Material Wealth does not provide happiness?

Daily Nudge by Karl Faase and Olive Tree Media

Materialistic Values Not Making Us Happier

US academic Tim Kasser from Knox College Illinois has done a study on what makes us happy.

Surprisingly he has found that material prosperity, rather than making us happy, has, in fact, the very opposite effect. He found that those focused on materialism have a greater risk of depression, physical irritations, drug abuse and poor personal relationships. This was true whether you were successful at acquiring wealth or just motivated by acquisition.

So where do we go to find happiness and a sense of personal well-being? Another study by David Meyers says that the answers can be found in four areas:

1. Be sure to have good friends and build deep personal relationships

2. Reach out to those in need. Look beyond yourself in life

3. Find work which engages your skills

4. Look after your soul.

Meyers wants to remind us of the importance of looking beyond the physical to the spiritual, to take time to reach out to God. A personal relationship with God is the best investment you will make.

(My earnest thanks for daily-reading by Karl Faase.)

(The) Use of Broken Things

 

   

(THE) USE OF BROKEN THINGS

God uses broken things?

 

 THE SKILLED BLOWS OF GOD

 

 It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume … it is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever. Vance Havner

Many years ago, there was found in an African mine the most magnificent diamond in the world’s history. It was presented to the king of England to blaze in his crown or state. The king sent it to Amsterdam to be cut. It was put into the hands of an expert lapidary. And what do you suppose he did with it? He took the gem of priceless value, and cut a notch in it. Then he struck a hard blow with his instrument and lo! the superb jewel lay in his hand cleft in two. Did he do this out of recklessness, wastefulness, and criminal carelessness? Indeed not! For days and weeks that blow had been studied and planned. Drawings and models had been made of the gem. Its quality, its defects, its lines of cleavage had all been studied with minutest care. The man to whom it was committed was one of the most skillful lapidaries in the world.

Was that blow a mistake? 

It was the climax of the lapidary’s skill. When he struck that blow, he did the one thing which would bring that gem to its most perfect shapeliness, radiance, and jeweled splendor. That blow which seemed to ruin the superb precious stone was, in fact, its perfect redemption. From those two halves were wrought two magnificent gems which the skilled eye of the lapidary saw hidden in the rough, uncut stone as it came from the mine.

Sometimes, God lets a stinging blow fall upon your life. The blood spurts; the nerves wince. The soul cries out in agony. The blow seems to you an appalling mistake.
 

But it is not, for you are the most priceless jewel in the world to God. And He is the most skilled lapidary in the universe.

Let us beware of questioning the methods and approaches of almighty God. We lie in His hands, and He knows just how to deal with us.

 

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 James S. Hewett, ed., Illustrations Unlimited:

 

"CK... showed people the Light"

'CK was murdered by the dark because he showed People the Light.'

 Was His End just the Beginning ?

Big Thanks to Zoe, that Girl.

Thanks,you big beautiful girl. Whenever you want to text me, go ahead.

Your care and support of older men like me is always welcome.

I am quite ill but I'm at the my third home recuperating! What? Yes! I've been trying to convince the staff there that Mayo is a really good cake dressing. But they were sceptical. It takes persons like you and me to know what's just good and what's not.

Anyway here's to the new kind of dressing with cheese whipped  that the Mayo Clinic makes. They're not all doctors, you know? Are you a nurse?

Hip hip hooray.

Written with a smile on my lips thanks to you,Zoe !

 Dis -appointment,Uniqueness and Impartiality

 

 

What's so disappointing is when Christians attack other Christians.

But it's to a large degree understandable because everyone is so unique that our decisions involving other people especially other Christians is fraught with danger.

That's why God ultimately matters as the impartial Judge.

Who is This Guy?

Daily Nudge (by Karl Faase)

Who Is This Guy?

Have you ever thought you knew someone really well, then something happens that makes you wonder?

Jesus had twelve mates who thought they knew him well. They answered the questions about Him correctly, they followed Him, and they had committed their whole future to Him.

