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.
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Three Steps To Funk Free Living!

If LIfe Stinks - Do Something About It!
If LIfe Stinks – Do Something About It!

John Miton said:  “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”  We like to play the blame game, but the blame game only keeps us in the prison of our own creation.  The truth most of the time, is that we are where we are and how we are, because this is the choice we have made.

If you are not happy, then it is because you have made a choice not to be happy.  If you are miserable, then it is because you have made a choice to be miserable.  You get to decide in every moment, what your response is going to be to that moment and you are the only one that can decide for you.

Instead of wasting energy, playing the games that just continue to get us nowhere, why not give a few of these ideas a try to see if they will not help to take your life to a better place?

1.)  Live In The Here And Now!  Yesterday is over and tomorrow is not guaranteed!  Usually when we are living in unhappiness, it is because we are dwelling on the past or anxious about the future.  The problem is that this robs us of the enjoyment of the here and now.

2.)  Practice “It Is What It Is” Living!  It is the thoughts about our situations, not our situations that make us unhappy.  Change your thoughts and magically your situations begin to follow the direction of your thinking.  You can argue with reality all day long and still lose the argument!

3.)  Take Responsibility!  It is true that happiness is a choice and you are the one that has the ability to do something about the thoughts that you are thinking.  Stop playing the blame game, take responsibility and enjoy the life that you have right now, right here in this very special moment.

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Let There Be Life!

Let There Be Life!
Let There Be Life!

Here is an amazing truth that should inspire and encourage us to get the most out of this amazing human life, we have been blessed with:   “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  2 Corinthians 5:21

The same God, Who created you and loves you, has also provided away for you to live in divine connection to Him.  This connection allows you to be all that you were created to be, which is so much more that what any of us can dream or imagine.

You are valuable and right here is the evidence:  He made him (His Son), who had no sin to be sin (take on our sin), so that in him (through our relationship with Him we might become the all (amazing spirit) that God created us to be.

Realize who you are and what you’ve got and don’t you dare let anyone take away the amazing gift of the self that you were created to be!  Live blessed!