Wisdom-Trek ©

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 814 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Light Shining in the Darkness – Meditation Monday

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 814 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy.

For some, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. Some may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. If you listen to most media outlets today, even within many Christian communities, you would get the idea that the world is a dark and scary place. I believe most of those tactics are to scare us into fear and unrest. There are a lot of good and positive things taking place in our lives each day that we should be grateful for.

I do recognize though we all face times of darkness in our lives, even during the dark times, we have to realize that darkness can never extinguish a light. Imagine for a moment being shut in a room with no lights, windows, and doors. As dark as that room would be, if you lit just one small match it would shine extra bright. The darker the night, the brighter even a small candle will appear. So in today’s meditation, let us examine what Jesus said about…

Light Shining in the Darkness

When seen in the darkness of a moonless sky away from the light pollution of the cities, the billions upon billions of stars merge into a deep and comforting glow at the near reaches of our universe. The brightest of stars shine even more brilliantly. The darkest of nights reveals just how brightly the stars of the heavens shine. The darkness does not snuff out their light but only makes it more visible!

In a similar but far more important way, Jesus is the spiritual light in a world of darkness as is listed in John 8:12, "I am the Light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness."

The Apostle John, who refers to himself as the one whom Jesus loved, emphasizes throughout his gospel that Jesus is this Light. His light shines through the darkness of the entire cosmos. His light shines into the deepest darkness of your world. His light shines out in life's darkest moments to give you light in your darkest of moments.

As Jesus journeyed through the darkness of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, trials, and crucifixion, His light continued to shine. His light will shine on and shine into the darkness, and that light never will be extinguished, not even in His death.

Remember this truth as you reflect on how Jesus submitted to the Father's will and let Satan have his way with Him on the cross. Even as darkness appeared to have overcome Jesus and scattered and shattered those who love Him, His light shines and gives hope to those trapped in the deepest darkness as John describes in John 1:1-5.

 

In the beginning, the Word already existed.

    The Word was with God,

    and the Word was God.

He existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through him,

    and nothing was created except through him.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 813 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Spend or Invest? - Ask Gramps

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 813 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.

As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time where we can “Ask Gramps.” Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, are unable to.

No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask dad or gramps questions about life in many areas. We will address areas such as finances, relationships, health/fitness, business/work, home repairs/renovations, seasons of life, spiritual/Biblical questions, and any others areas that come our way.

As your fellow sojourner and mentor on this trek that we call life, it is my goal to provide you with practical wisdom and advice about any area of life. It is crucial that I receive a constant flow of questions, so please submit your questions to [email protected], and I will answer your questions on our Friday podcast.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. In the United States, most individuals are gathering together their financial and tax-related documents so they can prepare to file their tax returns. So the question for today is:

Hey Gramps, “I have completed my tax return and am going to get a sizable refund. Should I spend or invest this money?”

Spend or Invest?

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear this question is why are you getting a sizable refund? Yes, it is nice to get a big tax refund, but if it is because you had more taken out each pay period than what was needed, then you have loaned the government money all year without getting any interest paid for the use of your money.

The IRS does not mind providing refunds to individuals because it allows them to use billions, if not trillions, of dollars per year without having any interest due. If a large refund is a regular occurrence for you, then my first recommendation would be to adjust your withholding so that you are not getting as large of a refund. The objective should be to break even if possible. This will require that you are disciplined enough to set aside that same money each pay period and place it in a savings account where you can earn interest on it. Then you will have both the amount of your refund and at least a little bit of interest.

Second, there is a big difference between spending and investing your tax refund. I prefer to have the mindset of investing in all things, whether it is money, time, talents, or any other resources. When you invest, there is a multiplying effect of what you are investing so that you end up with more than you started with.

For example, when you invest time by positively impacting the lives of others, then that time is multiplied many times over as it will not only impact that person, but also everyone that that person impacts. It is the compound effect, just like earning more interest on money that is already earning interest.

