Caught, not taught?

Some days, I think all I do is train children.  Now, I don't want to complain, because the reward of hearing someone compliment my children on their behavior is worth every minute of training!  I firmly believe that it is my God-given responsibility to train my children and I do so purposefully.  However, recently I've been pondering the phrase, "values are caught, not taught."

I have big dreams for my children and many of them involve the type of men I want them to become. I want them to be honest, loyal, generous, respectful, sincere, kind, and disciplined.  More than anything, I want my boys to grow to be the amazing men that God has purposed them to be.

Boy, have I set myself up!  Expecting those things from my boys means that I must be prepared to model those same behaviors and attitudes.  I don't want to live in a home where the words, "Do as I say, not as I do" are a common phrase thrown around as an excuse.

Are values caught, not taught?  I think it's a little of both.  So, I am determined that not only will I train my children to be obedient, but I will strive to model those values that our family believes in.  And, since I know that they watch every. little. thing. I do, I know they'll see it!