The July 4th Effect

Matt Talford

The sight and smell of gunpowder smoke in the air… The constant cracking and popping… The loud booms… all coming from all directions…  Overwhelming…  For the first time in my post-military service life, the July 4th fireworks bothered me.   Yesterday, as I played doubles with my friends under the twilight and eventual nighttime sky… as I struggled to focus on playing the points, all while trying to steel my nerves, I constantly had to remind myself that I was neither on a military installation, nor deployed to a combat…

Patience: A Necessary Ingredient for Success

Matt Talford

In life, when you’re trying to accomplish something big, sometimes, you just have to wait.  No matter how badly you want that garden to spring up quickly, a seed planted in even the best soil is not going to germinate and sprout until it’s time. No matter how much water or plant food you apply to your rows, those vegetables are simply not going to appear overnight.  In fact, if do too much to your garden, you risk destroying it (and thus throwing away all those hours of planning and hard…

Math, Art & Science

Matt Talford

Math is absolute. Art is the representation of one’s interpretation of an object, a concept or an experience. Science is theory. Furthermore, it is the child conceived of the joining of the absolute nature of math, with the interpretive nature of art.  Science is the attempt at using math to support one’s interpretation of their own observation.  It is because of the absolute nature of math that science is given so much credence, while the art that gave birth to and nurtured that science, is largely ignored or even dismissed.…

Anita Baker

Matt Talford

When I heard on the radio early this year that Anita Baker would be doing a farewell tour, I immediately went home and asked my wife to find out when “The Queen” would be stopping through “The Queen City.”  I thought nothing of it again until a week ago, when my wife told me she’d booked a short weekend trip to Myrtle Beach to celebrate our 24th anniversary, and advised me not to make plans for Thursday, because we had tickets to see Anita Baker.  “You got tickets?” I asked,…

Are You Operating in Your Gifts?

Matt Talford

What Are Gifts? By its dictionary definition, a gift is something given willingly to someone without payment.  I like to further that definition by saying that a gift is something given to a person, that he or she did not ask for.  Gifts are also defined as “natural talents or abilities” (which is the basis from which I write this article). So, it is generally accepted by most, that everyone (including you) has one or more of these “natural talents or abilities”; the question is, have you identified yours?  If…

The Long Journey Back

Matt Talford

He saw her tears. He felt her pain. He wanted to dry her eyes, help her to heal, make her smile. Before long, he began to help, in any way he could. Before long, he saw his gift. Before long, he began to love, care and fight for others. After long, he had loved, cared and fought for so many, he had lost his way… lost touch with himself. Though he was born a fighter, and knew well how to fight for himself and for others, and though he was…

“If I Could Choose My Family”

Matt Talford

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Holy Bible: King James Version: Matthew 7:1,2 – In layman’s terms, it basically means: in order to avoid being judged ourselves, we are to avoid judging the works, deeds or appearances of others; and that whatever thing we judge others by, by the same will we be judged, and using the same measuring stick.) The preceding passage of scripture has…

Writing Deadlines Can Be Beneficial

Matt Talford

I think that all writers might agree that the more times you read your own work, the more likely it is that you’ll want to “tinker” with it…you know… change this, cut that, add this or that new wrinkle or element.  Well, giving yourself a deadline (perhaps by even announcing a release date to your fans or followers) and sticking to it (if you’re independent, traditionally pub’d authors don’t have as much flexibility), can help you to finally push your “birdie” out of the nest and let it fly! So…

Why I Don’t Practice Lent

Matt Talford

(The following article, originally drafted four years ago, was as an op-ed piece [opinion editorial for those of you unfamiliar with the abbreviation] that I submitted to a major newspaper.  The submission was not used, but rather than delete the article, I decided to keep it for a rainy day.  Well, this year, I have seen quite a few discussions regarding Lent on social media, so I figured now was a good time to open those umbrellas 😊)… To Lent or Not to Lent… That is the question…  Recently, someone…

13 Quick Ways To Keep Your Cool When Your Faith Is Under Fire

Matt Talford
13 Quick Tips

Here are 13  Quick Ways To Keep Your Cool When Your Faith Is Under Fire: There was a point in my life when it was hard for me to answer this question because everything in my life was going well. I had a beautiful wife, a corporate career with a nice salary, great friends and an active social life. Suddenly, something entered my life that seemed insurmountable to human eyes, and seemingly impossible to overcome. It wasn’t until I turned around and remembered God’s words that I realized that even…