Wisdom-Trek ©

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 564 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Values - The Tools in Gramps' Backpack

 

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 564 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 11th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Values.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this episode originally airs, I will be back in Arizona working on our construction project. We have finished up completely on the first six townhomes, and they are on the market. We are also nearly complete with the second six. If sales are strong, the funding group will move forward with the next two pods of six units each. There are a lot of details in finalizing the buildings, and it always takes longer and costs more than expected.

It is our desire to bring value to both the funding group and the ultimate purchasers of the townhomes. As parents and grandparents, we should bring value to those whom we impact with our lives. To bring value, our lives must be built on a solid foundation of values which are driven by our moral code and integrity. So the tool that we will explore today is…

Values

Every parent and grandparent needs to articulate and demonstrate a clearly defined set of values. That set of values must be firmly rooted in a moral code. The best and most complete moral code is found in God’s Word. We should love to live and stand firm on that foundation. Psalms 119:47 reads, "How I delight in your commands! How I love them!"

Every day the influences of society try to shape your values. Society wants you to focus on the distractions and temptations of our troubled 21st century world. Society’s value system is far different from God’s value system. If you are wise, you will pay more attention to the things that distract you from His precepts.

When God’s values are woven into the very fabric of your life, they become your values, and then you share in His abundance of peace. If you adopt a worldview that is contrary to God precepts you are opening yourself up to making unwise and unhealthy choices.

You live in a world that is filled with countless opportunities to make some very unwise choices. The common worldview with its political correction cries out, “Worship me with your time, your money, your energy, and your thoughts,” but God commands otherwise. He commands you to worship Him and adore Him alone. Everything else must be secondary.

To experience God’s peace and blessings and then teach them to others, you must build your life and indeed your entire value system on His foundation, which is the Bible.

Teaching a Biblically based value system to your children, grandchildren, and others that you impact is paramount. For a society to function properly, the family unit must be solid. God, through His prophet Isaiah, tells us in 48:18, "Oh, that you had listened to my commands!  Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea." 

If you want to be proactive in the way you live your life. If you want to influence your life’s direction. If you want your life to exhibit the qualities you find desirable. If you want to live with integrity…then you need to know what your values are. You need to embrace them and practice them ever...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 563 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Value of New Skills - Results

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy podcast. This is Day 563 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. Although it has been a cold week outside, especially compared to the mild winter, we do see new signs of spring each day. Our pair of red shoulder hawks continue daily in preparing their nest, our family of deer has been sauntering through our yard, the daffodils are blooming nicely, and the days contain progressively more hours of light with each passing week.

Although I love each season of the year, spring is especially invigorating as it brings new life to each new day. There is intrinsic value with each new flower that blooms and each new creature that is born.

As we continue on our extended trek, today we will explore the value of each new skill that we learn so that we can grow in the results that we achieve with each new skill we obtain. 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…

The Five Trails on Life’s Trek – Results Part 5

As a reminder, our overall extended trek covers these five trails:

Philosophy

Attitude

Activity

Results

Lifestyle

1. The Value of New Skills

The development of new skills is vitally important if you expect to make major progress and improve the level of your performance. A person can chop down a tree with a hammer, but it might take thirty days. By learning to use an ax, he can accomplish the same goal in thirty minutes. If he advances his skills even further and uses a chainsaw, he can accomplish the same task in about three minutes.

Life and labor get easier when knowledge is combined with new skills. Skill is the refinement of your current abilities added to the acquisition of new talents. It is the result of investigation driven by curiosity. It is the result of creativity and imagination intelligently applied to new methods. It is a product of refined attempts as emerging quality rises to new levels. Skill is also a thorough understanding of the task at hand that comes from patient study and serious observation.

Skill is what is acquired when a person becomes the master of a task. It is having full confidence in your ability and in your command of the many intricacies of your jobs. Skill is the process of learning. Skill is the result of accumulating a mountain of experience and the never-ending dedication to making good things better.

Those who would possess happiness and success must first master as many skills as they can gather up, blending each into all of the rest until finally a unique talent emerges.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 562 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Check Your Priorities – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 562 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 Dr. Charles Stanley who said, "Our challenge for today and every day is to make it a priority to invest time with the Lord in His Word. We may have to reorganize our schedule or wake up earlier. But it's worth the effort — discernment, and wisdom await us if we put into practice the truths we absorb each day."What are your priorities? You may think you know them, but to really understand what your priorities are, keep track of what you invest your time and money on. Once you do this, you may certainly need to rearrange your life so that your actions actually are in line with your desired priorities.

