IT IS MY PLEASURE...

I welcome you to the beginning of yet another day in this cycle of life,
It's a brand new day, and another opportunity to live a better life,
But just in case you are asking, what is good about today?
And what is so special about this new day?
May be because your life is far from happy,
In fact it is closer to gloomy than it is to happy,
Well, I may not be able to help you,
But I have a friend who can,
So it is my pleasure to introduce to you, the word made flesh,
The one who lived among men, and gave up His flesh,
That you will have life and have it more abundantly, beyond the flesh,
His name is JESUS,

This morning, this new beginning, will signal the end to your mourning and worrying,
For you don't have any reason to remain in a place of bleakness or despair,
For even before you were born, a significant incident transpired,
A long time ago on a place called Calvary,
It was at that place that a new life was bought for you,
Hence, it remains my utmost pleasure to introduce to you,
The one who made your salvation possible,
The one who made your liberation palpable,
His name is JESUS,

So for that one battling addiction,
It is my pleasure to introduce to you the author of salvation and liberation,
For that one contemplating suicide,
It is my pleasure to introduce to you the one who bled from His side,
That you may have a new life and cross over to a better side,
Look up to Him, He will answer your prayers and heed your calls,
And He'll be there to catch you when you fall,
For that one struggling with finances,
It is my pleasure to introduce to you to one who redefined the principles of finances,
By providing money through an aquatic creature,
For that one who is dealing with marital issues,
It is my pleasure to introduce you to the only faithful bride, who settled marital issues,
By modelling for us what true love should be, settling the issues,
Regardless of your situation in life, it is my pleasure to introduce to you,
The one who can carry your burdens for you, and give you a better life,
His name is JESUS.
Invite Him into your life today: Just pray and say Lord Jesus, I believe you died for me, and I invite you into my life as my lord and savior. Amen. 

AS LONG THERE IS LIFE...

Heart-aches, headaches, worries and anxieties,
What to wear, what to eat; the necessities, 
Leave me complaining and grumbling,
Asking and seeking,
For a brighter day, for a new day;
I long for the passage of my sorrow,
And the revelation of a better tomorrow,
But then I realize that I'm commanded to live worry-free,
And to pray and hope for that which must be,
For in the midst of all these, I'm sure of one thing:
As long as there is life, there is hope,

Today may not be like the good old yesterdays,
But I know that tomorrow shall be a better day,
For one thing is sure; there is always something better in the future,
If only we can live with optimism,
As we jettison the burdens of pessimism,
For though our troubles bear long,
And our many unrealized dreams leave us with a sorrowful song,
We can always put a smile on our faces,
Mount on the wings of hope and soar to better and bigger stages,
For we know that as long as there is life, there is hope,

So here is my advice: No matter how hard it gets, you must never give up on yourself, your dreams and on life. Hold on, persevere, endure, pray, hope, work, smile and laugh often. For your best is yet to come. Peace.

LIFE IN COLLEGE-EXCERPT FROM LOVE BIRDS: BEYOND DEATH

           One month later, Henry and other members of the Neurosurgery department were scheduled for a school trip to Tampa, Florida. Prior to this period, Naomi’s room had become Carlton’s haunt, and after series of turn-downs, he persisted. That evening, the weather at the Johns Hopkins University campus was unusually cold, with gusty winds swaying the daisies and roses violently. The pine tree swayed as though it will break, and Naomi’s room was pretty cold with the first winter breezes. Normally, Henry came by at such cold evenings to cuddle her up and talk sweetly into her ears till she was dizzy. But now he was away and she
missed him. Naomi lay cold snuggled up in a blanket, when she heard a knock at the door. She reluctantly stood up and shuffled to the door to open it. It was Carlton who was standing there with some daisies in his hands. She was about slamming the door in his face, when he gently pushed the
        “Please Naomi, be hospitable for once. Besides, it’s cold out here,” he said shivering.
        “Sorry, but I can’t remember asking you to come to my room, did I? Anyway, come in and have a seat if you like,” she said with a frown, walking gracefully to her green colored couch, which blended with the brilliant white walls of her room.
        “Actually, I had come by to give you these,” he said stretching his hands, giving her the flowers.
        “Carlton, it’s not my birthday, neither is it Valentine’s Day, so what’s up with the flowers? Anyway, just drop them on the table,” she said looking in a different direction as he dropped the daisies on the round glass table supported on four gold colored legs.
        “I also thought that since Henry is not around and you’ll be feeling lonely, I could read this poem I just wrote to you,” Carlton said holding out a sheet of paper in his hands.
        “Carlton I didn’t ask for company, but I can see how desperate you are, so go ahead,” Naomi said. Carlton started reading.
         The sun rises at the sight of you;
         the radiance of your face drowns the glow of the moon,
         Even the birds sing of your tenderness and
          beauty,
         And the smell of the winds remind me of the
         softness and fragrance of your skin,
         I can’t help but kiss those tender lips of yours,
         And feel the sensual warmth of your skin.

