Good afternoon Northeast Academy Family and Friends,
     It is Thursday June 25, 2015 and a great day to be alive and serving a risen savior!! I trust that everyone is enjoying their summer thus far and would like to take the time to encourage you to make time in several areas. Make time for fun, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, they say! Make time for family, friends and most importantly make time for God. My pastor is teaching a series on Sunday evenings on the family. I would like to share with you some thoughts and concepts that I hope will be a blessing to all who read this blog. My intent is to help us to develop strong families for the glory of God. The family has been under attack by Satan (and the world)for quite some time but God has a plan and a program that if we follow it we can not only have strong homes but they will be happy refuges from the chaos and pressures of a lost and dieing world. In Joshua chapter 24 at the end of verse 15 Joshua makes a bold declaration"... as for me and my house we will serve the Lord". If you go back to Joshua chapter 1 verses 7-8 God tells us to be bold and very courageous and to meditate on the word of God.( condensed and abridged version) God says that if we will observe to do what the bible commands if we will meditate on it day and night and not let it depart from our mouths then He, God will make us to prosper, and I don't know anyone that would not like to be prosperous! Joshua said as for me and my house- he could not have made that statement if he had not had the kind of home God had designed for him and for us to have. God desires for us to first and foremost have a proper relationship with Him. After we established the proper relationship with God then all other relationships will be improved and will develop properly. The key to success in Joshua 1:7-8 is the bible- not having the bible just in our homes(where dust covers it many times from lack of use) but the bible in us where we can be a living testimony of what God can do in and through our lives for His glory. As we develop our walk with God He will guide and help us develop all other relationships as they should be, our relationships with our spouse, children, friends, co-workers, boss, etc. As parents we need to set up proper role models for our children, we need to be proper role models for our kids!! Not only do we need to be good role models but we need to establish rules for our homes. Without rules we have chaos and rules are what guide us in the right path and are for our protection and growth not to destroy our fun as many believe. We need rules but rules without relationship lead to rebellion, distrust and anger. By setting rules in our homes and making those rules according to biblical standards we can teach our children (and others) how to take correction correctly. No one likes being corrected but we need to learn how to take it and respond to it properly so that we can learn and grow from it and be better for it. If we look at correction as God intends us to we will swallow our pride(which God hates by the way) and we will see that we have an opportunity to grow and become a better person and servant for God. By learning to take responsibility for our actions we can teach  our children what God is teaching us and hold them accountable and thus make them the people God intends for them to be. I learned a principle that relates to this idea of taking responsibility for one's actions and it is this- accept the blame and God will remove the guilt. Guilt often times hinders us from doing anything for God, because Satan uses it against us and makes us live defeated and weak lives. Rather than shift the blame and point our fingers at others if we will take responsibility for our actions God will remove the guilt and develop us to be the vessels that He can use for His glory. My hope and prayer is that something written here will be a help and blessing to those who read this blog. May God richly bless those who read this blog and may the family and friends of Northeast Academy be strengthened and refreshed this summer and be ready for the upcoming year. In Christ Ralph Graham!!