matt's journalhttp://www.tullos.org/matts-journal/en-US2010-02-09T14:09:38ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.1 (http://www.squarespace.com/)just detailshttp://www.tullos.org/matts-journal/2010/2/9/just-details.htmlmatt tullos2010-02-09T00:37:01ZMeeting tonight with the deacons. Excited to see God move in the middle of my church. After experiencing such a difficult year financially our giving has really turned around. Budget Needs to Date this year: $77,700 Giving to date: 86,161.60 This is after a year where we all took temporary salary cuts. It was a voluntary thing on the part of the staff and I think it was a real gut check for all of us. So thankful for the ways we can put these resources to work in ministry. We are going to be taking up a special offering this Sunday for Haiti. I'm praying for $6000 to send in the direction of World Vision and "Churches Helping Churches"
]]>One of my all time favorite storieshttp://www.tullos.org/matts-journal/2010/2/6/one-of-my-all-time-favorite-stories.htmlmatt tullos2010-02-06T23:44:57Z
]]>two churcheshttp://www.tullos.org/matts-journal/2010/2/6/two-churches.htmlmatt tullos2010-02-06T16:34:08Z(My apologies to Robert Frost.) Two churches diverged in yellow wood, And sorry i could not have pastored both And be one pastor, long i stood And preached down one as long as i could Until the babies screamed in the crying room; Then i accepted the call to the other, just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it had no deacons there; But as for the stewardship campaign Had worn them down about the same, And the other that moment equally lay In debt, no budget in the black. Oh, i accepted to my wife’s dismay! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, We settled in at the lowly shack. i shall be telling this with a sigh Some Southern Baptist Convention ages and ages hence: Two churches diverged in a wood, and i, i took the one that required no coat or tie, And that has made all the difference.
]]>the drive homehttp://www.tullos.org/matts-journal/2010/2/6/the-drive-home.htmlmatt tullos2010-02-06T04:34:48Zi circled back around to two years ago today wondering if the choices i've made (baptized in prayer) would feel the same as when i closed the door but yesterday is always never and today is what we have (until tomorrow)
Don’t let your characters float by giving them endless dialogue.
Have fun.
BIC – Butt in chair. HOP – Heart on Page.
P not F – Passion not fashion. Write what you like.
Remember your story does not have to have a happy ending – just a meaningful ending.
Fall through your story. Bury yourself in your work.
You don’t have to be the best, just be the best you can be,
Find the right word.
First lines should portend what is going to happen.
Exercise your creative muscle everyday. If you write one page everyday, you will have written 365 pages, more than you need for a novel or 73 picture books.
Every artist nurtures and nurtures create.
Truth – we all need an editor. Love the process. Don’t get caught up letting rejection get you down.
Money flows towards the author, not the other way around. Don’t pay for book reviews, agent readings, etc.
Don’t miss the small things in your writing. Don’t ignore the landscape.
Read what you have written out loud.
Writers block is all in your mind. Read newspapers, magazines – watch a movie, go shopping, don’t read someone elses book, because you can get stuck in their voice or characters.
Realize there are going to be projects you never complete.
Even while you are working on a project, write little things, doodle on artwork on paper. These can work like the sorbet between meal courses to cleanse your palette.
