Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for a lot of reasons...

• I'm thankful for God. He's been with me for many years, and He always leads me the way that's best for me.
• I'm thankful for my family. Even though it's been a rough two years, I'm glad to have them. Plus, I'm glad to be around to see my little siblings grow.
• I'm thankful for a job. Some days are hard, but I'm glad I have a wonderful boss/principal, and I'm blessed with two APs too!
• I'm thankful for the people, teachers, I work with, because we are there for each other.
• I'm thankful for students. Some give me rough days, but I'm especially thankful for the ones who do their best and appreciate me as their teacher. I'm especially thankful for my 7th/8th period kids, who have been better than last year's group; they also are very special to me!
• I'm also thankful for God. He's my first and my last, my Alpha and Omega. He gave us Jesus to be our Savior, and He sent us the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter. If I had to decide on a friend (which would be a tiny list anyway), the Trinity, with God as the lead, would be my ultimate friend.

I think this video clip sums up how I feel about the ones I care about.

A New Teacher's Prayer

Dear Lord,

I now know the timing just wasn’t right now.

But I am patient and can wait a little longer.

Prepare me a classroom which will be like a home.

Make it huge, make it comfortable, and supply it

with all of my needs!

Father, let my students enjoy their current teachers.

Let them strive beyond their goals.

Take good care of them and keep them safe.

But remind them to be ready for me!

Thank you for the journey so far.

I’ve cherished the moments that have gotten me here.

Ready my mind, and give me courage, as I

prepare for the fall’s new beginning!

I know my classroom waits beyond this hill,

and I’m walking as quickly as I can!

For not only my classroom waits for my appearance;

My students and school-family are gathered there too!

Soon, dear ones, we will meet at last.

Just be patient, because I am going by God’s timing.

But oh, what a day that day will be!

We will have fun and learn plenty; our brains will grow strong!

And we’ll be there together, especially when rays of sunshine 

turn into cloudy storms.

Dear Father, I can’t wait for our new journey – when I officially 

call myself ‘Teacher.’

Keep me safe and give me wisdom along the way.

And let me follow the examples you gave.

Because, if anyone wants to be a great teacher, all they have 

to do is model after you – the best Teacher there ever was!

Amen! :)

Run to Me

Clip-art from Microsoft Office

           Run to Me 
     (sequel to Shambled Soul and Surrender)

              By R. Andrew

Shambled Soul, will you run to me? You know that I can set you free. Let my Light be your guide in the night, despite your fright. Your surrender is all that I need. Run to me.

Run to me my child. I'll keep you safe from harm. I'll wipe away the tears from your face. All your mistakes are gone. You are precious to me.

The proof of my love is shown through the holes in my hands. When I see you, I smile, when your laughter is bright. But I cry when you cry, because your pain becomes my pain.

I long to hear your sweet voice say "Hello" or "How was your day?" Run to me, my child, before it is too late.

Surrender

Clip-art from Microsoft Office

           Surrender

            (sequel to Shambled Soul)

               By R. Andrew

I am a shambled soul. Will I run to you? I know you can set me free. I long for your light to be my guide in the night. I yearn to surrender.

My soul wants to be found. I wait patiently for my crown. But each hour is the same - full of silence and familiar pain.

I cry to you! Please answer me! They say you want to set me free. They say you're always there for me...so why are you silent when I make my plea?

Love is numb, and I don't know the word. It's hard to shed a single tear. Surrender is like a lonely, wounded bird.

For so long, I have yearned to be in your embrace. I have longed for the moment where I'm recognized by your face. I know you'll heal the pain I've buried deep inside. So hurry quickly; set me free!

Some Days Are Going to be Blue...

Today really was a bad day for me. There's been a lot of personal worries and problems surface and cause me to think about. Today, I've tried my best to keep my head held high and resume my life with a smile. The only hard part was trying to make conversation with others. I felt vulnerable, so my emotions wanted to fall apart, but I had to guard myself from falling to pieces. This meant I had to fight myself to talk and make conversation with others.

These worries (personal, educational, financial) make me want to fall into Christ's arms and just be held by my Holy Father. He is my rock and my salvation. He is my strength, even during the dark skies. I love my Lord, my Jesus. He makes these blue times bearable. It's hard to say that I have to trust in Him, but I know that by doing so that He will handle this and lead me through them.

Breathe Into Me

Clip-art by Microsoft Office

Breathe Into Me
By R.Andrew

09.06.2008

All knowledge seems fake.
My heart wants to break.
At this moment, nothing matters to me.

Numbness has hijacked my soul.
I don’t know where there’s left to go.
Fill my cup – let it run over!

My candle stands alone in the darkness.
The wick has lost its fire, and is charred and shriveled up.
The wax no longer drips because the flames have disappeared.

Who blew out my only hope?

Restore my soul and have it shine for all eternity.
Make your fire to encompass me with your light.
Let me feel your grace.
Give me your merciful love.

Dear Lord, my Father, breathe into me.
Bring this old shell back to life.

Make the dawn break through the night.

Forever His Child

Forever His Child
by R.Andrew

The Lord is with me always.
No evil spirit shall have my soul.
My heart sings praises to my Lord.
Forever, I will be His child.

