Wisdom-Trek © - Archive 2

H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III

Do you desire to gain wisdom, make an impact on your world, and create a living legacy? Through the use of positive/encouraging stories, parables, allegories and analogies we will explore the trails of everyday life in a practical and meaningful manner as we scale towards our summit of life. The purpose of our Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal is to teach you wisdom and discipline, to help you understand the insights of the wise, to teach you to live disciplined and successful lives, to help you do what is right, just, and fair. By obtaining this wisdom then you will be able to create a living legacy for today that will live on and be multiplied through the lives of others. Wisdom-Trek.com is your portal to all things pertaining to the acquisition wisdom, insight, and knowledge. The Wisdom-Trek platform includes this website along with a daily journal, and a daily podcast on wisdom and creating a living legacy. It is your portal because it is our hope that everyone will share and participate in gaining wisdom, insight, and discernment. As we gain wisdom it is so we can share what we have learned with others. No single person is ‘all-wise’ and when we share with each other that we all gain wisdom. We encourage you to share insights, ask questions, and grow together. Join us today and become part of the Wisdom-Trek team. read less
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Day 596 – A Father’s Plea – Proverbs 7
03-05-2017
Day 596 – A Father’s Plea – Proverbs 7
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 596 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom A Father’s Plea – Proverbs 7 Hello, my friend, and welcome to Wisdom-Trek! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your Guide to Wisdom and Creating a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 596 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 7 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. Spring is now in full swing with its showers, flowers, trees nearly full of leaves, and temperatures moderating to a pleasant range. It seems like each new day brings new life. The red-shouldered hawks that have their nest outside our 2nd story office windows are busy all day bringing fresh food back to their newly born chicks. Just as spring is a flurry of activities with changes that are evident on a daily basis, so are our lives changing to a “new normal.” As mentioned during a couple of daily treks last week, Hazel our 2.5-year-old granddaughter has been diagnosed with leukemia. In addition to the emotionally difficult trek that this news has brought to our lives, we also take on additional responsibilities and tasks to assist during this long trail that is now before us. We are assisting with the transport of Hazel’s two older brothers to school and back on most days. We have also adopted two of Nat & Elizabeth’s dogs so that they can focus on Hazel’s treatment and ultimate recovery. Hazel is responding well to the chemo treatments, and the physicians are pleased with the early results. For the next 2-3 months, Hazel will have weekly chemo treatments in Columbus on Monday’s and also have blood drawn locally on Wednesday and Friday’s to monitor the results. After this stage, the treatments fall back to monthly for the duration of about two years. As Hazel’s father Nat expressed in this week’s blog, we are humbled and grateful for the outpouring of help and resources that are being provided as Hazel’s tribe of prayer warriors and supporters grow each day around the world. We would ask you to pray for Hazel and her family, and also for us as grandparents that we would have the wisdom, insight, and understanding to make prudent choices and are able to help wherever it is needed. As we explore Proverbs 7 today, we see a passionate plea from King Solomon to his son that he may obtain wisdom… A Father’s Plea · 10th Speech from Father to Son This is the tenth and final speech the father delivers to his son, and it’s the most...

Episodes

Day 596 – A Father’s Plea – Proverbs 7
03-05-2017
Day 596 – A Father’s Plea – Proverbs 7
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 596 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom A Father’s Plea – Proverbs 7 Hello, my friend, and welcome to Wisdom-Trek! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your Guide to Wisdom and Creating a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 596 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 7 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. Spring is now in full swing with its showers, flowers, trees nearly full of leaves, and temperatures moderating to a pleasant range. It seems like each new day brings new life. The red-shouldered hawks that have their nest outside our 2nd story office windows are busy all day bringing fresh food back to their newly born chicks. Just as spring is a flurry of activities with changes that are evident on a daily basis, so are our lives changing to a “new normal.” As mentioned during a couple of daily treks last week, Hazel our 2.5-year-old granddaughter has been diagnosed with leukemia. In addition to the emotionally difficult trek that this news has brought to our lives, we also take on additional responsibilities and tasks to assist during this long trail that is now before us. We are assisting with the transport of Hazel’s two older brothers to school and back on most days. We have also adopted two of Nat & Elizabeth’s dogs so that they can focus on Hazel’s treatment and ultimate recovery. Hazel is responding well to the chemo treatments, and the physicians are pleased with the early results. For the next 2-3 months, Hazel will have weekly chemo treatments in Columbus on Monday’s and also have blood drawn locally on Wednesday and Friday’s to monitor the results. After this stage, the treatments fall back to monthly for the duration of about two years. As Hazel’s father Nat expressed in this week’s blog, we are humbled and grateful for the outpouring of help and resources that are being provided as Hazel’s tribe of prayer warriors and supporters grow each day around the world. We would ask you to pray for Hazel and her family, and also for us as grandparents that we would have the wisdom, insight, and understanding to make prudent choices and are able to help wherever it is needed. As we explore Proverbs 7 today, we see a passionate plea from King Solomon to his son that he may obtain wisdom… A Father’s Plea · 10th Speech from Father to Son This is the tenth and final speech the father delivers to his son, and it’s the most...
