Wisdom-Trek ©

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 614 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Changing the Way You Think – Mindshift Monday

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 614 of our trek, and today we are making a shift in our focus from Motivation Monday to Mindshift Monday.

The more I observe people, the more I consider and ponder creating a living legacy, and the more I am convinced that much of our life turns out exactly as we think it will. Your mind is powerful and can direct you towards a life of peace and success or a life of unrest, drama, and continual hardship. As a human, designed to be God’s image bearer, He has given you a free will. As a human, you have the tremendous capacity to rationalize your behavior and actions and then convince yourself that it is truth based on what you allow yourself to think. In order to change your life, you must change how you think and what you think about.

Each week, the focus of our Mindshift Monday podcast and journal will be to provide you practical ways to make a mind-shift to a rich and satisfying life. Come along with us each Monday as we take our trek on the trails that will direct you to this destination. Of course, it is up to you to hike the trails needed to make your mind-shift. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Last week was busy for us once again. We did our weekly cleaning at Nat & Elizabeth’s home while they were in Columbus with Hazel for more leukemia treatments and testing. We had two of our grandsons with us for a couple of days and nights. We had family and friends stop this week as overnight guests also. And all of this was in addition to our fairly busy workload.

It was a great week, and we are thankful that The Big House can accommodate everyone easily. We have not been able to determine what our “new normal” will be yet, but we are fairly certain that it will include a much more flexible schedule than we were accustomed to.

It is important, especially during times of major changes in life, that you have the proper mindset. Your mindset controls your actions, and your actions soon become your habits. Once you form habits, they control the way your think and act. This pattern of behavior then becomes your reality, which leads you to your destiny.

Since your thinking has such an impact on your life, you need to know how to think properly, and what to think about. So on our trek today we will consider…

Changing the Way You Think

For most of us, if we are going to have a significant mind-shift, then we have to stop thinking in the manner that most people think and transform our thinking patterns and habits. Romans 12:2 tells us how to begin this process, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."So the first step on your trek for a mind-shift change is to let God transform you into a new person through a new thought pattern. To establish new thought patterns, then you must change what you think about. We are given an initial starting list of what we should think about, which is found in The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians 4:8, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

What occupies your mind and what you think will have a greater impact on your life than anything else. Your thought life will determine how much you earn, where you live, and what you achieve in life. The life that you are living today is a result...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 613 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Two Minute Warning

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 613 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 called 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. Our granddaughter Hazel has shown a marked improvement in how she feels this week. It is so great to see her smile and laugh after several weeks of her being very sullen. We do realize that she will have weeks that are good and other weeks that are not over the course of the two years of treatments, but that allows us to appreciate the good times that much more.

There are many trails that we must trek on throughout our lives, and many obstacles that are on our paths. When we do experience difficult trails and seasons of life, it helps us to be grateful for the pleasant trails and seasons that also come our way.

As we remain in camp for a few weeks, we are sitting around the campfire and reviewing The Five Trails on Life’s Trek that we have already completed. When we are faced with significant trials in life, we begin to realize that we cannot wait until tomorrow to make an impact on our world. We cannot waste our days, but we must live the rich and satisfying life each day. As we wrap up this series over the next few weeks, it is my desire help you grasp this concept.

So as we remain at camp, let us ponder and consider…

The Five Trails on Life’s Trek – Conclusion (2)

As we continue our conclusion, remember our overall extended trek covered these five trails:

Philosophy

Attitude

Activity

Results

Lifestyle

1. Today Is Yesterday’s Tomorrow

The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today. Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. The question is what did you do with its opportunity? All too often you will waste tomorrow as you wasted yesterday, and as you are wasting today. All that could have been accomplished can easily elude you, despite your intentions, until you inevitably discover that the things that may have been have slipped from your embrace, which is a single, unused day at a time.

You must frequently pause to remind yourself that the clock is ticking. The same clock that began to tick from the moment you drew your first breath will also someday cease.

Time is the great equalizer of all mankind. It has taken away the best and the worst of people without regard for either. Time provides you an opportunity but also demands a sense of urgency.

2. The Two-Minute Warning

It is interesting to watch football teams on a Sunday afternoon. They invest the first fifty-eight minutes routinely following the game plan they thought would result in victory. Then something rather remarkable happens. An official walks onto the center of the field and announces what has come to be known as the “Two Minute Warning.” This reminds me of when we were raising our child...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 612 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Virtue of Courage – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 612 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 C.S. Lewis who said, "The virtue of courage is a prerequisite for the practice of all other virtues otherwise one is virtuous only when virtue has no cost."Virtue is morally good behavior or character. A good and moral quality. The good result that comes from something.

