Nice Groove...

This is a rather unusual blog piece I'm going to write today. I am going to highly recommend a wonderful R&R dining.
I have just celebrated my anniversary with my dearest better half last Saturday. I have been searching high and low for a nice, quiet, romantic place to dine and wine. After all the searching, I decided to have a go at a jazz restaurant a little way out of town. I reserved a place for two via email and suggested to the restaurant if they have any suggestions as we are celebrating our anniversary.
As I did not receive a response to my email, I assumed that my email did not get through.

Nonetheless, we arrived early for dinner prior to the live jazz performance. To put it simply, dinner was fabulous. Each of us ordered the set dinner. I had some sort of grill fillet fish, my sweet dear had grill chicken. The tasted fantastic, comparable to the French fine dine hotel chefs. I'm no food critique, but trust me when I say the food IS good.

After stuffing ourselves with good food and a glass of fine Grasshopper cocktail, the music began soon after at 10pm. To our surprise, the Strollers (6 piece voices and Band) dedicated the first song "You're beautiful tonight", to our anniversary. Topping the romantic performance, we were served with an candle-lit ice-cream chocolate brownie. Talk about exceeding customer satisfaction!!
As we were leaving, not only did the staffs extended their courtesy for our visit, but to my delight the band members bid farewell to us too, by name!! It's the little things in life that makes it so darn interesting. And I for one am the type of person who takes interest in details such as these, where people actually do care enough to try to remember names.

To cut the story short, we had a great time, thanks to the hospitable staffs at Groove Junction and the performing band that night. Your simple efforts and smile made our day and our anniversary a night to be remembered.

I highly recommend this place to those who needs a smiling face and a place to rest and relax to frequent.

In a nutshell, this place has class(nice ambiance), good food(yummy!!yummy), wonderful staffs(smiling and courteous) and well, free parking(that's a bonus) to top things up.

Grooving....

Dave D Saved

Happy December!!

December has arrived! Every year, this month signifies the beginning of the end of an old year. A mark of earth's tireless and complete revolution around the sun. This time of every year, we are reminded to count our blessings through the year, and make plans for the year ahead.

Perhaps, this is one of those year where many around the world are rather pessimistic with the coming of the next 365 days, with much to concern over. Starting with the world wide economy landscape that has been threatening to collapse moving to political instability in many nations the world over.

However, I am always encouraged by sages that reminds us that what goes up must come down, and vise verse. Warren Edward Buffett puts it in this way: Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful. He's talking about the stock market of course. But it does reflect the same sentiments. All things will circle upward again, in time. And at all times, we can always find something positive and good that we could do to benefit ourselves and others.

God in His wisdom created and maintained the earth's orbit around the sun so that here on earth, we witness the sun rising every morning and setting every evening. This is an assuring thought that we can anticipate a better tomorrow no matter what goes on today. Tomorrow is going to be a new day, a new beginning.

Leave me a note if you have experienced a better tomorrow, tomorrow will ya?

Dave D Saved

Why Why Why God?!?!

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last blog. I must confess, I've been putting off writing again, simply because I was feeling lethargic...

Over the weekend, I went to the RBC Members Open Day with my better half. After browsing through some books, the agenda continued with 2 sessions of message from a Pastor Sim (I think) from Singapore.

We had a good and refreshing time, not to mention lots of fun and laughter during the 2 sessions. Here's a brief summary from the first session:

Sermon taken from Genesis 6-8: The Noah Story
For some reason, this is a passage rarely preached on the pulpit. Most of us remember this passage from our Sunday School days. However, little did I realize that the historical events that took place almost 4000 years ago relates to the End of Days, when Christ will come again. In Noah's time, God NEARLY annihilated the earth, cleanse it from evil and terror, save Noah's family of 8(including himself). The Bible spoke of Noah as a "righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." These 3 character was what set him apart(incidentally, to be set apart = holy) from the rest of the world that was destined to destruction.

Noah was a righteous man. Meaning that he did what was right in the eyes of God, not following the practices of the world around him

Noah was blameless among the people of his time. Meaning that the people around him recognizes that he does no evil (even though they may think of him as a complete nutcase when he was building the ark).

Noah walked with God. Meaning that he spent time with God, in God's holy presence. Knowing the heart of God, perhaps to a very intimate level. I mean, you don't just go walking with someone you're not comfortable with everyday.

In Noah's days, God cleanse the earth by water.
However, with Christ's coming on judgment day, the book of Revelations tells of an end for those who are not in the book of Life will be by fire.

Some interesting research on the ark Noah built could be found here: http://www.genesisfiles.com/NoahsArk.htm

The second session was an interesting piece based on the book of Job
Sermon taken from Job 38-41: God's Answer to Suffering
In a nutshell, Job was a righteous man after God, blessed with many good things...until it was ALL taken from Him in a flash. The 3 most important things that most of us could identify with, Family, Health and Wealth. When Job cried out to God, complained and sighed, God finally responded in chapter 38. God was also rather long winded in His respond(least my other half complain I am always long winded). But contrary to what most of us would do, God DID NOT comfort Job by explaining Himself, or the reason behind Job's sufferings. Instead, God answer Job's questions with many many more questions. Scholars counted it to 77 questions. I'm not verified that, but if you have, please leave me a comment to let me know. It really baffles my mind and touched me heart the way God dealt with Job. When Job sobbed to God about his pains, God gave him something else to consider.
Just some extracts from what God asked:
* Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? (Job 38: 4)
* Who marked off its dimensions? (Job 38: 5)
*Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? (Job 38: 32)
* Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? (Job 39: 19)
* Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? (Job 39: 26)

God in His wisdom allows us to go through suffering for our own sake. When we consider how Great and Big our God is, our sights are set straight. Only then can we see things from God's view. We may never understand sufferings or the reasons behind them. But we can trust that our God, the God who formed the earth millions of years ago is the same God who loves and cares for us as our earthly parents does.

My goodness, I don't dare imagine God answering me when I ask him my own silly and trivial questions!!
Indeed, where was I when He formed the heavens and the earth?

A good question to ponder as I bid you goodbye and God bless...

Dave D Saved

Why God Allows Pain

This is one good explanations of why God allows pain and suffering ...

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:
"I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people?
Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.
"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because
if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."