Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 111 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
Have You Taken Your Medicine Today?
Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 111 of our Trek. Yesterday we learned the 10 steps for taming your anger. If you missed these crucial tips, please listen to Day 110. Today I have a question for you. Have you taken your medicine today?
In celebration of our 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek, please check out Wisdom-Trek.com and sign up for our drawing for a free Wisdom-Trek t-shirt that will take place on October 5th. We are giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Last night we went over to our daughter Janet and her husband Rowan’s home for dinner. Like us, they are always conscious and make sure that they eat healthy and wholesome foods. We had salmon, black rice, black beans, and cooked cabbage with apples in it. The meal was delicious, and we had a great time visiting.
Janet also suggested a couple of changes with the Wisdom-Trek podcast, which we will be implementing. I realize that up to this point, the daily episodes have been fairly scripted, so we will experiment on future days to be a bit more natural and conversational. If you have any feedback on our podcast, we always look forward to your comments.
Today was a bit off schedule for work since Paula had some major dental work completed by our daughter Chelimo (Buddy’s wife). Paula is preparing to have a replacement tooth mounted in the next couple of months. Since we were not sure how the surgery would impact her, I went along to drive back afterwards. She will be on some strong medicine for a few days as the surgery heals. Our grandson Kip was out of school today, so we also stopped by to visit him some afterwards. It was a busy but enjoyable day.
While I am not a huge advocate for being on medicine long term if it can be avoided, there are three types of medicine that are listed in the Bible that I believe we should take daily and in abundance because we can never overdose on them.
Medicines are supposed to treat ailments. They are supposed to make us feel better. Medicine is supposed to return us to health so that we can enjoy life more fully.
1. Laughter is the best medicine.
Psalms 126:2, “We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
As we grow into adulthood, we soon forget to take our daily dose of laughter medicine. Studies have shown babies and children laugh hundreds of times a day. Adults, on the other hand, often barely make it to double digits. Even joyful people can feel weighed down by the pressures and heartaches of life.
But Jesus tells us, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven,” Matthew 18:4.
Maybe it’s time to turn your troubles over to God and become more like a child—full of joy and laughter. We need to take time and make time to laugh. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 remind us,
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
“A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.”
If you’ve been on this planet for more than a few years, you know life isn’t one big laugh. It’s filled with difficult trials. Even so, the Bible declares there is “a time to laugh.” Some ways to incorporate more laughter into your life include talking to a friend with a good sense of humor, retelling a funny story from the past, or playing a practical joke on a good friend or family member. Need another idea? Spending time around children or pets is a surefire way to ramp up the laughter.
Be sure to check out the next two days of Wisdom-Trek to learn the health benefits of laughter.
2. A cheerful heart is good medicine.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength,” Proverbs [17:22].
A cheerful heart is also a joyful heart, or a heart full of joy. Don’t keep joy to yourself. Share the “good medicine” of a joyful heart with others. Have you brought joy or laughter to someone today? If not, think of a way you can make one person laugh. It’ll bring joy to both of your hearts.
There are over 300 verses in the Bible that refer to joy, joyful, or other related words. A joyful person is one who is also full of integrity.
“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord,” Psalms 119:1.
We should make it a practice to be joyful and help others to be full of joy just as God makes us joyful.
“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!” Psalms [30:11]-12.
There are some issues in life that are serious and difficult to deal with, but let us not take ourselves too seriously. I’m suggesting that we become more lighthearted, relishing life more as our confidence in the sovereign Lord grows. After all, He gave us humor to enjoy and genuine smiles to share when we take pleasure in His gift.
Let’s lighten up rather than surrender to intensity and worry. A truly cheerful face radiates from a relaxed, joyful heart.
A few things in life are absolutely tragic, no question about it. But a joyless Christian, that’s ridiculous! Like laughter, joy is contagious.
In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi Chapter 4 verse 4, he encourages, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again — rejoice!”
3. Kindness, like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
The third medicine that we should consume and share with others each day is a very healthy dose of kindness.
Proverbs 16:24, “Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”
Stanford University reveals a growing body of scientific evidence that indicates kindness holds the power to heal. We now know that this often overlooked, virtually cost-free remedy has a statistically significant impact on our physical health. For example, the positive effect of kindness is even greater than that of taking aspirin to reduce the risk of a heart attack or the influence of smoking on mortality. And, it doesn’t even require a trip to the pharmacy.
Scientific research now shows that kindness has the following side effects:
- faster healing of wounds,
- reduced pain,
- reduced anxiety,
- reduced blood pressure,
- and shorter hospital stays.
Are you taking the medicine of laughter, joy, and kindness each day? If you do, you may be able to discontinue other medicines that do not have nearly the positive effect. Bring these three medicines with you tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. Tomorrow we will see that laughter really is one of the best medicines available.
That will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, YouTube, or Wisdom-Trek.com.
If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to take the time to invest yourself.
- Invest in improving Wisdom-Trek by leaving your name, email address, and comment on our website, so we can provide you with wisdom and insights that best fit your needs.
- Invest in yourself by listening to our 7 minutes of wisdom each day.
- Invest in the lives of others by encouraging your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.
Thank you!
The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.
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 each day.
As we take this Trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!