All posts by mjharvell

Welcome, friend—I’m glad you’ve pulled up a chair on the front porch of my little corner of the internet. My name is Michael Joe Harvell, and I live my life with one simple mission: to glorify God, encourage people, and leave this world a little better than I found it. I’m a husband, father, pastor, writer, Jeep enthusiast, and front-porch thinker who believes that life is best lived on purpose. I serve as pastor of Eureka Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina, where I get the joy of preaching, teaching, and walking with people through the ups and downs of everyday life. Over the years, I’ve discovered that faith isn’t just about Sunday mornings—it’s about living every single day in the presence and power of God. I’m also an author. My books—including The Grace Exchange: How Forgiven People Forgive People and The Word Works—grow out of the sermons, stories, and lessons I’ve learned on this journey. I write in a style that’s conversational, a little front-porch-rocking-chair, and full of stories, quotes, and Scripture that point us back to the goodness of God’s Word. When I’m not writing or preaching, you might find me sitting outside with my Bible and journal, cruising the backroads in my Jeep Gladiator, or sharing a meal and some laughs with the good folks God has put in my life. I love helping people find peace in their spirit, strength in their body, and encouragement in their soul. This blog is simply an extension of that mission. Here you’ll find devotions, encouragement, reflections, and practical insights for living a life of purpose, peace, and joy. So grab a cup of coffee, pull up a rocking chair, and stay awhile—I’d be honored to walk this road of faith with you.
Blogroll, God, influence, journey, life, responsibility, Uncategorized

Influence!

Today, this moment is what I have and what I do with it determines what’s next. Most all of us want out lives to count for something. We don’t want to get to the end of our huan experience and it all have been for nothing. It would be an amazing gift if our life could positively influence the lives of others.

To live a life of influence, we must deal with our thoughts before they deal with us. Thoughts are powerful and they have the ability to build up or tear down. Our thoughts inspire our words, and our words develop our actions, and our actions affect the universe which influences and impacts our life and living.

“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” -Romans 14:13

This is why surrender is so important. We must choose who or what we are going to surrender to, because we all surrender to someone or something. Our surrender to our Creator is actually a very high form of taking responsibility, because we are not giving into powers outside of us, but instead yielding the to power within us, which allows the miraculous power of God and His love to do a work in and through us and this is the greatest influence that could ever take place on any level.

This love serves as a light to illuminate the darkness and guide us in the way eternal to the blessings we were created for. It allows God to use us physically, mentally and spiritually. We use our hands and feet to touch and serve others. We use our mind and thoughts to life others up. And we use our spirit and love to manifest joy, peace and blessings.

Blogroll, Enlightenment, Growing, journey, life, Uncategorized

The Jouney!

I’ve been thinking about the idea that there are no mistakes! There is no such thing as coincidence. Things that happen in our life are not random, no matter how much they may seem so. There is purpose to everything, which is a hard pill for us to swallow, because it’s just easier for us to believe that things happen for no reason at all, which we accept, because most of us are too lazy to invest the time to think things through from the perspective of our spirit.

We are travelling along a path, on a spiritual journey, where we get to live moment by moment, seeking to grow to the highest version of ourself. When we learn to loosen up, just live and enjoy ourselves, we begin to live in the ebb and flow of the spirit, which allows us to experience the perfection we were created for.

Robert Frost said: ”Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

We have a choice and our every choice has a consequence. Often we live our lives without giving any thought to our choices and the consequences tied to them. Our ego encourages us to ignore the obvious if it doesn’t fit our preconceived notions and ideas. But our choices do have consequences and sometimes the consequences are more than we are willing to live with, but the truth is: living with the hard, difficult and challenging does a work in us and through us that nothing else can accomplish.

”Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” -James 1:2-4

What we discover on the path of life is that Heaven comes to earth through the challenges, frustrations and disappointments of life. There are no accidents, everything has a purpose and every step we take along the journey is our master teacher, offering us wisdom to grow so that we may be pure, complete and lacking nothing…

Blogroll, faith, God, Growing, life, mindfulness, Miracles, Uncategorized

Wake Up!

Look around you! There is so much to see in this great big human experience. Look around with your physical eyes and you will be amazed at all you can see, just by looking. Learn to look around with your spiritual eyes and you will be empowered to live life on a totally different level.

It is very true that there is more to this ole world than meets the eye. And we can see this, participate in it and grow in amazing ways through it, if we will allow ourselves the opportunity to see through and beyond the veil of flesh.

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. -Galatians 6:8

To move from physical vision to spiritual vision is to be AWAKENED. To be awakened is to enable ordinary you and me to be and do the extraordinary. Once we make the decision to move beyond the delusions of the physical world, we tap into the spiritual and begin to live the real life we were created for.

Wake up to the reality that you were created for so much more than what you have been settling for. Wake up to the fact that you are a spiritual being getting to have a huan experience, not a human being looking for a spiritual experience. Wake up to the power in you, around you and through you. And start using this power of love for blessing. You will be amazed and amazing at the same time and that my friends is definitely something worth waking up for…