One day, they were out in a boat, a storm blew up, and they all thought they were going to drown. Jesus was asleep - which seems odd in a storm.

They wake Jesus up, panicked about their lives, and amazingly, Jesus calms the storm. These twelve blokes were absolutely gob-smacked, and their response was - who is this guy?!

You may think you know Jesus. You've heard some stories, read a book or two, seen a movie and think you have Him worked out. Yet, can I challenge you that there is so much more to know.

Look into Jesus, find out more about His life and His claims. You may end up just like His mates and say, "Who is this guy?" It could be the start of a wonderful road of discovery.

Daily Nudge: (Karl Faase)

Daily Nudge (by Karl Faase) .

September 2025

Key verse: "The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”" v15-16

Jesus is in the synagogue on the sabbath. The Sabbath, Saturdays for the Jewish nation, was a significant and revered day. The Jewish people were called to keep the Sabbath holy and set aside for worship, which is what you would do in the synagogue.

The Jewish leaders were keen that people would not accidentally break the Sabbath, so they set stringent rules about what was and what was not acceptable. This meant the rule keeping around the Sabbath went from helping people to appropriately worship God to being legalistic and overbearing.

Jesus sees a woman bent over, unable to stand up straight, who had been afflicted with this condition for 18 years. In his mercy and through his power, he heals her, and she can stand straight for the first time in almost two decades. Can you imagine how that felt?

The legalistic rule keepers found fault in Jesus’ miraculous healing; apparently, this didn’t fit inside their self-imposed guidelines.

Jesus calls them out; he points out that they have loopholes which allow them to untie their animals, but they can’t see that Jesus has unbound this woman from an awful spiritual and physical affliction.

Being aware of Godly standards is important; strict rule keeping is something else altogether.

My earnest thanks for this daily-reading from Daily Nudge from Olive Tree Media.

 

 Archaeology

 

Archaeology is a field that involves the study of human history through the excavation and analysis of material remains such as bones, artifacts, structures, and landscapes. While some may view archaeology as simply a way to uncover the   hidden past, it actually offers benefits that extend far beyond just historical curiosity.

One key benefits of archaeology is its ability to provide insights into the lives and cultures of past societies. By studying artifacts and structures left behind by ancient civilizations, archaeologists can piece together a more complete picture of how these societies lived, worked, and interacted with their environment. This can help us better understand our own cultural heritage and how it has evolved over time.

Archaeology can also shed light on important historical events like the Jesus and Israel and processes,like building a ziggurat that have shaped the world we live in today.

 By studying the remains of past civilizations, archaeologists can uncover information about key moments in history, such as the rise and fall of empires, the spread of trade and technology, and the development of social and political systems. This can provide valuable context for understanding the present and planning for the future.

Furthermore, archaeologists can help protect and preserve these important cultural heritage sites for future generations.

Overall, archaeology offers benefits that go beyond just satisfying our curiosity about the past. By uncovering  information about past societies, events, and cultures, it can help us better understand our world and our place in it. It can also help us preserve and protect our cultural heritage for future generations to learn from and enjoy.

False Correlations?

Although Big Data has existed before AI,subsequently and primarily Big Data from the internet has been used to train AI. This makes AI to emulate or display more intelligence.  But there is a drawback.

WIth sufficient data there will be coincidental correlations between totally unconnected measures.

 For example between 2013 and 2021 the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States went up and down almost exactly with the electricity generated  in Yemen (Source: Spurious Correlations website.)

 

Daily Nudge (by Karl Faase.)

Spatial Disorientation

The term "spatial disorientation" refers to the effect on pilots when they can't see the horizon. In aviation, the term means the inability to correctly interpret the aircraft's altitude or airspeed. Without training to fly by their instruments, pilots, without the help of a clear horizon due to darkness or fog, quickly lose spatial orientation and tragically fly their planes into the ground.

This also occurs quickly. Research shows that 19 out of 20 untrained pilots went into a death turn in a simulator, and this occurs in less than 3 minutes.

