The 20 stars is one of the things I didn't like about the Stennis flag. These stars represent the flags that have flown over Mississippi. 1. French 2. Spanish 3. British 4. West Florida 5. C.S.A. 6. U.S.A. 7. Previous state flags. You could do away with #7 but it looks better with 7 stars instead of 6. Also, Shotgun mentioned the colors. What if you turn the blue to green representing the fertile land and the red to blue representing the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico?
I haven't seen the Stennis flag, but flags are often based on significant facts. We were the 20th state, making 20 a relevant number. No way you could explain 7 if one of them acknowledges the CSA. Any other number seems too random, begging questions for which there is no answer other than, "it looks cool".
I'd avoid the green for fertile land and blue for water because those are not at all unique to Mississippi, so why make them a central feature? Red, white & blue because we are a member of the USA & those are our country's colors. Magnolia because it is our state flower and a thing we are known for that is not perceived as a negative (unless you have grown one in your yard). A slogan that again ties to our state (Father of Rivers), though I would not be opposed to using the state motto as you have suggested.
Other things I have considered is something on the flag that represents our Native American heritage...perhaps a symbol depicting peace or something like that, especially if it is relevant to the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Biloxi & Tupelo tribes, the 4 most prominent in our state's/territory's history.
