The Message of the Tip Jar

"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24 NKJV)

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4 NKJV).

To make a long story hopefully short ... Deb and I, a vendor at the Freighthouse Farmers Market where I sell my baked goods, were talking on one of the Saturdays about her tip jar. She said her clients were always so generous and that she made quite a bit of tip money (she called it free money). Well, I liked that idea and took it a little further and wrote a little message on the tip jar. I wrote that I was saving up for a dough sheeter, a machine that would help me greatly to roll out the dough for me. I had been looking around for a dough sheeter for a long time and it seems that I had been praying for it all the time. 

So, listen to this now: A client of mine, Maria, saw the message on the tip jar and took it also a little further. She spoke with her friend Katie, that happened to have a dough sheeter she wanted to sell and told her about my project. Then Katie called me one evening when I was in the midst of rolling out the dough by hand and wishing I had a dough sheeter. It just happened so, that she had a dough sheeter I had been wanting (there are so many out there ... but the Lord answered my prayer by giving me more than I asked for). To my great joy I learned that she was living at the time in the same town as I. She initially asked for $ 2800 but then kindly offered me $ 2000 which I did not have right away. Two of my clients/friends though suggested I open up Go Fund Me account. Within one month we were able to raise $ 2101 through generous donations and tips. The funny thing was though that when we went to pick it up we realized that the seller lived only one street away from us. All the time that dough sheeter was so close and we did not know until we put that message on the tip jar.

What do we learn from the story of the tip jar? Well, everything starts out with prayer. Then we need to be specific. We need to put a message together of our desires and dreams. You know if I think about it, this story with the dough sheeter was no different than finding my husband Mark. I prayed, I was specific in what I was looking for and then two lady friends told me to go online and the rest is history :-) 

Know this, the Lord is completely good and He wants to bless you and make your heart glad. Trust in Him, even if it takes a little longer (I waited for my hubby for over 13 years).

With much love,
-Suzanne

No Doubt

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)

An unusual story ...

So one evening I was rolling out 8 croissant dough's and folding them multiple times. It was a time consuming job and whilst I was doing that I thought how nice it would be if I had a dough sheeter. This is a machine that does the "sheeting", the rolling out for you. And then it happened. Just a few minutes later I received a phone call from a lady I don't know. She says she got my phone number from a local business owner that said, I might be interested in a dough sheeter!!! Talk about divine intervention.

Over the years I have looked over and over again for a dough sheeter and came to the conclusion I wanted a table-top dough sheeter by the company Somerset. Well, this lady that called me that evening happen to have a practically unused table-top dough sheeter by Somerset. She wants $ 2,800 but is willing to negotiate down to $ 2,000. I have been saving up for a dough sheeter for quite some time now and received in the past $ 500 so far in donations and in tips. Just a few days ago I received another $ 200.00 in donations from a friend that believes in making Switzerland famous here in America is a good thing :-)

It looks like the dough sheeter is in Rock Island til the end of June. The owner is willing to keep it for me to see if I can get the money together. Just thought I would post this story for you and I to enJOY. and let's see what happens ...

If you think like I do and that I should have a dough sheeter, if you believe this would be a good thing for the bakery, would you consider helping me? I have a donate button here on my blog page and every amount will help.

Thank you very much in advance.
For the sake of expanding the Kingdom of God here on earth.
-Suzanne Tanner

His Glorious Presence

^"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1: 6-7 NKJV).

For a couple of years now we have had fluorescent tube lights downstairs in the basement where I operate my micro bakery and my husband has his man cave. I didn't know anything else and they have always served their purpose. But my husband Mark, that knows how to improve the quality of life, always wanted LED lights. So the time finally came and we were able to install them within the drop ceiling. 

Oh, how glorious these lights are. Everything looks different, so clear, so warm, so precise. I enjoy going downstairs even more so and work the bakery with these kind of lights shining down on me and my baked goods. And I am thinking, why did I wait so long? I don't know, I just thought that the previous lights were good enough. I did not know any different. Now there is such a peace when I stand in the light and I can imagine how it must be like to be in Heaven in the Presence of Almighty God.

The Bible talks a lot about light. Walking in the light, that Jesus is the Light of the World, that He wants us to be light, that His word is a light to our feet. There is a beautiful verse I found in Ephesians 5:14 where it says "This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 

This story with our ceiling lights reminds me of my own life but also that a lot of people are satisfied with what they have. But truth be known, the Lord wants so much more for us. There is a glory and a peace that comes from being in His presence not only when we reach heaven but already here on earth. And there is nothing better to know that He will make known to us the path of life; He will fill us with joy in His presence, with eternal pleasures at His hand (Psalm 16:11).

