YOB: # 6. Visit The Narnia Exhibit At The Franklin Institute

By Lara

As I've mentioned, I'm a huge fan of stories. I love literature. There are scores of books that I can read and reread without ever getting bored. However, no author has been able to capture my imagination quite like C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia are amazing works of fiction, and I read them constantly. The only complaint that I would make to Mr. Lewis about his collection of stories is that he didn't write more of them. I want to live in Narnia. Seriously. I dream about it.

When I heard that Disney was making "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" into a movie, I was depressed. I was determined not to see it. I was positive that they would butcher the story. However, my curiosity got the better of me as it usually does. I saw the movie. Obviously, I had some complaints, but they were minor. I enjoyed the movie as a whole, and even purchased it on DVD.

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Why Should Christians Care About Economics? Part 2

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

Crowding Out

Imagine you live in a small town with a corner hardware store, grocery store and pharmacy. These small, privately owned businesses form the heart of your town’s small shopping district. One day, you read in the local paper that a Wal-Mart Supercenter is going to be built a few miles away near the Interstate. It is certain to draw customers from all of the surrounding towns, including yours. As soon as you read this, you’re excited by the prospect of having such a convenient, one-stop, low-priced place to shop close-by. Then you’re also concerned for the small stores in the center of town, because now they have to compete with a bigger, more powerful store and they may be pushed out of business.

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Gift Card Giver

By Jeff Shinabarger | Founder GiftCardGiver.com

It started on a whim at a wedding reception.

We were sitting at a table with a few strangers and an awkward silence. Ignoring the look of embarrassment on my wife's face, I decided it was my chance to test an idea that had been running through my head, but had never moved forward. "How many of you have gift cards in your wallet or purse that have been sitting in there for more than 6 months? You know, the ones that are starting to stick together from being there so long?" Of course, everyone gave an affirmative head nod. "What if you give them to us and we promised to give them to people in need?" They emptied their wallets and we walked away with $50 in Gift Cards and a new responsibility called GiftCardGiver.com.

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Gratitude

 By Megan (Steps for Brady)

When I was little my mom forced me to write thank you cards to anyone who gave me a gift. I remember struggling to stretch my thoughts beyond a basic “thank you for the new sweater, I like it a lot.” Now that I’m an adult, I’m truly thankful for my mother’s lessons in gratitude. I know that I always feel good when I receive a heartfelt thank you, or a kindly written note in the mail.  And I try whole-heartedly to send a note of gratitude to anyone who acts kindly upon our family.

In recent months our family has had to swallow our pride and raise our hands to accept hundreds of gifts from our family and friends. Now that the dust has settled after my son’s illness, we were at a loss for how to properly thank all of those who cared enough to reach out of us in our time of crisis. The idea for a BIG party was something that came to us in the midst of our son’s battle with cancer. I recall myself saying to my husband during several long days at the hospital, “When Brady beats this, we are going to have the BIGGEST party ever!” The idea of this grand celebration gave us the “something to look forward to” that we were both in desperate need of.

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Best Friends?

By Mallory

For a very, very long time, I was really worried that I didn’t have a best friend. I looked for friends from elementary school until college. I looked in my neighborhood, several churches, and school for a true friend. Don’t we all want friends who are going to stick with us all the time? How about a trustworthy, loyal friend? Someone you have something in common with and can have fun with? Friends that love you no matter what?

It’s HARD to find friends like this. I remember hearing a woman I respect share about this a long time ago on a youth group trip. That was when it hit me that this is something we struggle with all through our lives. This parent volunteer expressed feelings of loneliness and told us that she eventually realized Jesus is her one true friend.

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