WORDS MATTER “If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging symbol.” --I Corinthians 13: 1 My three brothers recently visited from afar. We spent a week together crammed into my small apartment. We exhausted ourselves talking about our lives and our favorite subjects--religion, psychology, and politics. I daily used up my quota of words. Many family and friends avoid talking about these subjects to avoid conflict. But we relish the give-and-take of debate. Coincidentally, the Republican National Convention was televised each night. We watched it diligently and exchanged views. Our convictions ranged across the political spectrum. So our conversations were animated, our disagreements passionate. However, at the end of the week, we learned something from each other and parted friends. Words matter. They have power. Our traditions attest to this fact. For example, God created the world with His word. He be...
1948-2021 It is with great sadness that MSI Press notes the death of Carl Leaver, CEO of the Press and typesetter and graphic designer par excellence . Many authors have expressed not only condolences but also a sense of legacy from covers he designed that they love. Here is his obituary: On August 16, 2021, Carl Don Leaver of San Juan Bautista passed into eternal rest. A forester with the US Forest Service in Idaho and Montana, he turned to nature photography while working in the Bitterroot National Forest. His photographs graced national magazine covers and on a weekly basis the local paper of Hamilton, MT, the Ravalli Republican. He later worked on photography projects for the US Army (AFEES) and taught photography at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. His final career change led him to computer graphics and publishing as co-owner of MSI Press LLC; his many typeset books and book covers have helped MSI Press authors win a large number of awards over t...
Most of us are taught to be agreeable long before we’re taught to be honest. We learn how to smooth things over, how to keep the peace, how to swallow the discomfort so no one else has to feel it. And for a while, it works—until it doesn’t. Resentment is what grows in the space where a boundary should have been. It starts quietly: a sigh you don’t let out, a “yes” you didn’t mean, a need you talk yourself out of because it feels inconvenient. But resentment is cumulative. It builds layer by layer, until suddenly you’re carrying a weight you can’t name, only feel. Choosing boundaries over resentment is the moment you decide to stop abandoning yourself. A boundary is not a punishment. It’s not a wall. It’s not a rejection. A boundary is simply the truth about what you can hold—and what you can’t. It sounds like: “I can’t take this on right now.” “That doesn’t work for me.” “I need time before I respond.” “I care about you, and I need this to change.” It’s direct, but no...
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