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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Sunday Rewind!

I get to say this all most every week, but I don’t ever get tired of it.  It has been a great weekend of ministry!  Here are just a few of the highlights:

*Friday Night Grace Place Dinner & Shopping was a very fun time of ministry.  All of our Graceteers worked very hard to help everyone to feel welcome and special.  And there were some magical experiences of grace that continue to touch my heart.

*Sunday Mornings are a very special time for the Grace Place Family.  We usually begin with Breakfast & Bible Study.  This mornings Bible Study was encouraging and challenging, as we took some time to learn from the “Temptations Of Jesus In The Wilderness.”  We all face them and the way to victory over them is through God’s Word!

Worship & Encouragement continues to amaze me, as we seem to grow a little bit each week. I love seeing the faithful each week and am extra blessed to see all of the new faces that keep showing up each week.  I am just amazed to see the folks keep coming in for sweet fellowship and meaningful worship.

God is moving in incredible ways and we are so thankful that He has seen fit to allow us to be apart of reaching out into our community to touch lives and impact eternity.  Thanks so much for your prayers, support and encouragement!

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No Approval Necessary!

We worry too much about what other people say or what other people think.  If we want to be who we were created to be, then we need to learn to live independent from the opinions of others.  It really does not matter if they love us or hate us, the issue comes when we make their assessments more important than the ones we have of ourselves.

Our reason for caring about what someone else thinks is based on the messed up system of trying to find favor from others.  Our reason for wanting the favor of others is to satisfy our need to obtain or live up to some man generated status.  It is our chasing after status that corrupts the flow and power of supernatural power that flows into and through our lives enabling us to live the life that we were created for.

Just be you, the you that you were created to be and stop worrying about trying to live up to everyone eles’s standards.  Status, titles and ego are all man-made things that get in the way of the real you, the inner you that is longing to flow out.

Life has it’s own way of working out the things that need to be worked out.  The approval you need will flow to you, as well as the disapproval.  When you work to achieve approval from man, then you make yourself a slave to man.  When you get disapproval, then you work that much harder for their approval.  All of this is looking to the outside for that which we need to be getting from the inside.

Outside living makes us dependent, which decreases and blocks the flow of a blessed life, while inside living makes us independent, which increases opportunity and allows the blessed life to flow freely.  

The bottom line is that ego – edging God out, will get you into trouble every time.  You are more than your flesh, you are spirit.  We give more attention to the physical than the spiritual and because of this, we miss out on much of the amazing part of life and living.

Get in touch with your spirit, who you really are and start to live from the inside-out.  Your life is filled with passionate and powerful thoughts.  When you learn to allow these thoughts to flow, you will begin to live a secure and blessed life.

You are not your physical body.  You are not what other people think or say.  You are spirit, made in the image of God.  Allow His Spirit to flow to and through your life.  Learn to see with His eyes and hear with His ears and you will walk in His footsteps and touch with His hands of love.  You will experience the amazing gift of really living, which is all about learning to live blessed.  Live blessed – it’s what you were created for.