What is this Blog about?

OK, I'm taking a break from writing in my novel, writing Parables, and even from Lectures From a Baby - (I'm promise #3 is coming). I want to tell you why I call my work Lexical Creations. I hear these comments when I give out my contact info:
"How do you spell that?"
"Why such a long email?"
"Couldn't you have picked something easier?"

Well, yes, I could have, but it wouldn't fit. You see, 

I'm all about learning. I know that you can - and should - learn something new everyday. Actually, I think you should learn a hundred somethings everyday. This is my CAN attitude:

• You CAN learn to read at 3 years old.
• You CAN discover science at any age.
• You CAN improve a skill.
• You CAN be smarter than you feel.
• You CAN learn to use that computer.
• You CAN figure out that problem.
• You CAN choose to happy with what you have and yet...
• You CAN have an insatiable curiosity.

Now, you found my Lexical Creations blog. You read the description and learned something about the word "lexical." You liked what was written in the posts (I hope) and decided to come back. So you either memorized how to spell the word, or you bookmarked it so you wouldn't have to.
Pretty Smart. 

Thanks for reading my Lexical Creations.
Now, don't you feel smarter?

Parable of the Painting

A man was studying a masterful painting in an art gallery. Then turning to another who also happened to be looking at the painting he declared:

"Isn't it beautiful Madam? I've studied this painting for quite some time, and I've come to a discovery, an epiphany really."

He paused and admired the painting some more. The women silently waited, curious.

"Look at those exquisite figures, that daring contrast. The immortally straight lines, the color, the texture!"

The women nodded her head. This was hardly an epiphany. But there was more.

"This painting is wonderful. So wonderful in fact, that no human could have painted it."

The women looked at the plaque attributing the masterpiece to the famous Rembrandt.

"Oh, I know some say it was him," The man had followed the woman's gaze. "But they are all mistaken. Why it's obvious that no human could have product such a divine piece of work."

The woman could be silent no more. "If not Rembrandt, Who then has painted this masterpiece?"

"This painting, my dear lady," The man smiled. "has painted itself!"

That is when the woman began to quickly edge away.

 

*Picture pasted from christusrex.org

Parable of Gratitude

A little boy received a microscope from his grandma. He had torn eagerly at the wrapping and now his eyes shown as he looked at the box. With an excited intake of breath, the boy hugged his grandma. “Oh thank you Grandma, it’s the coolest present I got today!”

Grandma smiled, pleased she had made a good choice. But she stopped short when her grandson asked, “What is it, Grandma?”

This would seem to be a tactless question. In fact, the boy’s mom probably blushed a bit. But the boy was sincere. He truly did believe that his grandma had given him a wonder gift. He just didn’t know what it was.

The boy’s grandma knelt down and helped him open the present. She showed him how to set up the microscope and prepare the slides. If the boy had been grateful before, it was nothing compared to the gratitude he felt when he knew more about the gift.

God gives us many gifts. Some we recognize and understand, and some not so much. While we should be grateful for ALL our gifts, sometimes it’s okay to ask, “What is it, God? How do I use this?”

And we will be surprised at how wonderful His gifts truly are.

It's NaNoWriMo!

So, I'm working on DetnoGirl for NaNoWriMo, that's National Novel Writing Month, and I haven't spent much time on my other projects. But Look for these Great things I'll post on my blog shortly:

1. A Fairy's Blog - I'm working on a great display at my local library. I'll post some of it here, but you have to go to see the full effect!

2. Book teases - Find out about DetnoGirl and The Top Secret Super Scientific Notebook of Jay Adams, as well as other books I'm working on.

3. "Lecture Number 3: You Can't Crawl and Nurse" - That's right the baby will back to give another lecture on baby etiquette.

4. Tips and Tricks to get children (and their older siblings) to read!

5. And of Course Parables and humorous posters as I create them.

So, even though this month will be slow while I meet my writing goal, I promise it won't freeze the whole winter.

Thanks for following,
--JEN

Parable of Heavenly Parenting

Before any of us came to Earth, God knew that some of His children would not make it home. Of course He loves us all, and wants us to be eternally happy, but He knew that some would make poor choices. Some of us would be eternally lost.

As I look at my youngsters, I wonder, am I doing it right? Is there something I could be doing better or more. Then I wonder if God sometimes had the same worries about us.

And Guess What? He did.

In the Book of Mormon, Jacob tells a story about a lord of a vineyard. This lord is symbolic of God Himself, Lord of all the World. In Jacob 5:41, God asks his servant “What could I have done more for my vineyard?”

Remember that this story was quoted from an earlier source, thousands of years before the events actually happened. So then God could very well have been asking, “What can I do more for my vineyard that so many might not fall away?”*

In the end, we all can only do all we can, just like Heavenly Father. And in the end, that is enough.

 

*(Italics changed for emphasis)

Picture obtained from bookofmormonresearch.org - not an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For the official Church website click here.