Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 1318 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Creating Peace – 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 1318 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 when 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, life seems so busy and hectic. I don’t seem to have any time of peace from the time I get up, until I fall exhausted in my bed at night. I would like to learn how to have peace, even in the middle of chaos. What wise tips do you have to help?”
Creating Peace
Come with me in your mind and picture yourself sitting on the fishing deck of a nearby lake immersing yourself in the peaceful and serene setting. A light breeze stirs the surface to quiet ripples as the sun creeps over the horizon. Flags on the docks of the lake-dwellers indicate an early start to the winds that will follow. An egret glides smoothly across a small inlet to fish in the shallow water. What could be more peaceful?
As you sit there in the quiet of the early morning, somewhere in the distance, there is the sound of what is to come. A motor ignites with a healthy roar and the day is on. Shortly, the lake will be filled with the noise of boats — ski boats, fishing boats, and those angry little hornets called Sea-doos, the motorcycles of the waterways. This rhythm is the daily cycle, the transformation from peace to chaos and back again.
This rhythm of a day on the lake will help you to realize that life is not so different. Few of us can hold on to those peaceful moments very long without interruption. Most of us must have the promise of the return of peace.
For some, however, a time of peace never seems to appear. Their lives are stressful from daybreak to dark — and often stressful through the night. Those long stretches without peace are difficult times! Most of us have experienced them for periods, but no one can withstand them forever.
Is there hope for you and others stuck in the long stretches of life without peace? Days grow into weeks and then months…Without realizing it your life has very little peace for what seems to be years on end. Stop for a moment and realize that as with all choices and decisions that we make in life, the amount and level of peace, is, at least somewhat, dependent on you.
You have to get to the point where you create your own peace. For me, my time of peace starts at 4:45 am each morning. My time of peace must be before the world wakes up. Before, I am constantly bombarded with messages, emails, calls, and other work-related demands. This early morning peacetime is a time of quiet devotion and exercise time. A time to communion with God alone.
Perhaps we should learn a lesson here. To seek quiet in a time of noise can be perplexing and nearly impossible. When you chose to follow the natural cycle of time and place, you will find your peace and it will be enjoyable. If you look for the quiet on the lake in the middle of the day, then you will be disappointed. In the same manner, if I attempted to find peace during the day in the middle of business, all I would have is frustration. I would have neither peace nor productivity. Quiet comes in quiet times and quiet places. Don’t try to force life against the grain or you will constantly be irritated!
Now, does this mean “go with the flow” and not pursue the times of peace? Our choices will eventually lead to choices of sin and righteousness. Choosing the wrong never brings peace! I am referring to the natural flow of life, busy-ness, and noise. You must consciously also choose times of peace. When it comes to inner peace, there is no true peace without God. All the adjustments to the times and places will not compensate for the stress of an undirected life.
Let me drive a point home. Peace is not impossible. You can even have peace in the middle of chaos, when it is the peace of God. Jesus Christ promised us this peace in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” God
can be our peace even in the middle of life’s busy-ness and noise.
In regard to your question, God is always the answer — He can be our peace in the middle of life’s busy-ness and noise. You may choose to sit on the dock in the early morning to find the quiet of the lake. I find my early morning devotional and exercise time to be my lake. David, the shepherd king, knew the true source of real peace and quiet he wrote in Psalm 23:2-3.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
Many are searching for the quiet waters in a world of raging storms; we all need the constant restoration of our souls. May you find this grace in your quiet place and the restoration of your soul!
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 1317 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 importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this 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!
Young Deacon Jones was ushering one Sunday morning when he noticed an elderly woman walking towards the front door of Crossroads Country Church. The front steps of the church were quite steep and long, so Deacon Jones rushed out to help the older lady. He greeted her warmly and asked her name as he assisted up the stairs. She responded a bit curtly, just call me Maggie, but she said little else.
Taken back a bit, Deacon Jones replied, “well, no.”
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1316 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.
Most Bible students will know that Israel’s first three kings were Saul, David, and Solomon. They were the only three kings to rule over all twelve tribes, what scholars call the united monarchy. The complete kingdom was known in the Old Testament as Israel, since the twelve tribes of Israel swore allegiance to the same king. Solomon’s reign ends in l Kings 11. That means the united monarchy – the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon – are covered in 1-2 Samuel and l Kings 1-10.
To make things more complicated, the ten-tribe nation of “Israel” also went by other names. The central hill country of the land was dominated by the territory of the tribe of Ephraim. Jereboam, the first king of the renegade ten tribes, built his capital, Shechem, in Ephraim. However, Ephraim’s own capital had been Samaria. After the time of Jereboam, Samaria became the capital of the northern kingdom. Consequently, the ten-tribe northern kingdom of “Israel” was also known as Ephraim and Samaria.
In English Bibles, the books of 1&2 Chronicles are grouped with the historical books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, and 1&2 Kings. The reason is that the content of 1&2 Chronicles overlaps with the books of Samuel and Kings. The books of 1&2 Chronicles present the story of the Israelite monarchy, both in the days when it was united over all twelve tribes and afterward when it was divided into two kingdoms.
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1315 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.
We should always express our gratitude each time that someone does something for us, not just a one-time acknowledgment of it. It is great to verbally express our gratitude, but if it becomes just redundant platitudes without living a life of gratitude, it will not mean nearly as much. The best way to continually show gratitude is to live in a manner that reflects true gratitude. Let me give an example from my childhood. As I mentioned last week, I was one of ten children and grew up poor on an apple orchard. We lived in an old farmhouse with only one bathroom. This was quite a challenge. Although it was difficult at times to show our appreciation for each other and our parents. We learned throughout our lives that we needed to express our gratitude in word and deed. We didn’t always get along, but it was instilled in us from an early age that we also needed to show our gratitude by helping and assisting each other with all of the farm duties, and household tasks. To survive, it was vitally important for each of us to pitch in our do our part. Our love for and helping each other was a priority that our parents instilled in us throughout our lives. Although my dad is now in a nursing home, with severe dementia, and very acute hearing loss, the nurses frequently make comments on how pleasant and appreciative dad is to everyone there as they care for him. Both verbally expressing and living a life of gratitude is part of the very fabric of dad’s life. We need to make sure that we make it part of the very fabric of our lives also.
As Christ taught us in the New Testament, which is referred to as the Golden rule, 
If you would like to listen to any of our past 1314 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.
When a man and a woman marry, the two become one. Those who were separate, are now united. It is a life that is meant to be lived happily ever after. That is, at least, until death once again separates them. We should not fear that death, though, because Jesus promised, not just an afterlife, but a better life. This promise of Christ is found in 
By promising to do the same for us, Jesus elevates funerals, which is his imminent death, to the same hope level as weddings. From his perspective, the trip to the grave and the walk down the aisle warrant identical excitement.
With the insistence of an attorney in closing arguments, he reviewed the facts in 
If you would like to listen to any of the past 1313 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are 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.