Spring Trip 2012: Wilmington, NC

As many of you know, my wife Hazel and I have become some serious birders.  We love finding new species to add to our "life list" and going new places.  Hazel got some really wonderful pictures from our latest trip for spring to Wilmington, NC.  Check her out on Facebook if you haven't already.

It was a hugely successful trip, resulting in seeing 68 species, 30 of which were new to our list.  God's creation is absolutely beautiful.  Here is an alphabetical list of what we saw:

American Crow

American Oystercatcher

American Robin

Anhinga

Barn Swallow

Belted Kingfisher

Black-bellied Plover

Black Skimmer

Blue Grosbeak

Blue Jay

Boat-tailed Grackle

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Brown Pelican

Brown Thrasher

Canada Goose

Carolina Chickadee

Carolina Wren

Common Grackle

Common Loon

Cooper’s Hawk

Double-crested Cormorant

Dunlin

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Towhee

European Starling

Fish Crow

Forster’s Tern

Gray Catbird

Great Blue Heron

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Egret

Green Heron

Hermit Thrush

Herring Gull

Horned Grebe

House Sparrow

Laughing Gull

Least Tern

Lesser Yellowlegs

Mallard

Mourning Dove

Mute Swan

Northern Cardinal

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Parula

Osprey

Pied-billed Grebe

Pileated Woodpecker

Pine Warbler

Piping Plover

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-winged Blackbird

Ring-billed Gull

Royal Tern

Saltmarsh Sparrow

Sandwich Tern

Savannah Sparrow

Semipalmated Plover

Snowy Egret

Tricolored heron

Tufted Titmouse

Whimbrel

White Ibis

Willet

Wood Duck

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Food Review: Gianno's

Tonight I had the pleasure of dining with family at Gianno's, a local Italian restaurant in High Point. This is a review of their dinner special.

The Dish: Blackened chicken with roasted corn relish, served on black bean and corn ravioli, in a red pepper and gouda cheese cream sauce. Paired with an '08 Liberty School Chardonnay.

The View: The vibrant colors of the corn relish - corn, okra, red pepper - were prominent against the pink-orange sauce. Two butterflied chicken breasts atop five large ravioli.

The Taste: "Chicken on some pasta" could easily describe any number of Italian dishes. But Alberto Alvarado, Gianno's executive chef and kitchen manager, has hit upon a delicious southwestern twist to the Italian classic. The chicken being blackened sealed in the juices for a well-cut moist portion. The corn relish was decent, but did not add much, especially considering how well the chicken paired with the ravioli which already contained corn. While the ravioli might have needed an extra minute to really marry the corn and black bean flavors, it still proved to be a surprisingly smart combination of flavors. But it was the red pepper gouda cream sauce that unified the dish. The savory cheese was offset perfectly by the spice of the pepper - a genius combination that should earn itself a permanent placement on the menu. Chef Alvarado's culinary acumen gave the dish a moderate kick that was enough to bring robust flavors, but restrained enough to keep from overpowering the dish.

The Rating: 8/10

A job well done for Chef Alvarado and his crew at Gianno's.

Awake! Quiet Earth

This is a poem I wrote during one of my 15 minute creativity sessions (see previous post). It was inspired by one of the most beautiful spring days I've ever experienced.

Awake! Quiet Earth

Zephyrs of light

Sweetly dance the leaves

Awake! Quiet earth Awake!

Early blossoms take to flight

Magic and mystery of life

Messengers sent; your message clear

Raven and thrush

Finch and sparrow

Home is in bloom

Sing a new song

Her palette is unrivaled

Not a stroke too strong or misplaced

Paint me a spring that can never decay

She knows no bounds

But is born out of souls

Her touch brings joy that must be displayed

What was made to be

Is called out by the voice

Awake! Quiet earth Awake!

Create 15 Minutes

Since February 1, I have sought to intentionally set aside 15 minutes each day to create something. The idea was born during a conversation with a friend over a leisurely billiards match and a much needed basket of Ham's homemade chips. As we got caught up on each others jobs and relationships, it became clear that we each had been seeking some sort of creative outlet. So after kicking around a few ideas, it was finally decided that we would take 15 minutes a day and write. The emphasis was not on churning out a New York Times bestseller, but on discipline. If you want to be a writer, you must write. If you want to be a musician, you must make music. If you want to be a painter, you must paint. But all too often I fall prey to the busy-ness of the day and months go by without my hands touching a single creative thing for my pleasure. And so began this great experiment.

