It’s said some cooks are born, not made, and Anne Grimes agrees.
“I think I was born with a pan and a spoon in my hand, ” laughs Anne. “By the time I was nine, I was baking cakes for neighbors and had a business going.”
Anne’s love of cooking continued after she married. She and her husband started a local bakery. But after a few years, jobs in her town were scarce, and the people there moved out.
“All of a sudden, the town just dried up. And so, there was very little business there. So, we decided to just put our businesses up for sale and leave. Just before we left Southport, Bryan received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and just became a totally different man in how he felt about God.”
Soon, Anne had her own life-changing experience.
“And, you know, I said,‘Thank you, Jesus!’ because I realized at that point that that, you know, just how I felt was a special thing.”
Anne says their spiritual transformation affected everything, including their finances. They began tithing.
“Tithing is so important in the sense of it just releases God’s blessings into your life,” says Anne.
And then, with her newfound faith, Anne asked God for financial ideas.
‘“I had a vision one day back there of a rolling pin with dough, and so, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s what it is. God wants me to open another bakery.”’
So the Grimes’ opened “The Rolling Pin.”
‘“At that point God said, ‘Don’t make any more donuts; don’t make any more cakes,’ and it went over a period of weeks, and we got down to where the only thing I actually as making was the pastry.”’
Soon, “The Rolling Pin” was selling pastry to grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesalers. Before long, sales went through the roof
“Oh, my goodness, two hundredfold, three hundredfold. God’s in the multiplication business, so it’s a lot!” Anne laughs.
The Rolling Pin has expanded to become “Harvest Time Foods,” a company that sends “Anne’s Old-Fashioned food products” around the world. Every box sold contains a scripture, as a thanks to the God who opened doors because of her giving.
“If we give abundantly, we get abundantly, and this is just God’s principle. It’s one of his promises to us, and we speak God’s promises into our lives; into our business.
God is our supplier. He’s our source, and as long as we look to Him as the source for all and give, you know, into the kingdom of God, He’s going to provide for you. So, I just, you know, say, ‘Thank you, God.’”
Check out Anne’s website and cookbook “Dumplings ‘n More”.