All of us need exactly what pilots require - a fixed point of reference. When we don't see a fixed point of reference, when we trust our feelings about what seems right, we quickly lose perspective and sometimes crash out of life.

The Bible gives us that fixed point of reference.

My earnest thanks for this daily-reading from Daily Nudge and Olive Tree Media.

When an Opinion is a Fact.

For the born-again believer or follower everything that happens comes from or through the hand of God.

(Opinion and Fact by Digital Anvil)

It's True!

Have you looked into the person who gave his life that others may be given the opportunity to love and live eternally?

Jesus,the Son of God gave his life that CK may live and CK gave his life that others may have that similar opportunity. 

Zina,my passed - into - heaven -Wife, in her own way spoke about her connection to the living God to each one who came to visit us.

She never "Bible -bashed " or spoke disrespectfully to anyone but loved them all.

She was a kind of "Charlie Kirk " in her own way.

Written in loving memory.

( Opinion and Fact by Digital Anvil)

 

 If Only It Were That Simple?

 

The world is a clash of  two principles,  between them is a spectrum of choice.

  

It's been said that the world can be divided into two great categories. 

This amazing juxtaposition is that the world is composed of good and bad people. The clash of the ages past,present and future is presented in overly simplistic cases of good versus evil.

 

 Overall it is so, ultimately goodness versus badness.

 

But as clearly stated by that survivor of the Siberian work camps,Solzhenitsyn says, "If only it were that simple."

The Christian should study the Bible as well as the world.  But for those who accept it not, the struggle of Life is left halfway complete. 

The enormous contribution of this ordinary gulag survivor in his freely given willingness to engage with his fellow prisoners had somehow enabled Solzhenitsyn after his most charitable assessment of  how we see ourselves, others and God. So he managed to survive the blizzard, ice and subzero climate starved and working endlessly and sick for years through that philosophy of Christianity.

 

With the love, support and grace, all children of God shall discover the goodness of God, the greatness  of God and the holiness of God.

 

The world of man, women and child shall climb out of the fateful mess that is life upon this rock and water planet. but only with the help of God via fellow humanity.

 

 

( Opinion by Digital Anvil ) 

 Shadow Falls upon the World.

 

Death, now they cannot pretend? 

 

 

 

All of the murders that occur confirm that death can be just one moment away. But the second thing that murder confirms is that-- unfortunately-- some resort to violence to end their anger, pain,frustration and other complex issues with stressfully- felt emotions 

 Often under duress Charlie Kirk maintained his self- control and the giving of grace  to the other person who gave their opposing views with little mercy for Charlie Kirk himself. 

People were invited to speak frankly in a so- called echo- chamber as some say that Charlie Kirk's open offer was to converse and "prove me wrong."

Sometimes I believe that surely the opposers were introducing their own mobile echo - chamber to the setting.

But then...

A sharp,malevolent shadow fell across the world that denied one man his right to life and opinion. 

The " rally cry " of freedom that ensued offered a conclusion depending on the political thinking that accords the right of all opinions, yet brutally snuffed out the earnestly believed opinion of one young family man his.

Democracy for all or only for the those who chillingly ( and as some exhibited- gleefully)  and hatefully disagree!

(Opinion by Digital Anvil)

 

  

God’s Provision:

 

The Question Is? 

The story is told of Mr. Yates, who owned a farm in Texas. The Great Depression came and he was having trouble keeping up with the payments on his farm. The bank began to press Mr. Yates and gave him thirty days to pay his back payments or face foreclosure. With three weeks left to go, a man came to Mr. Yates’s door. He worked for an oil company. He asked Mr. Yates to give the company a lease to drill on his farm for oil. Yates knew he was going to lose the farm anyway, so he decided that it couldn’t hurt. Well, that oil company did drill and hit a gusher—eighty-two thousand barrels of oil a day. Mr. Yates immediately became a multi, multi, many-times-over millionaire.

