Urban Goes Country

Yesterday Delahne and I got a babysitter for the day for the little ones and took the older kids to the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, MO. I found myself wishing that I could have known this wonderful man in person. His life demonstrated such wisdom, kindness, humility, and godliness and he had an incredibly intimate relationship with his Creator. Did you know he was born to a slave woman, and adopted by her masters when he was orphaned as a baby? I was touched to realize the impact that his adoptive family had on who he became and what he did with his life. It is such a beautiful and inspiring story. If you don't know about him, you should definitely read about his life and his amazing accomplishments.


In the university, he saw his students as his own children, and was just as concerned with their character development as he was their intellectual advancement. He compiled a list of eight cardinal virtues for his students to strive towards. I loved these. I hope they mean something to you too:
1. Be clean both inside and out.
2. Neither look up to the rich or down on the poor.
3. Lose, if need be, without squealing.
4. Win without bragging.
5. Always be considerate of women, children, and older people.
6. Be too brave to lie.
7. Be too generous to cheat.
8. Take your share of the world and let others take theirs.