One area of life that many people neglect is their spiritual health. To be strong spiritually, you must invest the time needed to learn from God’s Word, which will build up your spiritual muscle and strengthen you as a Christ-follower. You can also think of the time invested in learning God’s precepts from the Bible as implementing a filter in your mind so that it will filter out the false and negative input and leave you with a clean spiritual perspective.

Consider God’s Word a Brita Filter for your mind. When you invest time in God’s Word, and it becomes a daily habit, then you will gain the wisdom, insight, and understanding that is needed to live a rich and satisfying life. To be transformed, you need to implement these habits into your daily schedule, which will progressively allow you to change the way you think.

The more time you invest in God’s Word, the more mindset change you will see. As Romans 12:2 tells us, "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."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 or 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:

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 561 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Beginning of Wisdom - Proverbs, An Introduction

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 561 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 restart our exploration of Proverbs with a new introduction.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Last week was a busy, but productive week. For one client we are preparing information for their bi-annual audit, which requires assembling data from the past two years. Fortunately, most of this information is stored electronically and is organized. We are also still working on company and personal tax returns for clients, family members, and ourselves.

Since I am creating this podcast before the weekend, if all goes according to plan, we will be investing in a heavy-duty chain saw and will have begun cleaning up the four large trees that we had a tree service cut down for us. The weather is turning cold for this weekend, so we will see how much we are able to accomplish.

Another exciting announcement is that Paula has decided to begin her own podcast called A Quilter’s Life where she will be interviewing people who quilt and allowing them to share their lives as quilters with listeners. We have received very positive feedback from those that we have mentioned it to, so we feel that it will be well received.

We have been working together in preparation of that and hope that she will be able to release her initial interviews within the next 2-3 months. Since Wisdom-Trek is not an interview-based podcast, we have both been learning the additional aspects of what is required to setup and interview others. At this time Paula plans on having weekly episodes for A Quilter’s Life. I will let you know when it is released.

This podcast is a new beginning for her, and as we look at our topic for Wisdom Wednesday, I have decided to start back through the book of Proverbs with a little bit of a different twist.

Today we will look at a brief introduction of the book of Proverbs. Starting next Wednesday, I will read a short synopsis of each chapter and then read the chapter using a newer translation called The Voice, which is slightly more conversational in nature and will give us a difference perspective on the book of Wisdom.

Each month as I personally restart reading the book of Proverbs, I look forward to it with a new anticipation. So today let’s begin with our introduction to Proverbs entitled…

The Beginning of Wisdom

The Book of Proverbs is part of the Bible’s wisdom literature. The Bible’s wisdom literature explores the question, “What does it mean to live well in God’s world?” You can think of it as “The Good Life for Dummies.”

Wisdom literature comes in all forms: songs, story, reflection and romance. This book is primarily one form of writing called a proverb. A proverb is a short, pithy statement that contains a powerhouse of wisdom. A proverb is a type of poetry. However, the structure of Hebrew poetry is different than English poems.

In most simple modern poetry, like what we find in greeting cards, two lines are made to rhyme with each other through their final words. Hebrew poetry, on the other hand, contains two lines that don’t rhyme words but rather rhyme ideas. The second line in a Hebrew poem will reinforce the same thought as the first line, but in different words. Most of this book is a collection of these short, poetic pieces of wisdom called proverbs.

The Book of Proverbs is interested in how to archi...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 560 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Question Everything – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 560 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 George C. Lichtenberg who said, "One's first step in wisdom is to question everything  — and one's last is to come to terms with everything."Do you believe everything that you are told, or do you question what is being said to verify if it is true? A wise and prudent person does not accept what they hear or see at face value. It is wise to listen, make sure you comprehend, and then allow what is being said or shown to be filtered through your past experiences as well as through your value system built on moral and ethical standards. You should question your inputs to see if it lines up with Biblical teachings and precepts.

As you gain wisdom, insight, and knowledge, you will come to understand that while we can and should question, there are situations and circumstances in life that you cannot change. As you mature in wisdom, you will need to change what you can, accept those things that you cannot change, and realize that you cannot control everything that happens. When this is the case, you have to come to terms with that.

