The Wisdom Chronicle

 The Wisdom Chronicle, posted every Monday, is designed to bring nuggets of wisdom from myriad sources. I read 75-100 books per year in all genres. My goal is to share the best of what I come across each week. The determination of relevance lies with you. Blessings, Jim Whiddon

 March 3, 2014

21. EMBRACING SUFFERING “This is one of the great truths of life. Great men suffer greatly in order to be great. Heroic men must first endure heroic struggles with themselves. I’ve never read about a great man or woman of whom this was not true. If history is any guide, struggling manfully against our deformities is the beginning of greatness.

I believe most men make peace with their defects. They accept their flaws as simply the way they are, and so they never declare war on those parts of themselves that keep them from exceptional lives. Mediocrity becomes their lot in life; merely getting by their only hope.

Manly men know themselves, work to understand their God-ordained uniqueness and their unique brand of damage, and accept they will always be a work in progress, always be a one-man construction project that is never quite finished in this life. They don’t despair. They don’t settle. They don’t expect perfection of themselves. They understand that destiny is in the hand of God. They also understand that these destinies are fashioned in a man’s struggle against the enemies of his soul.”

Excerpt From: Mansfield, Stephen. “Mansfield’s Book of Manly Men.”

 

22. WHY “God writes over some of our days: ‘Will Explain Later.’  The word “why” occurs 430 times in the Bible—and you and I have asked it that many times or more.” — Evangelist Vance Havner.

23. INNOVATION “Many changes that have transformed enterprises have originated outside the specific industry of that enterprise. Here is a notable example. The zipper was originally invented to close bales of heavy goods, such as grain, particularly in seaports. Nobody thought of using it for clothing. The clothing industry did not think it could replace buttons. And the inventor never dreamed it would be successful in the clothing industry.”

Excerpt From: Peter F. Drucker. “The Daily Drucker.”

 

24. STORM THAT GAVE US OUR LANGUAGE “America could easily have been a Spanish-speaking nation, but an intense rivalry between Spain and England, particularly during the latter part of the sixteenth century, put America up for grabs. Spain’s domination of the oceans was challenged by England and the Dutch, who were building an extremely large merchant marine fleet in Europe. The final nail in the coffin of Spanish domination of the oceans took place in 1588, when the Spanish Armada was sunk in a battle with the English and, more importantly, by a ferocious storm, which decimated their mighty fleet. Because the English dominated the seas in the early 1600s, they decided it was their right to begin colonizing America, and the first of the permanent English colonies, Jamestown, was established in 1607.”

Excerpt From: Ben Carson, M.D. “America the Beautiful.”

 

25. LEADING “A man who fails to lead is leading to failure.” –unknown

26. PERSPECTIVE “American Olympic speed skater Dan Jansen suffered a series of devastating defeats and setbacks in his career until 1994, when he finally took the gold in a thrilling 1,000-meter race in Lillehammer, Norway. As a young skater he learned to keep defeat in perspective. Competing in the youth national skating championships in Minnesota at the age of nine, he was positioned to capture the title when he tripped on a lane marker coming around a turn.

That mistake cost him the victory. He was so distraught that he cried through the awards ceremony and the entire six-hour drive home. His father didn’t say anything about the loss until they pulled into their driveway, but what he said then has stuck with Jansen ever since: “You know, Dan, there’s more to life than skating around in a circle.”

That might strike you as an insensitive remark from a father to a heartbroken son, but it is true. It arises from the father’s enhanced perspective, which indeed renders the pain smaller and less significant. Dan Jansen, being a veteran competitor even at age nine, needed that greater perspective. It helped him pursue his Olympic dream while remembering the true place of victory and defeat.

Wisdom may not solve all our problems or smooth out all the bumps in the road, but it gives the mind the right information for controlling the emotions.”

Excerpt From: Jeremiah, David. “Searching for Heaven on Earth.”

 

27. THE US CONSTITUTION’S ACHILLES “….the words that came to him were the same ones Henry had spoken over the previous two weeks. [during ratification process in Virginia] “Virtue will slumber,” Henry had warned. The Constitution could not hold it up. “The wicked will be continually watching,” he cried to the heavens. “Consequently you will be undone.”

The words repeated themselves, over and over again, faster and faster, in James Madison’s mind. “Virtue will slumber. The wicked will be continually watching. Consequently you will be undone.”

Excerpt From: Beck, Glenn. “Miracles and Massacres.”

 

28. CONGRESS “In his centennial address to Congress in 1876, President James A. Garfield issued a warning widely reported in the press at that time. He said, “Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature.” Then, he added, “If [one hundred years from now] the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . ..it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

Excerpt From: Andrews, Andy. “How Do You Kill 11 Million People?”

 

29. GRACE “Mercy is not getting what we do deserve; grace is getting what we do not deserve. The Christian life is not simply a changed life but an exchanged life.”

Excerpt From: O. S. Hawkins. “The Joshua Code.”

 

30. JESUS’ ECONOMY “Jesus was always talking about a reverse economy. He talked about how if you want to receive, you give. If you want to lead, you follow. That the poor are rich and you only really live for certain things if you are willing to die to them.”

Excerpt From: Goff, Bob. “Love Does.”