Seeds & Jewels

Hello everyone, I trust that we are keeping safe. Today on seedsandjewels.blogspot.com, I will be sharing an interesting article on evidence-based decision-making. So, I am a scientist and as one, we are trained to make decisions based on facts and evidence and nothing less. Research is conducted using a rigorous methodology, results are discussed, and peer-reviewed to ascertain validity and suitability for publication. Afterward, results can be quoted by colleagues and the public and utilized to make crucial decisions. So, you see, it then behooves the scientific community to ensure that all results are valid, and authentic. Nothing less.. The world system relies on hard facts to make decisions (at least this should be the basic minimum requirement). Our judicial, legislative, and executive systems rely on or should rely on facts and evidence to influence decision making. This way, we are assured that policies have undergone various decision-making processes before arriving at a...

It was probably a day like any other; the sun, up in the sky; animals bleating and barking; the air must have smelled the same as yesterday, nothing special. The only difference being David had to take a break from tending the sheep to serve his brothers who were at the battlefield facing an intimidating enemy. 1 Sam. 17 Nothing major, however, a General, in fact, the Chief of Army staff of a world-class army fell that day and Israel got the victory. It was another sunny afternoon, houseflies taking advantage of the heat to stress the cows in the backyard as they flicked their tails driving the irritants away. Abraham, probably being driven out by the heat sat at the entrance of his tent when he noticed three men standing nearby and he proceeded to show hospitality. Gen. 18 Nothing major, however, something extraordinary took place and history was made, Isaac came to be. He was weary from his journey (Jn. 4:4-30), He had left Judea and was headed to Galilee but decided to pass ...

How do you think outside the box when there does not exist a box in the first place? How do you imagine something that has never existed before? When I am asked to think outside the box, I immediately consider a picture of imaginary boundaries around a 6-sided object which I need to set aside in my mind’s eye to consider new perspectives. This box could be past experiences or circumstances but wait, what happens when there is no box. What guides your thought process? What do you do? Sometimes, life throws us rare curve balls but I have observed that these may be pointers to God calling us to leave the shores and step into the deep. The bible is replete with disruptive, unconventional encounters of God with men and today I will be sharing a few lessons from them. Sometime in the 1 st century BC (see Luke 1), an old Jewish priest, Zechariah and his wife – Elizabeth had no children possibly due to obstetric issues. One day, while Zechariah was serving in the temple, angel Gabriel app...