May the Lord bless you today dear reader and make His face shine upon you.
For the purpose of making Jesus real here on earth.
-Suzanne Tanner

"The Power of Trial and Error"

"For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity"(Proverbs 24:16 NKJV).

One of the nice things of having a small basement bakery is, that you can experiment ... I tried out a certain recipe several times with no success and decided yesterday to have another go at it. Unfortunately I experienced another failure and was disappointed for several reasons (time, effort and cost). My initial thought was, to scratch the batch and throw it away because I did not see any other use for it.

But I changed my mind and decided to experiment a little. I poured the batter into cupcake liners to see what would happen. Oh my, right before my eyes I was able to create from scratch something new and so delicious that was initially destined for the trash can!!! Mistakes can pave the way for something totally awesome, don't you think so? :-) To my surprise, I sold them out at the Market and have received my first pre-order for next week.

I read a while back, that Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.

Oh wow, does that ever speak to you, the story of the batter and the light bulb? You are valuable and it is not about making mistakes, but what you make out of them! You might say, I am useless, but the Lord says I have have purpose for you. You might think oh this is useless, but the Lord says, no I can use it. You have a God given capacity to create and even invent things that are ready to be released from Heaven. Doesn't that make you confident and hopeful. God's got you! Don't give up! Know that there is an opportunity for greatness even in the trial and error moments of your life.

Blessings to you and your loved ones.

-Suzanne Tanner

"But ... wait!"

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21 NKJV).

Don't you love it when the Lord takes you by surprise. While I am writing this devotional I have a smile on my face and I nearly have to laugh out loud because what I am going to tell you is so funny, so surprising and so awesome :-)

Well if you know my husband, he hates it when things break and if they break, he wants them to be fixed right away. Unfortunately he had to endure our trucks right side-view mirror malfunction for about 5 years. The function is that you press a button and both side-view mirrors fold in towards the doors. This is especially useful when you park your car on a busy road and don't want any cars to knock off your mirror. Fortunately it was only the right one, but like I said, my husband likes everything to work nicely. Because of the hassle of having to find a replacement and then installing it he let it go for years, to my surprise.

But you know what? One day just so unexpectedly and out of the blue our right side-view mirror decided to operate again. After 5 years! We have no explanation for it. First we thought this was just a coincidence, but it's not, it has been working for at least a week now, every single time. Every time we push the button we have to smile in sheer unbelief and inexplicable amazement.

It's like you cannot put God in a box. You cannot explain Him, He is too amazing. He gives and He takes and sometimes He locks you into a situation where there no escape. It's when He does something profound in you and you endure with great patience and you let go. And all of a sudden you break free.That's our God. He gives and He takes and He is awesome :-)

Blessings to you and your loved ones,
Suzanne Tanner

"True Strength is Found in Weakness"

The world oftentimes thinks we are weak because Jesus is our Lord and Savior, but for the task He has called us, we need to be weak so we can draw on Him, the power of Heaven.

I have to add that we are not building a kingdom of man but the kingdom of God here on earth.

"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25 NKJV).

"You Don't Know Until ..."

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12 NKJV).

The worst thing that could happen, well, it happened to me. I forgot to add yeast to the dough for an important order. The client was introducing his shredded beef sandwiches for the first time on that particular Saturday morning together with my signature rolls. Terrible, terrible. But the story ended good. My client was very understanding and kind and I got a second batch done just in time. All I could say was, thank you, thank you Lord.

When I prepared the dough I did not realize the yeast was missing. The dough looked good. Nothing seemed to be wrong. It worked just fine and I was able to kneed the dough without any obvious problems. I shaped the rolls with much care and the whole process took me several hours. Then the time came to put them in the oven. After a few minutes I noticed something disturbing as they were not rising to the occasion. Observing them a little more the worst thought dropped into my mind: "Did I really forget the yeast???" Yes Suzanne, you did!!! It was 6:30 am and I had to deliver the rolls at 8 am. I was hyperventilating.

Later on I thought about a principle. You never know what a person is thinking, what a person is really like until pressure comes upon them. That's the moment where you see what comes out of them and you see the true personality. The same applies of course to ourselves as well. So truth be known, all humans look alike very much like my dough. From the outside everything looks fine, you would not detect anything until of course the test comes.

So, what do we learn here? Don't be impressed by the looks, by the outside, by people. Just wait until the test comes and you will see what comes to the surface. Rule of Thumb would be to look out for the qualities of Christ.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and don't forget the yeast :-)
For the sake of expanding the Kingdom of God.

-Suzanne Tanner

"Discern the Signs of The Times"

"Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; ³ and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed" (Matthew 16: 1-5 NKJV).