Day 595 – Calmness of Mind – Wisdom Unplugged
02-05-2017
Day 595 – Calmness of Mind – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 595 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Calmness of Mind – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 595 of our trek, and it is time for a 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 James Allen who said, “The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” A person who is truly wise will also be a person who displays calmness in the midst of stress and hardships. A wise person realizes that if they allow themselves to lose control of their emotions, then they will make foolish decisions, take foolish actions, and say foolish and hurtful words to others, including those that they love. A wise person will not allow external circumstances to control their mind, which controls his actions. A wise person who remains calm in every situation is certainly a beautiful treasure in a world filled with hate and violence. There are so many verses in Proverbs that teach us these principles. Here are a few that I have chosen. Proverbs 12:16 – A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. Proverbs 14:17 – Short-tempered people do foolish things, and schemers are hated. Proverbs 15:1 – A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Proverbs 17:27 – A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.
Day 594 – Love – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
01-05-2017
Day 594 – Love – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 594 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Love – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 594 of our trek and Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack. Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 17th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Love.  We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The previous tool that we explored was renewal, and the importance it is for each of our lives. With the diagnosis of leukemia in our granddaughter Hazel just over two weeks ago, there has been little time for practicing renewal in our lives. Quite the contrary, the investment of time necessary surrounding this cataclysmic life change has required that we add many new duties to an already busy schedule. While these two weeks have exhausted us both physically and emotionally, it certainly has been a time for reflection on what is truly important. Since we do have a long road ahead of us, it will be more important than ever that we invest adequate time in renewal also. As I have reflected on Hazel’s illness I realized that I would do anything I could to take her illness and treatment on me, so she would not have to. I would do this because of my love for Hazel and my desire for her not to go through this time of suffering. Unfortunately, this is not possible. This brings to mind the fact that because of His love for us, Christ gave up his life and suffered hell for us so that we would not have to. Romans 5:8-9, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.”
Day 593 – Lifestyle Is Not an Automatic Reward – Lifestyle (3)
28-04-2017
Day 593 – Lifestyle Is Not an Automatic Reward – Lifestyle (3)
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 593 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Lifestyle Is Not an Automatic Reward Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 593 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. Currently, we are on an extended multi-week trek as we explore the teachings from some of my virtual mentors, such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. The core of our current trek is based primarily on Jim Rohn’s book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. I have learned a considerable amount from reading and re-reading this book on my own trek of life, and I trust that it will benefit you also. Keeping with the continuity of Wisdom-Trek, I have adapted it to The Five Trails on Life’s Trek. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It has been a beautiful spring week, and all of the trees are exploding with foliage. The large maples and oaks are a bit behind, but it won’t take too many days before they are also full of leaves. Our granddaughter Hazel, whom I mentioned in Wednesday’s trek, is now home after her first 8 days of Chemo treatments for leukemia. Although it is always possible that the future treatment schedule will change based on her response, currently she will travel to Columbus every Monday for a Chemo treatment. On Wednesday & Friday of each week, she will have blood drawn locally to monitor the results. The weekly treatments will last 2-3 months depending on the results, and then it will move to a monthly treatment for the next 20+ months. We would appreciate your continued prayers for her healing and strength for the family. Last Philosophy Friday I mentioned that we deal with the same challenges and fears that everyone deals with. This has certainly been true during the past couple of weeks as our lives have been dramatically impacted. As we continue today on our 5th trail, which is the The Trail of Lifestyle, we will explore how our lifestyle is not automatic but is created by how we respond to the challenges of life, not by the fact that we do not have...
