My friend Cameron used to call the business of raising a child "the 18 year project." If that's the case, then we've completed the project with our fourth child, Emily. I just said goodbye to her in New Orleans this afternoon. She’s 18, just graduated from home school, and headed to college in Texas in the fall.

Last weekend we threw her a little party. We remembered many of the things we've done over the years to help her be counter-culture in her thinking and values. We recalled all her ministry experience, including a year in South Africa last year.

This summer Emily will work in New Orleans as a part of our team facilitating mission projects for over 2000 people. Every week she’ll put on a one-woman sketch depicting a family that lost everything to Katrina and she’ll run the 24-7 prayer room.

If you have a blog, maybe you brag about your kids on it. One is entitled to do that. But what I'm saying here is more than a proud parent sounding off. You see, sometimes I wonder how the next generation will come into their potential and destiny and when I look at our kids, now all grown up, it gives me hope.

All five of our kids are special, and each of them remind me of what is possible if we’ll just invest ourselves in young people. Emily has made Karen and I proud. There were lots of Saturdays I could have played golf, but instead spent time on our most important discipleship project - the 18 year one. It was so worth it.