Wisdom-Trek © - Archive 2

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 576 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 3 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 addition to our grandson Kip staying with us last week, we had the blessing of investing time with all of our grandkids over the weekend. Some of them even stayed overnight on Friday, which is always a fun time. Although each one is different, each of them is a precious jewel to us. In Proverbs, Solomon tells us that God’s wisdom infused within us is like wearing fine jewelry. It is also described as being more valuable than gold or silver.

So today in chapter 3 of Proverbs we will explore how wisdom is…

In this chapter, we’ve got two more speeches from the father to the son, with a poem about Lady Wisdom nestled in between.

Verses 1-12: This speech is a classic that contains some familiar verses. The father leaves behind the earlier emphasis on outside evil forces and moves on to encourage the son to address his own character. Pay attention to the physicality of the words and how often the father uses “you/your” to highlight personal works of faith and their rewards.

Give God your best of what you make, and you will prosper to the fullest with plenty of food and drink. The last two verses in this section (11-12) stand out because they don’t focus on prizes for honoring God. Instead, the father encourages the son to accept God’s discipline. Don’t lose heart when times are hard, he says, but rather trust that God corrects those He loves—like a father disciplining a son.

Verses 13-20: This is a beautiful poem about the value of wisdom, personified once more as a woman. “No gem is more precious;” the author sighs, “nothing you desire can compare with her.” The poet paints Lady Wisdom as a haven, a resting place, and a force of peace — a powerful one. In fact, she’s compared to the “tree of life” from Genesis 2:9, and in verses 19-20 we’re told that God himself employed wisdom to create the world, “It was by Wisdom that the Eternal fashion the earth.” God’s wisdom is a powerful force in this universe, and we have access to it!

Verses 21-35: This chapter ends with another speech from the father, emphasizing again that the way of wisdom is a way of peace. When you are wise, you’ll sleep well, live without fear, and will avoid traps that other people easily fall into. The father gives some practical relationship advice aimed at bringing peace. Give people what they are owed, don’t think of ways to harm people, don’t accuse people without evidence, and don’t envy people who get things through violence.

1 My son, always remember what I have taught you;

3 Stay focused; do not lose sight of mercy and truth;

5 Place your trust in the Eternal; rely on Him completely;

9 Pay tribute to the Eternal in all of your affairs.

11 My son, do not ignore the Eternal’s instruction

13 How fortunate are those who discover Lady Wisdom

19 It was by wisdom that the Eternal fashioned the earth

21 My son, never lose sight of God’s wisdom and knowledge:

27 Do not withhold what is good from those who deserve it;

That will conclude our exploration of Proverbs 3. Next week we will continue with Chapter 4, and each week we will explore a full chapter in Proverbs. I hope that you will join us each week so that you can gain wisdom, insight, and understanding for yourself.

All of the Proverbs provide 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 hike another short trail of Wisdom Unplugged where we will discover an inspirational wisdom quote. 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 the past daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week, wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 575 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 John Owen who said, “That wisdom which cannot teach me that God is love, shall ever pass for folly.”

Wisdom and folly, love and hate, pain and pleasure, good and evil. We tend to think of these attributes as opposites, but they are all closer than most of us realize. God created humans for fellowship with Him and to be bearers of His image. God is holy, He knows what is best for us, and therefore He has given us guidelines to follow which are found in His Word.

These precepts or guidelines were not created because God desires to restrict us, but it is because of His love for us. He knows what is best for us. It is because of His love for us that He has also given us free will which allows us the choice of whether we will live by His precepts. It is because of His love for us that He permits us to reap the harvest from the seeds of the choices that we make.

God is love, and because of His love for us, if we choose to learn from Him and gain His wisdom, we will also love Him. God is also a God of justice, not because He desires to punish us, but justice as a result of our choice on whether we choose to follow His precepts. To think that God would arbitrarily punish us is folly.

Because of God’s love for us, we should love each other. In fact, God’s entire law can be summed up in two statements. Love God, love others. The Apostle John explained it this way in his 1st letter in Chapter 4 verses 7-12, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

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.