Day 592 – Never of Two Minds – Wisdom Unplugged
27-04-2017
Day 592 – Never of Two Minds – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 592 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Never of Two Minds – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 592 of our trek, and it is time for a 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 quote is from Confucius who said, “The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.” To be wise is to have a single-mindedness of your purpose, mission, and vision for life. If you are compassionate, kind, and generous, then you will not worry about what others think or feel about you, because you will know instinctively that you are doing what is right. If you have courage, then there is no reason to be fearful because you know that you will persevere even through difficult times. You cannot be double-minded and strong or successful at the same time. In fact, if you desire to be wise, one of the keys is to not have a divided loyalty. Anyone can gain wisdom by earnestly asking God to provide it, but we must be loyal to God to obtain wisdom. James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us that God will freely give us wisdom if we ask Him. This is in his letter in James 1:5-8, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
Day 591 – Don’t Be a Fool! – Proverbs 6
26-04-2017
Day 591 – Don’t Be a Fool! – Proverbs 6
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 591 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Don’t Be a Fool! – Proverbs 6 Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 591 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 6 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. What a difference a week can make in our lives. I was scheduled to travel to Mesa, Arizona, last week to work on our construction project there. The day before I was to leave our lives changed forever. A little over a week ago, Hazel, our 2 ½-year-old, red-headed, spunky grandchild who is so full of life was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. A week ago on Saturday, we found out that our sweet little Hazel was diagnosed with pre-b acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Of course, our hearts are broken, and it rocked our foundation to the very core. Since it was detected early, and she is young, the prognosis for recovery is good. But the thought of Hazel having to suffer through two years of chemo treatments is difficult to grasp and consider. It certainly will be a major change in our lives and especially in the lives of her parents Elizabeth and Nat Miller and Hazel’s three older siblings Paul, Gideon, and Aurora. It is hard to process, especially for one so young, but we are certain that God is in control of this situation as He is in all of our lives. We will be much more involved with Elizabeth, Nat, and the grandkid’s lives as we assist and we all adjust to a life that is no longer what our normal was. Fortunately, Nat’s parents also live locally and are very involved with the grandkids. We would ask you to pray for Hazel and her tribe, and also for us as grandparents that we would have the wisdom, insight, and understanding to make prudent choices and be able to help wherever it is needed. As we explore Proverbs 6 today, Solomon instructs us to be wise. Solomon puts it bluntly when he says… Don’t Be a Fool! · 9th Speech from Father to Son Chapter 6 is the father’s ninth speech, and there’s a trove of wisdom gold in here. As you listen to it, look for words such as “snare,” “caught,” “hunter,” “fowler,” “robber,” “capture,” and “thief.” According to the father, there are four hunters out there...
Day 590 – The Mark of Wisdom – Wisdom Unplugged
25-04-2017
Day 590 – The Mark of Wisdom – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 590 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Mark of Wisdom – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 590 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 Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” Miracles are around us every day. Unfortunately, we are usually too preoccupied and busy to notice them. It takes wisdom to invest time to absorb a beautiful sunrise or sunset. It takes wisdom to understand the miracles of the seasons that come and go with unchanging regularity. It takes wisdom to enjoy the ebbs and flows of the oceans. It takes wisdom to appreciate the need for a balance of sun, rain, snow, clouds, and winds. It takes wisdom to realize that every beat of our heart and every breath that we take are a miracle that sustains our life for yet one more moment. It takes wisdom to acknowledge that all of these common things that we take for granted comes from a holy and loving God who is the creator of all things. As Romans 1:19-20 tells us, “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged. If you enjoy these quotes, I have created and published a searchable database of over 10,000 quotes that I have collected for many years. If you would like free access to my database...
