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.
This is the audio from the message I shared on ”Speak Blessing”. We often speak words without take time to think about their positive or negative influence. This message helps us think about taking the time to think about our words and how they can make a difference in our life and the lives of others…
There is a pretty simple question we have to ask and answer, if we really want to experience the blessings we were created for. WHAT DO YOU WANT? It is surprising to me, how many people have not taken the time to really answer this question. Looking back on my own life, it is humbling to think about how many times I have failed to ask and answer this simple, but powerful question.
There is great power in INTENTION, but to figure out our intention we have to ask and answer the right questions and then follow up with action. We need to ask and answer the “What Do You Want” question everyday and often, multiple times throughout the day. There are a lot of different varieties of the question, but they are basically asking for the same thing. What do you want? What is your dream? What is the main desire of your life? What will make you happy? What is your intention? What inspires you? What are you passionate about? What do you want to create, manifest and make reality in your life?
This question is important, because it drives our thoughts and THOUGHTS ARE THINGS! The things we think about become our reality. The Scriptures teach that we were created in the image of our Creator, which means: WE WERE CREATED TO CREATE! The question is: “What Are You Creating?”
There are two worlds, one we can see and one we can’t see. One is physical and one is spiritual. We live in between these two worlds in what is a beautiful dance of co-existence of back and forth between the two. We are spiritual beings living our human experience in a physical body. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 – “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This means that what is seen, begins it’s manifestation in what is unseen. We live in both places and in between and this is why asking and answering questions is so important and necessary.
Take some time today to ask and answer the question: WHAT DO I WANT? And think about the steps you can take to manifest and make reality what simply begins as a thought. You may just be surprised at the power you discover that has been placed within yourself to do the supernatural. And once you discover and tap into this CREATIVE power, this human experience takes on a whole new meaning as you begin to live in the blessings you were created for…
I’ve been thinking about thinking and my thinking got me to wondering where in the universe does a thought come from? After a little research, I discovered there is no easy or difinitive answer to that question. I think a thought is a reaction to a combination of actions on our part. They seem to come from nowhere on a pretty much continual basis. They can work together or oppose each other and they are present regardless of my giving them attention or not.
You are not the creator of your thoughts, but you can be the controller. You have the opportunity to choose the thoughts you will empower, feed and grow. The way we empower, feed and grow a thought is by THINKING about it. If you don’t like the way a thought makes you feel, then you can make a choice to let it go and grab another to empower with your thinking and attention.
YOU HAVE THE POWER OF CHOICE! We have been given a very amazing gift by being able to choose and divide for ourselves. Don’t give this power to anyone else and don’t waste this power by not utilizing it. Pay attention to your thoughts and choose to feed and grow the one’s that are going to make your life better by THINKING about them…
YOU EMPOWER, FEED AND GROW WHAT YOU CHOOSE! This may seem a little repetitive, but we need to realise, understand and apply the power of our choice. What you CHOOSE you EMPOWER. What you empower you feed and what you feed you grow. It really is that simple. Choice = Power…
YOU ARE IN CONTROL IF YOU WANT TO BE! One of my favorite teachers used to say: ”When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change!” The key word is: YOU! Here’s the question you need to ask and answer: Do I want to control the direction of my life by choosing the thoughts I empower or do I want give that control to someone or something else?
I’m not sure where a thought comes from, but I know and believe we have the power to decide where it’s going and that makes all the difference!