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:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow for Wisdom Wednesday!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 574 of our trek, and 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 13th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Humility.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The renovations on the downstairs bathroom are now complete, and we are very pleased with the results. It provides a shower and an extra cabinet for Paula’s mom, so that will make it more convenient for all of us.

We are seeing the trend where many more households are becoming multi-generational either out of need or convenience. As we see this blending, it is important for us to realize and take advantage of the situation to teach our children and grandchildren the important character traits that we all should incorporate into our lives.  One of those traits, or as I refer to them, tools is humility.

As parents and grandparents, we need to be humble and show humility in all of our interactions. We need to demonstrate and teach our children, grandchildren, and others that we mentor what a truly humble person is like. It is very difficult to be humble in all situations and takes great wisdom to practice it continually. So the tool that we will explore today is…

We need to learn that humility is something that we choose to put on each morning, in the same manner as we get dressed each day. Most of us have the discernment to dress appropriately for each day.  Let one of those character garments be that of humility. The Apostle Peter in his first letter Chapter 5 verse 5 explains this to us, “In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

As fallible human beings, we have much to be humble about. Why, then, is humility such a difficult trait for us to master? Precisely because we are fallible humans beings. Yet if we are to grow and mature as Christians, we must strive to give credit where credit is due, starting, of course, with God and His beloved Son.

As Christians, we have been reborn or refashioned and saved by Jesus Christ, and that salvation came not because of our good works but because of God’s grace. It is foolish to think that we are “self-made” because, in reality, we are “God-made” and “Christ-saved.” How then can we be boastful? The answer, of course, is that if we are honest with ourselves and with our God, we simply can’t be boastful. We must, instead, be eternally grateful and exceedingly humble.

Humility is not easy for anyone. All too often we are tempted to swell up with pride, even if it is behind a façade of humility. God does expect us to work hard and be diligent and wise, but we have to realize that all that we are or ever hope to be, we owe to a loving God. Peter continues his teaching from the verse above in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 

Throughout nature and in humans, God uses what is broken to bring glory to His name. Broken clouds to let down rain, on soil that must be broken before planting. The broken grain to produce bread which must be broken to provide us nourishment. He also wants our stubbornness broken in humble obedience to grow His kingdom.

Since we are God’s image bearers, I am all for having a strong and balanced self-image, but as C.S. Lewis put it, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

As a parent, grandparent, and mentor to others, one of the greatest character traits that we can display is a life of humility.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, sums up what our view of humility should be well in his letter James 4:7-10, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

A person that displays a proud demeanor, many times, is a person who lacks confidence in themselves. We can have confident faith in God to provide all of our needs.

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and close Gramps’ backpack. Before I do, I will pass the tool of Humility on to you. Once you have this tool in your backpack, it is up to you to daily put on the garment of humility for others to see and experience as you humbly teach your children, grandchildren, and others the character trait of humility. You can be confident in your faith and still live a life of humility. Don’t be too proud to pass humility to others through word and actions.

Next Monday we will investigate the 14th tool in Gramps’ backpack, which is Optimism. 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 the past daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you  tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 573 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. This week has been extremely busy with client work as we have multiple projects we are currently working on. In addition to that, we are finishing up the renovation of the downstairs bathroom. We are replacing the claw foot tub with a 4’ shower unit, replacing the toilet, adding a cabinet/counter space and replacing all the light fixtures. We are on week three of the project, and hopefully, this will be the last week.

We also have the special treat of having our grandson Kip with us this week, but it does change the dynamic of our work schedule. We certainly enjoy the blessed time having him stay with Granny and Gramps for the week.

It is a balance to cover all basis because we realize that if any aspect is neglected, then it will intensify future challenges. As we continue on our extended trek, our 4th trail is The Trail of Results. Today we will explore the value of confidence in determining our results.

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 continue on the fourth trail of this extended trek as we cover…

While challenges can serve a worthwhile function in helping you to achieve your goals, there is no need to deliberately invite them into your life. Ten years from now you will be somewhere, the question is where? Now is the time to fix the next ten years. Life will present you with enough obstacles without purposely attracting them to you.