Day 589 – Renewal – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
24-04-2017
Day 589 – Renewal – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 589 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Renewal- The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 589 of our trek, and it is Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack. Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks, we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 16th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Renewal.  We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this trek is released, I should be back from a week in Arizona and have spoken at church yesterday. I do have to admit, while I love work and enjoy our life, there are times where I desperately need a time of rest and relaxation. I do not do this as often as I should, so it is something that I need to work towards. Even the most driven and healthy parents and grandparents need a period of R&R and an infusion of God’s power. It is also imperative that we teach our children, grandchildren, and others that we mentor how to use the valuable tool of… Renewal All of us, even if we are very strong in our faith, occasionally find ourselves running on empty. I know I fall prey to this. The demands of daily life and the stresses that we place on ourselves can drain us of our strength and rob us of the joy that is ours in Christ. When we find ourselves tired, discouraged, and not wanting to carry on, it is time to stop, maybe even step back for a bit, and determine the source of our situation. As Christ followers, we can also draw strength from God’s Word and other Christians to help us recharge our spiritual batteries. God certainly knows our weaknesses and frailties and the Apostle Peter in his 1st letter 5:10 tells us, “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”
Day 588 – Lifestyle Is Not Determined by Money – Lifestyle (2)
21-04-2017
Day 588 – Lifestyle Is Not Determined by Money – Lifestyle (2)
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 588 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Lifestyle Is Not Determined by Money Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 588 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life, and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. Currently, we are on an extended multi-week trek as we explore the teachings from some of my virtual mentors such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. The core of our current trek is based primarily on Jim Rohn’s book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle.  I have learned a considerable amount from reading and re-reading this book on my own trek of life, and I trust that it will benefit you also. Keeping with the continuity of Wisdom-Trek, I have adapted it to The Five Trails on Life’s Trek. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this trek is originally aired, I will be finishing up another week in Arizona working with our partners on the Mesa construction project. Hopefully, we will have prepared the budget and contract for Phase II of the project. Although Phase I extended out much longer and had cost overruns that we were not expecting, we hope that the experiences and lessons learned will allow Phase II to run much smoother and to be much more profitable. I should get back to Marietta late Saturday, and then I have the privilege of speaking at Putnam Church again as our pastor will be on vacation this week. I will be speaking on Conquering Your Giants. Although we do have a varied and interesting life, we deal with the same challenges and fears that everyone deals with. If we do not conquer them, those fears become giants that can overwhelm and defeat us, making our impact on our world minimized. Victories and defeats make up the lifestyle that we live. As we continue on our extended trek today, we are hiking on our 5th trail which is The Trail of Lifestyle. Today we will explore what lifestyle is not, and also some elements of what makes up a balanced lifestyle. If you have missed the past few Philosophy Friday treks, it would be good to go back and review them to get caught up on our progress so far. We have a lot of ground to cover today,...
Day 587 – The Good News Is Simple, But Rich – Wisdom Unplugged
20-04-2017
Day 587 – The Good News Is Simple, But Rich – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 587 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Good News Is Simple But Rich– Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 587 of our trek, and it is time for a 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 Charles Hodge who said, “The Gospel is so simple that simple children can understand it, and it is so profound that studies by the wisest theologians will never exhaust its riches.” The older that I get and the more that I study God’s Word, the more I realize that there is just so much about God that I will never fully understand. As Romans 11:32-35 tells us, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!  For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?  Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?” Yet the message of God’s love is so simple that even children can understand it. The children’s song that many of us know encapsulates this well…“Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This is sufficient as Jesus told us in Matthew 18:2-4, “Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'” 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. As you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along
Day 586 – Rejecting Lady Folly – Proverbs 5
19-04-2017
Day 586 – Rejecting Lady Folly – Proverbs 5
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 586 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Rejecting Lady Folly – Proverbs 5 Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 586 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 5 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. In today’s world, as it has been since the beginning of recorded history, it is so easy to fall into the trap of folly. That is to say making decisions that are foolish instead of wise. We are all prone to this, and it is only when we seek out wisdom on a daily basis that we will have any hope to make wise decisions. One area that is probably most destructive is when we make foolish decisions about our relationships, especially when it involves becoming intimate with others outside the covenant that we make when we marry. Solomon has much to say about this in Proverbs and in this chapter Solomon instructs his sons with very direct teaching. Solomon made many foolish decisions in this area, so he had much experience to teach from. So today in Chapter 5 of Proverbs, we will explore the importance of… Rejecting Lady Folly 8th Speech from Father to Son There is a character in Proverbs, the adulteress, referred to as the seductive woman, who we have only had brief encounters with so far ([2:16]-19). Now in Chapters 5-7, we get a much closer look at this woman, and it’s not pretty. This lady is a sham and will do you no good. This speech is frightening. The father calls the adulteress the “seductive woman.” As the passage implies, she is already a married woman. Beware! She might be persuasive, with lips that speak “honey-sweet” and words that are “smooth like oil,” but in reality, she is barbed and bitter. Follow her, and she will take you down with her “straight to the grave.” The father goes on to use a contrasting set of images – the house of the adulteress is the root of destruction, but the home of your bride is the fruit of life. The father’s speech flows with words comparing the wife to that of water (a “cistern” and “fountain”). Water in the Near East was particularly gratifying due to extremely high temperatures. Likewise, the father implies, a man’s wife is water to his soul. The sexually thirsty man should always drink of his wife’s body and be intoxicated with her love and never partake from another woman.
