Influence Spreads!

For some reason I have been thinking a good bit this week about a lot of the people who have influenced my life over the years.  I am not a perfect person and I have and will continue to make more than my fair share of mistakes, but I am a man who loves my Creator, enjoys serving others and genuinly desires to make life better for everyone that I can.

I am a simple man who still has a lot of little boy left in him.  I like to ride with my windows down and my arm out the window on a sunny day.  I really am more interested in what I can do for you, than what you can do for me.  I appreciate all of the help that anyone is willing to give me, but sometimes I am still too proud to ask for it.

While I am not a great man and will probably never be famous.  I do think I am a good man.  I know that I am a sinner saved by grace and my appreciation of this reality drives me to want to be and do good for God’s glory and man’s blessing.

The point I am driving to is this:  I am a good man, not because I am so good, but because of the influence of all the different people who have invested in my life through the years.  I could not possibly name all of them, but wanted to highlight a few, to help us realize that we might be the good and positive influence in and on someone else’s life.  So here are just a few and I emphasize (just a few!)

1.)  The Trinity!  This is probably an obvious, but I am nothing and would be nothing apart from my relationship with God.  He is the loving Father, Who created me with amazing potential.  He is the giving Son, Who gave what I could not give, so that I might live an abundant and everlasting life.  He is the comforting Spirit, Who guides and directs my moment by moment living.

2.)  My Family!  My family has been an incredible influence and encouragement to my life.  I literally could write pages about how so many have helped, encouraged and motivated me along the way.  I hope and pray that something I do reflects positively on the blessing they are to me.  My Wife, Daughters, Dad, Mom, Sister, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Inlaws, Outlaws and even distant relatives have made and continue to make a difference in the man I am.

3.)  All My Friends!  I have been blessed with many friends.  Some have come and gone and a handful have stayed true through all of the years.  All of them have influenced my life and helped me to become the man who I am today.  Through the negatives and in the positives, I don’t think there is much that I would change, because I have learned and continue to learn so many amazing things.

Life is about influence.  I am working hard to try to be a positive influence on everyone in every way that I can.  I still have a lot of work to do, but I am continuing to learn as I continue to be influenced everyday.

For those of you who have influenced me – thanks – I really do appreciate it.  For those of you who allow me to influence you, I don’t take the privilege lightly and I thank you for opening your life to me and hope that I help to make life better and maybe even a little more fun along the way for you!  Blessings!

Yes That Hurts!

Is it possible to go through a tough time and experience joy at the same exact time?  The answer is yes, if you are Christian and if you choose to!  Why & How?  Because nothing is able to separate us from His presence and His presence makes all the difference when facing tough times.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  James 1:2-4

No matter what you are going through, there is always the option of His joy.  Just get into His presence and you will experience it.  It really is just that simple – try it and you will be glad you did!

Investment!

Life is busy!  Sometimes it is so busy that we miss out on what it really important.  We miss out on time with God, family and friends.  Take some time, make some time today to share your love with those who love you.  It will be some of the best time of your day!

This is short and simple on purpose, so you can actually take and make the time to do what it says!  Blessings!

It's Just Me!

A few days ago, a sweet lady came up to me and said:  ”Thank you so much for writing and posting on the internet everyday.  I used to read your posts and quotes through some of our mutual friends and then one day, I found your blog.  I really enjoy reading and get something from it everyday and I am amazed at how it almost always speaks to right where I am living.”

That was sweet and I love to hear that people are reading and getting something from what God is allowing me to share.  It all got me to thinking – why do I write a blog post anyway?  I enjoy it, but have to discipline myself to do it.  I am not always so sure about what I am going to write about.  Why do I do this?  There are not necessarily in the right order (that’s another post for another time!), but here are a few of the reason why I blog:

I Do It For Me!  There is something about sitting down to write that causes me to step out of the hurry of this world, so that I can slow down.  When I slow down, I find that I am naturally drawn to my Creator.  Writing is a spiritual experience for.  It helps me to release and let go of things that do not need to be a part of my life.  It helps me to grab hold and hold onto things that do need to be a part of my life.  I guess – its cheap therapy, but it helps to empty the truck!

I Do It For You!  Whenever I sit down to share on a blog post, it usually starts out being about me and what I am facing, learning, being challenged with, or overcoming.  But then it begins to move to the place that if this “ole country boy” can do it, then so can you.  Of, if this “ole country boy” is being challenged with it, then maybe you are too.  When I finish writing and hit publish it is with the hope that what I have written is going to help make life better for someone who is going to read today.

I Do It For My Creator!  Writing is an expression of self.  When I write I am expressing what I think, how I feel.  I am rethinking my learnings and how it all applies to life and it’s living.  Sometimes, my writing is actually me in the midst of a conversation with God.  In my writing He speaks to me and helps me to get my thought together, so that my actions might follow.

Hey!  I’m Michael Joe Harvell and I write blog posts for a variety of different reasons.  I hope it brings God glory and you blessing – thanks for reading and sharing.  I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to unload!  Blessings!

Choose Carefully!

It’s been another one of those weeks and I must say that I have seen a lot more spiritual warfare amping up during this past week all around me.  I have talked with a lot of you and we all seem to be facing the attacks in some way, shape or form of the enemy.

