I learned a lot at the first session of the Every Nation Leadership Institute last Saturday. While there was definitely a lot of information to digest, one thing struck me: the very essence of the "core value."

An organization needs core values. Even with a vision and a mission – the former being the lofty goal and the latter being the way to get there – without core values, it is possible to get sidetracked and lose focus. Without core values, there would be no foundation to your vision and mission.

This now got me to thinking about my family's core values. That's a nice concept, don't you think? We should have core values, essentials that govern how we treat each other and the world in general.

So I'm getting to work on a nice set of core values for our family to present to Cathy. I think it's valuable, and it's more than a nice-to-have, it ranks up there with 'should-have.' With core values governing how we live, and God providing that foundation on which our core values are built, there's nothing we can't do.