It takes courage to stand for what is morally right and not succumb to the pressure of others in this politically correct environment that is so prevalent in most societies today. With access to so much information today, this pressure seems to be more prevalent than ever, but as King Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new."That is why the virtue of courage is the prerequisite virtue to all others. Without the virtue of courage, we would fear the reprisal of others when we stand strong with morally good behavior, character, and integrity. Courage has a cost associated with it, and you must be willing to pay that cost to live a life that is good and godly. Instead of courage having a cost associated with it, I like to think that it is an investment. If we invest in courage and take a stand so that our lives display morally good behavior and character, we will see a return that will impact the lives of others and last throughout eternity.

As we are taught in the Apostle Peter’s 2nd letter 1:5-8, "In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.  The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."Have the courage of virtue, or as this verse says, moral excellence. It is then that the other virtues will fall into place.

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 at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much 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:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

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 for Philosophy Friday!

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 611 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Words and Wealth - Proverbs 10

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 611 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 10 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. It has been a cooler but pleasant week so far. This past weekend I was able to finish cutting up the trees that we had chopped down in February. We will wait until fall to split the larger pieces, which will give them time to dry out. We certainly will have enough firewood for a few winter seasons.

Our granddaughter Hazel is at Nationwide Children Hospital for two days again this week as she begins the next phase of her treatments. She is responding very well to the treatments, and at this point, her blood, spinal fluid, and bone marrow are all clear of leukemia cells. Her hemoglobin and immune system have also stabilized back within a normal range for a child of her age.

Although these great results will not shorten the treatment period, it does mean that the treatments will not have to be quite as extensive. We are grateful to God and to everyone who has prayed or helped out in any other manner. If you would like to keep up with the news about Hazel, and read the blog posts that her father Nat is writing about Hazel’s progress, you can access it at basilforhazel.org. We would appreciate your continued prayers for Hazel and her tribe.Our life trek will always be full of unexpected twist and turns, obstacles and hardships, but also days where the seemingly smallest of actions can overwhelm our soul with gratitude for the blessings of another day in which we can enjoy life. The smallest of words, a smile, or a kind deed can bring wealth untold. As we begin a new section in the Book of Proverbs with Chapter 10, our focus will be called…

Words and Wealth

This chapter begins the collection of the proverbs themselves. These are short, two-line sayings that are easy to memorize and pack a punch.

This first collection of proverbs extends from 10:1 through 22:16, and we’re told that they come from King Solomon. We know it’s been carefully designed, at least as a whole. There are 375 proverbs in this section, and interestingly, the numerical value of the word “Solomon” in Hebrew is 375! Someone has thoughtfully curated these sayings for us to read and ponder.

Among all the Proverbs in Chapter 10, two themes are repeatedly highlighted: words and wealth.

There’s a strong emphasis on the power of our words and how they can create good or bring disaster. A person who is full of “meaningless chatter” doesn’t control his mouth (8, 10) and invites ruin (14). In contrast, “the mouth of the righteous is a spring of life,” and adds value to others (11, 16, 20).

You’ll also notice that verses 2-5 speak of abundance or poverty as the long-term result of one’s behavior. “A slack hand produces nothing but poverty,” but God loves to bless the “industrious” and hard work of the wise (22).

As you listen to the various proverbs, pay attention to how wealth is acquired or lost. Sometimes our own decisions play a key role, but other times forces beyond our control are at work. How does this lead to the Reverence for the Eternal One and how you think about your own money and possessions?

Now listen up as I read Proverbs 10.

1 The proverbs of Solomon:

A wise son makes his father glad,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 610 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Truly Generous Are Wise – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 610 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 Henry Home who said, "The truly generous is the truly wise, and he who loves not others, lives unblest."Do you consider yourself a generous person? How willing are you to give your time and resources to help others who are less fortunate? When you do give, is it out of a heart of love, or guilt, or sense of obligation?