One of the best ways to minimize future challenges is to anticipate the results of your current neglect. Anticipating the results of your current neglect begins with asking yourself important questions about your attention to the basics:

The answers to these and many other questions will provide you with vital information about your potential for progress and future rewards. If you cannot discipline yourself in the small things, you will lack the discipline to capitalize on the great opportunities when they appear. Every error defeated by disciplined activity paves the way for your future success. That is how the trails of life are completed, a single step at a time.

If you are to pursue the rich and satisfying life, you should never settle for less than the best you can be. Doing less than your best has a disastrous effect. It erodes self-confidence and diminishes your self-worth. Doing less than you can inevitably affects your attitude. It leads to a bottomless pit of degrading emotions and produces embarrassing and discouraging results.

Doing less than you can creates guilt, guilt leads to worry, and worry gives birth to self-doubt. Then comes the inevitable loss of self-confidence, and the blueprint for failure is now virtually complete. The less capable you feel, the less you do. And less activity means fewer results. As your results decline, so does your attitude. The negative spiral has now begun, and your life is soon spinning out of control.

And how did it all begin? When you allowed yourself to do less than you could have done. The growing weight of things left undone undermines your confidence not only in yourself, but also in the possibility of a better future.

There is a solution for those whose lives are caught up in this negative spiral. By going to work on your attitude, you put yourself in a better position to begin the process of taking action. From increased activity, you can produce new results. From these early results, your self-confidence will once again begin to grow. As your confidence increases, you push yourself into new activities which produce new results, and that improves your attitude even more. Suddenly, what was once a life spinning out of control is a life headed toward the pull of the future. It begins with doing whatever is necessary to change your attitude. This is the beginning point of all human progress and achievement.

Most of the time the best prescription for a poor attitude is activity. You may find yourself with an acceptable attitude, and need only involvement in which to apply your talent. It has been wisely said, “Weak is he that permits his attitude to control his actions, and strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.” Whether the recipe for success begins with activity or attitude, the essential step is to go to work on one or the other, or preferably both. It is inactivity, regardless of the cause, that is unacceptable.

Action can begin with writing a long-overdue letter or making an important, but difficult telephone call. It can be the purchase of a journal or the reading of a book. It can be the simple act of turning off the TV or radio and taking a training course, listening to a podcast, or reading a good book that will provide new insights.

Whenever your life is turned upside down, you must find something worth doing to change things for the better. You may do it with wavering confidence in the beginning. You may have to do it despite the presence of fear. Inevitably, your doubts and fears will step aside when your unyielding commitment to take action comes into the picture. The results produced by these initial acts of faith will become the foundation upon which to build a whole new life.

Results are more than just an objective; they are the seeds of future joy and prosperity. Every result we experience, no matter how small, is another certain step taken toward a life of achievement.

Ultimately our self-confidence is built on the confidence that we have in God to give us the wisdom, insight, and understanding to carry on. As Hebrews 10:35-36 tells us, “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.”

We are deliberately taking our trek slowly on The Five Trails on Life’s Trek as we continue our hike today on the Trail of Results.  Today you learned that you must not fall prey to neglect and that you must value confidence to determine positive results. This applies to all areas of your life.

Next Philosophy Friday we will finish up the Trail of Results before moving on to our fifth and final Trail of Lifestyle. So join us next Friday for these additional insights. I know you will find these insights interesting and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life.

Our next trek is on Monday, and we will continue our series called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack where we will equip you with the tools you need to impact the lives of others. 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 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you on Monday!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 572 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 Condoleeza Rice who said, “Terror and tragedy have made us more aware of our vulnerabilities and mortality…We’re living through a time of testing and consequence, and pray that our wisdom and will are equal to the work before us.”

In today’s global political and economic situation, we face threats that we would never have imagined a few decades ago. With the advent of 24/7 news channels and instant information at our fingertips, we all fall prey to the over exaggeration of the terror and tragedy that we are faced with. Yes, there is reason for concern, but we must have the wisdom and insight to keep that concern in proper perspective.

The world overall is a safer and more prosperous place than at any time in recorded history. There is still much work to do to make the world even safer.