Right in my conversation with this man the Lord opened up my understanding and now everything was clear to me and made sense. I was talking with a man that used to be married to a woman and had children with her. But later in life he had a coming out and now lives with a man. Instead of  perhaps being critical of homosexuals and pointing the finger, the Lord showed me something really important. He showed me that they were a sign of the times: The homosexuals, the same-sex marriages, the transgender people, the lawlessness that is sweeping the earth, the wars, the earthquakes, the diseases, the deception, the falling away of the faith, the hate, the betrayals and the worst of all the growing cold of the love were all signs of the times.

There is still time for us Christians to minister (to serve) in these very challenging and perilous times. I believe as we realize how much we are strategically positioned in this world and know that Heaven is at our fingertips, we need to reach out with patience the love, truth and wisdom of Christ through the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. 

Now is the time to for us to discern the signs of times with great compassion for a world living in darkness. Let us realize that the light of the world lives within us and that a dying world desperately needs what we have to offer to them. 

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

For the sake of making much of Jesus,
-Suzanne Tanner

"Be Alert!"

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world" (1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV).

Already a little bit under time pressure, I was getting ready to go to church with my bible under my arm and my heavy handbag that was full of stuff. As I boarded my truck there were so many things on the console, my handbag and my bible under my arm and so I thought I won't buckle up, the church is just down the road. I have to say, that I ALWAYS buckle up but these were my thoughts in that very moment.

So I drove down the road and came to a 4-way stop. Come to find out that the car coming from the left was racing the streets following another car and did not stop (I was there first!) but continued the race in a zigzag mode. Luckily I did not proceed but remained in my position where I was able to observe the continuation of this crazy car race. You can imagine that my heart was pounding heavily just at the mere thought what could have happened.

We think we can take life lightly and casually but we cannot. Life is dramatic, life is happening right here and now and these are evil days my friends. We need to gird ourselves completely, clothe ourselves in our right mind and being fully aware of what is going on. We can only do that when we are walking in the spirit, walking closely with the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth.

I think it would be good to consider afresh the Armor of God which is described in Ephesians 6: 10-16 NKJV: 

The Whole Armor of God
¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 

For the Kingdom of God and the sake of Christ.

-Suzanne Tanner. 

"Growing in Discernment"

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3: 11-12 NKJV).

Over the years the Lord has corrected me in many areas of my life, especially focusing on the issues of my heart and attitude. It's been a long and oftentimes hard road. The way of sanctification and becoming more like Jesus just takes time, doesn't it? Recently I realized something though that made sense and so I wanted to share this thought with you:

When the Lord corrects something in you, for example for me it was manipulation and control, it is not to expose you or hurt you. No, it is to set you free so that you can set others free too. You see from what you have been delivered, will help you discern the exact same spirit in others. You right away discern your "old foe" and pray specifically and efficiently. You understand that you are not waging war against a person, but against spiritual forces described in Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places".

At the end of the day all is good and your life is in God's hands. Yield to Him, allow Him to free you from influences that keep you bound so that you can be a tremendous blessing to others.

For the sake of making much of Jesus.
-Suzanne Tanner

"He Truly Knows Your Desire"

I have been wanting so badly some dome lids and cake stands for my bakery display at the Farmers Market. I looked on the Internet, was searching over and over again in so many places for these items but just could not find the right price I wanted to pay for. 

One day my husband Mark and I were traveling through a little town in Illinois. As we were driving along the road he noticed a little interesting store and said, 'Honey, let's stop here and look what they have to offer'. When we entered the store we noticed right away that all kitchen items were 50% off. To my amazement a beautiful glass dome lid with plate was also on sale for just $ 10.00. The owner was very friendly and so she and I got to talking. I shared a little bit about my immigration and the bakery business. She was so touched about what I had experienced that she reached underneath the counter and handed me a beautiful cake stand and said, 'take it, I give it to you'. 

With no further delay let this speak to you because I want to tell you that God knows your desire, Child of God. He knows you, He knows what's going on in your life, He knows your needs. In fact He knows everything about you and He wants to provide for you. Now rest in this assurance and let Him have His way in your life.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows" (Luke 12:6&7 NKJV).

For the sake of making Him big in your life.
-Suzanne Tanner

"Detours"

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV).

I usually leave home about 20 to 25 minutes before I have to start work. I have everything worked out; I know the roads I have to take to make it on time but not so that morning! As I took a left at a particular street I saw that the train tracks were closed as a very long train was passing by very slowly. That "messed" up my whole plan to be on time. Frantically not happy at the possibility of being late, I did however relax knowing that the GPS would recalculate alternatives. I let the GPS have its way and despite the detour I arrived at the office just in time.

This scenario that morning reminded me so very much of our own set ways, our lives and how we think life needs play out. We are so much set in our own ways that occasionally the Lord has to "mess" up our set ways only to make us realize that it is much better to just relax and let Him guide us through life. 

