COEUR d'ALENE - The door swings open at Faithful Chocolates, and a woman walks in.

Nadine Sharpe springs into action. Smiling, she quickly walks around the counter.

"Hi ma'am, how's it going?"

The woman nods and a conversation follow as Sharpe highlights some of the shop's offerings and inquires as to what the customer is after on this Wednesday afternoon.

It's not long before the guest picks out a few items, and ambles up to the cash register. There's more banter, a laugh and in a moment, she's on her way.

Sharpe watches her go, and again, she grins. She's glad to be here.

"It's good to work. You feel good about yourself," she says.

Despite logging 12-hour days, despite being the lone staffer up to now, and despite a round-trip 80-mile drive from her Colbert, Wash., home, Sharpe loves owning and operating Faithful Chocolates at 212 Ironwood Drive, Suite 3.

It was in May when she opened her first retail store after raising four children, along with holding down a 17-year career in home health care.

"I shared my family with others, they became part of our family," Sharpe said.

There is a story behind the store's name, Faithful Chocolates. It's about more than the Christian-themed products such as the T-shirts, coffee cups, posters, cards, books and ties, all with Scriptures or biblical messages. It's about more than the sweets from Spokandy behind the glass case, the ice cream near the back and the colorful Jelly Belly candy set against the wall smack in the center of the 1,900-square-foot store.

It's about a woman's faith, and overcoming her own challenges that included being removed from her family for a year when she was a child and placed in foster care, dealing with a relationship gone bad as a grown-up and battling depression.

She looked at her career choices, and in 2008 came to this decision: She would put God first, followed by family, then work.

It was, she says, the best decision of her life.

The woman who once dreaded rising each morning, now looks ahead to each day with enthusiasm, trust and confidence. Not even that trek from Colbert bothers her.

And she's finally adding an employee, too. No more double-digit daily work hours.

"Mornings are good," she said.

Was it scary to open your business in this economy?

It is scary, but it is exciting. The Spokandy man, he's like a mentor to me, so I can bug him for advice. It's good to have an advocate.

What have you enjoyed most so far?

Just the reaction of people coming in, their faces, when they can give a gift that will put a smile on someone's face, whether it's a T-shirt, whether it's a package of candy. It's fun to hear their stories.

Like what?

One woman came in who needed a gift for her husband. He had been diagnosed with cancer and was going to need surgery. We picked out a T-shirt that had the words, "Don't fret. God is with you," and a cup with a Bible verse, "He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk along his path."

Why those particular items?

So when he woke up and saw them, he would be uplifted.

How does your faith help you?

God is there. God is there through thick and thin. I've had some terrible things that happened to me in my life, but God has been faithful and he is there.

Negative things can happen to us in our lives, but he can make good out of it. I just have a faith in God.

Did you have doubts before?

To be honest with you, I became stuck in the mud. Emotionally and physically. It was one foot forward, then two back. It was a really hard journey for me.

Has it always been easy for you to share your beliefs at work or home?

One of the things we're supposed to do, we're supposed to let our light shine. I've held that faith throughout the years.

For 30 years, I never talked of this, and I didn't know why this happened. A light came to me the night after I was baptized. I didn't know if I as supposed to reach out and touch that light. I didn't know what to do. I had never heard anything about a light. Until I was in my 40s, I never spoke of that. I never heard of anyone seeing a light come to them at night.

So, how did you figure out what it was?

Anytime you step forward for God, that's a good thing. You're stepping forward, you're acknowledging he's there. That's why that light came to me, to give me that reassurance that I had made the right decision.

What's your outlook on life today?

You just have to try and do your best and look forward to each day. Try to think positively each day. When you interact with other people, and try to be positive.

Any other comments?

I was stuck in the mud. Now, mornings are good.