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.
Growing, mindfulness, Personal, Uncategorized

Seven Steps From Negative To Positive!​

On a good day, life is hard and on bad day, life just seems impossible. We’ve all been at that place where it seems like no matter how hard we try to stay on the positive side of life, the negative just keeps crashing in on us and all we can think about is giving up.

I totally understand, because it’s a battle I’ve fought since the very moment of my birth into this human experience. I am generally a pretty positive person and through the years, I have developed the skills that encourage me toward positivity over negativity. So it’s extra crazy to me how I can so quickly and easily he painted into a corner of defeat.

I have found that there are a few small things that can make a big difference in building up positivity in my life, so that I can take on and take out the negativity. When I feel the negative growing, I use these things as a check list to help bring me into alignment with the positive side of life. Several things on this list are actually a part of my daily routine, which contributes in a very big way in helping me to be an encouragement to others

Seven Steps From Negative To Positive!

1. Scriptures! The Bible is full of promises and encouragement. Take some time to discover and write down some of these that you own as your own. Read it and meditate on it. Speak it out loud and let it be real. Believe it and watch the miraculous happen in your life…

2. Journaling! Pen and paper are a very important part of being healthy. There is something almost magical that happens when we allow our thoughts to flow from our mind, through the pen and onto the paper. Just the act itself works wonders!!!

3. Music! Music jas always been a powerful force and it can lift you up or bring you down. It can excite you or give you peace. Make sure that you are listening to what is helping you. Learn to recognize your emotions and allow them to dictate your musical diet.

4. Quotes! With the internet and social media, we have access to all kinds of encouragement from words and pictures. You can print them out to post in key locations, use them as screen savers on electronic devices and memorize them to speak encouragement to yourself and others.

5. Diet & Exercise! Food and drink have an impact on how we feel. A good meal can do wonders for making you feel better. Pay attention to how food and drink impacts you and contributes to your well being. Exercise does not have to be complicated at all. It is amazing what a difference some simple stretching and a good walk can do for you both mentally and physically.

6. Self Care! We all have basic needs and being aware of those needs and making effort to make sure our needs are met is a very important part of living a healthy and positive life. Think of the three major areas of your life: Physical, Mental and Spiritual – figure out your basic needs in these areas and make sure those needs are being met. You matter and if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else.

7. Service! One of the quickest ways I have discovered that I can move myself from negative to positive is by doing something to make life better for someone else. Look for ways to be a blessing to others and you will be pleasantly surprised at how this simple a t opens up your own life to blessing…

Gratitude, Growing, mindfulness, Personal, Uncategorized

A Great Attitude Begins With Gratitude!

When my girls were younger and they would catch a bad attitude, I would discipline them by making them go to their room with a legal pad and start writing a list of everything they were grateful for. They couldn’t come back out until they had written down 25 things. I had learned in my own life that when my attitude got out of wack, that I needed to get my eyes and mind off of myself and onto my blessings, which have always been many. Some where along life’s journey, I had learned this simple shift in focus was powerful in helping me to get back to a good place in life and it worked for them to – every time!

At some point, I can’t really remember when, I began the practice of writing down three things I was grateful for every now and then. A few years ago, this became a part of my daily routine and has become a powerful tool in helping me to cultivate a more positive attitude that contributes to all areas of greater blessing in my life and living.

Gratitude is not complicated, it is really a very simple thing. Gratitude is a feeling, expression or thought of thanks, appreciation or gratefulness. It amazes me how something so simple, can be so powerful. If there were just one discipline you added to your daily routine, this would be the one I would give my highest recommendation, because from it flows everything else.

Our world has a way of training us to look for the bad, rather than the good. Something inside of us compels us to play the victim. Most of us walk around with a sense of entitlement that the world owes us one, but there is nothing that could be farther from the truth. The facts are: The world owes us nothing and life is not fair!

But that’s okay, because while life does not always work out the way we want it to, it does find a way of working itself out. And I have found that life works itself out for us in a lot better way, when our focus is right. Gratitude realigns our focus, gets our attitude right and puts us on the track for greater blessings.

Take some time today to write out at least three things you are grateful for:

1. Thank You for ___________________________!

2. Thank You for ___________________________!

3. Thank You for ___________________________!

And by the way, you will be glad you did!