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.
What is it that God has given to you and how are you using it for His glory? Many times in life, we look at what we have or don’t have and start to make excuses about what we can or can’t do.
Real servants don’t make excuses. Real servants get the job done, because God’s glory is more important than anything else. Real servants don’t procrastinate. Real servants jump in and take the risk, because risk grows our faith. Real servants don’t wait for ideal circumstances. Real servants take what they’ve got, where they are to do whatever needs to be done, because people need the amazing grace of an awesome and loving God. Real servants do what needs to be done, just because it needs to be done and because God is worthy.
I Peter 4:10 says: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
Our service may not be perfect, but it is better than intentions that never get us anywhere. Serving God is not for perfect people who always get it right. Serving God is for everyone that was created by Him. Our prayer does not need to be for perfect service, but for blessed service.
God created you and He created you for the purpose of service. The kind of service that blesses others and brings glory to Him. Open you heart, soul and mind to Him and the opportunities He has given you and jump in – you will be glad you did!
Sometimes Our Plans Don’t Work The Way We Planned!
There are times in life, when no matter how hard you try, things just don’t work out the way you had planned. Sometimes life throws you a curve and we find it impossible to be happy when things are no good. Disappointment, adversity, challenge and frustration will come into each of our lives. The real challenge is not what comes into our lives, but how we handle it.
Life is struggle for a lot of us, but that does not mean that we give up, throw in the towel and quit. Whenever we have expectations that are not realized, then we are going to face the big ugly monster called disappointment. We cannot change what has happened, but we can make a choice about how we will respond and it is this choice that makes all the difference.
You are responsible for your feelings and your feelings are responsible for how you respond to the situations and circumstances of life. In the negative situations of life you have to make a choice about what you are going to focus on. Make the wrong choice and you are doomed for even more negative situations. Make the right choice and you can use the disappointments of life to move you to a more positive, better and productive place of living.
Here are some steps that you can take to get on and stay on the right track:
1. Realize That You Are Responsible For Your Own Feelings! The easy path is to blame others, but there is nothing to gain here. Be responsible for your feelings. We waste too much time and energy playing the blame game and that is exactly what it is – a game. Disappointments come and go, but their power to impact you in a negative or positive way are up to you and your willingness to be responsible what you feel. Own your feelings and you have the power to change them!
2. Ask Yourself The Important Questions! If you will ask the right questions and answer them in the right way, then you are own your way to a turn-around! Here are a few to get you started: What opportunity is there in this situation to make a change in my life for the better? What blessings has God blessed me with that can help me through this? What will I do to change things? Ask and answer these questions and you are on your way to putting together a plan that will take you to some amazing places.
3. Believe In Purpose! You were not an accident, your life is not an accident and the things that happen to you are not an accident. Everything has a purpose, and it does not matter if you want it to or not. The only choice you have is this: Will that purpose be negative or positive? Understand and believe that whatever happens in your life – good or bad, is for the purpose of helping you accomplish what you were created for. Believe this and you are heading in a very positive and powerful direction.
4. Live With Higher Power! We try to do life on our own. We know that there is a Creator, but we try to live life without any real connection. The connection to our Creator is vital to our experiencing victory and success. Take time to meditate, pray, read and think about and grow this relationship, because we are nothing without it!
5. Help Others And Let Them Help You! Not everyone is out to use you or burn you. There really are people in this world that want to help you and they are not looking for anything in return. People love and care, because that is the way they were created. Make sure that you are loving and caring for others and allowing others to love and care for you. Pretend does you no good here, so work hard at getting this right!
Life may not be working out the way you had hoped or planned, but hang in there and keep taking the steps and before you know it, you will have walked out of your negative situation, into a positive one and claimed one of the greatest gifts of all – the gift of positive victory, regardless of life’s circumstances. And by the way – this is what you were created for!
Life is hard and we all know what it is like to feel pain. At some point in your life, you are going to be faced with a hurt that you don’t know what to do with. When that hurt comes knocking at your door, it is important to remember what to remember! Here are ten things to remember:
1. God Is In Control! You may not understand, but you don’t have to understand. The important thing is that you believe. Faith unlocks the door for the supernatural power of God to flow into and through your situation.
2. Something Better Is Coming! When we are hurt, it is almost impossible for us to think about that something better is coming, but there is always another miracle waiting for us just around the corner.
3. There Is A Purpose! We don’t know why, but there is a reason. God does not make bad things happen, but He does sometimes allow bad things to happen. When we are hurt, we have a perfect opportunity to decide if we are going to trust Him or not.
4. You Are Loved! God loves you and you have family and friends that love you. When we are hurt, the love of others seems far away or non-existent, but it is there. We just can’t see it or we will not allow ourselves to experience it.
5. God Is There! You may not see Him, hear Him or feel Him, but He is there. God is everywhere at all times and when you are hurting, He is with you. Make sure that you look for him, listen for him and you will eventually feel the comfort of His touch.
6. You Are Not Alone! It may seem that you are all alone, but you are never alone. God is always with you and often other people are with you too. We often fail to realize who and what we have, until it’s too late.
7. Prayer Is Powerful! We often pray as a last resort. When we are hurting, we need to make sure that we are working to stay in constant communication with God. You may not have any idea what to say and that is okay. Just take some time to talk with God and make sure that you are listening, because He will speak.
8. This May Be New to You, But It’s Not New! When we are hurting, we may be experiencing something that we have never experienced before. Just because we have not experienced the hurt, does not mean that it’s new. The truth is this: Others have experienced it and survived and you will too.
9. Others Are Hurting Too! A lot of times when we are hurting, we are totally oblivious that there is anyone else in the world. The reality of life is that other people are hurting too and it may be that you are the very one to help someone through their hurt, so pay attention.
10. There Is Stuff Worth Remembering! These are just a few of the things that we need to remember when we are hurting. When life begins to hit you with hurts that seem to be taking you down for the count, remember what to remember and be amazed at the healing that begins to take place.
Lord, I pray for my friends that are hurting today. Please be with them and help them to remember what to remember, so that they might experience your healing and move from hurt to happiness as they trust in You…
Michael Joe Harvell 