Ugh! Ant problem!

We have an ant problem in our apartment. They are everywhere. It irks me to no end.

This is not the first time we have had ants in a place where we lived, but my tolerance of the problem is at an all time low.

I had a flashback the other day to when we lived in Cambodia. The ant problem there was worse. My attitude was better. In fact, I just accepted it as part of life. We tried all kinds of ways to eradicate the ants - it was a futile effort. So, we learned to live with them. We had sealed off all our food, and still they would find their way in. So, my morning tea consisted of removing ants from the sugar. I wasn't bothered, I just dealt with it.

Why can't I seem to produce the same kind of patience for the ant problem here?

just Sheri, irked by the ants

encouragement to parents

Study, after study, after study, after study shows that parents have a HUGE influence on their children. Children are listening even when they don't appear to be and they are ALWAYS watching.

I recently had a conversation with my mom that is worth mentioning. Why? Because it demonstrates that parents have incredible influence.

My mom was a VERY intentional parent in my childhood. She wanted me to be creative, a leader - and as a female to find my value in things other than appearance. How did she do this? She changed the words of children's songs to get her point across. She made up her own songs. She limited TV time and she complimented good choices. I had a lot of friends with incredible wealth, who's parents gave them everything their little hearts desired. We did not have means for that, so instead my mom taught me the emptiness of possessions and the value of character.

Who I am today is very much shaped by those lessons. A recent posts on this blog inspired this conversation...life without television. I learned this lesson as a young person. My life choices have reinforced it. It is not the only lesson I learned as a kid that has stuck with me.

Parents - don't be discouraged. You have incredible influence.

Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.


just Sheri, a product of the investment of others

Summertime in Virginia

The weather is getting cooler here. Gone are the humid days of summer. Come are the cool nights (and sometimes days) of fall. This has me reflecting on the events of our summer. It has been packed full with...

Water side BBQ's 

 and picnics.

Wedding showers and engagement parties.

Lots of time outdoors - fishing, kayaking, farmer's markets, and an attempt at watching an outdoor movie at the National Harbor. I say "attempt" because it was cancelled due to technical difficulties,

 so, we walked around and enjoyed the water front scenery instead.

just Sheri, enjoying the good life

possessed by possessions

Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions. ~ Peace Pilgrim

I was afforded the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson. What's that? The freedom of liquidating all possessions in order to follow a dream.

Purging our possessions to move overseas was an exhausting process. I remember during one of the many sessions of going through "stuff," I was listening to Pandora when a song by Erykah Badu began to play. It is titled "bag lady." It is about letting go of emotional baggage, but it was VERY relevant to my circumstance at the time. Her message - let the bags go, pack lightly, don't let those bags hold you down. It was a revelation - purging = freedom.

At the end of the process, we were free - more free than I had been in my entire adult life. Free to go anywhere and do anything. Go. We did.

Now we are back. We are again accumulating stuff, though nothing near previous levels.

I have had a number of conversations with people since returning. Conversations about their dreams. I hear so many say, they cannot follow their dreams because of the stuff they possess..."I can't do that because I would have to sell the house"..."I can't go there because we have too much stuff"..."that isn't a possibility for me because I couldn't part with..." On and on and on. The stuff has a hold on their heart and is dictating their life.

Sometimes, in the quiet of the morning I look at our apartment. It is comfortable. I look at the stuff and I ask myself, "could I leave it all behind again?"

I pray the answer will remain "yes" all the days of my life. I don't want stuff to grab hold of my heart (and subsequently my life) the way it had in the past. I don't want to be possessed by my possessions.

This is not a post of condemnation, but one of reflection.

Could you leave your possessions to follow a dream, or is the stuff holding you back from pursuing such a life?

just Sheri, a sojourner at heart

culture shock: goose poop

I get asked a lot if transitioning back to America has been easy or hard. Though I can speak the language, am familiar with the customs, and am living in my homeland - it has not been easy.

One thing that has emerged as a common thread of difficulty for me is to hear Americans complaining while they experience so much luxury.  It is as if all the comforts have made them discontent with living. I don't often say anything, but inside I feel a sense of anger.

A few years ago someone asked me if the disparity I observed in my travels made me mad. I answered that it wasn't the disparity so much, but what makes me mad is to hear those who have so much complain - I'd rather they be grateful for their good fortune.

By contrast, that same year I met a family in Thailand who were living in a box made of scraps of stuff that other people threw away - some wood, sheets of plastic and cardboard. They had made a raised bed that the three of them slept on and were growing a small garden for food. They told stories of staying up all night trying to keep the rain out of their little home, while laughing about the experience. When asked how they were doing, her answer surprised me. She said they had enough, and that she is grateful to God that he had blessed them with enough. That warms my heart - gratefulness, despite difficult circumstances.

There are days when I am reminded of my good life. For instance, these fake dogs made and sold to scare away geese who have come to cohabitate in our beautifully manicured and landscaped developments. I am surprised there is a whole industry for such things. I am surprised that so many have spent so much time trying to come up with a solution to the problem of geese visitors on human claimed land. Why does this make me appreciative?

On those days I think, "if that is the worst problem you have. You have a good life."

I do hope the good life is appreciated. I doubt the person who has to scoop up the goose droppings is thinking about their blessings...but, they are blessed. No matter what their circumstances, they have more than most of the world and in comparison to issues like civil war, vast famine, or oppressive corruption - goose poop isn't such a bad problem to have.

just Sheri, counting my blessings