Day 585 – Be Happy Today – Wisdom Unplugged
18-04-2017
Day 585 – Be Happy Today – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 585 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Be Happy Today – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 585 of our trek, and it is time for a 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 James Oppenheim who said, “The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” The happiness that we desire today seems to elude most of us. We are always looking for happiness in the future. We wait for something to happen to make us happy. A new job, a new car, more money, better friends…The list goes on and on. Happiness is based on how content we are with what we have now. Contentment, for the most part, is a choice. If we plant the seeds of contentment each day and choose to be satisfied with what we currently have, while striving to improve, we will find the happiness we desire today. The seeds of contentment will grow into a life filled with happiness and, more importantly, joy. Keep in mind the very word happiness is based on what happens to us, so if we are not careful, the happenings of today will control us. Instead, we need to learn to be full of joy and peace by realizing that all will be well with us regardless of the circumstances. As the Apostle Paul taught Timothy in his 1st letter to him in Chapter 6 verses 5-8, “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged. If you enjoy these quotes, I have created and published a searchable database of over 10,000 quotes that I have collected for many years. If you would like free access to my database of inspirational quotes, the link is available on the main page of Wisdom-Trek.com. 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.
Day 584 – Fairness – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
17-04-2017
Day 584 – Fairness – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 584of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Fairness – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 584 of our trek, and it is Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack. Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 15th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Fairness.  We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this trek is released, I will be back in Arizona for a week to continue our work on our construction projects there. If all goes as planned, I will invest much of the week preparing the contract for Phase II. If the contract is accepted, we should be able to move forward with construction within the next 60 days. One conclusion that I have come to over my years of observations in business and indeed all of life is that life is not always fair. Not everyone has the same perspective about life, and it will usually stem back from lack of ethics, lack of compassion, and lack of understanding when dealing with others. As parents, grandparents, and mentors to others, we need to teach those we impact that life is not always fair while still teaching and practicing fairness in our own lives and interactions in all areas of life as we deal with others. While others and life itself may not always seem fair, the tool that we want to use and pass on to our children, grandchildren, and others is… Fairness You make many decisions each day, and as much as humanly possible, you need to be fair to everyone, including yourself.  You need to be savvy, but fair to manage the affairs of daily life, including the affairs of your family life. With all of the political correctness and situational ethics that seem to drive most decisions today, where can you turn for deciding what is fair and what is not? Gramps’ backpack that contains all of the tools we are exploring is God’s Word, the
Day 583 – What Is Lifestyle? – Lifestyle (1)
14-04-2017
Day 583 – What Is Lifestyle? – Lifestyle (1)
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 583 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom What Is Lifestyle? Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 583 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. Currently, we are on an extended multi-week trek as we explore the teachings from some of my virtual mentors, such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. The core of our current trek is based primarily on Jim Rohn’s book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. I have learned a considerable amount from reading and re-reading this book on my own trek of life, and I trust that it will benefit you also. Keeping with the continuity of Wisdom-Trek, I have adapted it to The Five Trails on Life’s Trek. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This has been a pleasant spring week with the mature maples and oaks finally budding and their leaves starting to show. It won’t be long before we are in full foliage once again. I am making progress on cutting up the trees that we had cut down. They were large and cutting them up into manageable sections is proving to be very physically challenging. The stack along the side of the garage is growing rapidly. I suspect it will be several more weeks before the cleanup project is complete. We hope to invest in a log splitter this fall since many of the pieces are too large to carry or fit into the fireplace. While I enjoy being outside and doing physical labor, it certainly creates sore muscles that I don’t use as rigorously during my daily exercise routine. Although life is far from perfect, and we struggle like everyone, we are focusing on enjoying our daily lifestyle and being content with how life is and not how we wish it to be. We certainly strive to improve our lifestyle but choose to be content as we work on those improvements. As we continue on our extended trek today, we will begin our 5th trail, which is The Trail of Lifestyle. The final blending of
