Books on the Path -- Meet the Osborn Family
Posted by: hopechestnews <hopechestnews@...>
Dear Virginia,
Greetings from northern Idaho! We are the Osborn family. My wife's name is Susanne, and I am Andy. We, along with our seven children, would like to join your circle of friends who receive your Hope Chest Home School News. We are also a home schooling family and have been since our oldest was born ten years ago. I actually taught full time at North Idaho Christian School for 16 years, and could have had my children attend there tuition-free, but Susanne and I have always felt that home schooling is the best choice for us. A year and a half ago, the Lord showed me that my time of ministry at N. Idaho Christian School was finished, and He called me to get out of that safe, secure "boat" (my full time job) and to take a step of faith so that I could spend more time with my family. This was one of the hardest decision I have ever made, and in a sense, I feel like I am still walking by faith on life's uncertain seas. But I am so thankful that I have had more time with my family this past year and a half, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the various odd jobs I have picked up here and there though they haven't brought in much income.
This fall, our family attended an Above Rubies weekend family retreat in Washington state put on by Colin and Nancy Campbell. I remember standing before the other families one evening and sharing with them how I was feeling overwhelmed by life's challenges, and that we needed their support and encouragement. For awhile, our family had been living mostly off of our savings, and I was becoming quite discouraged as I saw the money slipping away. I felt like I was in a wilderness and Satan was attacking me, tempting me to doubt my step of faith. Yet I also considered how the Holy Spirit led Christ into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days and was tempted by the devil. This all happened right before His public ministry began. I wondered — was God going to open up a door of ministry and blessing for our family?
One day after the Above Rubies retreat, Susanne noticed that a Christian website bookstore called Books on the Path was for sale. After some prayer, we felt led to call the previous owner, James McDonald, to discuss the purchase of his business. After more prayer and seeking counsel, we concluded that God was leading us to buy Books on the Path. (Another giant step of faith!) At the end of October, Susanne and I purchased plane tickets. Leaving our children under the careful supervision of a close friend, we flew to spend four days with the McDonald family to "learn the ropes" of the business. We felt completely overwhelmed by all we needed to learn, and it turned out that the transition of the business proved to be much more challenging than we ever could have imagined.
A week or two after we returned home, UPS knocked on our door with our inventory—40 crates of books. These were brought in and stacked neatly into our little living room. (We live in a fairly small house, and really have no extra room for operating a retail business!) Thus began the exciting adventure of becoming new business owners. I won't tell you about all the set-backs and trials we went through those first two months, but I will say that God has been faithful to help us face every challenge that has come our way.
To us, Books on the Path is much more than a business. We view it as a ministry. Many of the books we carry prove to be life-changing, directing people to God and His Word. We know that in our own lives, God has at times led us to key books on our path that have directly ministered to us, almost like when a friend comes and speaks choice words we need to hear. We hope that our books will be a blessing to all who read them. Many of them will be helpful for parents who are in the process of training their sons and daughters to walk in God's ways. Others will challenge mature believers to consider how they can surrender more completely to the Lordship of Christ. Some of our books and audio CD's are simply fun family stories and read-alouds to bring wholesome literature into people's homes, encouraging family togetherness. Our goal is to present an attractive website that offers meaningful products to Christian families. Also, we want our customers to be treated royally with the highest personal and professional standards. Our children are quickly learning about the extreme importance of customer service!
Virginia, we look forward to meeting (or at least hearing from) many of the folks who read your Hope Chest Home School News. Susanne and I hope to attend some of the home school conferences this coming year (especially in the Northwest), where we will offer some of our special books to home schooling families. For a complete look at our products—not to mention a great picture of our family — we encourage people to visit our website at http://www.booksonthepath.com and browse around. We want to get these books out of our living room and into the hands of those who will benefit from them! We are shipping all orders by Priority Mail which usually takes just 2-3 days, so there's even time still to receive orders by Christmas.
Thank you for allowing us this opportunity to introduce ourselves!
Your friends,
Andy and Susanne Osborn
Books on the Path
P.S. Please pray for us, as we prepare for the arrival of our 8th baby in three weeks!
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