A good example of this is found in Acts 17:11, "And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth."

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.

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:

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 559 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Patience - The Tools in Gramps' Backpack

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 559 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 are exploring a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 10th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Patience.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Life is hectic, and situations can really try our patience. In our instant everything world that we now live in, we lose patience so easily. If our fast food meal takes us five minutes to receive, if a website takes more than a few seconds to load, if we get behind someone driving that happens to be driving just the speed limit, we go crazy. This is why it is so important that we include the tool of patience in our backpack as one of our character traits. We first need to learn it ourselves, which is very difficult, and then through patience, we need to teach it to others. So the tool that we will explore today is… 

Patience

Patience is a tool that every thoughtful parent and grandparent needs themselves and to then skillfully teach it to others. The lack of patience is really a sign of foolishness and selfishness. The reason we become impatient is that we feel that our time and priorities are more important than others.

Patience is the embodiment of love. Love is an exercise in patience. One of the attributes of love is being patient. 1 Corinthians 13:4 reads, "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud."

From time to time, even our most considerate friends and family members may do things that worry us, confuse us, or anger us. Why is this? Because they are human and not perfect, just like we are. It is exactly because they are human that we must be patient with their shortcomings, just as they need to be with ours. Ephesians 4:2 tells us, "Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love." 

St. Augustine said that Patience is the companion of wisdom. It is also listed as part of the fruit of the spirit contained in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"

The next time that you find yourself getting irritated and drumming your fingers while waiting for a loved one to do the right thing on a timely basis, take a deep breath and relax. Ask God for a little more patience. After all, we have very little control over most circumstances and events in our lives anyway. Impatience just makes the journey much more miserable. The world unfolds according to God’s timetable, not ours.  For that matter, our acquaintances, friends, and loved ones live and grow according to their time table too. Sometimes we must wait patiently, and that is a good thing because it helps us to grow our patience. After all, think about how patient God is with us, and our shortcomings. Colossians 3:12-14 reads, "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 558 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Improve Yourself = Improve Your Results - Results

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week, wisdom and legacy podcast. This is Day 558 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. I have been able to be in the office all week and have enjoyed watching our pair of Red Shoulder Hawks as they arrived back to repair and prepare their nest for this year. They work hard to make sure the nest is ready for bringing new chicks into the world.

In addition to that, a few weeks ago we also had four large trees cut down by a professional tree service. To save costs, we requested that they just drop the trees and cut them into large sections. My plan for the weekend is to cut them into fireplace size logs. The diameter of the large sections will be a challenge, but it will provide a lot of firewood for the next few winters. Since I usually work 10-12 hours a day in front of the computer, I look forward to being outside performing physical labor as I have the opportunity. The more that I expand my skillset, the better person I am become overall.

We are continuing on our extended trek focusing on our 4th trail which is The Trail of Results. Specifically, we will explore how better results are produced by becoming a better person. 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…

The Five Trails on Life’s Trek – Results Part 4

As a reminder, our overall extended trek covers these five trails:

Philosophy

Attitude

Activity

Results

Lifestyle

1. Better Results Come From Being a Better Person

You first become and then you attract. You grow personally, and then you advance materially. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people seem to have the plan reversed. Their philosophy is “If I had more money, I would be a better person.” That is not the way life is designed to work. You cannot harvest a crop unless you first plant and then nurture it. Having more money or things doesn’t make you more, it merely magnifies what you already are. Those who cannot save a few pennies out of meager earnings will never be able to save dollars out of future fortunes. The same discipline it takes to put a few coins in a jar every week is the same discipline it takes to open a savings account or manage a large investment portfolio.

The conversation about your intended progress will only take you so far and promises about your future will only buy you a little time. Promises must soon be matched by performance. If your results do not appear in a reasonable amount of time, you run the risk of losing the trust of others in addition to your own self-respect. You may find that those who once believed you no longer do, and you will one day be left only with your well-intentioned, but unfulfilled pronouncements.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 557 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Striving for Perfection – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 557 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 Ben Franklin who said, "On the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it."That is quite a mouthful from Ben Franklin, but there is certainly some deep truth contained in it. None of us will ever reach perfection although we should continually strive for that level. Instead of perfection, we should be excellent in all that we do, even if it is not perfect.

