Recently (and several times in the last few years) I have been asked to share our family core values. I have hesitated because of believing each family should pray and then come up with their own. Today I decided to share not because any family should use what we have, but maybe as a catalyst to get started.

Before writing I want to say that over the years these core values have been tweaked and updated as we have felt they needed to be. I expect they will continue to change a little even though the principles will remain.

SEELEY FAMILY CORE VALUES

1.  Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 This means we will love God and love what he loves as well as hate what he hates. If we love God we will obey him and his word. i.e. spend time with him daily, be pure (not putting our eyes before evil things,) tithe, keep the Sabbath by attending church faithfully whether you feel like it or not. These are just a few but Scripture is filled with many principles we are to obey.   If we love him our decisions will be based on his word not our preferences.

2. Prayer changes things. Cultivate a faith life via prayer.

3. Serve one another. Mark 10:45 Life is not just about you. Really.

4. Love and Show respect for one another. Speaking truth is a high complement to someone according to Scripture. Say please and thank you. Give honor. Especially to our spiritual leaders. Hebrews 13:17

5. Attitude is a choice. Nothing quenches the Holy Spirit faster than a bad attitude, a negative or critical spirit. You cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit and have a bad attitude at the same time. Your attitude will determine your altitude in everything.

6. Personal growth and education is a privilege. Have a growth plan but be flexible. Be all you can be for Christ. Do your best in learning. Education will open up more doors for you than you can imagine. Proverbs 23:15-16

7. Choose your friends very carefully. You WILL become like those you spend time with. If we are aware of negative relationships we will do everything we can to redirect you in the right direction.

8. Do the right thing regardless of emotions. Don’t forget that your word is your bond. Let your yes be yes. Take it around 3rd base. Keep a short account with God and others. This means dealing thoroughly with sin regardless of how you feel.

9. Be emotionally healthy. Your emotional health will determine who you marry. Proverbs 24:10

10. Become a leader of others. Learn all you can about what the Bible says about leadership. Learn from other godly examples of leadership. Develop the leader within you. Add value to others as often as you can.

Over the years we have explained these in a variety of ways to our children. Have we ever fallen short? YES. Absolutely. More often that we would like! But these are the values we attempt to live by and raise our children by. It is only through prayer that we can live how he has asked us to live according to his word. We are still raising our children and pray they will grow up and be passionate followers of Jesus.  At this place in the game we come back to these 10 Core Values all the time. I believe it helps to tell our boys why we do or don’t do something.

Would love to hear if your family has core values and how they have impacted your life.