I just returned from a journey into another time zone…middle school Campus Life club at Woodbrook in Lakewood. Kevin McClain, TYFC Board President, and I stopped in to check it out this afternoon and I came away impressed at the patience of our staff and amazed at their love for these kids and creativity.  So, you may be wondering, “Happy Shakes and Jesus”?  What’s up with that? Eighteen kids showed up for Campus Life in the cafeteria  and it is a major undertaking to somehow get their attention to quiet down.  Enter “Happy Shakes”. (If you’re a bit squeamish, you might want to skip to the next paragraph)  Luke, one of our volunteers, took three McDonalds Happy Meals and…yes, I think you can see where this is going…put each in a blender and then poured the contents into three cups. Three students volunteered to drink the concoction–to the winner went a McD’s gift card.  Gross? Oh yes.  Fun? Oh yes.  Crazy? Uh huh.  But these kids loved it, they laughed, and cheered each other on.  I looked at one young boy, perhaps 12 years old, and said, “These Campus Life staff are crazy, aren’t they? You like coming here?”  His response was, “Yep, they’re pretty cool…it’s a good place to be.”

After the “Happy Shakes” and a video previewing the Campus Life Middle School summer camp, Nate (team leader) got up and talked about using our words to either “encourage” or “discourage”.  What really stuck with me (and I know stuck with the kids sitting around me as I watched their attention glued to his talk) was when he reminded them that every person–their friends in school, their parents, the guy they pass on the street–is created in the image of God.  That’s why we choose positive words rather than those that tear down.  That’s why we seek to love than beat them up.  Nate presented clearly the good news of God’s Word right out of the book of James.

Happy Shakes and Jesus…who would’ve thought there could be a connection.  Just another example of TYFC staff and volunteers engaging young people in the life long journey of following Jesus Christ.