Things I count as blessings

When I was in Bible school, fresh out of high school, I was new to managing money. I had only just gotten my first debit card and was new to financial responsibility. That said, I think I did pretty well. I headed into tuition payment with the money my parents had saved for my education and the money I'd made working a couple summers at camp. Life was good. I was fairly oblivious, checking on my balance at the beginning of each semester to make sure the funds were there and once or twice throughout the school year to double check that there was enough to see a movie with friends or to buy the shampoo/soap/pads that I needed.

Something strange sometimes happened, though, when I would check my balance. Instead of constantly going down, as would be expected when you're a student with minimal student work, my balance would sometimes jump up by a few hundred dollars. Unexpectedly and inexplicably. Now, perhaps I could have tracked down the source for these funds; they likely had a very logical explanation. But in the minimal digging that I did, I couldn't find a source and therefore began to dub the extra money, "Miracle Money." I took that money as a gift from God and gave Him the thanks for it. I always felt so blessed.

Recently, our hot water heater started acting funny. We would have warm water for part of a day and then it would seem to run out and it would just be cold for about 12-18 hours until it had a chance to warm up again. At its hottest those days, it would be just barely warm enough for a comfortable shower. Not hot enough to feel like I was getting the dishes clean or really have a nice, hot shower...but warm enough to not freeze our hands when we washed them...until it ran out. Then it was just plain cold.  Anyway, we did a little research and figured one of our elements must be shot. Our options would be to replace the element(s) or replace the entire water heater - which, considering its age, was our plan. Nathan was going to buy a water heater one Saturday but for whatever reason, he left it for Monday. On Sunday, Nathan was talking to the previous owner of our place, who suggested flipping the breaker just in case half the breaker had flipped on its own and half was still on. He admitted it was a long shot, but it couldn't hurt to try. Well, we went home after church and Nathan flipped the breaker. Then we waited. And guess what?  We're back to hot water! Was it really the breaker? Probably. I mean, it's certainly a possibility that that was the case (though I've never heard of such!). But I'm choosing to see it as God blessing us. I'm giving him thanks for not having to buy a new water heater just yet.

I'm also giving God thanks for the little things these days. Like just now, I needed a few things for supper. Last year, while living in town, I would have run to the grocery store to pick up what I needed. Of course that's a blessing, to have a grocery store near by and the money to purchase what I need. But it was so nice to head to the garden and come back with a pail full of produce. I am always amazed that I can put small seeds in the ground in spring, basically do nothing else, and then have a garden full of stuff to eat in just a matter of months. Isn't that crazy? I think it's pretty amazing. You put seeds in DIRT, and food grows. Unbelievable. Anyway, I figured I'd share what I was making for supper, since it's one of my favourites. It's one of those things that I grew up eating and is a definite comfort food for me. If you happen to have the Mennonite Treasury of Recipes, you might have seen/made it before :)

Seven Layer Dinner

Layer thinly sliced potatoes in bottom of casserole dish (about 1/2"). 

Add a layer of thinly sliced onions. 

Next a layer of thinly sliced carrots (4 or 5). 

Sprinkle on 1/4 cup rice. 

Add a layer of peas (frozen is fine). So far in this casserole, the potatoes, onion, carrots and peas are all from my garden!

Add a layer of either pork sausages or ground beef and season with salt and pepper. 

Dilute a can of tomato soup with a can of water and pour over top. Then bake, covered, at 350 for one hour. Uncover and bake for another hour then serve!  Yum!