My experience with businesses owned by Christians is rather small.  Prior to living in Ohio, it was pretty much whatever Christian book/gift store was available, plus a couple of online publishing houses.  But now, we’ve been getting to know the wonder of doing business at chains that are Christian in action without necessarily pedaling Christian merchandise.

For example, Chick-fil-a.  My husband loves eating there.  It’s fast food chicken but way better tasting than fast food.  And they have a value of friendliness, evident by the hyper-happy employees who will greet you and even chit-chat as the money changes hands.  They are closed on Sundays, which is an awesome value for their workers but a bummer for us since we usually like to grab some quick food after church.  So we try to frequent the place on another day of the week.

Another such place is Hobby Lobby.  I had always liked the store in Lincoln, Nebraska (where some of my extended family lives), so we went into the one near our house shortly after discovering it.  It’s got crafts and yard stuff and home decor, but the tip-off was the plethora of crosses.  Crosses for the garden, for the wall, for whatever purpose you want.  And they, too, are closed on Sundays.

It makes me think of the movie That Thing You Do.  The main character is a drummer in a band during the 1960’s, and his father owns an appliance store.  As the dad checks out an ad in the newspaper for a competitor, he reads that they are open noon to six on Sundays, and says, “I don’t believe I want to live in a world where you have to be open on Sunday to support your family.”  Oh, to have that value back.  I realize that it’s unrealistic, but I will definitely continue to support businesses like Chick-fil-a and Hobby Lobby, because they are showing that you don’t have to be open on Sundays to run a successful business.