Shelly Moran and Connie Weaver are both Marthas, but they're trying to become Marys.

The co-owners of Mary and Martha's Place named their Christian book and gift store after Mary and Martha, two sisters who opened their home to Jesus and his followers, according to the Bible.

"A Martha is a worker," said Moran. "She's busy and she's doing everything all the time to accommodate everyone."

In the Gospels, Martha cooked and cleaned for Jesus and his friends, while Mary sat at his feet, listening to his stories and anointing his feet with oil.

"Mary, she's more relaxed, down-to-earth," said Moran. "She's very spiritual."

The bookstore was Moran's dream for three years. The Moneta resident moved to the lake with her husband, the Rev. Tom Moran, and their children from New Jersey. Tom Moran is the pastor of Sandy Level Baptist Church in Goodview.

The couple had often spent their date nights at a Christian bookstore in New Jersey, where Shelly Moran said she relished the peace she found curled up in a chair with a book while religious music played over the speakers.

"I would just sit and refresh my soul in a place that felt prayerful," said Moran.

The idea to open her own Christian bookstore persisted, and Moran began praying about it.

Weaver, a close friend from New Jersey, moved to the lake with her husband, Jeff, and their children, and the women talked and prayed about it together.

Earlier this year, they drove past Halesford Center en route to a ladies' breakfast when they spotted a "for rent" sign. Moran called the owner, who met her at the store.

"He said, 'As soon as I heard your voice, Jesus said to let you have it,'" said Moran.

With keys in hand, Moran and Weaver began shopping for books, gifts and shelving. They often found items at low prices at stores that were going out of business.

The store opened Nov. 3, with books, cards, gifts and novelty items. A corkboard for prayer requests hangs on the back wall where visitors can tack on their prayers.

"They put their prayers up on the wall and we are very diligent in praying for them," said Moran.

In addition to saleable items, the bookstore also houses a lending library of books, tapes and DVDs.

"There are probably 450 books in the library," said Moran. "That's growing every day."

But the bookstore isn't really about selling books, said Moran. It's about recreating the peaceful feeling she got when she sat in the New Jersey bookstore for everyone who walks through the door.

"To us, this is a ministry," said Moran. "It's about bearing each other's burdens and caring for each other ... That's the whole reason why we're here. That is our desire, that we would minister to the women in this community and the surrounding communities."

As part of their ministry, the women host a Bible study on Friday nights from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Their first book is "Having a Mary's Heart in a Martha's World" by Joanna Weaver (no relation to Connie Weaver).

Moran said the book teaches women about the different gifts each sister had and why all those gifts are important. The book is helping Moran and Weaver to be a bit more like Mary.

"I'm growing steadily to be a Mary," said Moran, who added that she won't completely leave Martha behind. "We're supposed to learn how to be both."

Mary and Martha's Place is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday from 7:30 to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is located in Halesford Center at 116483 Moneta Road, Moneta. www.maryandmarthas.org