While regretfully my dear friend has yet to set his hands at 15 minutes this last month and a half, it had a huge impact on me. At first it was all about writing, but now as the discipline has taken root in me, I have expanded out to other endeavors I have long been interested in doing. And 15 minutes is no longer the goal, but the minimum. Now my 15+ minutes can be devoted to:

• Writing - journals, book ideas, poetry, short story, etc.
• Composition - writing songs and producing something tangible like a lyric sheet, chord chart, melody line notes, or a rough recording.
• Sketching - pencil drawings, watercolors, crayons...drawing what inspired me, or drawing something to inspire me, or simply striving to appreciate the beauty of line and color by participation
• Intentional Skill Enrichment - focused practice time on a particular area to improve and expand my talent and ability

I've composed two pages of an instrumental piano piece, learned the first movement of a Mozart piano sonata, compiled a great start on a book about spiritual practice, retuned a handful of hymns, and have a rather haphazard yet charming sketch of a tree in bloom. And the best part?

I have never felt more alive.

These things will likely never earn international acclaim or make me lots of money, and they may never even be seen or heard by anyone but myself. That is not the point. The effort is one of Truth, Beauty, and Worship. I feel it sweeping me up into a world of richness and depth.

My prayer is that it moves me closer to the Creator, makes me a better husband, an inspiring teacher, and present in the loving gift of life.

From time to time you might see some of the fruit of my 15 minutes on here. I'd love to know what you think.

Give it a try. What have you got to lose?

Benefit Concert for Managua Christian Academy 10/30

There is a great local opportunity to make a global impact this weekend! I will be playing a couple songs to open for Shelly E. Johnson, a Christian singer/songwriter from Nashville, TN. Although we weren't on campus at the same time, both Shelly and I graduated from Belmont University. It is a benefit concert for Managua Christian Academy, a school with 400+ students in Nicaragua. The school endured some severe flood damage recently, and the building has been condemned. Part of the effort for this concert is to raise awareness and support to help with a new building for these students and teachers. There is no fee to attend the concert which begins at 7pm. All the information and links can be found on the right side of this page under the "Shows" heading.

Please come out and learn about the ministry of Managua Christian Academy, help support them in their efforts to get a new building, and enjoy some great local music!

Good News

"We are far worse than we would ever dare to believe." That will always be true, but its impact grew deeper and wider for me an hour ago. Driving the familiar road back to the apartment, I looked to my left at Oak Hollow Lake. The scene was stunning. The soft orange-pink of the sunset robed itself in the fall hues of the trees, placid waters below and a couple of elegant herons drifting by above. Nothing had ever felt as real as it did in that moment, it almost had gravity of its own. My soul felt filled, and I knew that this was the kind of thing we were supposed to know and enjoy for eternity. I would argue that we are still supposed to be doing that today, but have lost ourselves in the contrived importance of our days. There is nothing more important than relationship - with Creator, creation, and the created.

But I have not done that. I have not been anywhere close to that. And one last thing crossed my mind. I usually think of being saved as being rescued from this earth, that I am being directed towards heaven instead of hell. But I sense now that I have been in the grips of hell all along.

That is very good news.

A (New) Song: Out of the Deep I Call

The words of Henry W. Baker's hymn "Out of the Deep I Call," have been in my head for weeks. This is a timeless hymn of confession as the words feel almost as though they could have been written this year instead of 1868. You can listen to my retuned version above and get the chord chart below.

Sir Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) was a well-educated and highly regarded member of London's society during the 19th century. He authored many hymns and edited a collection entitled Hymns Ancient and Modern (published 1861). In addition, he also wrote a prayer book with a great title: Daily Prayers for the Use of Those Who Have to Work Hard. Today he is remembered through his beautiful hymns and honored in stained glass at his church in London as well as All Saints Notting Hill.