Day 582 – The Doors of Wisdom Are Never Shut – Wisdom Unplugged
13-04-2017
Day 582 – The Doors of Wisdom Are Never Shut – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 582 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Doors of Wisdom Are Never Shut – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 582 of our trek, and it is time for a 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 quote is from Ben Franklin who said, “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” As time quickly rushes by and days turn into months, years, and decades, we start to feel that life is passing us by, and we are missing so many opportunities. No matter what your age, economic status, ability, or talents, there never comes a time where you cease the ability to gain wisdom, insight, understanding and knowledge. You may have to seek for it, but the reservoir is full. And it is up to you to drink deeply of the waters. If you struggle with finding that reservoir of wisdom all we need to do is to ask God for it. James the half-brother of Jesus told us in his letter 1:5-8, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” Also, King Solomon wrote to us in Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord grants wisdom!...
Day 581 – Embrace Lady Wisdom – Proverbs 4
12-04-2017
Day 581 – Embrace Lady Wisdom – Proverbs 4
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 581 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Embrace Lady Wisdom – Proverbs 3 Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 581 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 4 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. One of the primary objectives for Wisdom-Trek is to help you create and build a living legacy. A legacy which is much more that material possessions. A legacy that weaves into your life character traits that are both good and godly. A legacy of unwavering integrity. A legacy that is built on a solid foundation from which you can grow and flourish. A legacy that is passed on to your children, grandchildren, and others that you impact both in word and action. A legacy that they can embrace and pass on for generations to come. That is what the father in this chapter is teaching his children. So today in Chapter 4 of Proverbs, we will explore how to… Embrace Lady Wisdom In this chapter, we find three more speeches from the father to his son. · 5th Speech from Father to Son Verses 1-9: At the beginning of this chapter the father gathers his children around for a special speech. It’s almost like he’s a proud, slightly worried dad giving a wedding toast. He shares the words he received years ago from his own father, urging him to embrace Lady Wisdom. “She will raise you to a place of honor in return,” he says. Notice the reverent, relational way the father speaks of Lady Wisdom to his sons · 6th Speech from Father to Son Verses 10-19: Now the father and son sit down for a man-to-man talk. No more soft words like “cherish,” “honor,” or “embrace.” He uses stark contrasts to make his point. There are only two ways of life — wickedness or righteousness. Notice that there’s not a third option. Choose light or dark, life or death; it’s up to you. Just like in Chapter 3, the father uses very pointed, descriptive vocabulary to clarify the benefits and consequences of the two distinct paths · 7th Speech from Father to Son Verses 20-27: For the seventh speech, the father builds on the preceding one....
Day 580 – Forgive Yourself – Wisdom Unplugged
11-04-2017
Day 580 – Forgive Yourself – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 580 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Forgive Yourself – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 580 of our trek, and it’s time for a 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 Alden Nowlan who said, “The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.” If you have been an adult for any length of time, I know that you will relate to this quote. It hits us hard when we realize that our parents don’t know everything and are very fallible in many areas of their life. Even as grown adults, to see our elderly parents not being the strong stalwarts that we once envisioned is difficult for us to reconcile. To be a true adult, we must accept our parents as they are, not what we envisioned them to be. We must be willing to forgive them as often as may be needed. True wisdom will begin to shed light on our understanding when we realize that in many ways, we are also fallible, just like they are. We must forgive ourselves for the many ways in which we have disappointed both our children and our parents. It is only when we can forgive ourselves that we will be able to truly forgive others. It is only when we stop judging our parents and others in our lives that we will be able to forgive them. When we forgive and are willing to give of ourselves, it is then the blessings from God will be poured out on us also. As Jesus taught us in Luke 6:36-38 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken...
