Hello, my friend, and welcome to Wisdom-Trek! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your Guide to Wisdom and Creating a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 596 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails, we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore Proverbs 7 from The Voice Translation, which will give us a fresh perspective on this book of timeless wisdom.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Spring is now in full swing with its showers, flowers, trees nearly full of leaves, and temperatures moderating to a pleasant range. It seems like each new day brings new life. The red-shouldered hawks that have their nest outside our 2nd story office windows are busy all day bringing fresh food back to their newly born chicks.

Just as spring is a flurry of activities with changes that are evident on a daily basis, so are our lives changing to a “new normal.” As mentioned during a couple of daily treks last week, Hazel our 2.5-year-old granddaughter has been diagnosed with leukemia. In addition to the emotionally difficult trek that this news has brought to our lives, we also take on additional responsibilities and tasks to assist during this long trail that is now before us. We are assisting with the transport of Hazel’s two older brothers to school and back on most days. We have also adopted two of Nat & Elizabeth’s dogs so that they can focus on Hazel’s treatment and ultimate recovery.

Hazel is responding well to the chemo treatments, and the physicians are pleased with the early results. For the next 2-3 months, Hazel will have weekly chemo treatments in Columbus on Monday’s and also have blood drawn locally on Wednesday and Friday’s to monitor the results. After this stage, the treatments fall back to monthly for the duration of about two years. As Hazel’s father Nat expressed in this week’s blog, we are humbled and grateful for the outpouring of help and resources that are being provided as Hazel’s tribe of prayer warriors and supporters grow each day around the world. We would ask you to pray for Hazel and her family, and also for us as grandparents that we would have the wisdom, insight, and understanding to make prudent choices and are able to help wherever it is needed.

As we explore Proverbs 7 today, we see a passionate plea from King Solomon to his son that he may obtain wisdom…

This is the tenth and final speech the father delivers to his son, and it’s the most...

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 595 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget.

Today’s quote is from James Allen who said, “The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”

A person who is truly wise will also be a person who displays calmness in the midst of stress and hardships. A wise person realizes that if they allow themselves to lose control of their emotions, then they will make foolish decisions, take foolish actions, and say foolish and hurtful words to others, including those that they love. A wise person will not allow external circumstances to control their mind, which controls his actions. A wise person who remains calm in every situation is certainly a beautiful treasure in a world filled with hate and violence. There are so many verses in Proverbs that teach us these principles. Here are a few that I have chosen.

Proverbs 12:16 – A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

Proverbs 14:17 – Short-tempered people do foolish things, and schemers are hated.

Proverbs 15:1 – A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.

Proverbs 17:27 – A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 594 of our trek and Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack.

Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 17th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Love. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The previous tool that we explored was renewal, and the importance it is for each of our lives. With the diagnosis of leukemia in our granddaughter Hazel just over two weeks ago, there has been little time for practicing renewal in our lives.

Quite the contrary, the investment of time necessary surrounding this cataclysmic life change has required that we add many new duties to an already busy schedule. While these two weeks have exhausted us both physically and emotionally, it certainly has been a time for reflection on what is truly important.

Since we do have a long road ahead of us, it will be more important than ever that we invest adequate time in renewal also. As I have reflected on Hazel’s illness I realized that I would do anything I could to take her illness and treatment on me, so she would not have to. I would do this because of my love for Hazel and my desire for her not to go through this time of suffering. Unfortunately, this is not possible. This brings to mind the fact that because of His love for us, Christ gave up his life and suffered hell for us so that we would not have to.

Romans 5:8-9, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.”

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 593 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we will ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.

Currently, we are on an extended multi-week trek as we explore the teachings from some of my virtual mentors, such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. The core of our current trek is based primarily on Jim Rohn’s book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. I have learned a considerable amount from reading and re-reading this book on my own trek of life, and I trust that it will benefit you also. Keeping with the continuity of Wisdom-Trek, I have adapted it to The Five Trails on Life’s Trek.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It has been a beautiful spring week, and all of the trees are exploding with foliage. The large maples and oaks are a bit behind, but it won’t take too many days before they are also full of leaves.

Our granddaughter Hazel, whom I mentioned in Wednesday’s trek, is now home after her first 8 days of Chemo treatments for leukemia. Although it is always possible that the future treatment schedule will change based on her response, currently she will travel to Columbus every Monday for a Chemo treatment. On Wednesday & Friday of each week, she will have blood drawn locally to monitor the results. The weekly treatments will last 2-3 months depending on the results, and then it will move to a monthly treatment for the next 20+ months. We would appreciate your continued prayers for her healing and strength for the family.

Last Philosophy Friday I mentioned that we deal with the same challenges and fears that everyone deals with. This has certainly been true during the past couple of weeks as our lives have been dramatically impacted.