This starts with each of us being more kind and compassionate. This means that we must be willing to step up and take a stand when there is an injustice. This means that we need to treat others as we would like to be treated. This means that we need to put our faith, hope, and trust in God and pray for the wisdom to live a good and godly life – one that is built on a moral foundation and is full of integrity.

We need to put into practice what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter in Ephesians 4:31-32, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

The change that this world needs begins and ends with each of us individually.

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 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 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:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 571 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 2 from The Voice Translation which will give us a fresh perspective on this book of timeless wisdom.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. I invested last week in Arizona working with our construction project there. Interest is strong for purchasing the townhomes that we are just completing. It appears that we will be able to start on Phase II within the next couple of months. The desert was green and in bloom and was beautiful in its own way. Spring in Ohio, which is just starting to show its colors is also beautiful in its own way. King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that, “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Although we don’t know exactly what the future may hold for us, there is a great benefit to having wisdom in our lives. It allows us to anticipate possible outcomes to our decisions and make wise decisions. So today in chapter 2 of Proverbs, we will explore…

This entire chapter is the father’s second speech to his son. It is more encouraging (and a little less bloody) than the last one, but his tone is still urgent. If you seek out wisdom, you will find it, but you’ve got to look hard.

“Look for [wisdom] as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

How badly do you want wisdom? Do you value it as something rare and precious? If so, you’re going to have to work for it like a man digging for gold. The good news is that God is pleased to give wisdom and success to people who seek it, so get ready for the most important treasure hunt that exists! But be warned of greed or pride. The best way to succeed is to stay humble and continue to ask God for help.

In verse 5 we learn that we must truly respect the Eternal One – the one True God. This is synonymous with knowing God. Like a child who touches fire and learns its true strength, when we know God, we humbly revere His huge, all-encompassing power. This transforms our stance towards Him, as well as our behavior. Don’t worry if this sounds intense! The father promises that as wisdom “enters your heart,” you will have direction and guidance, and knowledge “will be pleasant to your soul.”

There’s a lot of imagery here about the landscape of good or evil paths. The father warns about two specific dangers on the journey – you are going to encounter people who take shortcuts in life at the expense of others (evildoers) or who tempt you to break your marriage covenants for easy sex (the seductive woman). These people may seem thrilling at first, but their cheap, twisted, “shadowy pit” will lead you to misery, or, as the father says, “they will never again find their way back to true life.” That is serious. Remember, wisdom will keep you away from the grips of these people and will lead you to a life of stability and joy.

1 My son, if you accept what I am telling you

16 Wisdom will pluck you from the trap of a seductive woman,

20 As for you, you should walk like those who are good

That will conclude our exploration of Proverbs 2. Next week we will continue with Chapter 3, and each week we will explore a full chapter in Proverbs. I hope that you will join us each week so that you can gain wisdom, insight, and understanding for yourself.

All of the Proverbs provide 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 hike another short trail of Wisdom Unplugged as we uncover an inspirational wisdom quote. 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 the past daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 570 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 J.P. de Caussade who said, “Since God offers to manage our affairs for us, let us once and for all hand them over to His infinite wisdom, in order to occupy ourselves only with Himself and what belongs to Him.”

Most of us try to control every detail of our lives and many times the lives of others.  Much of the worry, anxiety, and drama that we have in our lives is because we feel out of control. We feel that the bad things of life are going to hit us, and there is little we can do about it. It is virtually impossible to control others, and many aspects of our own lives are beyond our direct control.

God does give us free will, which allows us to try and control our lives and gives us the false sense that we can control circumstances. God also tells us in His Word that He will take care of us so we can turn over to Him all of the worry and anxiety that consumes our lives. God has infinite wisdom. He knows what is best for our lives.  Instead of being occupied with all the things we cannot control, let is impact for good what we can and leave the rest to God. As Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:25-27, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?  Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”

Let us focus on living a right life as Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

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.

If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

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!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 569 of our trek, and 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 12th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is prayer.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Communication is so important. We need to continually and effectively communicate with our spouse, our children, our grandchildren, and others that we have the opportunity to impact. It would be a dysfunctional relationship if compassionate and effective communication were not part of it. This is why our next tool is so crucial.