I thought it might be good to remind us of the obvious.  God in His Word has given us great guidance about what to do with the attacks of the enemy.  When you find yourself engaged in spiritual warfare, remember that your greatest weapon is God’s Word.  Read it, believe it, obey it and speak it!

Here’s is a portion to help any of us that might find ourselves on the front lines of spiritual warfare:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.  Ephesians 6:10-18

I am praying for you and if you have a specific request, please feel free to inbox me on Facebook, email me or dm me on Twitter!  Blessings!

ANIMAL!

I love the Muppets!  When I was growing up they were magical to me and I still get a kick out of them today.  Thought you might enjoy this song and video.  Watch the whole things and see if your favorite makes the cut!  BTW – which Muppet was your favorite?

Hope you enjoy the video below and it makes you smile!  Have a blessed weekend!

Season Your Life With Grace!

I consider myself a pretty normal person.  I like sweet tea, fried chicken and home-made ice cream.  I like jeans, a good movie and a real friend.  I like riding with the window down, the radio up and a breeze blowing in.  I say what I think, sometimes before I think about what I say and I know that I’ve got work to do.

Last night as I was reading some Scripture, The Spirit brought me to this verse:  “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Colossians 4:6

My speech is to always be with grace.  Not some of the time and not just when I feel like it.  The same grace that God spoke and speaks into my life, I am to speak into the lives of others.

It then says that my grace is to be seasoned with salt.  Salt accentuates and brings out the flavor, while at the same time preserving and causing my words to last.  Grace words seasoned with salt help me to know what to say and to who.  The how always stays the same “in grace”!

God spoke and speaks grace into my life and I am to speak grace into the lives of others for His glory.  I’ve got some work to do, and I am pretty excited about it.  May the meditation of my heart and the words of my mouth be full of God’s amazing grace. grace words that have a sweet sound and bring salvation, freedom and release to all who hear.

So Thankful!

Do you ever feel like you are in this world all alone?  Are you ever faced with choices and you just don’t know where to turn?  Do you wish that there was someone who would walk with you and help you through the challenges of life?

I’ve got good news!  You are not alone.  There is somewhere to turn.  And there is someone to walk with you and help you through the challenges of life.  Your Creator cares for you and has an amazing plan for your life.

He loves you so much that He made the way for relationship by giving you what you could not give yourself – the Savior.  God in the flesh paid the price by giving his life in the place of your life, so that you could have abundant and everlasting life.

When Jesus was here on the earth he said:  “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”  John 14:16-17

If you know Jesus, then you know the Spirit.  The Spirit of truth that helps you to see, know and understand spiritually.  He is with you and lives in you, so that you will never ever have to be alone again.

Take some time today to think and thank!  Think about the amazing blessing of not being alone, having somewhere to turn and having someone to walk with you and help you face the challenges of life – how incredibly awesome is that?  Thank your Creator for all of His blessings by living a life of surrendered service that gives Him glory.  You will be glad you did!

Father, Son, Holy Spirit!

I love my Bible.  I read it everyday.  I think about what it says and how it challenges me.  I have so much to learn, so many changes to make, steps to take and instructions to follow.  I trust and obey, but I can trust and obey better.  The closer I get and the more I understand, the more I realize that I have so much work to do.

There was a time in my life, when I thought I was just about there, but then the Lord brought me to a place of decision.  I could be satisfied and stay or be challenged and changed.  I have to confess – for a while I was satisfied and stayed, but then one day that was made up of a few months of days, the Spirit began to challenge me and as I began to accept the challenge, the challenge began to change me.

The change helped me to realize that there was and is still so much room for improvement and growth in my life.  It’s not about earning or deserving my way.  It’s about my believing that God made the way through His Son and the Holy Spirit guides my steps on this amazing journey of relationship.

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading about the birth of Jesus and this verse caught my attention:  “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”  Luke 1:35

This promise from the Angel to Mary is a promise to you and me.  When we surrender to God’s will for our lives – the Holy Spirit comes upon us, the power of the Most High overshadows us and the Son of God saves us!  God, help me to surrender!  G3!

Making It Count!

Do you ever have one of those days when you don’t really accomplish any of the things you set out to accomplish?  One of those days when you don’t feel like you really accomplished anything?  You know one of those days where you feel like you moved backwards, instead of forward?

What do you do with a day like that?  You can let it take and keep you down in the dumps, or you can decide to do something about it, by turning it around and making it count while it is still today.

Here are three things you can do to make every day a productive day, even and especially the days that feel non-productive:

1.)  Look for encouragement!  Read something encouraging like the Bible, motivational quotes or something special that you’ve saved from a family member or friend.  Listen to motivational messages or watch something uplifting on tv or video.  Now with some encouragement under your belt, move to step number two.

2.)  Share the encouragement!  Believe it or not, you are not the only one out there that had this kind of day.  Take a few moment to write a note, post a message or make a call and share an encouraging thought with at least three other people.  Be intentional and on purpose – make this count.

3.)  Realize the encouragement!  You went and got some encouragement for yourself and then you shared encouragement with someone else.  If you did nothing else today – it has been a good and productive day!  Realize and appreciate the opportunity you have been blessed with.

BTW…  Just because you think it was an unproductive day does not mean that it was.  You often accomplish more than you realize and when you really begin to realize the encouragement, you will also begin to see that you accomplished more than you originally realized!  Blessings!