a sizeable limb near our house, and Saturday I was in the process of clearing it and cutting it up for firewood. I had previously asked my brother to also help me cut a limb from a tree in front of our house that was growing over our front porch.

When Jack and his grown son Rob returned from work, they came over to assist. While I strive to be safe when using power tools, I did not fully grasp the dangers that are inherent when you mix a combination of a large chainsaw, an extension ladder, a fairly sizeable tree limb, and a cement sidewalk. As my mind has flashed back dozens of times to the events of Saturday, the foolishness of my task is now so evident.

I felt that two grown men steadily holding the ladder would provide the platform needed to remove the limb safely. It was not large in diameter, only about 4 inches, but it turned out to be longer than I realized.

I climbed the ladder with the chainsaw to a secure footing height of about 10 feet and began to cut it off. We were nearly through the limb when it seized the chainsaw blade, which became wedged in place. Jack pulled the limb to the side while I freed the chainsaw and made the final small cut. None of us realized that when I finished the cut that the tension on the tree limb would kick the chainsaw backward propelling me, and the chainsaw, away from the ladder.

Although it is difficult to remember all the details as it happened pretty fast, I do remember that I kept the chainsaw away from my body as I rotated to my left. As I dropped the chainsaw safely away from myself, Jack, and Rob I had rotated to where the left side of my body was parallel to the ground, but there was also a cement walkway, which extends from the front of our house, right underneath my hip when I made contact with the ground. As I rolled onto the grass on my bottom and propped myself up into a partially seated position with my hands behind me, I realized that my left leg was at an unusual angle twisted inwardly.

While the initial pain was not severe, as I tried to move my leg, I realized that something was not right. I calmly mentioned to Jack and Rob that I thought that something was probably broken and asked Jack to call 911 while Rob helped by steadying my back in the semi-seated position.

Paula’s mom was outside walking at the time, and while fortunately she did not witness the accident, we were able to ask her to go inside and let Paula know. Of course, as Paula came running outside she was filled with emotions of concern, fear, and possibly a bit of anger. As I always try to be positive about all situations of life, I expressed that it could possibly be that I dislocated my hip and not be anything too serious, although also being a realist, I knew in my heart that something was fractured.

The local volunteer fire department EMT’s arrived within a few minutes and assessed the situation. Since I had fallen from such a height, even though I did not have any head, neck, or back symptoms, after checking me over they wisely placed a neck collar on me and placed me on a backboard before transporting me to our local hospital. With every move of my body, it was sinking in that there was the potential for a serious injury.

Since I desire to keep these episodes short, I will continue my story on our next Wisdom Nugget episode which I hope to have published every Tuesday and Thursday once I get caught up with the episodes that were delayed.

I am looking at this challenging time as “Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way” let me know if you have any feedback of how my story has helped you and feel free to share lessons learned the hard way for you.

The lesson from today’s episode is…”Only use a chainsaw when both feet are planted firmly on the ground and only with the proper safety equipment. Your life is valuable; invest in it.”

There are so many lessons we can learn from every event in life. As you will learn in subsequent episodes as this story is now being created, we are so thankful for God’s abundant protection during this time. My injuries could have been much worse. I suffered no back, neck, or head injuries at all. Jack and Rob were both protected during this time. We are also thankful for trained volunteers that took me to a very good medical facility, which is located less than 10 minutes from our home.

As Psalm 18:30 says, “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged. Join us for more lessons learned the hard way in subsequent episodes.

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

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 Wisdom Wednesday!

Day 644 – Imagine Life As It Could Be – Mindshift Monday

July 10, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 644 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Imagine Life As It Could Be – Mindshift Monday

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 644 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 will be to provide you practical ways to make a mind-shift to a rich and satisfying life.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. After a warm and rainy week, the weather finally moderated a bit over the weekend, and we were able to get out and do more chainsaw work and mowing. One of the storms on Friday brought down a sizable limb in one of the old majestic oak trees beside our house. Fortunately, it did not hit any of the house. It added to my list of wood that needs cut for firewood, so we will work at this as we have the opportunity.

We are still waiting for Hazel’s blood county and immune system to rebound from the past three weeks of being low. She did have an appointment on Friday, and the oncology team will reassess her situation after her next blood test on Tuesday. If her count is back up, they will continue with the chemo treatments, if not they will investigate as to the cause. The waiting is difficult, but we realize that God is in control of her situation, and physically she seems to be feeling pretty good.