It is indeed true that we will have much more happiness, contentment, joy, and peace if we endeavor to stretch beyond what we think we are capable of achieving. Another shorter, but similar quote is, "It is better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all."

I realize that I have used this Bible verse from the Apostle Paul several times before, but it is so applicable to Ben Franklin’s quote. It is found in Philippians 3:12-14. I am quoting from The Voice translation to give us a slightly different perspective, "I’m not there yet, nor have I become perfect; but I am charging on to gain anything, and everything the Anointed One, Jesus, has in store for me—and nothing will stand in my way because He has grabbed me and won’t let me go.  Brothers and sisters, as I said, I know I have not arrived; but there’s one thing I am doing: I’m leaving my old life behind, putting everything on the line for this mission. I am sprinting toward the only goal that counts: to cross the line, to win the prize, and to hear God’s call to resurrection life found exclusively in Jesus the Anointed." 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 or 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 556 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

A Mother's Faithful Instructions - Proverbs 31:1-31

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 556 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 the 31st and final chapter in Proverbs.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We had a great weekend in Charlotte. We had an important meeting on Friday and were able to assist our younger daughter Janet and her husband Rowan complete their tax returns.

On Saturday I was able to invest most of the day with our Grandson Kip playing with his safari animal and remote control racecar and coloring several pages of animals. We then had an early dinner with my sister Rebecca before heading to watch Janet play in her first roller derby bout. There were two bouts in which Charlotte’s “A” team won a decisive victory over a team from Florida, while the “B” team played against a very tough team from the Carolinas. Janet was lead jammer for the “B” team, and although the final score was not in our favor, Janet played a really tough game and was named MVP of her team. It was great to be there and cheer her on.

As with all of our children and their spouses, we are very proud of her. We are blessed to have a very close relationship with all of our children. This brings us to our topic for today in Proverbs 31. The first 9 verses are instructions from a mother to her grown son who is king. Verses 10-31 describe all the attributes of a wise, virtuous, and capable woman who is more precious than rubies. So let’s explore the nuggets of wisdom from…

A Mother’s Faithful Instructions

First, let’s dig into the advice King Lemuel’s mother shared with him in verses 1-9.

1 The sayings of King Lemuel contain this message, which his mother taught him.

2 O my son, O son of my womb,

O son of my vows,

3 do not waste your strength on women,

on those who ruin kings.

4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine.

Rulers should not crave alcohol.

5 For if they drink, they may forget the law

and not give justice to the oppressed.

6 Alcohol is for the dying,

and wine for those in bitter distress.

7 Let them drink to forget their poverty

and remember their troubles no more.

8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;

ensure justice for those being crushed.

9 Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,

and see that they get justice.

Anytime we allow a person or substance to take over and control our rational and emotional mind, it leaves us open to making unwise decisions. This is especially true of a person who is in a position of authority. King Lemuel’s mother warns him of the dangers of women and wine. In different ways, both have brought down great leaders. Both are certainly distractions to a king’s true work—defending the poor.

Rulers need to be of clear mind and heart so that they can administer justice fairly. The only appropriate reason to allow our mind to be dulled is when we are suffering from some great emotional or physical pain. With today’s advanced medicines, we do have choices other than alcohol to lessen pain.

A Wife of Noble Character

An interesting note as we read through verses 10-31 now is that in the original Hebrew language this section was a poem. The subject of a twenty-two-line poem found in the last chapter of the book of Proverbs, the “woman of noble character” is meant to be a tangible expression of the book’s celebrated virtue of wisdom.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 555 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Use Experience Wisely – Wisdom Unplugged

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 555 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 Auguste Rodin, who said, "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."Experience, it can be a cruel taskmaster or a gentle mentor, it all depends on how you allow it to impact you. Every person fails and falls short of their hopes, dreams, and expectations. A negative experience may very well seem like a failed task and a complete waste of time, but you need to change your mindset.

You should never consider a failed opportunity as a lost opportunity. If you use your failures, your setbacks, and your disappointments as an opportunity to gain wisdom, then it will never be a lost opportunity or a waste of time.

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently with the wisdom, insight, and understanding that you have gained through experience. Any opportunity where we can learn and gain wisdom can never be considered a lost opportunity.

God in His divine wisdom will allow the correction of failure as a teaching tool.  Proverbs 3:12-14 tells us, "For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.  Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold."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.

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:

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!