Happy Every Day, Happy New Year, It’s Time To Celebrate

Why do we have to wait for special holidays to celebrate the miracle of life? Isn’t it time we started to appreciate how much we have to be happy for every day of our lives?

It seems to me that many of us are taking the bounty of our lives for granted. We spend so much time wishing for more that we forget how much we already have.

We take for granted things like:

Good Health

A Loving Family

The Blessings of God

The Miracle of Our Faith

The Beauty All Around Us

Our Ability To Think and Reason

The Wonders of The World We Live In

Our Beliefs and Our Passions

The Kindness of Strangers

Our God Given Souls

The Miracle of Life Itself

The list could go on and on. Maybe you can think of some things that I have forgotten that we take for granted. Maybe you can help others become more aware of their surroundings and their blessings.

Don’t waste your time thinking about the bad things that have happened in your life. It won’t make them go away any sooner. It won’t make you happier. It will distract you from concentrating on all the good things you have to celebrate.

Concentrate on the positive. Having a positive attitude will help you be happier. Believe in a good future for yourself and your family and your chances of having one will improve dramatically. Have faith in yourself and your ability to be a force for good. Believe in God and all He has given us.

Isn’t it time we took the time to celebrate our lives by trying harder to make something more constructive of them. Perhaps that’s what the celebration should be all about: Our ability to try and do better, our passion to discover more of the meaning of life, and our ability to be thinking and kind human beings.

What a wonderful world this is for us to live and love and work in. Doesn’t it make you want to celebrate your existence every day of the year?

Happy New Year*****

The Little Christmas Tree That Could

Johnny Jr. was pursuing a quest to find his faith in God. He bought a tiny little Christmas tree to celebrate the holidays. It was all that he could afford at the time.

His wife and little children were very disappointed that the tree was so small. They didn't say anything, but Johnny Jr. knew and was upset that they weren’t happy. He wished and prayed that the tree was larger and more magnificent.

The night before Christmas when he went to put his few meager presents under the tree, he was startled to notice that the Christmas tree had grown much larger. It was taller by more than three feet and wider and its branches seemed to glisten. The few tiny ornaments and lights that Johnny Jr. and his wife had managed to put up also appeared to have multiplied, and now their glow lit up the whole room.

Johnny Jr. called his wife and little children over to witness this miracle of the little Christmas tree that could grow. He had been praying that things would get better for him and his family, but he never dreamed that his prayers would be answered in this manner.

Johnny and his family were convinced that it was their faith in God that gave them the miracle of the little tree that could grow.

Do you have something happening in your life that can help make your faith grow stronger? Has something happened to you that you feel is a miracle at this wonderful time of the year? Think about it. Sometimes it’s the little acts of faith in our lives that can help make miracles happen. Sometimes our prayers do get answered if we truly believe.

I believe that each of us has a special thought or wish in our mind’s eye that could grow into a miracle if you just have enough faith that it could. I pray that at this marvelous time of the year the miracle of your dreams comes true for you. I think it could. I think it could. I think it could

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Johnny Oops 11 - Timeless is Free

Last two days free. Johnny Oops 11 - Timeless. Merry Christmas.
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Regards,
Arthur

A Strange Little Fellow Appeared - Excerpt Johnny Oops

My life keeps getting stranger and stranger. I wonder if I’m imagining things.

I was driving home in my Range Rover from the Holiday Inn where I prepaid for the thirty rooms I had reserved for my guests who were invited to the big Xmas/New Year reunion. The holiday season had finally arrived. I stopped at a traffic light and when the light turned green and I stepped on the gas, I felt like I was sliding on a sheet of ice through a sky high, gossamer thin piece of translucent glass that miraculously stretched across the highway. I lost track of time. Then instantly everything appeared normal again, except I was startled to see, sitting in the passenger seat next to me, a cute little fellow who couldn’t have been more than one foot tall. He was completely bald, had unblemished Albino white skin, pink eyes, and was wearing a Boy Scout uniform. I don’t know where he came from, or who he is. In a flash, he just appeared.

 “Who or what the hell are you?” I asked. 

The cute little fellow said, “There you go again with your damn cursing. I’ve tried so hard to get you to stop that. When are you going to start listening to me?” 

“Who are you?” I repeated, my forehead breaking out in a cold sweat.

Johnny Oops 11 - Timeless is Free

Hi everyone. My novel Johnny Oops 11 - Timeless is now free for three days on Kindle. don't forget to buy the original Johnny Oops. Merry Christmas. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XP2GPO

Regards,
Arthur

If The Rich Were The Underdogs - Excerpt Johnny Oops

Jody, Jason, and I wandered over to the Empire State Building. We wanted to go up to the observation tower to view the City from above. Security was tight. The observation tower was temporarily closed. We looked at this beautiful building with awe, and yet something was missing. Why is it that man can erect such magnificent edifices, but cannot sustain the peace of mind to enjoy them.

An old beggar in throwaway clothes and shoes that were too big had been listening to me mutter these words half out loud. He was in rags, had poor vision, but keen hearing. 