Reality is that life is made up of a lot of detours and obstacles but if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, your personal comforter, you can make it through life joyfully despite the unforeseen. Ultimately He knows every little detail about you, doesn't He? :-)

May you have a blessed day and let Him guide you through it, ok?

Much love,

-Suzanne Tanner.

"Finding your Destination"

I have to chuckle sometimes when I drive around here in America trying to find an address. Coming from Switzerland where everything is much smaller, I am often intimidated by the size because everything seems to be much bigger and wider here. I am convinced that if I did not have a GPS, I would never ever find my destination. A GPS is a great invention: you type in your final destination and then the voice in the device directs you right to it. All you have to do is listen. It also has a screen where you can see where you are driving through, shows you the roads ahead and the surroundings like lakes, rivers etc., warns you ahead of time of speeding cameras, tells you how much miles you have to drive and at what time you will arrive. You simply listen, you drive, you arrive and you enjoy the journey.

This is such a good picture of the Holy Spirit that directs us through life and the Word of God, the Bible, that instructs us on how to live a godly, purposeful life. If we follow the instructions and not depend on our own understanding, we will surely make it to the end, to the finish line.

Trust in the Lord that He has everything planned out for your life. All you have to do is listen and follow the promptings in your spirit. He will guide you perfectly through life and bring you to where you need to be here and now.

Much love,
-Suzanne Tanner.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5 NKJV).

"Feeling uncomfortable"

Had a conversation with my Lord this morning on my way to work. And He dropped this thought into my mind "What if you could be comfortable in uncomfortable situations? That's exactly why I have allowed uncomfortable situations in your life to give you my comfort and to give you my freedom". 

Can anybody relate? Know, that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever for you and for me. 


-Suzanne Tanner. 

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV).

 

"Pursue Life"

Every time I think about it, I have an extreme sadness come over me when I realize that the baby birds did not make it. They must have fallen out of our decorative birdhouse that was attached to our garage.

The entry to the bird house is a teeny weeny one but obviously just the right size for these kind of birds. We were actually quite surprised that their tiny parents had chosen this kind of housing for their family. Since this was a decoration item we chose for the siding of our garage, it was only attached with a nail, obviously not strong enough to hold a family of 6. That day when looking into the entry hole I could only discover a sweet little feather reminding me that they had been conceived in this place of refuge. I felt guilty that we had let this slip and now the baby birds were all lying in the grass and all of them had died.

The accident in our backyard reminded me so vividly how dramatic our life is. That many of us will die without knowing our purpose, living a life lived without Christ and that made me so very sad. How blessed am I to know the love of my Heavenly Father, to know His Son died for me and His Holy Spirit that leads me into all truth? With this in mind I am pursuing life today so that many more would come to know God. Will you join me?

For the sake of making the Kingdom known to a dying world,
-Suzanne

"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3, 12-14 NKJV).

Quantity or Quality?

In all that we do we should pursue quality not quantity: quality time, quality friendships, quality work etc. Then quantity will be a natural result thereof.

^"Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:31-34 NKJV).

"Seamless Provision"

"Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19 NKJV).

As I was massaging my husband's feet I became very uncomfortable when I discovered that he had bashed one of his toes (without knowing) and a blood clot was formed. I understood that eventually this nail would come off. As a diabetic that has not much feeling in his toes I was really concerned for his toe and the wellness of his foot in general. I instantly prayed for the toe and as I looked at it, it was as if the Lord was saying to me that it would make it through. With that impression I was confident enough to face the development of toe nail. 

One evening my husband proclaimed "Did you see honey, the nail fell off". I didn't really want to hear this, but was pleasantly surprised to see that the Lord provided a brand new toe nail that was growing underneath in obscurity. This newly created toe nail is actually better than the old one and I was just so relieved, tickled and so thankful to the Creator of all things for his foresight, infinite wisdom, creativity and provision.  

In this story we learn some important characteristics about God: When something old has to go, He provides something new. The Lord never leaves us without. There is always a way He paves for us and it is up to us to find it and to walk on it.

God is good to us.
Much love,

-Suzanne Tanner.

"Disappointment"

Disappointment comes from trusting or having expectation in a person, a situation or a thing. The good news is, that when we put our trust and our expectation in God, He will never disappoint us. In German disappointment is translated to "Enttaeschung" which basically means to remove deception. In that sense disappointment is actually a good thing because it unmasks any deception about a person, a situation or a thing.


"just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (Romans 9:33 NASB)

"Theft"

People can try and steal your ideas, your inventions, your products, your money, even your identity, but they cannot steal your soul or your spirit, they can only admire it.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16 NKJV).

Straightforward Christianity

Jesus did not 'hangout' with volunteers. He taught men and women how to become disciples.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19 and 20 NKJV).