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.
Uncategorized

I Feel Good! (Na na na na nanana)

2 Comments

I am pumped this morning and I have a whole big ole bunch of stuff in front of me that I am not looking forward to.  But I plan to work my way right through it, because it has to be done.  I have been trying all morning to figure out why I am extra pumped this morning – I had a great time with God, but that is every morning.  It is still raining and dreary outside, but I want to sing with my best James Brown imitation “I FEEL GOOD – Whoa-oa-oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now.  I feel good, I knew that I would, now.  So good, so good, I got you.  Whoa! I feel nice, like sugar and spice.  I feel nice, like sugar and spice.  So nice, so nice, I got you!  (Let the sax kick in – you hear it?)

I think it is because I got a great night of sleep.  I actually feel rested and ready for whatever is going to come my way today.  I usually do not sleep all that great, but last night was great!  Let me give you some tips that I believe contributed to my great night of sleep:  We need to begin our day with God and we need to end our day with God and we need to stay connected with God all throughout the day!  Psalms 3:5 says  “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me!”  And then we read in Psalms 4:9  “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety!”

I don’t know what you are facing or dealing with, but I do know that God loves you and has a plan for your life and He does not want you to lose sweet, refreshing, peaceful sleep over something that He can take care of.  Really give your life to God and then before you go to bed at night make sure that you have not taken it back from Him at some point during the day, and if you have, then make sure that you give it back!

I hope that we both get some good sleep tonight, so that tomorrow we can sing:  

Whoa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now.  I feel good, I knew that I would.  So good, so good, I got you.  So good, so good, I got you.  So good, so good, I got you.  HEY!!!  (Spin around, take a bow and have a great day!)

Uncategorized

Working On Myself!

 

My Aunt Judy Having Fun At Easter Lunch!
My Aunt Judy Having Fun At Easter Lunch!

Hey!  I am glad that you made the choice to join me today!  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post!  My goal in life is to help people find the right direction in life!  God has and is providing direction for my life and it excites me to be able to share that with others.  While I seek to improve and grow everyday, every so often, I go on a personal self improvement campaign.  It’s just a little something that I do to try and amp up my living life in the right direction that God has for me.

 

I thought that it would be cool to invite you to join me on this campaign!  All of us have things that we need to work on, areas of our life where we can grow and improve.  Today and this week – I am taking some steps to work on the spiritual and physical parts of my life.  

In my spiritual life, I want to grow deeper in my walk and relationship with Jesus.  I already have a daily devotional time with God, but I want to make sure that I am not allowing it to become just a part of my routine, so I am changing things up just a little.  This week I am still meeting God in the morning, but I am specifically looking for direction from Him about how I can have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him.  Here are some things that God revealed to me this morning:  

One of the biggest temptations of living in this world is the temptation to become superficial.  It does not benefit anyone to play make-believe!  Get real with God, yourself and everyone!  Another problem in our world today is the need for instant satisfaction – realize that some of the things that God has for you are not instant, but they take time, discipline and trust!

We live in a physical/material world, but this is not all that exist.  There is a spiritual world of God’s creating that we miss out on when we get too focused on the physical/material.  I tend to focus to much on the outside.  I get distracted by the outside.  I need to make sure that my focus is on the inside, because it is the inside that matters to God!  God will give me victory from the inside-out, if I will trust Him.

For my physical – exercise and diet!  It is a continual battle of my life to stay fit physically.  Spiritual discipline seems to come much easier for me than physical discipline.  This week I am going to exercise everyday and I am going to try to treat food as fuel and make sure that I am taking the right stuff in.  I know it does not sound very fun or exciting, but I have to figure out how to make it that way.  I believe that my body is the temple and I have some fixing up to do!

How about you?  Do you have any spiritual or physical work that needs to be done in your life?  If you do, then join me and we will work on it together!  It’s going to be a great journey!

Uncategorized

What Do You Believe?

3 Comments

I saw this video and knew that I would have to share it with you guys!  This is Penn from Penn And Teller – they do a magic/comedy show.  Penn has never been shy about the fact that he is an atheist and does not believe that there is a God!  And while he still does not believe that there is a God – he clearly displays that his heart has been touched.  This video gives us some really good insight into how the world is thinking.  I hope that it will make Believers think and get serious about what we say we believe!