Elizabeth's Flowers

My tour of the Vatican Gardens

Blogging has been sparse this week, due to an unexpected family medical situation. Right there's not much to do but wait, so we are all trying to get back to a sense of normalcy.

Several of my facebook friends have "tagged" me with the Twenty-Five Things meme, where I'm supposed to list 25 unique facts about myself. At the moment that seems like too much work. But, in thinking about things, I remembered my adventure in the Vatican Gardens.

My friend Annie and I went backpacking in Europe one summer after college. While in Rome I decided to tour the Vatican one day (Ann went to the Coliseum), and unfortunately they were closing down early and none of the usual tours were being offered.
As I was standing there a bit disappointed, an important looking priest came up to me, and said something in Italian. Because he seemed to want an answer, I smiled and nodded, and the next thing I knew, he was leading me by the arm, through a gate, through several doors, down a hallway, and eventually outside into a white van. I squeezed in and realized that I was the only shabby backpacker among lots of well dressed, academic looking Europeans.

Thankfully the ride was very short (I was feeling very self conscious) and soon large ornamental gates were swinging open to let our van through into a large, lush, peaceful greenness that seemed very out of place in the middle of chaotic Rome. Someone handed me a brochure, and from the pictures I was amazed to discover that I was in the Vatican Gardens.

We stayed all afternoon. The tour guide led us to various nooks and crannies, and the academic Europeans listened intently, scribbled notes, took pictures, and even examined leaves and flowers with magnifying glasses. I wasn't really into gardening back then, so I don't remember anything specific about the plants I saw. I just drank in the beauty, and tried to imagine what prayers might have been uttered in that beautiful, peaceful place. And, I eventually said a thankful prayer of my own.

Labels: gardening, gratitude

Hope for uncertain times

I know. It's Christmas, and we are filled with joy and anticipation, as we get ready to celebrate our Savior's birth with family and friends. Rightly so! But despite the specialness of this season, aren't we all are a bit unsettled, as we try in vain to block out all the dire economic news?

My family is blessed.
My husband still has his job, for the moment, but continued layoffs are expected. God has been good to my Elizabeth's Flower's and leaf petals endeavors, but my income won't come close to supporting our family should my husband lose his job. So, although we are fine, and I am thankful, in moments of quiet I can detect uneasiness deep inside.

Last week Revive our Hearts had an awesome series called "Hope for uncertain times" that I found to be completely reassuring. I needed to be reminded that these unsettling times are not catching God off guard - He loves us just has much as He always does, and is working things out according to His plan, as He always does. And, most importantly, even if things do get difficult, anything that makes us need God is a blessing.

You can listen to the first program of the series here. There is also a helpful "Hope for uncertain times" brochure you can download for free, a gold mine of wisdom and comfort.

Labels: gratitude, growing in faith

calendula

I got tagged for a "meme". What does "meme" stand for, anyway? Here are my answers...
1. Your cell phone? ...... usually off, unless I'm out and about
2. Your significant other?..... Tom
3. Your hair? ....... brown - really
4. Flower? ..... <--- look that way
5. Herb?....... basil
6. Your favorite thing?....... my ipod touch
7. Your dream last night?...... didn't have one
8. Your favorite drink? ...... green tea
9. Your dream/goal?........ faithfulness
10. The room you’re in....... living room
11. Your talent ?........creating
12. Your fear?..........declining memory
13. Where were you last night?..... Luisa's Italian Restaurant
14. Where do you want to be in 6 years?..... here
15. What you’re not?........ Ok
16. Muffins?............whole wheat banana walnut
17. One of your wish list items?...… weedless garden
18. Where you grew up?........ Brookfield, Wisconsin
19. The last thing you did?..... read new Container Gardening magazine
20. What are you wearing?...... jeans, sweater
21. Your TV?............ too loud
22. Your pet(s)?........... lazy but sweet
23. Your computer? ...... Dell laptop
24. Your life?........ mostly great
25. Your mood?....... contented
26. Missing home?......I'm here
27. Your car?........Honda Odessy
28. Something you’re not wearing?.…. snow pants
29. Favorite Store?........ Northwind Perennial Farm
30. Your summer?......... fleeting
31. Hate someone?.........yes... the neighbor cat who killed my Baltimore oriole friend
32. Your favorite color?.......leaf green
33. Last time you laughed....... today
34. Last time you cried?....... yesterday
35. What are you most thankful for? My faith. Then my family. Then flowers.

Labels: gratitude

Peace

After spending the day at the Milwaukee Public Museum with my son's second grade class yesterday, I feel relieved to be able to quietly stay at home and catch up on several orders for my pressed flower cards today. The trip (except for the 50 mile bus ride) was great fun. The group of boys I was in charge of happily enjoyed the dinosaurs and all the gory hunting/predator panoramas, and, bless their hearts, they were patient with me as I lingered in the butterfly exhibit - brimming with real butterflies and flowers.

When I got back home after the field trip, I had about 20 minutes before my kids would be home from school. As I thought about how to best use those few minutes, I found that all I really wanted to do was enjoy the quite peacefulness of my empty house. After spending the day with a total of 60+ second graders, the silence was absolutely golden.

I'm thankful for something that my Mom was always grateful for - peace and quiet.

Labels: gratitude, pressed flower cards

Happy Giving Thanks

Years ago when I was of a more cynical mind, I got so tired of the syrupy talk of gratitude around Thanksgiving time… but now I have a very different attitude. If you are a believer in God and His Word (the Bible) like I am, we are commanded to be thankful in each and every circumstance. It’s mandatory.

Thankfully, being thankful just happens to be beneficial, both psychologically and physically. WebMD says so, and if you have some spare time you can check out the 1,880,000 entries listed under “benefits of gratitude” according to Google.

How can one cultivate a grateful heart? I’m still working on this myself, but I think one of the keys lies in the words Viktor Frankel. Back in college I had the privilege of hearing him speak. He was a Jewish Austrian existentialist who was a prisoner for three years in concentration camps (mostly in Auschwitz).

His wife and mother died. But in the midst of his suffering he came to the conclusion that a person can choose his attitude in each and every situation. According to Frankel, “everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

So we can choose to be thankful in every situation - we can make it a habit. It can be our default attitude, if we choose to make it so. I'm thankful for Thanksgiving - it reminds me to keep working on this! Happy Giving Thanks to you.

Labels: gratitude, growing in faith

Gratitude

I’ve been on a personal mission for the past year or so to increase my gratitude quotient. In other words, I’ve been practicing the “attitude of gratitude”, especially in relation to my faith in God. I’ve had mixed success.

Sometimes in the midst of some pretty difficult circumstances, I’ve been able to be thankful… by trusting in God completely, and being grateful for His love, despite the problems piling up around me. I’m thankful that He gives me the ability to do so, during trying times, because I know this isn’t one of my natural abilities. It’s a gift from Him.

Other times, I start my day out on a thankful cheerful note, only to have a child walk across the kitchen floor I just washed with his or her muddy shoes, and I become the crabbiest most ungrateful mother in the universe. Why? Why is my thankful attitude so strong some times, and other times it’s more fragile than a snowflake?

Pride. I read about it just this morning, in another blog I like to visit regularly called Solo Femininity. Carolyn McCulley explains that the antidote to pride is - you guessed it, thankfulness!

I’ll keep plugging away at thankfulness, and now I’ll try to be more aware of my pride level as well. I’m off to write in my gratitude journal for a few minutes, before I get busy preparing for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I’ll begin by being thankful for the blessing of those six little feet that track mud on my floors!

Labels: gratitude, growing in faith