As we continue today on our 5th trail, which is the The Trail of Lifestyle, we will explore how our lifestyle is not automatic but is created by how we respond to the challenges of life, not by the fact that we do not have...

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 592 of our trek, and it is time for a 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget.

Today quote is from Confucius who said, “The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid.”

To be wise is to have a single-mindedness of your purpose, mission, and vision for life. If you are compassionate, kind, and generous, then you will not worry about what others think or feel about you, because you will know instinctively that you are doing what is right. If you have courage, then there is no reason to be fearful because you know that you will persevere even through difficult times.

You cannot be double-minded and strong or successful at the same time. In fact, if you desire to be wise, one of the keys is to not have a divided loyalty. Anyone can gain wisdom by earnestly asking God to provide it, but we must be loyal to God to obtain wisdom. James, the half-brother of Jesus, tells us that God will freely give us wisdom if we ask Him. This is in his letter in James 1:5-8, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 591 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails, we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore Proverbs 6 from The Voice Translation, which will give us a fresh perspective on this book of timeless wisdom.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. What a difference a week can make in our lives. I was scheduled to travel to Mesa, Arizona, last week to work on our construction project there. The day before I was to leave our lives changed forever.

A little over a week ago, Hazel, our 2 ½-year-old, red-headed, spunky grandchild who is so full of life was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. A week ago on Saturday, we found out that our sweet little Hazel was diagnosed with pre-b acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Of course, our hearts are broken, and it rocked our foundation to the very core. Since it was detected early, and she is young, the prognosis for recovery is good. But the thought of Hazel having to suffer through two years of chemo treatments is difficult to grasp and consider. It certainly will be a major change in our lives and especially in the lives of her parents Elizabeth and Nat Miller and Hazel’s three older siblings Paul, Gideon, and Aurora. It is hard to process, especially for one so young, but we are certain that God is in control of this situation as He is in all of our lives. We will be much more involved with Elizabeth, Nat, and the grandkid’s lives as we assist and we all adjust to a life that is no longer what our normal was.

Fortunately, Nat’s parents also live locally and are very involved with the grandkids. We would ask you to pray for Hazel and her tribe, and also for us as grandparents that we would have the wisdom, insight, and understanding to make prudent choices and be able to help wherever it is needed.

As we explore Proverbs 6 today, Solomon instructs us to be wise. Solomon puts it bluntly when he says…

Chapter 6 is the father’s ninth speech, and there’s a trove of wisdom gold in here. As you listen to it, look for words such as “snare,” “caught,” “hunter,” “fowler,” “robber,” “capture,” and “thief.” According to the father, there are four hunters out there...

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is day 590 of our trek, and it is time for our 3-minute mini-trek called Wisdom Unplugged. This short nugget of wisdom includes an inspirational quote with a little additional content for today’s trek. Consider this your vitamin supplement of wisdom for today. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget:

Today’s quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”

Miracles are around us every day. Unfortunately, we are usually too preoccupied and busy to notice them.

It takes wisdom to invest time to absorb a beautiful sunrise or sunset. It takes wisdom to understand the miracles of the seasons that come and go with unchanging regularity. It takes wisdom to enjoy the ebbs and flows of the oceans. It takes wisdom to appreciate the need for a balance of sun, rain, snow, clouds, and winds. It takes wisdom to realize that every beat of our heart and every breath that we take are a miracle that sustains our life for yet one more moment. It takes wisdom to acknowledge that all of these common things that we take for granted comes from a holy and loving God who is the creator of all things.

As Romans 1:19-20 tells us, “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

That’s a wrap for today’s Wisdom Unplugged. If you enjoy these quotes, I have created and published a searchable database of over 10,000 quotes that I have collected for many years. If you would like free access to my database...

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 589 of our trek, and it is Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack. Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks, we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 16th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Renewal. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this trek is released, I should be back from a week in Arizona and have spoken at church yesterday. I do have to admit, while I love work and enjoy our life, there are times where I desperately need a time of rest and relaxation. I do not do this as often as I should, so it is something that I need to work towards.

Even the most driven and healthy parents and grandparents need a period of R&R and an infusion of God’s power. It is also imperative that we teach our children, grandchildren, and others that we mentor how to use the valuable tool of…

All of us, even if we are very strong in our faith, occasionally find ourselves running on empty. I know I fall prey to this. The demands of daily life and the stresses that we place on ourselves can drain us of our strength and rob us of the joy that is ours in Christ.

When we find ourselves tired, discouraged, and not wanting to carry on, it is time to stop, maybe even step back for a bit, and determine the source of our situation. As Christ followers, we can also draw strength from God’s Word and other Christians to help us recharge our spiritual batteries. God certainly knows our weaknesses and frailties and the Apostle Peter in his 1st letter 5:10 tells us, “In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”