The Devil will never win my spirit.
Nothing of God's belongs to Satan!
My Lord resides in my heart, He reigns within my soul.
I am His for eternity!

He formed me into His liking.
My Lord guides me on my path.
I shall not fear the Evil One.
God is always here!

The Bells

The Bells
by R.Andrew

The bells are ringing.
The bells are ringing to our path.
The bells are ringing to our path, warning us about the future.

The birth pains have come.
The birth pains have come upon the earth.
The birth pains have come upon the earth, and the judgment will soon follow.

The Lord.
The Lord will come.
The Lord will come and reign on this earth.
The Lord will come and reign on this earth and will establish His kingdom.

The bells are ringing.
The bells are ringing; hear them chime.
The bells are ringing; hear them chime, because the message they bring is our warning!

Deliverance

Deliverance
By R.Andrew

(Above art created by me!)

I ran as fast as my legs let me. My heart painfully ached to stop running—but no, I didn’t stop. If I did…No, there was no option!

It was dark, and the trees in the forest were all thick and wet. A rainstorm had recently past by, leaving the ground all muddy and slick—I almost fell down a couple of times. The thing that slowed me down the most was my wet clothes; the rainstorm had been fierce, and looked as though it would soon return. Even though my body desperately wanted to rest, I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop…not if I wanted to survive. Therefore, I ran.

They were after me, those men in dark suits. The world used to be better before those men took over our lives—locking innocent victims up, forcing them to accept the new ways, or choose death. Those that chose death were the lucky ones. Those who remain continue to live each minute as their last, always running and never stopping. I know there is a better world ahead. Things just can’t remain as they are. There has to be some help, some hope that waits to rescue us from this terrible bondage known as the New Order. However, while other victims wait for the arrival of this deliverance, I know that my destiny lies behind the same outcome that my family faced.

It is a dream. I know that it is a dream. What kind of world would allow the New Order the dominance over everybody’s lives if it were not a dream? No world would permit such a horror! That is why I cleave to the notion that this is only a delusion…only a dream. My heart yearns to wake and see my wife and kids again, smiling and laughing—their laughter will comfort me once I wake up! If this is only a dream, when will I awake from this nightmare? When my family sees me sleeping, or when bullets tear into my flesh?

Those dark suited men, who work for the New Order, killed my family. They raided my home and mercilessly killed my wife and children—shot them in their hearts, killing them instantly. I wasn’t as brave. Those idiot men, they left my door open, unblocked! I ran past them, guns firing in the background. Don’t ask me why I ran instead of dying graciously like my family; I can only guess instinct played a part in my actions for fleeing. Nevertheless, I ran into a nearby forest. You see, we were hiding out, my family and I. This world, it is not how it used to be. Hearts used to sing of freedom, but now they only scream from fear. Once the New Order arrived, all former governments bowed down and whimpered beneath the Order’s power. It all happened so fast! It was as though the New Order—BANG—appeared out of the nowhere and began destroying lives by their Law of Requisition. Therefore, you see, I hid my family, trying to buy us more time at life—because I knew that we were next…someone’s always next. I guess I failed them, because they were killed, and there I was, still alive…for however long the Order would let me live.

I ran as fast as my legs allowed me. Even though my heart was pounding out of my chest, and my lungs felt like bursting like a tired balloon, I continued to run. After what seemed like an hour, it began to rain again—heavy rain. I desperately wanted to stop, but I knew that I couldn’t. The previous rainstorm, and now this one, had slowed me down enough for the dark suited men to catch up. It was as though both the rain and the men were working together. As I said in the beginning, the ground was all muddy and slick—that was my fall. I ran to where the trees of the forest had formed a circular, vast, clear opening with only a huge rock resting in place. The ground was too wet and slippery. I slipped and fell straight on my back; my breath left my body for a second. My eyes fell directly on the bright full moon overhead; the light shining from it shot down on me like a spotlight, revealing my silhouette.

The dark suited men from the New Order found me before I could get up. As they ran towards me, I closed my eyes and screamed, “Wait! Please, tell me why!” I opened my eyes and saw that the men had stopped dead in their tracks, so I continued my plea. “Tell me why you have taken away our freedom. Why do you rule over our lives as though we are animals? Why do you kill those who oppose your implacable control? Please, tell me the reason…before you kill me.”

One of the men, whom I suppose was the leader, spoke out, “You fool. If you understood our ways, by the Law of Requisition, then you would have known why we do what we do.” I straightened myself up as the leader turned to his men. For a moment, it seemed like he was confused and didn’t understand their reasons either. As the tensions grew stronger, he faced me again, “The old ways were weak…freedom and judgments made us weak. However, the New Order and its Law knew how to make us stronger. What we merely do is take out the weak, so that we can grow stronger. It is as simple as pulling weeds from the grass.” He forced a faltered smile upon his face. “Do you choose life, or death?”

“I choose death.”

I still didn’t understand why a world would allow this shame, but I then knew why my family died—why dear friends have died also. They died while remaining true to themselves, never succumbing to a sadistic regime. As the rain began to clear, I looked upon the shadowed faces of the dark suited men, and knew that my deliverance had come. The last thing I heard, as my life prepared to close, was the sound from a gun. I was set free. I didn’t need to run anymore. I am awake.

© 2007 by R.Gonzalez. "Deliverance" is a published work!