tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6348598007824186160.post1926386045124035154..comments2011-09-03T08:55:15.998-07:00Comments on Emerging Family: bombardedlaurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04853794417748377738noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6348598007824186160.post-47727372320774119552008-11-12T14:47:00.000-08:002008-11-12T14:47:00.000-08:00I, too, struggle with the fighting consumerism and...I, too, struggle with the fighting consumerism and materialism. I tend to despise malls to the extent that I really prefer to never enter them. I rarely have visceral reactions to my environment but malls are a great exception. When I enter I feel overwhelmed with intanglible demands to better myself through stuff. It is repulsive.<BR/><BR/>No, my struggles are on the other end. Right now, my wife and I both have well-paying jobs, live in a low cost-of-living city (Wichita) and have no children. We make more than enough money to survive and that makes it easy to be generous towards others and bless them as we have been blessed. My struggle with materialism comes from the fact our high income puts a lot of stuff within financial grasp. Our fight is to be responsible with money we have and to do our best to try to live more modestly with each passing year. <BR/><BR/>My income has varied enough through the years of my life to know that regardless of your income, it is never going to be enough to do all that you want, even if what you want is very noble (charity work, for example). My fight is to learn to be content with whatever financial situation I am in.<BR/><BR/>TrevorTrevor Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14886159454689462870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6348598007824186160.post-7409497597209061962008-11-11T17:56:00.000-08:002008-11-11T17:56:00.000-08:00I can definitely relate by feeling overwhelmed by ...I can definitely relate by feeling overwhelmed by going to the mall or other places like that...all of a sudden I feel insecure and out of style and like everyone is silently saying that I need to have something different or look differently. I guess that's why I don't like shopping much! I can't imagine just browsing through the stores when I'm not looking for something I really need and knowingly walking into a situation that makes me feel like that "for fun". The good thing is that a lot of times when you stay away from those places, you feel just fine about everything. :)Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06055228303110515058noreply@blogger.com