Since God created us, if we do not have continual and effective communication to Him through prayer, then our spiritual relationship will also be dysfunctional. As parents and grandparents, we need to communicate with God, and we also need to demonstrate and teach our children, grandchildren, and others that we mentor what it means to have an effective prayer life. So the tool that we will explore today is…

Every parent and grandparent should make frequent use of God’s indispensable tool – the tool of prayer. As James, the half-brother of Jesus instructed us in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

“The power of prayer” – these words are used rather lightly within many Christian circles. They are familiar, yet sometimes I think we forget what they really mean. Prayer is a powerful tool for communicating with our Creator. It is the opportunity to commune with the giver of all good things. Prayer helps us to find strength for today and bright hope for our tomorrows. Prayer is not a practice that is to be taken lightly or to use infrequently when we have a crisis.

So let me ask you this question, “Is prayer an integral part of your daily life, or is it a hit-or-miss habit?” Do you pray on a consistent and regular basis, or is it an afterthought when the difficult times of life overwhelm you? The Apostle Paul in his letter in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 encourages us to, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

The strength of your spiritual life will be in direct proportion to the quality of your prayer life. The phrase “prayer changes things” is often misused, but is true. It changes you. Instead of worrying, planning, and plotting your next step, when you have a consistent and effective prayer life with your creator, you can present your petitions to God and ask Him to give you wisdom, insight, and understanding that will give you the direction to take.

James once again in chapter James 1:5 instructs us, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” Pray constantly about things great and small. God is listening, and He desires to hear from us. As King David put it in Psalms 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Just as Christ was an example to us that we need to pray, we need to be an example to our children, grandchildren, and all that we impact. If Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh prayed often, should not we follow His example? In Luke 5:16 it tells us, “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”

Just as Jesus used these times to connect to God, prayer connects us with God’s limitless potential. Jesus even referred to the temple as the house of prayer for all nations. He never referred to it as the house of preaching or music…an interesting thought for us.

God knows that we, with our limited vision, don’t even know what we should pray many times. When we entrust our request to Him, we trust Him to honor our prayers with His divine wisdom. Prayer helps to alleviate worry and concern. It is also a time where we should express our gratitude to God for all He has done for us. Philippians 4:6 puts it this way, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and close Gramps’ backpack. Before I do, I will pass the tool of prayer on to you. Once you have this tool in your backpack, it is up to you to establish a habit of earnest prayer as a righteous person because you know and understand as James did that prayer has great power and produces wonderful results.

As you are establishing a life of prayer, you then need to teach and train your children, grandchildren, and everyone you impact that prayer really does have great power and produces wonderful results. While prayer may not change the mind of God, it does allow our minds to be changed, to be aligned with His precepts found in His Word. An effective and continual life filled with prayer will allow us to live the rich and satisfying life that God intended for us.

Next Monday we will investigate the 13th tool in Gramps’ backpack, which is humility. 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 the past daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. 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!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy podcast. This is Day 568 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 episode is initially released, I will still be in Arizona working with our partners on the final stages of Phase I of our construction project. The project owner and realtors have an open house planned for March 25th, so we are hopeful that it will generate some additional sales so that the funding group will move forward with Phase II. Although we have worked together on projects previously, any large project of this nature requires that results are often checked and progress is measured continually.

As we continue on our extended trek focusing on our 4th trail, which is The Trail of Results, we will explore why checking and measuring results in life is so imperative for a successful outcome. 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 continue on the fourth trail of this extended trek as we cover…

You cannot afford to wait ten years to see if your plan, your philosophy, your attitude, or your efforts need to be modified. Neglect and delay can be costly.

Progress must be measured on a regular basis. The timely checking of the key indicators in all parts of your life is a barometer of responsible thinking. How often you need to check your results depends on how far you want to go. The greater the distance, the more frequently you need to check. If you are only going as far as the next block, being off a few degrees isn’t going to make much difference. If you have your sights set on some distant star, then miscalculating by even one degree can lead you millions of miles off target. The longer you wait to discover this small error in judgment, the harder you will have to work to get back on course. Of greater consequence is that the passage of time tends to diminish your desire to get back on course. You may accept the little that you have and abandon your dreams of all that we might have been.

