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.
Personal

I’m Not Perfect!

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I’m not perfect! There I’ve said it, but it doesn’t really make me feel much better! While there are a lot of things to like about me, there are some things that I don’t like about me! The Bible teaches in James 5:16 that we are to “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”. So here my confession:

Sometimes I am wrong! When I decide to take a stand, then I am almost always right, but I am often wrong in how I take the stand. I don’t mean to be, I just am. I need to learn to be right and express it in right ways, so that my wrongness does not cause unnecessary hurt!

Sometimes I am rude! I don’t mean to be! It’s just that I am sometimes so focused on what I am doing and where I am heading, that I miss the opportunity to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of those around me! I need to be sensitive all the time, not just some of the time!

Sometimes I am defensive! I feel like some people are out to get me and I am the only one willing to defend myself! This causes me to say, do and think things that shouldn’t! I need to keep my focus on my service to my Creator and if He is pleased find my satisfaction in that and not the ego boosting or busting opinions of others!

Sometimes I am impatient! I know what needs to be done, I know how to do it and I don’t have time for excuses! This impatience is often what leads to my being defensive, rude and wrong! I need to learn to slow down, trust that God is in control and know that I am not!

Sometimes I am negative! I don’t want to be! In fact, I can’t stand to be around negative people, but the truth is that this world is full of them. We are surrounded by negativity and it can creep into your life without you ever being aware of! I need to be positive all of the time, not just most of the time!

Sometimes I am hurtful! I would never intentionally hurt someone, but I have discovered that I unintentionally hurt people and often don’t even realize it! I say or do things that are perceived by others in a negative way and it hurts. I need to think about my actions and reactions and how they might be perceived by others and do all that I can to help things to be perceived correctly!

Sometimes I am forgetful! I usually have a pretty good memory, but sometimes the mind and life get a little too cluttered and I forget things that are important to others. I end up not saying or doing something that I should! I need to get rid of the things that don’t matter and work to stay focused on the things that do and that is the relationships of friendships that make the world go around!

I am a pretty messed up guy! I would be depressed, but I know that God loves me and I trust that He has forgiven me and so I will work hard to make progress in these seven areas of my life! And by the way the James passage tells me to confess and the people who I confess to are supposed to pray so that I may be healed! Your job is not judgement, your job is prayer!

Share your confessions with me and I’ll make you this promise: I won’t judge, I’ll pray and together we will experience God’s healing!

Fellowship, Friendship

A New Lesson In Friendships!

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A few months ago, I started a series of messages on Friendship!  We focused on friendship with God and friendship with others!  I love and appreciate all of my friends, but realize that I have not and I do not always show this in the way that I should.  It’s not that I don’t care or that I am not interested.  It’s just that, if I am your friend, then I am your friend and nothing is going to change that on my part.  (This is how I think in my head and heart and feel that if you know me, then you should know this about me!)  What I am learning is that while I may have an expectation that my friends accept and believe that, some of my friends need continuing reassurance.  (They may know it, but not believe it or understand it!)

When I first began to realize this need that some of my friends had, my first thought was that they are not much of a friend if they don’t know me and believe me as I am.  (I have other friends that get it and it’s not a problem for them!)  And then I slowly began to realize that everybody has their on perception.  I should be able to expect that they would work to give me the benefit of the doubt, but if they don’t or won’t, then I still have the responsibility and obligation as a friend to try to help my friend see, know and experience the real me.  Some would say:  “They are not really your friend, if they have that attitude!”  But the issue is not their being my friend.  The issue is my being their friend.  I am not responsible for their actions or reactions!  I am responsible for my own.  And even when people who say they are friends are not friendly, I have a responsibility and obligation to continue to be friendly, because that’s what friends do!  (Many times all of us think we are being or doing, but we are fooling ourselves and that is why someone in the friendship has to be willing to go the extra mile or the friendship will die!)

God is our friend and we don’t always treat God the way that He should be treated, but He patiently gives us time, space, knowledge and wisdom to figure it out!  He does this because He is our friend and wants us to be a friend back!  So, before you write somebody off, make sure that you are doing your part as a friend.  It’s a blessing for you, them and everybody.  And the best part is that it brings glory to God when we get this right!  And it is really cool, when you get to travel that extra mile together!

Thank you for being my friend and for reading this blog!  I hope it challenges, encourages and blesses you!

Creativity, Growing

Stoking The Creative Fires!

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I have been participating once a week in a creative meeting!  I am really enjoying the sessions and here are a few things that I would like to pass on to encourage creativity in all of our lives!

1.) Write your ideas down! It does not matter how simple, silly or small the ideas may seem – write them down!  You may have just a seed, but seeds that are planted and nurtured – grow into big trees!  Keep a little notebook, moleskin, digital file or small recorder to record your ideas.  Don’t think that you will remember them – you won’t!  Record it and you will free your mind up for even more creative ideas!

2.) Brainstorm! Think out loud with other people and listen to their thinking out loud.  It is amazing the ideas that this will generate.  How many times have you found yourself in a conversation with someone and something they said sent your mind to thinking in a totally different direction than what they were talking about?  Find someone, if possible several “someones” and allow your brains to storm!

3.) People Watch! Observe what is going on around you.  We miss so much, because we are often so busy that we just live life in a blur!  Slow down, smell the roses and enjoy the ride by really seeing everybody and everything that God has put around you!

4.) Relocate! If you work at a desk all of the time, then move to a couch.  If you are inside all of the time, then get outside.  You get the picture – put yourself in a place to see things from a different perspective and you will be amazed at the creativity that will flow to and through your life!

5.) Get Spiritual! You were created by a very creative God.  If you don’t believe that, just look around you at all of the variety!  You were created in the image of your creative God, so you are creative too!  Talk to God and listen to God through prayer and take some time to read and look for understanding and challenge from His Word!

These are just a few of the ideas that we have been utilizing to stoke our creative fires!  It’s fun and it’s exciting and you really will be glad you did!