Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1328 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Accomplish Great Things – Ask Gramps
Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.
Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1328 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday, we ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.
As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time where we can “Ask Gramps.” Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, you are unable to. No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask dad or gramps questions about life in many areas.
We may mix it up a bit on our Friday episodes, but we will strive to keep them down to earth and enjoyable. If you have any questions that you would like to ask Gramps, please email them to guthrie@wisdom-trek.com.
So the question for this week is…
“Hey Gramps, I don’t desire to be mediocre in life, but to accomplish great things that will impact the lives of those around me. What nuggets of wisdom do you have that will help me to accomplish great things?”
Accomplish Great Things
We are an instant-results, quick-fix society. Quality gets sacrificed along the way. People are seen only as clients and consumers. Relationships that are going to require effort to create or repair are just abandoned. Corners are cut, rules are broken, and disastrous consequences follow. In the aftermath, we either wonder why we feel so empty or blame God for letting us down — or both. This is not how we accomplish great things and make a great impact.
First, our mindset and priorities must be correct. You must ask yourself, why do you desire to accomplish great things? You mention to make an impact on the lives of others, but why…For your own honor, or to really help others? When our mindset is correct, we won’t care if we personally receive honor, but instead we will desire to make an impact to build God’s kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven, and to bring honor and glory to God.
Second, instead of bringing attention to ourselves, we must be reflective so our lives exude tidbits of practical wisdom as we interact with others on a daily basis. To gain that wisdom, we must read and study God’s Word daily. It is then our lives will reflect those tidbits of wisdom that come from the master teacher.
Third, don’t be foolish enough to think you can set everything right in a single day. Be wise enough to know you can do a little bit each day to reach your stated desire. Here are some examples of what I am sharing…You can’t build a championship-caliber team in a day. No single play in the game plan turns losers into champions. No one sales meeting transforms a company’s bottom line. No weekend marriage or parenting seminar can set right the impaired relationships of a struggling family. No one sermon or inspirational worship time defines a church to set right its troubles or lift it from the doldrums.
Today is the only day that matters. Yesterday will never change. Learn from it, but remember you’ll never change it. Tomorrow is yet to be. What can only be affected is today. Your desire is to make a small impact towards greatness each day.
So, deepen your faith, strengthen your family, focus your career path, encourage a friend, repair a damaged relationship — today. Just a tiny bit. Without expecting a lot. Then trust God to work over the long haul to bring you an outcome that is right and holy. The mosaic of life is created from the tiny fragments we call today.
This should be your prayer each day from Psalm 118:24-25.
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Please, Lord, please save us.
Please, Lord, please give us success.
Accomplishing great things and making a great impact on others is a very slow trail that we must hike each day. It is a gradual dawning like the first glimmer of sunlight each morning until it reaches the full light of day. Within a matter of years, the veil will be removed, and you can look back over the rocky path that you have climbed to realize that you have made an impact on others because you can see the results from the summit. The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
That is a wrap for today’s question. Join us again next Friday for another question on our Ask Gramps episode. Our next trek is Mediation Monday, where we will help you reflect on what is most important in life. 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.
If you would like to listen to any of the past 1327 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.
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.
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
I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you on Monday!
As mentioned in previous episodes, you must be thankful for what you already have, or you will never be thankful for what you receive in the future. Thankfulness is always a choice. To be thankful, you must foster and internal heart of gratitude. This may require creativity and innovation. This requires changing the way you think. You must think differently and of course with a positive mindset and positive outlook. Life will always have its share of hardship and heartache. That is part of life. How we frame those times will determine our outlook about life. My personality type is such that I reframe nearly every situation and circumstance into something positive. I realize that may be more difficult for you than it is for me, but regardless of your basic outlook on life, you still have a choice. So even when life is difficult, change your focus and seek out all of the good that still remains in your life. Cry when you must, but then turn that frown upside down, and focus on those 1000 reasons to smile. God’s love for you is never changing. It is unconditional. It is forever.
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1324 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.
Life might be less complicated for all of us if we each received our own LEGO kit at birth. Yes, I realize there is a choking hazard for children under three. But when you are old enough, you can learn a lot about life from LEGOs. I have learned that:
While it is technically true that “no one is indispensable,” the teaching of Scripture is that each one of us is needed and the body suffers greatly if we don’t do our part which can be found in 1 Corinthians 12:20-22
That is a great question, and one that is so appropriate as this podcast will be released on Valentine’s Day. For Paula and me, this will be our 41st Valentine’s Day together, and we look forward to at least another 41 years. I have to say, that Paula has been truly a blessing to me, and I am certain that Paula would echo my sentiment. To have a spouse that is so dedicated to a pure and loving marriage is a blessing beyond measure. Love for us has been fairly easy because, from the very beginning, we knew that love for each other is a choice that we make each day, and that it is will be that way until God takes us home to be with Him. That being said, our love is also based on the Biblical teachings of what true love is, and what love is not. There are two passages that come to mind when I think about Biblical love. The first one is 
The second passage is considered the great love chapter and that is 1 Corinthians 13. I will share with you today 
If you would like to listen to any of the past 1322 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.
It was a bitterly cold winter day, but old Mr. Miller was bound and determined to do some ice fishing so he could have some fresh fish for dinner. He got up early and headed to a nearby lake. Mr. Miller walked to his usual fishing spot on the frozen lake. He set up his shelter, cut a hole in the ice, and dropped in his fishing line. He was there for almost an hour, without even a nibble. As he bundled up more trying to keep warm, he noticed little Johnny, a neighbor boy, strutting out onto the ice, pitch a little lean-to, and proceed to cut a hole in the ice not far from him. Mr. Miller thought to himself, yeah, good luck kid, I have been here for over an hour and the fish aren’t biting today. To his surprise, little Johnny dropped his fishing line, and minutes later, he hooked a Largemouth Bass.
I hope that brought a smile to your face today. If it did pass your smile onto some else, we all could use a good smile. Our Thursday thought is: “Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall.”
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1321 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player, so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.