Day 579 – Optimism – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
10-04-2017
Day 579 – Optimism – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 579 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Optimism – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 579 of our trek, and it is Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack. Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks, we are exploring a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 14th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Optimism. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. I am recording this before the weekend, but if all goes according to plan and the weather cooperates, I will be investing most of my time during this weekend continuing to cut up the large trees that we had cut down in March. There is a lot left to complete, so I doubt that this project will be finished. This last week has been a busy one, but we were able to complete the remaining tax returns that were on our schedule. We are optimistic that we can now focus more time on some of the other projects that need our attention. Having an optimistic, but realistic outlook and focus on life is imperative to success in all areas of life. It is also a crucial character trait to teach to our children, grandchildren, and others that we impact. They will certainly learn more by observing us and how we view various situations of life. Although I grew up in a poor family financially, my parents always displayed an optimistic outlook on life. They were so rich in many others areas of life. I learned that material wealth was not nearly as important as having wealth in the non-material areas, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the character traits that we need to optimistically pass on to others. So the tool that we will explore today is… Optimism Optimistic parents and grandparents will use the power of positive thoughts to
Day 578 – The Two Choices We Face – Results (8)
07-04-2017
Day 578 – The Two Choices We Face – Results (8)
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 578 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom The Two Choices We Face – Results Hello, my friend, and welcome to Wisdom-Trek! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your Guide to Wisdom and Creating a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 578 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. Currently, we are on an extended multi-week trek as we explore the teachings from some of my virtual mentors, such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. The core of our current trek is based primarily on Jim Rohn’s book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle.  I have learned a considerable amount from reading and re-reading this book on my own trek of life, and I trust that it will benefit you also. Keeping with the continuity of Wisdom-Trek, I have adapted it to The Five Trails on Life’s Trek. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It has been a rainy, but a mild week of spring. We are enjoying the warmer temperatures, the flowers that are in bloom, and our pair of hawks that are waiting patiently for their new chicks to arrive. The leaves on the smaller trees are just starting to show some green while the large mature maples and oaks will soon follow. With the passing of each new day, we see signs of new life that are expected in the season of spring. As we continue on our extended trek today, we will conclude our 4th trail, which is The Trail of Results. We would consider it odd if during the spring no flowers bloomed and no trees brought forth their leaves. These are expected results of spring. Yet with many people, we do not see the results in their lives that we would expect and they are capable of producing. This will be our focus for today. If you have missed the past few Philosophy Friday treks, it would be good to go back and review them to get caught up on our progress so far. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so let’s break camp and conclude the fourth trail of this extended trek as we cover… The Five Trails on Life’s Trek – Results Part 8 As a reminder, our overall extended trek covers these five trails: Philosophy Attitude Activity Results Lifestyle 1. How Far Should We Reach? It seems that every life form
Day 577 – What Drives Change? – Wisdom Unplugged
06-04-2017
Day 577 – What Drives Change? – Wisdom Unplugged
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy Welcome to Day 577 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom What Drives Change? – Wisdom Unplugged Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week, wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 577 of our trek, and it is time for a 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 Leo Tolstoy who said, “The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience.” Change…no one really likes it, and we resist change either consciously or unconsciously nearly all the time. True change comes to our lives because we determine that it is not possible to continue living as we are currently. Our conscience may nudge or prompt us to change, but it is all too easy to ignore God’s still small voice within our conscience. In fact, it is possible to so sear our conscience that we can not longer hear that prompting. As humans, God has given us free will to make our own choices. In doing so, we have the innate capability to rationalize and justify any choice or decision that we make. It is only when the desire to change is greater than the desire to stay the same will we force ourselves to make and accept the changes that are needed in our lives. Sometimes God does allow the consequences of previous decisions to be a change agent in our lives. We should be receptive to this. As the Apostle Paul wrote in his 2nd letter to his apprentice in Timothy 2:24-26, “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.” So be willing and open to the internal promptings of God to make the needed changes each day to make a positive impact on the lives of others. 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.  As you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom,...