When you have the mindset of investing instead of spending, this multiplication principle comes into effect.  Here is another way to think of it. Say you had 100 grains of wheat. You could eat those grains of wheat to satisfy your hunger today, or you could sacrifice today and plant those 100 grains which could result in 100 to 400 times what you started with. As with most things in life,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 812 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Legacy You Live – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 812 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 bit 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 Bob Proctor, and it is, "Every person is going to leave a legacy. What kind of legacy do you want to leave?"

The Legacy You Live

Everyone has a reputation, especially with those who know us best. In the same manner, we all have a living legacy and will leave a legacy when we die. The only question is "What type of legacy are you living?" Although a legacy of material resources can be used to help others, a more important legacy that will impact generations to come is the positive influence and impact that you have on the lives of others.

Never underestimate the impact, positive or negative, that you have on those in your sphere of influence.  That sphere of influence is much greater than you realize. Just as when a rock dropped into a lake has ever-expanding rings that ripple out from the point of impact, your life impacts those who are closest to you but then ripples out to many others.  The only legacy that will live on through eternity is the impact you have on the lives of others, which will ripple through generations to come.

Focus on living a legacy each day then the legacy that you leave when you die will already be rippling through many generations to come. Let us follow the example in Titus 2:7, "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching."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 811 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com.

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

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 811 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Ancient's Guide to the Galaxy - Wisdom Wednesday

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 811 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. The past several weeks on Wednesdays, we have been focusing on interpreting current events through a Biblical worldview.

To establish a Biblical worldview, it is important that you also have a proper understanding of God’s Word. Especially in our western cultures, we do not fully understand the Scriptures from the mindset and culture of the authors. In order to help us all have a better understanding of God’s word, I would like to invest the next several weeks reviewing a series of essays from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser, which have been compiled into a book titled I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Although we are technically still in winter as I am creating this podcast, there are signs of spring in the air with the daffodils sprouting and birds making their nests in preparation of raising a new family for this year.

Spring is always a time for renewal, a time of new beginnings. As we explore God’s Word from a new perspective, that is the perspective of an Old Testament Israelite, allow it to be a time of growth in your spiritual life, a time of renewal.

So our essay for today is titled…

The Ancient’s Guide to the Galaxy

God chose a specific time, place, and culture to inspire people to produce what we read in the Old Testament: the ancient Mediterranean and the ancient Near East of the second and first millennia BC. Understanding the worldview of this culture can lead to more faithful understandings of Scripture on our part, especially when it comes to an understanding of how the Israelites viewed God and the universe.

· Old Testament Cosmology

“Cosmology” refers to the way we understand the structure of the universe. The biblical writers’ conception of how the heavens and earth were structured by God represents a particular cosmology.

The Israelites believed in a universe that was common among the ancient civilizations of the Biblical world. It encompassed three parts: a heavenly realm, an earthly realm for humans, and an underworld for the dead. These three tiers are reflected in the Ten Commandments: "You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea," Exodus 20:4.

· The Heavens

We find an Israelite understanding of the heavens in Genesis 1:6-8, which describes it as an expanse, with waters above and below, "Then God said, 'Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.'  And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens.  God called the space 'sky.'"

The sky, thought to be a solid firmament, separated the waters above from the waters below as is described by Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8:27-28:

I was there when he established the heavens,

when he drew the horizon on the oceans.

I was there when he set the clouds above,

when he established springs deep in the earth.

The firmament dome surrounded the earth, with its edge meeting at the horizon as we read in Job 26:10, "He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night." It was supported by “pillars” or “foundations,” thought to be the tops of mountains, whose peaks appeared to touch the sky. The heavens had doors and windows through which ra...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 810 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Carve Your Legacy On Hearts – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 810 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 bit of 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 Shannon L. Alder, and it is, "Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you."

Carve Your Legacy On Hearts

When we die, I believe that all of us have an innate desire to be thought of in a positive light. To be praised for living a good and godly life. A life filled with integrity. A life to be modeled by others. This will not happen if our life focus is on accumulating worldly possessions, money, or building an empire.

What will make an impact on others both now and after you die is if your focus is on positively impacting the lives of others through love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. No amount of accumulated wealth will make a bigger impact on lives than these traits - a legacy that is etched into the minds and hearts of everyone you impact both now and into eternity.

