1. Remember who you are.  Your identity is rooted in Christ.  You are an image bearer of God and so are all those around you.
   “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26)
   “He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)
   
2. Lead with mercy and compassion.  Seek to build others up by affirming what is good.  Speak truth in love.  Assume good intent before moving to assign blame.   
   “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
3. Be generous.  People are more important than stuff.  Give regularly of your time, resources, and presence.  Allow your life to regularly be interrupted.
   “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17)
4. Act justly.  Seek to make wrong things right.  Feed the hungry, give water to those who thirst, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned.
   “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
5. Practice discernment.  Surround yourself with wise counsel.  Let others speak into your life but let God direct your steps.  
   “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Proverbs 13:20)

I feel as though these are aspirations more than core values due to the fact that I fail at all of them regularly.  The most common reason I fall short is selfishness.  It’s so easy to numb out to what is happening around me, to grow comfortably numb to those searching for identity and those in need of compassion.  It’s so much easier to focus on my own gain than to go out of my way to be generous.  It’s so much easier to pretend I don’t hear those crying out for justice.  It’s far too easy to avoid the uncomfortable work of discernment.  Living out these values demands a level of intentionality that I am still refining.  My hope is that my children will witness these values at work in me and pursue them further in their own lives.