Why The Pursuit of True Wealth?

We don’t get to do one thing at a time in life. All of it comes together like a flood, and it is all kind of new, as this is the first time we have ever done life. We need help figuring out what is important, how to balance life’s many demands, and how to pursue true wealth well.

What is wealth? Wealth is many things to many people. I see wealth as a combination of abundant vitality and health, financial freedom to do what you want to do with who you want be with for as long as you want do it, and authentic, truth-telling, positive, intimate relationships with God and the people you love in your life. The goal is not worldly wealth, but making an impact in this world that lasts for eternity. And you can make a bigger impact for eternity if you have health, financial resources, and right relationships.

If you are sick and stuck in bed, you are limited. Or if you die before your time you are out of the game. If you aren’t financially resourceful you feel limited. If you are stuck with a bunch of relationship baggage, or are getting divorced, or your kids are rebellious and hate you then you have a lot on your plate and can’t give much to others. The goal is true wealth, a balanced, abundant accumulation in health, financial freedom, and relationships that enables you to build an eternal reward that outlasts this lifetime.

Have I obtained all of this? No way. But I press on. I am pursuing true wealth, and have been for a long time without calling it that exactly. And maybe, just maybe you have been pursuing it, too. Or at least some aspects of true wealth. This newsletter will help us focus positive attention in our pursuit of true wealth.

While health, finances, and relationships are all part of true wealth, my main focus here will be on nutrition and how it helps us build true wealth. So, true wealth is the overall theme, but nutrition is my emphasis because that is what I know the best. Pursuing true wealth is really the theme of my life, not just a Substack newsletter. But the newsletter needs to have some focus, or it won’t be very interesting or have much purpose. It will have some other articles thrown in that meet the overall theme, to round out the nutritional articles, and to keep nutrition in its greater context and perspective. If this sounds interesting to you subscribe now so you don’t miss out.

Who is Michael Donaldson?

In order of importance: Christian, Husband, Father, Scientist/Researcher, and Fix-Whats-Broken Guy.

As a follower of Jesus Christ I attempt to integrate my faith into all areas of my life. Church and church community have been and continue to be a big part of my life. I’m not going to demand that you accept my faith for yourself (who actually does that?), yet I do believe I have found truth and invite you to explore the claims of Jesus Christ for yourself. The best way to do that is to examine his own words in the gospels. YouVersion’s Bible.com is a great place to start, looking at the book of John.

I have been married for over 30 years now to the wife of my youth—Angela. We have endeavored to raise our multitude of children, all 14 of them, together. God loves children, and we have taken Psalm 127 and 128 seriously. That means there are 120 unique relationships within our nuclear family. About half of our children have graduated from high school and are moving out into the world. We currently have 3 born grandchildren. That puts me in a unique situation of not only having tried out my nutritional program for my own health for 25 plus years, and having seen how it worked in my own children growing up, but also beginning to see how these principles can be applied in the third generation as well, not all in my control, of course.

I have worked for Hallelujah Acres now for 25 years. I have published scientific research on benefits of a plant-based diet for fighting fibromyalgia and cancer. I have examined juicers, taken deep dives into nutrients like vitamin K2, vitamin B-12, and carotenoids, formulated a few dietary supplements, and learned a lot about health along the way.

I earned my PhD in chemical engineering from Cornell University. While I worked toward my doctorate at Cornell my intent was to enter the biotechnology industry to develop remedies for sufferers of heart disease, diabetes and other ailments; diseases that are I learned were largely a product of overindulgence and dietary ignorance. I became convinced that biotechnology drugs were not the answer and began the search to offer my expertise in the alternative nutrition field, which led me to Hallelujah Acres in 1997.

Along the way I have written a lot of scientific articles but also a lot of blog articles and presentations for ordinary people, trying to help people understand the power of good nutrition. I enjoy this part as much or more than the technical writing.

My family and I live on 5 irrigated acres out in the Yakima Valley in eastern Washington (the irrigation part is key out here). It has been a great place to raise our children, though the politics of western Washington metro areas infringe on our liberties. Owning a home, cars, engines of various sorts, growing food, raising pasture-finished beef, and generally fixing up and adding on an addition to the 1970s era house, and maintaining a property and raising children have given me plenty of opportunities to be a fix-whats-broken kind of guy. I was trained as an engineer at Washington State University before going to Cornell. That practical training has stuck with me, and I like to focus on what works, not just the idealistic model of what is supposed to work.

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