• Faith (Matthew 9:29, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:1)
• Surrender (Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 13:1-2)
• Love (1 Corinthians 13:4-6, John 15:9b-12)
• Faithfulness (Deuteronomy 30:11-14, Philippians 2:12-13)
• Wisdom (Proverbs 3:13-18, Proverbs 9:10)
• Self-control (Proverbs 25:28, Galatians 5:22-24)
• Righteousness (1 John 3:7-9, Romans 3:22a)
• Holiness (1 Peter 1:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 4:7)
• Humility (Philippians 2:3, 1 Peter 5:5b-6)
• Diligence (Proverbs 10:4, Hebrews 6:10-11)
• Generosity (2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Proverbs 11:25)
• Praise (Philippians 4:4, 6-8)

John 15:1-17 reminds us of the necessity of remaining in Christ if we are to bear fruit. Using these twelve core values helps keep God's Word on our hearts and minds in a directed way so that we can abide in Christ, grow in our faith, and be productive for His kingdom.

Perhaps you've used behavioral charts with your children; we do, too. Ours, however, aren't simply lists of chores or things to do--we created a chart that encourages the children to exhibit these twelve core values in various ways. As we evaluate the children's progress each day, we as parents introspectively monitor our own hearts, as well. In this way, we are all making progress in our walk with the Lord and in our growth into Christlikeness.

We are all imperfect beings slowly but surely being transformed into the image of Christ through the empowering of the Holy Spirit. This is a journey we take with our children. We find that our imperfections are opportunities for transparency and humility. We can be clear with our children that while our parental authority is not to be questioned, we all periodically have behaviors that may place us at odds with God's desire for our lives. We, as a family, are subject to God's standards and strive to live by them. When we fall short, we can humbly share our shortcomings, seek prayer, and encourage one another. We believe that our transparency will foster the children's acceptance of our rules and our authority, because they will learn that God's Word is for all, and not just for them. Together, we will become the people that God wants us to be and encourage a legacy of spiritual wholeness.

---------

Mark and Cynthia Carrier are the founders of the Balanced-Family Resource Center (www.BalancedFamily.org). They are homeschooling parents of five children and currently reside in Connecticut. Together they have co-authored The Values-Driven Family: A Proactive Plan for Successful Biblical Parenting. The book is available at www.ValuesDrivenFamily.com

This article was originally published in the Sep/Oct '06 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more information, visit http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com