Roy's Birding Safari!

After a spontaneous trip to Half Price Books because of their 20% off everything sale, we found ourselves a bird book (what else?!) with awesome pictures, great info, and it only cost us like $4.50! After we looked through the whole book last night, I was neeeeding to go birding, even though it's freezing cold. So today, we bundled up and headed out to Arlington for our first visit to the Village Creek Drying Beds. That sounds pretty nice, but it's just a nicer (and shorter!) name for Village Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant Drying Beds. Thankfully, it didn't smell at all. We aren't sure if that's normal or if it was due to the fact that it was cold and windy. Regardless, we were grateful. However, due to that cold and wind, we ended up staying in the car most of the trip and taking pictures with the windows down. Hence, Roy dubbed it "Roy's Birding Safari!"

Here are some favorites from the day.


Female Shoveler


Male Shoveler


Nutria - kind of like a beaver, but different.


Wilson's Snipe - one of my favorites of the day! Roy and I mimicked UP! by calling out "Here Snipe! *clap, clap, clap* Here, Snipey, Snipe!"


Snipe searching for lunch


Northern Pintail






Female Kestrel enjoying her bird lunch


Finishing off her snack


My favorite for the day - Greater Yellowlegs





We'd heard of these drying beds, but it was fun to finally experience them for ourselves. Can't wait to head back and see what else we can find!

Minds Transformed

Roy and I were reading together tonight from The Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas. We both were challenged and in agreement with this section about allowing God to transform our minds, and we wanted to pass it along.

"Every month without fail, I eagerly read Runner's World magazine. It's not an obligation for me. Because I love running, I want to read about the latest training techniques and running gear. I revel in the inspiring personal stories. I check my calendar against upcoming races. I want to know about the latest shoes. I even pore over the ads.
The Bible could well be called God's World. If we truly love God's world, Bible study will be a joy. We will eagerly embrace the filling of our minds with his inspired words, and we'll also want to read the insights of others as they interact with God's Word, which is why being a diligent student also usually means reading other books.
Is it possible to be a faithful disciple and not be a diligent student? No. Contemplative prayer, social activism, fellowship, and enthusiastic worship all have their place; but if Paul declares that transformation includes the renewal of our minds, I don't believe it is possible for us to be serious disciples of Christ if we do not also become serious students of his truth.
I realize I'm probably preaching to the choir here; you wouldn't be reading a book like this if you weren't a serious "student"... We must not allow someone's laziness or lack of fondness for reading, discipline, and study to imprison them in spiritual immaturity. Someone may prefer not to exercise, but if they are fifty pounds overweight and fighting off diabetes, high blood pressure, and clogged arteries, then they had better get over it. They will never get healthy until they find a way to exercise.
In the same way, if someone is ignorant of God's Word, then they will reflect that ignorance in their beliefs, their speech, their purpose in life, their motivations, and in all sorts of spiritual illnesses. They need to get over their distaste of disciplined study. We have many ways to "study" these days, so we have less excuse to remain ignorant then ever before in the history of the church. That's not hyperbole; it's a simple fact.
Christianity is not like some Easter religions that try to circumvent the mind with meditations designed to put the mind in a state of paralysis (such as meditations on the sound of "one hand clapping"). Christianity is a reasonable and rational explanation of the universe and our relationship with the God who created us. Ignorance isn't just sin; it leads to ever-increasing sin. And it has no place in a maturing believer's life."