That is the great challenge of life – making measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time. That is what creates both purpose and value in your life.

If you are to confront this challenge with enthusiasm and with any hope for success, you cannot use your current circumstances as an excuse for your failure to make measurable progress. When circumstances make progress difficult, this should be your signal to push harder, not to diminish your efforts.

The difficulties you encounter serve a unique purpose. Difficulty tests the strength of your resolve. If your “want to” is strong enough, then you will be driven to seek solutions. As you invoke the power of creativity and intensify your efforts to conquer each new problem, you actually speed up your progress.

Without challenges to capture your attention, you may take twice as long to arrive at your objective. If the way is easy, you will tend to drift along at a leisurely pace, content in the knowledge that success is within your grasp. If the way is fraught with obstacles, you will dig deeper within yourself calling upon more ingenuity, more abilities, and more strength than you even knew you possessed. Conquering these challenges leads to a new level of self-confidence that drives you further and faster toward your inevitable success.

If you are not making measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time, then it may be that your goals are too small. It is difficult to get excited about minor rewards.

The problem may also be that you really do not believe in your dreams, or to be more specific, believe in your ability to make them happen. Instead of being challenged by obstacles, you use them as opportunities to withdraw from the confrontation. That is why checking your results often is so important. If you are not making measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time, then something is clearly wrong with either your objectives or the execution of your plans.

In the final analysis, we are all faced with about the same circumstances over the period of a lifetime. Some choose to use them as an excuse for poor performance while others use those same circumstances as a reason to grow and to drive themselves to new heights of accomplishment.

You have opportunity mixed with difficulty. You will have times of illness in addition to years of health. The storms impact the rich as well as the poor.

The storms impact the rich as well as the poor.

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Whatever happens, happens to everyone. The only difference is your approach to the “things that happen.” It is not what happens that determines the quality of your life, it is what you choose to do about what happens.

There is an inherent tendency to want the results when you want them or need them. The law of planting and harvesting tells us that to harvest in the fall you must first plant in the spring. You must use the summer to help the plants to grow strong by guarding against the certain invasion of the devouring insects and the strangling weeds. You must continue your activity in spite of your current needs. The harvest will surely come, but it will come in its own due season. As Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 tells us:

1 For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

2 A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

Results do not respond to need. Results respond to effort, to labor, to activity. If you have done your part, the results you need will appear in a reasonable amount of time.

We are deliberately taking our trek slowly on The Five Trails on Life’s Trek as we continue our hike today on the Trail of Results. Today we learned that we must check and measure results often, and if we have been diligent in these steps then in due season, the harvest will be ready. This applies to all areas of your life. There is a season for everything, you must wait for that season, but while you are waiting, you must check and measure progress and make the necessary adjustments. Once again, this concept is rooted in the basic fundamentals of the law of planting and harvesting.

Next Philosophy Friday we will explore that habits of neglect grow exponentially, so we must have confidence in determining results. So join us next Friday for these additional insights. I know you will find these insights interesting and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life.

Our next trek is on Monday, and we will continue our series called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack where we will equip you with the tools needed to impact the lives of others. 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 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through 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 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:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. 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!

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 567 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 Sadhu Sundar Singh who said, “Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will be made evident to others from the love which he imparts to us.”

Are you a salty person? Salt, when it is it completely dissolved in water, cannot be detected just by looking at it. In the same manner, a person who just sees you will not be aware of your status as a Christ follower. When you taste salt water, it is immediately evident that the water contains salt. It is only when others can experience your love for them and others will it be evident of your relationship to God.

There are so many Bible verses that relay this thought. The first one is 1 John 3:18-19, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.”

Salt is used to preserve food and also to enhance its flavor. In the same way, as Christ followers, we should preserve love in the world and enhance the lives of others. If we lose our saltiness, then we will fall prey to what Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”

So let me ask you again. Are you a salty person? Preserve and enhance your world through an overflowing love put into action.

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:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!