"Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom."
Patrick Henry
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Thomas Jefferson
"In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect that, whilst every prudent Measure should be taken to ward off the impending Judgements... All confidence must be withheld from the Means we use; and reposed only on that GOD who rules in the Armies of Heaven, and without whose Blessing the best human Counsels are but Foolishness--and all created Power Vanity...."
John Hancock
Happiness comes from practicing family values.
In order to truly be happy we need to become who we want to be. Developing desirable characteristics can be difficult. Just when we think we have mastered a trait we have been working on we find it tested. Sometimes even qualities that we've always seemed to be good at come into question. Over time we learn that we are never done with becoming who we want - in our pursuit of each value we either progress or digress each day.
As we seek to become better people our interactions with our families will show us where we need work. It is often most difficult to maintain our self-improvements around those who we are closest to as we tend to be with them the most. We must be careful not to hold loved ones to the standards we have set for ourselves. The more we exemplify family values within our homes, the more our family members will want to meet us halfway. The more we expect of family members, the less effective we will be in motivating them to change and the more likely we will be of not meeting our own standards.
Things tend to turn out better when we make the effort to practice family values. In times of trial, family values are the glue that holds a family together. In times of celebration, family values are the icing on the cake. When we practice family values we improve ourselves, enhance our relationships and brighten the lives of those around us. As we do so we discover happiness along the way.
Use Support Our Families to remember to practice family values every day.