Mall of America

Unbelievable...and I am not really a big shopper...but this place is Amazing! There are over 30 places to eat and over 500 stores on four floors anchored by Sears, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Nordstrom's. In the middle is an amusement park with a ferris wheel and roller coaster...16 movie theaters and believe it or not plenty of parking.

I was in Minneapolis for a conference and after the sessions were over for two nights, while my colleagues were our enjoying the nightlife, the Baylor staff headed over to the Mall of America. We didn't even put a dent in this mall, but it was fun to experience it. For you shoppers out there...this is well worth the trip. I suspect that you could spend days in here and not make it to each store...maybe the ones that interested you.

But one interesting thought I had as I dodged people with packages, teens in their herds, and baby strollers, was ... man, we (America) are the picture of desire...maybe even decadence. It is almost embarrasing that we don't think twice about going to get a new outfit for a special occaison and there are people who are half-naked and starving...yet we leave food on our plate all the time. It hit me that we are enamored with stuff. We are busy, but are we doing things that matter in light of eternity? We are loaded with stuff, but do we possess the character qualities that God cares about? We are geared to strive for more, but there are many with so much less that are far more rich. Now don't get me wrong, I am not condemning shopping, but I think for me I will set a "policy" for myself...for each thing I buy, I must give something away. I will not accumulate more than I already have and I will make the effort to simplify and weed out those thing that are extraneous. Hopefully, someone can benefit in some way from those things I choose to give away. You my friends, please hold me to it.