A special painting by our children hangs framed on a wall in our house. It’s a simple tree standing in a field, painted as though you can see the roots as well as you can see the branches and leaves. The roots are labeled, in cursive, with the words “truth,” “patience,” “generosity,” “goodness,” and “growth.” The tree represents the life and growth we aspire for each of our kids to have. Just as the roots are the foundation of the tree, we aspire for this set of traits to be the foundation for our children’s character. The painting came about as my wife and I found ourselves being confronted with the general decisions of raising multiple children. We came up with this set of foundational values to help us set our priorities and guide our decision making. Intentionally developing these values, then, requires leadership. As parents, we can misconstrue our …