A truly generous person is wise because they know and understand the law of planting and harvesting. A truly generous person gives from a heart of love, expecting nothing in return. They also realize that by planting seeds generously in another person’s life will inevitably result in a harvest of blessings in their own life. It is part of the irrefutable and unchanging law of planting and harvesting.Instead of judging and condemning others we should forgive others and give generously from a heart of love and concern for them. Jesus gave us these instructions recorded in Luke 6:37-38, "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 together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."Make it a habit to generously plant the seeds of kindness and goodness, along with your time and resources into the lives of others, and you will reap a harvest of blessings in your own life.

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 treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much 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:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

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 for Wisdom Wednesday!

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 609 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Wisdom - The Tools in Gramps' Backpack

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 609 of our trek, and today is Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack.

Every Monday for the past 20 weeks, we have explored 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 20th and final tool from Gramps’ Backpack and it is Wisdom.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio.

During the past five weeks since our granddaughter, Hazel was diagnosed with leukemia, we have been adjusting and refining our schedules to be able to assist whenever and wherever we are needed. We are prepared to change our plans and schedules at a moment’s notice. If Hazel needs to be taken to the hospital or the other three grandchildren need to be taken care of, we are on call and ready. This has happened a few times so far, and we are committed to this as part of our living legacy.

I am a person who would prefer a structured schedule so that I can plan, work my plan, and complete my goals and objectives. This change to my structure is contrary to my nature and comfort zone, but I am gladly adapting to refocus my priorities to what is truly important. It is a stretch and forces me out of my comfort zone but an adaptation that I am certainly willing and ready to make. As we grow in wisdom, insight, and understanding, we realize that the greatest way to impact the lives of our children, grandchildren, and others that we mentor is to teach them the valuable tools that are found in Gramps’ backpack.

As with all teaching the lessons are more readily caught by the example of how we are living them through our lives, instead of teaching with words. Both are necessary, but Godly attributes are more readily caught than taught. The tools that make up a good and Godly life which we have explored over the past 20 weeks are:

Jesus

Purpose

Guidance

Courage

Perseverance

Support

Leadership

Attitude

Faith

Patience

Values

Prayer

Humility

Optimism

Fairness

Renewal

Love

Character

Passion and today

Wisdom

Wisdom

If we are going to teach wisdom to our children, grandchildren, and others we mentor, we must be wise ourselves. How passionate are you to obtain wisdom? Just as King Solomon taught his children, we need to follow his teaching in Proverbs 2:1-8.

1 My child, listen to what I say,

and treasure my commands.

2 Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

3 Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

4 Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,

and you will gain knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord grants wisdom!

From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

8 He guards the paths of the just

and protects those who are faithful to him.

Wisdom is one of the most important character traits that we can teach others. What if you don’t feel that you are wise enough yourself to be able to teach others ...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 608 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Developing a Sense of Urgency

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 608 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 busy week of activities with both work and the additional responsibilities surrounding Hazel’s leukemia treatments and testing. I was able to invest Wednesday with our grandson Gideon on a school field trip and assisting him with a school project. It was a great day, and although I had to set aside some work duties, this is the type of focus shifts that I desire in my life as I build a living legacy each day.

As we remain in camp for the next few weeks, we will sit around the campfire and review The Five Trails on Life’s Trek that we completed last Friday. I have a sense of urgency in my life to make sure the trails that I trek each day are creating a living legacy for my children, grandchildren, and others that I influence. As we wrap up this series over the next few weeks, it is my desire to pass on that sense of urgency to you.

So as we remain at camp, let us ponder and consider the...

The Five Trails on Life’s Trek – Conclusion (1)

As we begin our conclusion, as a reminder, our overall extended trek covered these five trails:

Philosophy

Attitude

Activity

Results

Lifestyle

1. Developing a Sense of Urgency

In summarizing all that we have shared during the past few months on our Philosophy Friday series, perhaps it would be accurate to say that our ultimate success or failure depends on three fundamental things:

What you know

How you feel about what you know

What you do with, and about, all that you feel and all that you know

There is another fundamental that must be mastered if you are truly serious about making meaningful changes in your life. This last fundamental is where all the individual trails that we have traveled merge into your cohesive life trek.

You see, it is quite possible that even after applying all of the principles I have taught for these many weeks, you could still fall far short of your objectives. Despite all of your efforts to refine your philosophy, to develop an attitude that is conducive to success, to work harder on yourself, to study your results, and to live a more unique lifestyle, all that you dream of becoming, seeing, having and experiencing may still elude you.