Now, there’s a question on the floor. Exactly when did Mr. Yates become a millionaire? Did Mr. Yates become a millionaire when the oil company struck oil or did Mr. Yates become a millionaire when he bought the farm? Mr. Yates was a millionaire the moment he purchased the farm, but he lived in poverty because he didn’t know what was underneath the ground.

When you came to faith in Jesus Christ as your personal sin bearer, the moment you came to faith, you were blessed “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). Like Mr. Yates, many of us are living in the Great Depression. We are living spiritually poor, spiritually defeated, spiritually weak, and spiritually anemic lives even while sitting on top of all this wealth, because we don’t know what’s down there.

 

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  Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations:

 

 

Charlie Kirk has been called Home 

 

While grieving, informing the world of the loss of a Christ- like figure in Charlie Kirk  I'm reminded of the statement that the world is not worthy of him.

Bells are ringing the world over as hearts are bowed in sorrow. But loving to the end,enduring the loss that another crusader has gone to be with the Lord. Christian faith has suffered enormously but the journey forward is lit by the glory of the Lord.

While most don't know of Charlie Kirk, that has been corrected this very morning. 

The world is not worthy of him.

Blessings My Brother and Christ welcomes thee.

(Opinion and Fact by Digital Anvil )

History, Culture and Politics.(Re-Work A)

Three Pillars of Discovering You.

History births Culture births Politics.

A never-ending Circle. 

Australia in its earlier stages was not just convicts but guards as well.

Some of guards and free men  didn’t believe that the convicts should  be freed after serving their unjust time but many did.   Governors who were committed Christians believed that convicts should be given a second chance! So they released them with a small parcel of land and a resource or two.

Australia was built on the spine of these freed men.

Other great Australians (also freed)   established  critical industries in Australia 

DON'T be ashamed of being " I'm an Aussie!"

We have a lot to learn but with room to grow (and we are growing) and open to the  individual and the community.

So long as we persevere and don't claim victim-hood as a fall back,then we shall rightly prosper.

Discover yourself and your new neighbour and you shall find a consequential arranger of truth, fairness and freedom Don't forget to receive them. Don't just see them.

Love and hundreds of men can open and hold the pass without needing to lose a friend.All we need is the will to succeed.

Seek opportunity in a strange land where animals hop and swans are black. Where sheep,wheat and bananas can grow. Where the cityscape is busy when the lights are low.

Nations rise and fall but mateship  can blossom through it all.

Some would say mateship is dead therefore should be buried. Not so the dead should never be ferried. Mateship ( relational citizenship) Instead naysayers should revise their (all together) bloodshot eyes.

From the Rats of Tobruk to the Halls of Tripoli and Normandy, all fought and welcomed an alliance with technology, other nations and science.

Pastors,priests and ministers even prime ministers need freedom's reign.

Life without good leaders  never cease to estrange fair people in the land,  so please take up a  proper banner and make a stand. This is your land. 

Lead the people,those who would think and freedom creates opportunity with good ink.

Ever broken the system is, but don't be late,the morning after may cause you to hesitate 

Trouble brewing with your crew, lions lie down only in a Zoo.

If you've made to this end, don't forget what's just around the bend.

(Opinion by Digital Anvil)

 

 

 

Authentic versus Pseudo?

 

 If you are going through a difficult,hard -to- fathom process, then this might explain it?

 

Have you ever been to a real pizzeria? Especially a real, authentic Italian place? The dough is the best! That dough goes through some major abuse before it is ready to be served and eaten. It is slammed down on the counter. Bam! It’s treated very rough. A rolling pin mashes it and flattens it out. It is twirled around on a single finger, then thrown spinning up in the air.

Now, most people aren’t thinking about the process of making the dough. They just want the good stuff—the pepperoni, sausage, cheese, and sauce. But the good stuff doesn’t happen unless the dough has been made ready to receive it.

See, many people want to see the goodness of God, the power of God, or the blessing of God and wonder why it’s not happening the way they think it should. God is trying to tell them that “the dough isn’t quite ready to receive it.” Sometimes we are just not ready for the blessings of God to be fulfilled.

 

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Tony Evans,Book of Illustrations.