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.
Questions are powerful and the right questions with the right answers have the potential to be amazing and powerful! Here are three questions that have the potential if asked and answered properly to have a major impact in and through your life. Take a few moments to ask and think about these questions, then take some serious time and make a real commitment to following through with the right answers! Your Creator has an extraordinary life planned for you, but you must do your part and when you do, you will be glad you did!
“The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson is a great little book with a powerful little story about a guy by the name of Ordinary from a town called Familiar. Ordinary wakes up one day realizing that He has been given a dream and must face a series of challenges to pursue and accomplish that dream by going to a place called Extraordinary! As you read through Ordinary’s journey, you move with him through seven stages of the dream journey and discover the steps that you must take to realize the reality of the dream that you have been given by the Dream Giver!
The second part of the book is all personal application, designed to help you discover and pursue your dream! This book will challenge you to leave the perceived safety of your comfort zone, so that you might go on a journey that helps you to live the life that you were designed for. The main idea is that everyone has a dream and the only way to accomplish that dream is by taking the journey!
This is a great little book with a very enjoyable story, good advice and motivational challenge. Everyone needs to read a little everyday, so if you are looking for something different, fun and meaningful, then I encourage you to check out “The Dream Giver!”
Tuesday Is For Technology! I have decided to write about technology that helps me to do the many different things God allows me to do. Each week, I will try to shine a little spot light on something that helps me to help others!
My MacBook! A few years ago I made the switch to Apple’s MacBook and I have not regretted it! I wanted something smaller with more processing power and I wanted something that was not so easy to get attacked with viruses! I chose the 13 Inch MacBook with lighted keyboard and my MacBook filled the bill!
It has a great battery life. It is compact and powerful! It does pretty much everything that I ask it to do. It has taken a beating! It was smashed up under a hide-a-bed, dropped off the back of a motorcycle while riding down the road and has been tossed about in a back pack on more than one occasion. It has many hands on it each week and it always seems to deliver!
I am a very big fan of Apple and have been faithful to use my MacBook, Ipad and Iphone on a daily basis. Just recently I made a move away from the Iphone, but I will share more on that and why I made the move in a later post.
If you are looking for a good personal computer that is compact and powerful, I would strongly recommend the MacBook. The only thing that I can think of that would be any better would be the new MacBook Air, but for the money you can pick up a used MacBook for a very decent price and a whole lot of power or what you might call “BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!” I hope this article was helpful and look forward to sharing more of the technology that blesses me, so that I can bless others in the days ahead! G3!
Michael Joe Harvell 