Fairy Rings - I'm pretty sure that Paxton & I have very different opinions about them. Here's one if you don't know what I'm talking about.
It's a ring of mushrooms on an otherwise boring lawn, where fairies are rumored to gather during the night to have meetings. Should you be lucky enough to find one on your lawn, stay up late to catch a glimpse. And for goodness sake, don't let Paxton near it with the fungicide!

bicentennial mall baptism

Wade in the water
Wade in the water, children,
Wade in the water
God's a-going to trouble the water

See that host all dressed in white
God's a-going to trouble the water
The leader looks like the Israelite
God's a-going to trouble the water

See that band all dressed in red
God's a-going to trouble the water
Looks like the band that Moses led
God's a-going to trouble the water

Look over yonder, what do you see?
God's a-going to trouble the water
The Holy Ghost a-coming on me
God's a-going to trouble the water

If you don't believe I've been redeemed
God's a-going to trouble the water
Just follow me down to the Jordan's stream
God's a-going to trouble the water

I heard this song sung by the Blind Boys of Alabama @ Bonnaroo, and I caught
these girls 'playin baptism' in the little river at the bicentennial mall

I need a moment of Zen

Today was the first day back at Hillwood. 1400 high school kids, half of them looking for trouble. I forgot how CRAZY it is around there. Our school is huge and sprawled out, and nobody can find anything on the first day. "You mean Mr. Salato moved to the OTHER side oF the BuILdinG??@!!" , "I don't have a schedule" , "i think I'm at the wrong school!", "Why do I have two 5th period classes??!@#" and occasionally "Can I just come in here and sit instead of going to the class on my schedule?" Can I get all of these copies made during lunch? But when will I eat? I need to go to the bathroom, but i have to run across campus real quick instead, where did I put the safety Rules?!
Whew!

So, end of the day, stretch my arms to heaven, neck down, arch back, stretch each muscle group slowly slowly and remember to breathe. Deep breath, that's good, now another. AAAHHHHHhhh. Elijah looked for God in the wind, but He wasn't there. He looked for God in the Fire, but He wasn't there. He looked for God in the earthquake, but He wasn't there. And then God spoke to him - a small still voice in the silence. Thank you God for this opportunity to love these kids and hopefully teach them something. Thank you for blessing my life beyond compare.

Can you see the rainbow? Look closer, a little above the first and fainter. Do you see the second one? The third one? I wish I were a poet, or at least a photographer so you could have seen what we saw. It had rained just a little and Paxton was fishing off the rocks at Grammie's cabin in Maine. He called me over to show me the rainbow. That's when we noticed that you could actually see the end of it - out on the lake. No pot of gold, no leprachaun, just a beautiful and complete rainbow that seemed to rise right out of the water a couple of hundred yards away. While I went to get the camera, it doubled itself, and then tripled. Three rainbows, each fainter than the previous, all rising out of the lake.
I was reminded of God's greatness and the beauty of this world. God has promises for your life, too. May you find solitude and beauty and listen to the small still voice of God.