Do You Understand?

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10 NIV).   

As it was the 9th of October yesterday, I was reading the 9th chapter of Proverbs. What stood out to me was the second part of this one little verse mentioned above. The Lord had been addressing my thoughts recently and so I guess I was open to receive what he wanted to point out to me. I don’t know if you are also so mindful, but my mind can sometimes imagine things and write stories that only exist in my mind. I can have at times a very active imagination!

Let me explain to you what I mean. Recently as we were getting ready for our civil wedding, a couple that needed to be there came an hour late. Firstly we were a little bit confused and a little upset. It was then very interesting and brought a smile to our face that at the very moment when the ceremony was carried out the church bells started to ring. The Lord knows how much my husband and I love church bells. Even during our trip to Europe we heard church bells all the time. So it was like the Lord saying to us: “I approve of this covenant and you have my blessing, but just let me start this wedding an hour later so that I can make these church bells ring for you.” :-)

Often we judge situations with our own mind instead of consulting the Lord first for some insight. It is so important to know God’s thoughts, because very often we tend to view a situation incorrectly. I can guarantee you if you take the time to get to know the Lord, your joy will increase. He will reveal to you His treasures and insight and your thoughts will not be the same anymore. You will start to think differently and you will start to act differently.
AND last but not least, your loved ones and your environment will take note.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner

“The Longing of God”

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8: 19-21 NIV).

I tell you, it was definitely a special day in the life of my husband. After much planning, coordinating, endurance, faith and finances the dream of my husband and probably of every American had become reality: the custom designed garage was no longer a dream!

As he stood in his beloved and cherished brand new garage I could just feel his happiness, contentment and the sense of great relief. What he had seen with his inner eye and what he had carried in his heart for years was a blueprint of his garage. Now finally everything came to pass just as he had seen and believed all along.

In that moment I thought of the tremendous longing that our Heavenly Father has. I thought of His love for us and His faith that Christ could be formed in us. He didn’t spare any costs, made plans to give us a hope and future, He even sent His son to this earth to teach us, to remind us and to draw us to Him and give us a new identity. Then when everything was completed, His Son said “It Is Finished,” and then the Father let Him die for you and for me.

Today I want to impress to you that the LORD has a great longing and love for you. He will never give up on you, but carry out His plan for your life until everything is completed and finished. Now rest in this assurance and enter into the Fathers joy and delight.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

Soak in My Presence

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him” (Psalm 62:1 NIV)

When I came to America a few years ago, I was confronted with a lot of change. One of the things I noticed was that our shower curtain would have mold and mildew after a couple of weeks. That was a new thing for me and so I asked my husband how to get rid of it. He said, “Wash it in the washing machine.” I thought that was a great idea, but unfortunately I chose the wrong washing program. The curtain was torn up, we had to throw it away and buy a new one. I asked my husband again how to get rid of the mold and he said “Use bleach.” So every month when the curtain really looked bad, I would take it down and scrub it outside on our back porch for about an hour. To be honest with you, I didn’t like this procedure very much.

So another month approached and I knew I would have to get rid of the mold again. This time I thought I will check the internet and see what a larger group of Americans say about this problem. I searched for “How to get rid of mold on your shower curtain,” and I got a fantastic answer: “Soak the curtain in the bath tub with water and a cup of bleach and then let it rest for one hour”. Ha, I liked that idea, because it didn’t require much work from my side. After an hour I was prepared to scrub the curtain but surprisingly found out that all the mold and mildew had miraculously disappeared during that hour. “Could that be true” I asked myself? Because now getting rid of the mold once a month would definitely be a joyful and easy thing for me to do!!!

Did you know that His presence is a resting place for you? When you rest in Him all the cares and struggles, worries, concerns and fearful thoughts are washed away by His love. It doesn’t really require much of you. Just chose to rest in His presence, let go of your cares, open your heart to Him and then listen to what He wants to share with you. As you make it your daily need to soak in His presence, I promise you that you will experience the truth that comes from knowing that only Jesus can wash away your cares.

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Suzanne Tanner

Jumping to Conclusions ...

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5 NIV).

Do you also jump to conclusions easily and then find out that your conclusions were wrong? Oh let me tell you how the LORD recently corrected me on one of my conclusions. Fortunately it was only between Him and me, and He didn’t expose my thoughts. But I am going to share them with you today because I learned a very good lesson!

In that particular week I wasn’t able to attend our local Farmers Market, so we sent our friend and ministry partner to represent me and to sell our home made Swiss bread. When I came back from our trip that evening I counted the remaining loaves and discovered that one had been opened. I thought that this was a little odd, but figured our friend had been hungry that afternoon and wanted to eat some of the freshly baked bread. The more I thought about it, the more I got irritated because I reasoned that he could have sold that loaf or at least asked me if he could have a bite or two. I admit that those were my thoughts and my conclusions.

Then, full of excitement, our friend began to share with me his side of the story. He hadn’t sold a lot of bread that afternoon and so he prayed to God. He took action and opened up a loaf, went to each and every vendor at the Farmers Market and offered them a sample so that they could taste the great bread. By doing this he sold three more loaves of bread. Oh no, I couldn’t believe what I just heard! My conclusions were totally wrong and I was ashamed at myself for having had such thoughts. I definitely learned my lesson that day!

The Bible warns us in verse 5 of 1 Corinthians chapter 4 that we should not judge before the appointed time and that the LORD will bring light to everything that is hidden. The lesson I learned that day was that jumping to conclusions and acting as if I knew it all was totally wrong. I firmly believe now that we absolutely need to give room to the LORD to bring light and exposure into the motives of the hearts of man. On our part we need to wait for the arrival of the appointed time. Do you agree? Then let’s wait, see and jump when the LORD says so!

Have a wonderfully blessed day!


Suzanne Tanner