We continue to positively look towards the future. 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. So on our trek today I desire you to have a Mindshift that will allow you to…

Imagine Life As It Could Be

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Some men see things as they are and say ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say ‘Why Not?’” In order to have this type of thinking, most of us will need a Mindshift. In other words, we need to change how we think and what we think about.

In some area of life, all of us are leaders. That may be in your home with children, a business leader, or a leader of a ministry. John Quincy Adams said it this way, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” Nearly everyone inspires others in some manner.

As a leader, one of your distinguishing characteristics is that you have a vision for the future. Vision is the ability to imagine life as it could be, not to be stuck with life as it is today. Part of vision is realizing that you must accept life today as it is, not what you wish it to be. This does not mean that you need to remain where you are today, just acknowledge it so that you can move forward with a vision to change what otherwise would be your destiny.

True leaders see life as it could be. They always see a little farther with a little more complete than those around them. To change your mindshift, you need to change the way you speak. Most people will say, “I have to see it to believe it.” When you have a mindshift, you will say, “I have to believe it before I can see it.”

How you view life largely dictates how your life will turn out. It is the difference between losers and leaders. The loser sees the work that needs to be accomplished and make excuses like saying, “My little effort will make no difference, the task is too great.” The leader looks at the same work that needs to be accomplished and says, “Here is a great opportunity. I’ll do my part to make it succeed.”

Losers see the hard work they must endure to climb the mountain of success. Leaders see the success of climbing the mountain of hard work. Losers see the problem in every situation. Therefore, they focus their thinking on the problems and the possibility of failure. Leaders see the potential in every situation. Therefore, they concentrate their thinking on the potential and the possibility of success.

To change your perspective, you must have a mindshift from the thinking of loser to that of a leader. It is very possible for two people to look at the same situation and view it very differently. While our physical eyesight is important, our mental eyesight may be even more important.

Most of us will go to the eye doctor on a regular basis to have our physical eyes examined and purchase corrective lenses if required. How is your mental eyesight? When was the last time you had your mental eyesight checked?

Here is a quick mental eyesight checkup which may determine if you need corrective lenses for your mind, or in other words, a Mindshift.

When you hear a new idea for the first time, do you look for the potential or the problems with that idea?
Are you afraid to share new thoughts with others for fear that they may react negatively?
How do you think when in a group and a problem arises that requires a decision? Do you participate in finding a solution, or hope that someone else will have an answer?
Do you generally view life as difficult and full of problems, or do you see potential, even when you have difficult days?
How do you react when you are faced with responsibility? Do you accept it and work with others to accomplish the task, or do you try to avoid responsibility at all costs?

How is your mental eyesight? Do you need the corrective lenses of a Mindshift so you can fulfill your God-given responsibilities? How we think controls how our life will turn out. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and as we do, imagine life as it could be, not what it is currently. It all begins in your mind.

Next week we will continue our trek of Mindshift Monday. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. 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 643 – Freedom from Worry – FearLess Friday

July 7, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 643 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Freedom from Worry

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 643 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 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 third installment about worry.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The wildlife around our home appears to be flourishing. In addition to the two young hawks, which are very active and vocal, our deer population appears to be growing. I had previously mentioned the two bucks and two doe, and this week we saw another mama doe with two brand new fawns. They are very small, and their coats are spotted with bright white spots. None of the wildlife seems very concerned that we are around and will usually remain within site even when we are outside. It is enjoyable to watch as we go about our normal work duties. Just as the wildlife does not seem to worry about us, we need to take steps in our lives towards…

Freedom from Worry

Not only is worry counterproductive, but it is also a form of disobedience. God has told us not to worry, so to worry is to disregard His guidance. Isn’t it strange that we don’t usually think of worry as sin? But it is! Confess it as sin. Choose with your will to obey God and by faith depend on Him for the ability. Here are some practical tips that may help you in your pursuit of freedom from worry.

· Meditate on God’s Word Daily

Plan a time daily when you can invest some time—even if it’s only fifteen minutes—reading the Bible. Think about what you read and go over the phrases. Put your name in place of the pronouns, applying each verse to specific situations in your life. Memorize passages that will help you. God’s Word is powerful—it will renew and protect your mind. As King David tells us in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

· Condition Yourself to Relax

Choose a phrase from Scripture or a hymn that you can repeat to yourself at the first hint of anxiety. Psalms 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. The entire 23^rd Chapter is good. As you repeat the phrase, you will encourage yourself with its message and remind yourself to relax.

