I’ve never really been a bird watcher, but who can resist watching the eagle?  I remember being in Alaska a couple years ago and seeing an eagle sitting in its nest.  As we drove near, my friend, a native Alaskan, pointed the bird out to me.  I was hoping to see the giant fowl fly off so I could see the wing span and his majesty in the air, but no.  He never budged.  He sat there alert and very still.

Since then I’ve learned a little about the eagle.  Here’s what I learned about their flying ~

If you watch the eagle you will see him standing on the edge of his nest, his body taught and tense. While you think he’s getting ready to launch out, he may stay that way for hours.  He’s waiting! Waiting for what?  An eagle has an inborn ability to sense the motion of air currents. An eagle often won’t budge until the right breeze comes along. When it does, the eagle just lets go. Yes, it flaps its wings, but mostly the eagle just lets go, and is borne aloft on the wings of the wind.  

Smart bird!  He knows if he waits for the right air current, he can soar instead of flap!  I imagine it would be rather “beneath him” to flap like a robin!  The eagle simply catches the wind and goes with it – literally!

Think about a familiar verse and the application of the eagle’s flight:

Are you tempted, as I am to jump off your nest each day and try to make your schedule and busyness work on your own?  We have so much to do that we hit the floor running flapping!  Instead of stopping to take the time to “sit in our nest” and wait for God’s Spirit to speak to us as we spend time with Him, we jump out into our schedules and neglect the most important need of our day – that of sitting at His feet to learn of Him; to wait on His prompting and leading us out to other tasks.  We commit ourselves to lesser things and miss out on the best. “The challenge of being “eagle Christians” is learning to wait on the Lord, until we catch the wind of the Spirit. Eagle believers are those who seek to find out where God is going, and then go with Him. They don’t fight against the wind currents; they find out what God’s doing and enter into it.” 

So how can we do that?  Here are some practical tips:

1. Refuse to miss a day spending time in God’sWord.
Set that as a goal.  Charles Schwab, the business tycoon, had his list of 10 priorities to do each day. He put a #1 by the greatest priority.  If he spent your whole day doing Number 1, he was doing the right thing.  What if we put a #1 beside “Meeting with God?”  If that’s all you did that day, would that be a successful day?  To have touched the hem of the garment of God though His Word?  To make this our priority means there are things we decide are posteriority (come in order after).  What can wait until later?  Put it at the end of your day.  Do the most important thing first!

2. Be a woman of One Book – “The Book”.  It doesn’t matter if we’re reading the top ten books, books on time management or self-help books.  This Bible is the One Book that will change our life.  Most would never miss checking their Facebook page, but often we neglect looking into the Face of God.  When thou sadist, “See ye my face,’ my heat said, “Thy face, Lord will I seek!” Ps. 27:8  Set aside the phone.  Turn away from the computer and be a woman of the Book.

3. Get up before your family gets up.  This can be a challenge, but it’s so worth it.  Perhaps you can take a nap later, but the time early in the morning is the best time to meet with God, to start your day, to catch the wind of God’s Spirit for your day. Find a place where you can (nest) be alone and distracted.  Satan doesn’t want you to be still and quiet.  Christ is our example in this, getting up before day to spend time with His Father.  If He needed it, how much more do we?!

4. Purpose to get up.  Ask the Lord the night before to help you get up and start your day with Him.  Have things ready for the morning.  Get a basket and put all your Bible study tools there. Set the alarm.  Determine in your heart to get up when it goes off.

Want to see my finished door?  I love it!  I’ll post on the RefreshHer Facebook Page when it’s finished so you can see! (If you haven’t “liked” the page, please do!) 

Want to guess the color?  Let’s see who’s right!

With love from my country porch,

Tomato Zucchini Casserole

With layers of zucchini, tomatoes, and Vidalia onions, this dish is full of flavor!  It’s topped with cheeses and French’s Onion Rings (my change in the original recipe) and baked in the oven.  Yum!

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese (or Mozzerella)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
2 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced
5 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 Vidalia  onion, sliced
1 Cup French’s Fried Onions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter a 9×9-inch pan.
In a large bowl, combine Cheddar, Parmesan, oregano, basil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Arrange half of the zucchini slices in the pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese and herb mixture on top. Arrange half of the tomatoes and half of the Vidalia onions, and top with another 1/4 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers.

Sprinkle Fried onions on top of casserole.

Cover loosely with foil, and bake in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until the top is crusty and the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

In order to maximize my grill and not heat up the oven, too, this summer I’ve started using the microwave to cook the baked potatoes, the chicken or even this casserole until it’s only half way done. Then I take them out to the grill where I let them cook the rest of the way. Now they can get the flavor of the grill and it gives the food that nice toasty texture without having to cook it for an hour.  Aaaand, my kitchen doesn’t get heated up on a hot day!  I’m not sure why I never thought of this before now!

Grilled pork chops, baked potatoes and Tomato Zucchini Casserole

Maximize your grill on these hot days!

Happy Labor Day!

With love from my country kitchen,

• Using an empty spray bottle, fill it with warm water.
• Add a couple drops of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid.  Shake.
• On a window that isn’t directly in the sun, spray the cleaning solution on one half of the window.  Wipe with a sponge.  Working quickly, now use a squeegee to wipe the solution, going from top to bottom.  Use a paper towel to wipe the squeegee between each row of swipes.
• Repeat on the second half of the window.