Blessings Bookstore fulfills lifelong dream

Photo by Jason Gerig

Sharon Culberton and Elizabeth Emswiler help Felicia Widemen with her purchase at the newly opened Blessings Bookstore on Massanutten Springs Road.

Sharon Culbertson's dream of eleven years came true last week. On Thursday, Nov. 3, the first sale was made at Blessings Christians Bookstore, which she manages. Blessings specializes in Bibles, books and music.

"It's not about anything except God," Culbertson said. "We want this to be a place of haven and refuge for people who need it, whether they buy something or not. I hope for the body of Christ to knit together through this tiny Christian bookstore."

Blessings is located east of Harrisonburg in the direction of Massanutten Resort. A right turn off of Rt. 33 East will take you to 165 Massanetta Springs Road. Blessings is on the left side of the road, next door to a fitness center.

In 1994, Sharon's daughter came into the family kitchen one day and announced she would like to work at a Christian bookstore. This caught Culbertson off guard, as she said it was the first time she remembers anyone in her family even suggesting they would like to work in a Christian bookstore.

Two weeks later, Culbertson said, her father called her on the telephone, offering to purchase a Christian bookstore for HER to manage. Believing this was no coincidence, a seed was planted in her mind that carried for the next eleven years.

From that point on, Sharon and her children began working at various Christian bookstores all over Virginia. Sharon worked for Heaven and Earth in Hampton, Va., and from 2002 until April 2004 at Family Christian Bookstore.

One of the stark differences between Blessings and Family Christian is the fact that Blessings will not be open on Sundays, in order to "honor the Lord's day." In addition, Culbertson noted that when a customer walks into another Christian bookstore, the Bibles are in the very back of the store as if they were an afterthought. This is not the case at Blessings, where the Bibles are the first items one sees as they walk through the front door.

This past summer Culbertson's vision became a reality. After taking classes at JMU about small business planning and retailing, she came across a space she knew was perfect for her bookstore.

The space is part of a strip mall and is located next to a fitness center and was previously used as a storage closet. In just three months, the space was renovated into the bookstore open today.

Both Culbertson and her employee, Elizabeth Emswiler, expressed the amazement at how things came together in such a short amount of time. They credit it to nothing less than the work of God.

Culbertson knows that 80% of small businesses fail in their first five years of existence, but is unfazed with the belief that the store is not hers.

"We don't own it. It's His. He who began a good work will complete it in the name of Jesus Christ," she said. She likens her present challenge to that of David and Goliath, with Blessings representing David and other bookstores as Goliath. But if that's what He wants, that's exactly what she's going to do, she said.

In addition to Bibles, books and music, Blessings offers Dayspring greeting cards, a 10% discount on special orders, and free Bible imprinting. Their website is located at www.blessingschristian.com.