Every Thursday and Sunday there is a "whole school assembly" on the roof our our building and the teachers take turns leading them. We all view this as a stressful task as we not only have to stand infront of the entire school, but also in front of ALL the teachers! To make it worse, it is 30 minutes of talking! (although we can usually get away with 20).

Anyways, today was my first time, so I recorded my "message" below, which was meant to be centered on depression and Gods response to it. Hope you enjoy it, the kids seemed responsive! :)

There was once a woman, who had a beautiful singing parakeet named Chippie. She loved that bird and took very good care of it. One day she was cleaning Chippie's birdcage with a canister vacuum cleaner, the kind with the metal tube that has all the attachments. She was cleaning out the bottom of the cage with the bare tube when the phone rang.
Without thinking, she turned her head to pick up the phone while still vacuuming the cage. Suddenly she heard the horrible sound of Chippie being sucked up into the vacuum cleaner. Slamming down the phone, she ripped open the vacuum bag and found Chippie in there, stunned but still alive.
Since the bird was covered with dust and dirt, she grabbed it, ran to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and held the bird under the water to clean it off. Then she saw the hair dryer lying beside the sink. So she turned the blower on and held the poor bird in front of a blast of hot air to dry him off.
The local newspaper got wind of the incident and sent a reporter to investigate. The reporter ended the interview with the question, "So how's Chippie doing now?" The woman said, "Well, Chippie doesn't sing much any more. He just sort of sits and stares."
Have you ever felt like Chippie -- sucked down the tubes of life, drowned with cares, blasted with the hot air of your enemies? We've all had days or weeks or years like that, haven't we?
There are times when life gets so tough that you just sort of sit and stare and wonder what's going to hit you next. If you have ever had a "Chippie" kind of day, or especially if you're having one right now, I have some good news for you this morning that will fluff up your feathers, perk up your perch, and put a song back in your heart!
Bible heroes were not immune to "Chippie" days. Most of them had hard times, tough struggles, and great obstacles and opposition to overcome. Elijah, the great prophet of God, had times when he wanted to give up and give in, just like we do.

In Scripture from I Kings, Elijah had just won the greatest victory of his life, defeating 450 prophets of the false god Ba'al. He called down fire from heaven to ignite a water-soaked sacrifice on Mt. Carmel. The prophets of Ba'al couldn't even get a spark.
Unfortunately, this great victory also ignited the wrath of Queen Jezebel, who vowed to have him dead in 24 hours. Elijah ran. He ran far into the desert to escape the wrath of the queen. He ran until he was exhausted. Finally he stopped under a broom tree to rest. He was a frustrated refugee on the run from a powerful enemy, he was at the point of despair, and he was full of self-pity. Elijah needed an extreme makeover.
We aren't immune to the kind of despair Elijah was feeling, are we? Have you ever been through such a tough time that all you can think of is to run away? Your parents are after you about homework, your teachers never seem to be happy, your sister or brother keeps taking your stuff, your room is NEVER clean enough and you really just don’t FEEL like eating your vegetables do you? Maybe it’s worse! Maybe your loved family or friends are sick, maybe you are sick… maybe a good friend has died….

Where do you turn? Where can you run? You need help; you need hope; you need courage and strength; you need a makeover.

Listen to this good news. At the point of our deepest need, we can be renewed, and our life situations can be transformed. But extreme makeovers aren't something we can usually do on our own. We need help.
Extreme makeovers require providential encounters, that means that WE NEED GOD’S HELP.
God comes to us and provides for our needs, and we receive courage and hope to carry on. The Elijah story shows us how this can happen.

Elijah received help from ANGELS.

Who can tell me what an Angel is?

Elijah received food and rest from this Angel and he went from being lost and alone to being a man with a mission, a purpose…. He was on his way to the MOUNTAIN of GOD.
Today’s angels are often found in friends.
How often in our lives do we realize how much we need our friends when we are upset about something. Doesn’t it just make it SO much better if we can share with one another?
God tells us this in the book of Galatians in Chapter 6 Verse 2

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Who can tell me what the “LAW OF CHRIST” is?

When Christ was asked in scripture, “You give us SO many rules, what is the most important one??”

Christ answered this:

Love one another.

Does that mean that you go up to your fellow classmates and give them hugs and kisses all day?
NOT AT ALL!

What it means is this. Always think of them, BEFORE you think of yourself, and TREAT THEM as you would like to be treated.
Does that mean you steal their homework and say it is yours?
Does that mean you hide their books?

What it DOES mean is that when they are down and having a “Chippie” day, that YOU are the one to pick them up. Dust them off. And tell them, that everything is going to be JUST FINE.

Isn’t it great that we have a God that we can ask for help too?
God says” Cast your cares on Him for He cares for You.
God wants you to ask for help. Anytime. Anywhere. He is listening.

So what do we do if we are down?
1) Tell God. And ask him for help.
2) Tell our friends and ask them to pray for us and help us.

Remember, God is always there.
I have just one more story for you…

One day there was an old man who was looking back on his life and thought of the footprints he had left behind. Most of the time, he realized that God was walking right next to him, so there were two sets of footprints…

Then in some parts, he saw that there were only one set…

It was not until much later in life that he realized that those were the times when God was carrying him.

… why not rely on God? He is there to help.

Hope you enjoyed that if you made it all the way through...

In Christ's love,

Corinne