If you truly desire to create a living legacy then practice what Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:19-21,"Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."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 809 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe to 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 together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

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

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 809 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Rest for the Soul – Meditation Monday

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 809 of our trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday.

Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy. For some, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. Some may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life, meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and praying. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and make sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you too will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Are you constantly busy, continually run down and stressed? Are you setting aside the proper time to rest and restore your mind, body, and soul? Today’s short meditation is taken from Max Lucado’s book called Traveling Light, and it is...

Rest for the Soul

When God gave the Ten Commandments, and it came to Sabbath rest, His message was clear, “If creation didn’t crash when I rested, it won’t crash when you do!”  You know we need to rest. For a field to bear fruit, it must occasionally lie fallow. And for you to be healthy, you must rest. When David says in Psalm 23:2-3, "He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.  He renews my strength."

With His own pierced hands, Jesus created a pasture for the soul. He pried loose the huge boulders of sin. In their place, He planted seeds of grace and dug ponds of mercy. Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of the shepherd when the work is completed, and he sees his sheep rest in the tender grass? Can you imagine the satisfaction in the heart of God when we do the same?

Take some time this week, even today, to rest in green meadows and renew your strength.

Next week we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. 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 808 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe to iTunes and 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 together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

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

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 808 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Tools for Self-Management - Ask Gramps

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 808 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy. As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time where we can Ask Gramps.

Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, are unable to. No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask Dad or gramps questions about life in many areas. We will address areas such as finances, relationships, health/fitness, business/work, home repairs/renovations, seasons of life, spiritual/Biblical questions, and any others areas that come our way. As your fellow sojourner and mentor on this trek that we call life, it is my goal to provide you with practical wisdom and advice about any area of life. It is crucial that I receive a constant flow of questions, so please submit your questions to [email protected]. And I will answer your questions on our Friday podcast.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Last week we explored why Time Management is a Myth. Gramps helped us to realize that we can’t manage time. All we can do is manage ourselves by making decisions and choices that focus on what is most important in our lives and what will have the greatest positive impact. We want to expand on this, so the question for today is…

Hey Gramps, “How do you specifically stay focused on those tasks, obligations, and responsibilities so that you are most effective and have the biggest impact?”

Tools for Self-Management

Granny and I stay very busy with all aspects of our life, which includes managing our own two small companies as well as running the financial or technical support work for five other companies. Let me share with you the four simple tools that help us to stay focused and not miss any of the many very important time-sensitive tasks that we are required to complete on a monthly basis.

Fortunately, most of the work we do for our client can be done remotely, so we can literally work from anywhere we have an internet connection. We have selected tools which can be accessed on any device we happen to be working on, so even if we are not at our own in-office computers, we can access all personal and client information from other computers, our smartphones, or our tablet devices. Here are the four tools.

Gmail for email: We switched several years ago to this platform because of the flexibility and accessibility from any device. Email still remains a crucial aspect of communications internally and with our clients. We have all of our email accounts for personal and multiple businesses populate into a common inbox, so we have one repository for all communications.

Google Calendar: We place all travel related events as well as all personal and business engagements which have a specific date and time with it on our calendar. This calendar also lists all birthdays, appointments, and important events. A companion application to this which resides on our smartphone is called Tiny Calendar. Granny and I share a common calendar, so we are always aware of any upcoming events. At the beginning of the year, we plan out as much of our calendar as possible for the year.

Go Task: This smartphone app allows me to log all tasks that I have to accomplish during the day, but these tasks do not have a specific time of day related to it.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 807 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Best Legacy – Wisdom Unplugged

 Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 807 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 bit of 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 Thomas Scott, and it is, "A man cannot leave a better legacy to the world than a well-educated family."

The Best Legacy

What we choose and the decisions that we make each day become the legacy that we are. The impact that you have on your family should be your most important impact.  The two most important things to teach your family is to love God and follow His precepts, and then teach them to love others and treat everyone with kindness and patience.  In Matthew 22:37-40 , "Jesus replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."Once those two truths are firmly in place, teach your family to grow in learning, to work hard, and as John Wesley is quoted as saying:

“Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.”