He tapped me on the arm with his cane and said, “It’s because humans act without thinking about the consequences. They destroy things of beauty, and people of value, and then wonder why me when it becomes their turn. They don’t care enough about others to protect their own self-interest. They leave poor people like me to rot in the streets with nary a thought to our suffering. They keep the underprivileged downtrodden and miserable. Why are they so surprised when the have-nots of this world start to rebel? 

 If the rich were the under dogs, what would they say, thank you very much please kick me again? I think not. I think they would rise up in a rage when they became so frustrated with their lives of meaningless poverty that they could not take it any more.” 

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Regards,
Arthur

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Regards,
Arthur

Johnny Oops 5 star review from across the pond

5.0 out of 5 stars Full Of Chuckles! Great Fun!, December 5, 2011
By
Bryden "J. Bryden Lloyd" ((Author - UK)) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Johnny Oops (Kindle Edition)
I went into this expecting a diary-type book about the trials and tribulations of a typical growing guy... something that has been "done to death" over the years, since Adrian Mole burst onto the scene many years ago.

... and yes, this WAS the trials and tribulations of a... well, a guy... but that is where any similarity ended.

Levine showed superb style throughout this book, especially with the humorous elements that make this book into the great read it is. There are more than enough twists and turns in this book to keep you reading. Everything from the characters to the places are written so consistently well, the story flows and rolls between superb bouts of apathy and frustration as Johnny paddles his way through life.

It's a while since I bought a book based on just wanting a good laugh, and Johnny Oops delivered on every level, and then a few I had never considered. I have to recommend this purely based on that fact.

The second book is already primed in my Kindle and will be taking a prominent role in my TBR list. So, if you are looking for a genuinely fun read, I recommend this whole-heartedly.

Excellent!

We Are Coming

I’m too late. By the time I get home Ala has made a deal with this big TV Production Company called No Name No Pain. I try arguing with her, but you know Ala when she makes up her mind. The TV Company plans a multi million dollar wedding and promotion for Ala and I, which includes paying us each five hundred thousand dollars an episode for our new reality series starting with the wedding. They offer the same fee to Johnworld to participate. I have a bad feeling about this.

The wedding of the century as it is featured takes place one month later at the Saint Ludicrous Ballroom in NYC. Ala looks beautiful in an Aqua Blue wedding gown. I wear an all white tuxedo. Think I look stupid. I know I’m White and Ala is Blue. What’s the point?

Johnworld arrives with his steady girlfriend, Anna, in a pink tuxedo jacket with white linen pants and purple patent leather loafers. He immediately goes over to a large potted palm tree that is guarding the entrance to the ballroom, unzips his fly and urinates at the base of the palm tree on national TV. I’m so humiliated. Ala explains to me it’s a custom of the Magentas to mark what they perceive to be their territory. I though animals do that.

All twenty-eight of our Magenta grandchildren—four of Johnworlds ladies had twins—are dressed in pink tuxedo jackets, white linen shorts and little pink or blue patent leather loafers depending on whether they are boys or girls. Although they are all less than one year old, they look and act like seven year olds. They sit quietly through the ceremony with their mothers and grandparents. Then they start marching around the dance floor and the tables in some type of herd mentality marking their territories as their father did and shouting, “We are coming. Their mothers and grandparents look startled as do the rest of the Human guests.”

A Johnny Oops Style Christmas

Meanwhile back at the house, my invited guests started to appear for the festivities. The first to arrive were my parents, Anne and Jeffery Wilbert. They were older now of course, but still made a fine looking couple. My mother looked like she couldn’t wait to give me a lecture on something. I tried avoiding her. Some things don’t change.

Jody had spared no expense decorating the house for the Christmas holidays. Holy and pine branches, cranberries strung with green ribbon, and artificial snow that sparkled with silver tinsel was everywhere. The place really looked fantastic. You could smell the fragrance of the pine needles.

 Jody’s plans called for a week of buffet style meals. Brunches featured eggnog French toast, scrambled shrimp and chive eggs, Vermont smoked bacon, and almond bourbon croissants. Sumptuous dinners featured prime ribs of beef, huge smoked hams, crabmeat stuffed Maine lobsters, and roast turkey with sausage and sage stuffing.

The table abounded with all kinds of jell-o molds, sweet potato soufflés, local vegetables, and every conceivable kind of pie. A huge chocolate Yule log decorated with white meringue mushrooms and green marzipan leaves served as the centerpiece.

Guests had their choice of orange juice mimosas, fine wines or hard liqueur and Tequila Sunsets: all served by a staff of cooks, waiters, and barmen hired for the occasion. I started tasting the Tequila Sunsets early to be sure they were being made right.

Jody figured that guests would come and go as they pleased. Most just came and stayed. Some of them didn’t even bother to go back to the motel to sleep. There was a sense of jovial holiday spirited chaos.

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An excerpt from my novel Johnny Oops. Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Regards,

Arthur Levine