Carlton read with so much love, or perhaps lust and passion in his eyes. At this point Naomi was melting under the influence of those romantic words and she didn’t mind that Carlton was now rolling his tongue all over hers and moving his hands up her white silk sleeping gown. The Escape perfume from Calvin Klein that Naomi was covered in seemed to worsen the situation, as Carlton sniffed and kissed her neck, simultaneously. Carlton had had his way; Naomi seemed very emotional and susceptible to romantic words. She couldn’t resist Carlton’s charm, his command of the English language, and romantic or may be subtle and mischievous nature. The two were now cuddled up against each other, making out, when suddenly and unexpectedly
the door opened.
         “Jesus Christ, Naomi!” the voice exclaimed. It was Henry.
         “Hen—Hen-Henry, it’s not what you think. We were just . . .”
         “Just doing what? It’s not what I think uh?” Henry retorted.
         “I catch you making out with this; this . . . and you tell me it’s not what I think? You know what? I c-c-can’t even . . .I’m out of here!” He dashed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Just then Carlton ran out of the room with his daisies. It turned out he needed that as part of the bait to allure his prey. Naomi was now left alone weeping and sobbing, probably feeling miserable and undeserving of Henry. Although Henry was disciplined and caring, he couldn’t stand the chance of losing his girlfriend to someone
else, or having her cheat on him. May be it’s because he’s been there for her through the good times, the bad times, and the worst times. He was there when she first had a heart attack, when she was in coma for three months, and he was by her when she carried a ventilator around. So, Henry couldn’t understand why Naomi would cheat on him. May be Henry needed to know Naomi was very emotional, and was thus easily turned on by romantic words. And may be Naomi needed to know Henry is not just a socialite but also
as jealous as she was. Just may be they needed to know each other better.

Love Birds: Beyond Death, now available at major retail outlets in the United States, Canada and the UK.
amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, chapters.indigo.ca, abebooks.com, and alibris.com. 

Love Quote of the Day: "At last, when love is both true and eternal"
                                       -Lysious

LOVE BIRDS: BEYOND DEATH: EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER NINE-LIFE IN COLLEGE

       It was a warm summer afternoon, and the cool breezes rushed through the Pine trees arranged in rows along the sidewalk, producing a whistling sound, as they swayed from right to left. Squirrels kept jumping from tree to tree eating fruits from tree branches strong enough to carry their medium sized bodies. Henry and Naomi were standing in the shade of one of those pine trees, when Carlton walked up in a swagger.
          “What’s up Naomi? May I have a word with you?” he said ignoring Henry’s presence.
          “Carlton haven’t you got any manners. Can’t you see I’m with a friend?” Naomi asked squinting as though the breezes sipped through her eyes.
          “Your friend-boy uh? I see. What’s up . . . what’s his name again?” he said as if trying to recall Henry’s name.
          “Oh never mind. Who cares about his name?” Carlton said scornfully, while Henry maintained his calm.
          “Do you mind if I have a minute, or two, or three, or the whole day with your friend—girl?” he asked laughing as he patted Henry’s back, but Henry seemed indifferent.
          “That’s it Carlton!You have gone too far. Please leave now! I am not speaking with you!” Naomi said.
          “No—no Naomi it’s okay. I’m cool with it,” Henry said attempting to leave.
          “You can go ahead and have a chat. I’ll be in my room when you are done. See you around buddy,” Henry said patting Carlton’s back as he left. Carlton quickly dusted off his neatly ironed check shirt as though Henry’s hand left dirt on it.
          “I’m not your buddy man,” he muttered.
          “You see Naomi; shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and . . .” Carlton was rudely interrupted by Naomi as he tried quoting one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
          “See Carlton just spare me those poetic jargon of yours. I haven’t got all day please. Just say what you want to say and leave!’’
         “Naomi what I mean is I love you so much and would want you to be my . . .” Carlton was abruptly interrupted again.
         “Hello, have I been speaking to the winds this whole time? Henry is my boy friend!” she said in monosyllables, stretching the friend like the tail of the little squirrel that just ran past, and then walked away.
         “Well, fine!Go!But just so you know, Carlton Geoffrey will always get what Carlton Geoffrey wants,” he said laughing mischievously as he bounced down the sidewalk to join a group of boys in front of the arts department.
     TO BE CONTINUED...
Love Birds: Beyond Death, now available at the following retail outlets:
www.iuniverse.com: http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookSearchResults.aspx?Search=love%20birds:%20beyond%20death
www.amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Birds-Lysious-James-Ogolo/dp/1462016677/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310793551&sr=1-1
 www.barnesandnoble.com: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/love-birds-beyond-death?store=book
Chapters.indigo.ca: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=love%20birds%20beyond%20death&pageSize=12
www.AbeBooks.com: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=lysious&sts=t&tn=love+birds%3A+beyond+death&x=42&y=11
www.alibris.com: http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?keyword=love+birds+beyond+death&mtype=B&hs.x=20&hs.y=10