Why would you, if you are serious about making these important changes, still be wandering around in circles rather than moving ahead? Why would you, if you are planting the seeds, fail to reap a bountiful harvest? It boils down to…

2. The Human Comfort Zone

Perhaps part of the answer to these questions may be that it is because you already have so much that you tend to settle for so little. Just about everyone has a place to live, a mobile phone, a television, a car,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 607 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Be Great by Being Kind – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 607 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 Ella Wheeler Wilcox who said, "The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind."All truly great people are also the kindest people. It does not cost anything to plant the seeds of kindness to everyone you meet, and yet the harvest that you will reap by being kind has untold returns. If you desire to be a great person, then start by being a kind person.

As we read in the Apostle Paul’s letter Colossians 3:12, "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

The additional benefit of being kind in every situation and to everyone you meet is that it will also cause you to be full of joy and happiness. A wise person chooses to be kind which results in being both joyful and happy. This is the truest wisdom a person can have. Proverbs 11:30 reminds us, "The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends."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 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:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

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 for Philosophy Friday!

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 606 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Tale of Two Houses - Proverbs 9

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 606 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 9 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. The weather this week has turned absolutely beautiful. The temperatures are in the 80’s, and the sun is shining. Paula and I were able to plant our outdoor flowers around the house, and the peonies are in full bloom. With the nice weather this week we will see rapid growth.

The hawks have been providing an almost endless supply of fresh food for their chicks. There appear to be two chicks, and we can hear their cry for food and are now seeing their heads pop up above the rim of the nest as their parents feed them. We don’t have a clear view of the nest since the leaves obscure part of our view. Like most children, it won’t be long before they take flight for a life of their own. This is why it is so important that we teach our children and grandchildren the godly attributes of wisdom and integrity so that they are ready to handle life grounded in Biblical precepts.

Our granddaughter Hazel is at Nationwide Children Hospital for two days this week for further testing and additional treatments for her leukemia. The first-day results are extremely positive, and her blood is responding well to her first month of treatments. We are praying that the remainder of her tests will also be positive. If they are, it does not shorten the two-year treatment cycle, but the intensity of the treatments may be less severe. We would appreciate your continued prayers for Hazel and her tribe.

As we do influence others for good, we want to teach them how to choose wisely in every area of life. As we explore Proverbs Chapter 9 today, we will compare and contrast Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly in…

The Tale of Two Houses

Chapter 9 is the last story chapter in Proverbs before we move onto the actual proverbs. This chapter starts out with the 4th speech by Lady Wisdom. The structure of this chapter is very symmetric. It opens with a 6-verse invitation to the house of Lady Wisdom (1-6) and closes with a 6-verse invitation to the house of the adulteress who is Lady Folly (13-18). These two invitations are separated by a 6-line call to practice humility (7-12).

The summons from the two ladies is strikingly similar, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” (4, 16). Both women make the same appeal, but each for different reasons. One wants to lift the simple up to life, while the other wants to cast the simple down to the grave. Notice that both have houses (1, 14) and both serve bread (5, 17).

Both make a speech (5-6, 17), but each of them differs in nature. Lady Wisdom’s words ring out clear and pure as a bell, “Leave your simple ways.” The words of the adulteress are slinky and provocative as she purrs, “Stolen water is sweet.” The simple reader is left with a choice, but the author has made it easy – this boils down to life or death.

These two similar-but-contrasting invitations wrap around the central portion of the text (7-12). This middle section clarifies the key to choosing wisely – humility! As I read verses 7-12 consider them prayerfully. Abide by these words and live. “If you are a mocker,” the author warns,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 605 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Live In the Present – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 605 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 Budda who said, "The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."

Our health is impacted dramatically by the amount of stress that we allow to reign in our lives. Much of the time we are stressed by situations that we have no control over, such as the past and the future.

The past is behind you, there is nothing you can do to change the bad days, and you cannot relive the good days. You can only wisely apply the lessons that were taught to you by the past. If mistakes were made, do not repeat them again. Let the past be your teacher, but it is no longer your master. Do not worry about tomorrow, for no one knows what tomorrow will bring you.  Prepare and plan the best that you can with the time and knowledge you have, but do not invent problems that may not even happen.

Live fully today with wisdom and integrity. Live with intentionality. Live to make a difference in the lives of those that you have the opportunity to impact. If you live fully today, your past will be your stepping stone, and your future will take care of itself.  The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians 5:15-17, "So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."So live every day in such a manner that you make the most of every opportunity. It is then you will be living a life with wisdom.

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 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

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!