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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Grace Place!

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A Place Where The Body Of Christ Can Share The Grace Of God By Giving To Others!

“Grace Place” is a place where the church can share the grace of God by giving to others!  It is a ministry that God placed in my heart and that fellow Christ followers with loving hearts helped to get started.

The concept is fairly simple:  People take new or gently used items that they are no longer using and donate them to Grace Place, who puts them out for people to come and purchase.  The only catch is that people cannot purchase with money, they can only purchase with grace!

We will give out $50.00 GP Gift Cards and people can use these to come to the Grace Place store to shop for clothes, household items, toys, furniture, decorations and etc. as long as supplies last!  (Only one card per person please!)

This exciting new ministry is located at the Ridgewood Multi-Site Campus located at 407 Ridgewood Drive.  On Sunday November 28th we will have a drop-in from 2pm – 4pm for folks to come by for a tour of Grace Place and receive information about how the ministry will work.  And on Saturday December 4th we will officially open Grace Place for the first time from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

If you have items that you would like to donate, please give us a call to make arrangements to drop them off at Grace Place.  If you are interested in volunteering to help get Grace Place ready or to actually help with running the store on 12/4, then please give us a call.  (Northwood Main Campus = 864-877-5417)

We are very thankful for this opportunity that God has given us to reach out to our community with His love and grace.  We appreciate your prayers and continued support!  God Bless, Press On and G3!

Added On 12/6/2010:  Our opening went great!  Thanks so much to all who helped to make it happen, thanks for your continued support and thanks for all who participated!  We will be open this Saturday December 11th, 2010 for anyone that did not get to take advantage of Grace this past Saturday!  We are always in need of donations, so if you have any please feel free to give us a call and we will arrange a time to meet you and help you unload!

Ministry, Uncategorized

HOPE!

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I have a friend who will sometimes think that I am crazy for not just giving up.  He has this unspoken idea that the grass is greener on the other side.  He looks at me, like I am crazy when I tell Him that I am where God wants me to be and I am doing what God wants me to do.  This week, for some reason, I have been thinking a lot about this!  I have come to this conclusion:  God in His GRACE has placed HOPE in my heart and this keeps me going, even when the going gets tough.  Below I have listed seven activities of hope that I have found challenge me to do and be better!  I hope they will challenge you!

1.) Hope looks for the good in others instead of critiquing the bad! I don’t want to critique the bad, but I sometimes get caught up in this game that most of the world plays.  We have all been created by God and that means that there is good in every human being.  I want to find that good and grow it for God’s glory!

2.) Hope opens doors that others close! A closed-door is not always God saying no.  Sometimes a closed-door is God’s way of saying” “You’ve got work to do!”  May I always be willing to do whatever needs to be done so that the doors that God has put in front of me might be opened for His glory and all of our blessing!

3.) Hope see problems as opportunities! Many times when a problem comes our way, we get frustrated and want to give up.  Live on this earth long enough and you will have problems, I want to use my problems as learning opportunities that will help me to not keep making the same mistakes over and over again!

4.) Hope uses the light to illuminate the darkness! Knowing that God has a future for me lights the way, so that I can follow the path into His perfect will.  Hope allows me to chase away the darkness with what God says can be!

5.) Hope focuses the possibilities instead of dwelling on the impossibilities! I make the choice to focus my energy and efforts in the direction of what can be done, rather than what can’t be done!  This is a daily battle, but one that is well worth the fight!

6.) Hope lives in reality and refuses to die even when attacked by cynicism! I do not live in some fantasy world.  I live in the world created for me by my Creator!  I know that my hope of something better will be continually attacked, but I refuse to give up or give in, because I know who I am and Whose I am!

7.) Hope draws its power from trust in God and the goodness that He has put into man! I grow my hope when I spend time getting to know and grow my trust in God by spending time with Him.  I grow my hope when I risk experiencing bad by investing time with others that are just like me.  We can grow one another as we acknowledge our bad, believe that we were created for better and commit our lives to being helped while helping!

I hope these seven give you a greater hope today.  God has you where you are, it is no accident and God will use where you are in an incredible way to grow you for His glory, if you will allow Him!  Enjoy the journey, appreciate the grace and thrive in the hope!