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.

Just 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 806 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 of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you tomorrow for Philosophy Friday!

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 806 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Accept Whom God Made You - Loving Yourself - Wisdom Wednesday

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 806 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. We continue this Wednesday to explore our trek of interpreting life through a Biblical Worldview. As a Christ follower, it is important to view all situations and events in life through the lens of the Bible. That is a view of the world that is aligned with what the Bible teaches us.

We are exploring current issues that impact our world and society and comparing them through the lens of the Bible, instead of the lens of our society, culture, modern media, or social media. I do not desire to tell you what to think, but teach you how to think so that you may be able to filter current issues and events through your Biblical Worldview. I may explore opposing views and challenge you to think. You may not always agree with my view, and that is okay. I am open to any comments that you may have on the subjects that we explore.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. On today’s trek, we will return to our discussion from two weeks ago. The information we are exploring is from a web interview in The Christian Post with Nancy Pearcey, a former agnostic who teaches at Houston Baptist University.

Nancy recently published a book titled Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. I will continue to share some of the insights from this interview as it closely aligns with my Biblical worldview on the core concept about the sanctity of life. If you would like an in-depth analysis of this topic, I recommend that you purchase Nancy Pearcey’s book I mentioned earlier.

So our topic today is…

Accept Whom God Made You – Loving Yourself

Today’s topic is a controversial one for some, even within the Christian community, as we discuss same-sex relationships and transgenderism. This is particularly close to my heart because I have close family members who have chosen a same-sex lifestyle, including marriage. They are Christ followers with sincere beliefs that God’s Word does allow for or permits this choice.

With years of in-depth study of God’s Word, I have come to two conclusions within my Biblical worldview about sexuality and marriage. First is that sex outside your own marriage, regardless of gender preference, is not in line with God’s precepts. Secondly, that marriage should only be between a man and a woman for life.

My relationship with these family members or with anyone who has made choices contrary to my Biblical Worldview does not impact my love for them. My love is unconditional, just as God’s love is for all of us. Yes, from a Biblical perspective, I do not agree with their choices, but it is their choice. And I will not condemn or judge their choices. They alone must answer to God for their choices, just as I must answer for all the choices that I make. I am sure there are choices that I make which, according to others, would not be in agreement with their worldview.

Before we explore a few thoughts that Nancy Pearcey shares in her interview and book Love Thy Body, I will share some of the basis for my Biblical worldview on this topic.

First, every reference to marriage in God’s Word is always between a man and a woman, there are no exceptions. Marriage was established in Genesis from the very beginning of creation.

"This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one," Genesis 2:24.  This phrase is also repeated in Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7, and Ephesians 5:31.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 805 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Better Skills and Wisdom – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 805 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 bit of 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 Jim Rohn,and it is, "Don’t wish life was easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for fewer problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for fewer challenges; wish for more wisdom."

Better Skills and Wisdom

So often we desire the easy trails of life with few problems or challenges, but that is not what life is. First, how we view events and circumstances in our lives is our choice.

There are those who view practically everything in life as bad. Their lives go from one drama to the next, and their mindset reminds me of the old television program Hee Haw, where a line in one of their songs was "If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all." This mindset creates a "victim mentality" where everything in life is out to get them. This thinking also creates a self-fulfilling prophecy and indeed, because of their mindset, their world is a mess.

They wish for the easy life with few problem or challenges, but they are not willing to change their mindset and choose to make it happen. My Grandma Burkhart has an old saying, “You can spit in one hand and wish in the other and see which one fills up first.” I think you get the picture.

No ones life is easy and free from problems or challenges, but we can still have a life that is full of immense joy in the midst of those problems and challenges. None of us will grow, mature, and flourish if our lives are easy and without problems. We need to become better, learn new skills, and then seek for wisdom as if it were a buried treasure.

It is then we will improve, grow, mature and find that immense joy of overcoming the obstacles and trials of life. As Jesus’ half-brother James teaches us in James 1:2-4, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."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 804 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe to 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 together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

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