Wow! I can't remember the last day we had that was "normal." So much travel and scheduled busyness in such a short time! We are safely back in Tulsa, and have a recent Magna Cum Laude graduate sleeping under our roof. YAY!!!

I am very proud of Lauren! She graduated with a double major in Biblical Literature and Adolescent Ministries (Youth Ministry). She spent her entire college career in the Honors College, which meant she had to work even harder.

Isn't interesting how graduates assemble all wearing the same cap and gown? They all look like virtual carbon copies of each other. In a sea of black, it is nearly impossible to find the person you are looking for. When they all have their backs to you, good luck. You better know their hair color and style, their height, their skin tone, etc. or you will never find them. Of course, the alphabet helps...as long as they sit in the right order.

These students spend 4 or more years studying, preparing...being told to be individuals, being encouraged to make a difference due to their giftedness, then the last act of most universities is to have them all assemble looking alike. There is nothing wrong with this, it's just ironic.

I cannot wait to see what direction the Lord leads Lauren. She will spend her summer leading a mission trip to India. When she returns, the unknown faces her. She has sent out many resumes to many Universities, as she would like to get her graduate degree in Counseling. Specifically, she would like to counsel students. It is easy to see her in this role as she is very good with them.

Facing the unknown can be a daunting task by itself. Couple this with timing issues, and your life can seem out of control.

Recently, the Lord has consistently shown me how immense He is, and how small we are. If you consider things from His position for a moment, and you look upon humanity...the sea of faces with different desires and abilities...being God is not something to aspire to. How could one possibly desire a relationship with all of these? How could He have time to know each one, plus all of the rest of His creation?

It would seem that when he looked upon us, with our sinfulness, He would see a sea of black...all looking alike, all seeking our own selfish desires, all using and abusing whatever resources were at our disposal to gain a higher rung on the success ladder. What could He possibly want with us? How could I matter to Him with so many virtual copies of me all around?

Wouldn't it be amazing to have His vision for the world...even for a moment? To see everyone with from a heart of love and compassion that would cause Him to send His only Son to die for us? Surely when He looks upon His children, He does not see a sea of black. He must see us as we are, complete as He created us...different colors, different abilities, different hearts seeking to glorify Him...yet He takes time to share with each one of us. He desires to set us apart, and let us see His vision for our individual lives.

Incredible! We just need to seek Him, and He will use us.

At the conclusion of Lauren's Religion School Commissioning, the faculty encircled the few hundred students and began to pray over them! This was such an awesome experience! My secular University certainly did nothing like this.

These students spent the last 4 or more years getting to know how to please each of these doctors and professors. In the process they learned...a great deal. It was painful at times, and difficult to keep focused. The end result was to produce something that resembles the teacher, but with defined and significant differences. Each of these looked more like Jesus than when they started.

Perhaps at no time in her past, has Lauren looked more like Jesus than she does today. 2Corinthians 6:17 says, "Therefore, come out from them and be separate."

Looking like Jesus will always separate you from the world...even in your place of worship.

Take advantage of the opportunities before you, but "be separate." There is a reason you have been given the giftedness and opportunities that those around you do not have.

Don't be just another black form in a sea of higher education. Be Christ's form in a world that needs Him.

dad