· Listen to Soothing Music

Just as David’s music on the harp soothed King Saul’s anxiety and depression, hymns, and spiritual songs are wonderful tranquilizers for us today. Haven’t you had the experience of hearing or singing a hymn that lifted your spirits and eased your mind? You might want to listen to a recording, play an instrument, or sing yourself. Reflect on the words and relax in the melody.

· Talk through Your Problems

When you are worried about an issue or a relationship, don’t fail to communicate. If you need to talk with a friend or your spouse, schedule a time when you can honestly tell them your concerns and listen to what they say. If it’s necessary, talk with your supervisor or employer about some troublesome aspect of your job. Talk with your children and listen to them as well. Worries expand into giant problems in your mind when they are left to your imagination. They need to be exposed, then whittled down to size.

· Limit Your Worry Time

Counselors suggest this technique for people who are prone to anxiety…Set aside fifteen minutes a day for active worry—and no more. This will keep worry from distracting you for the rest of the day. If worrisome things come to mind, jot them down on a card and plan to think about them later. There are three positive results from this.

First, you can accomplish a great deal more during the day when you are free from anxiety.
Second, when your “worry time” comes, you’re better able to deal with the problems because you feel good about your productive day. You can devote your total attention to your concerns and list them in order of seriousness.
Third, by the time you get to the worries, the problems may well have shrunk in importance. They may not seem worth worrying about after all.

· Design a Plan of Action

When something comes to mind that causes you anxiety, ask yourself what type of solution you can implement to minimize your concerns or correct the issue. Implement what you can and realize that there are many things in life that you cannot control. Do what you can, but leave the remainder and the results to God.

· Cultivate the Awareness of God’s Presence in You

So many times our worry stems from that which we do not have, such as money, health, or control of others. Hebrews 13:5 – Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Jesus gives us the strength for our tasks, the wisdom for decisions, the courage to face difficulties, and the victory over temptation. Keep up a running conversation with Him in your mind. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

· Replace Worry with Prayer

Again Paul gave the Philippians this advice in 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Instead of worrying, pray. You have a Father in heaven who is real, who loves you, who will provide for your every need. He wants you to pray, demonstrating your dependence on Him. And He will give you an unexplainable peace that will serve as a guardian over your mind.

· Get Help from Others

Many times when you share with a friend something that is troubling you, you feel better immediately. Often a wise friend will be able to encourage and enlightens you through the Scriptures. Pray together, and by the time you part, God has used another believer to relieve your anxiety and strengthen your faith. Remember, we are members of one body and one family, and we are commanded to bear one another’s burdens.

If you are a worrier, a fretter, or someone who is anxious much of the time, God wants to heal you. He has given you His promises, His protection, and His provision. We all have a choice, and we are responsible for the choices that we make. We can keep worrying, ruin our mental and physical health, and retard our spiritual development. There is an alternative though, and it is summed up in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Next Friday we will take a little bit of a different direction from our discussion about worry as we explore how we can fear less and have more victory on a daily basis. 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 642 – Life and Death – Wisdom Unplugged

July 6, 2017 by H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III Leave a Comment

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 642 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Life and Death – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 642 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget.

Today’s quote is from St. Ambrose, and it is, “To the good man to die is gain. The foolish fear death as the greatest of evils, the wise desire it as a rest after labors and the end of ills.”

Most people do not like to think about or discuss the issue of our mortality, which is death. This is certainly interesting because all of us will at some point die. While none of us desire to go through a painful death, we must be prepared for the eventuality that it will happen, and there is nothing that will prevent it. While I am a very strong advocate for taking care of our physical bodies so that we do not die prematurely from a cause we may have prevented, the fact is that God knows when our work on earth is complete.

We should be prepared financially, mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually. If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our substitute and advocate before God, then the spiritual aspect is guaranteed. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” Once our standing before God is secured, then it is our responsibility to prepare the other areas of our lives.

We should not do foolish things that will hasten our death, but we should also not fear it. As we are faithful in fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives, then when death does come, we are prepared and can look forward to the eternal rest that we will have in God’s presence. No one knows if our deaths will be soon or if we have decades of life ahead of us.

We will all die, so our life objective is to create a legacy that will live on through the lives of others for many generations to come. Your daily impact does matter. When we do come to the end of our lives here on earth, let us be able to say as the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged quote. If you would like free access to my database of over 10,000 inspirational quotes, the link is available on the main page of Wisdom-Trek.com. Just as you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, 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 on iTunes or Google play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

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

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!

November 2024
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