MSI Press Blog

  This week editor's choice:   Blest Atheist by Elizabeth Mahlou Book Description: As a young child, outraged by the hypocrisy she finds in a church that does nothing to alleviate the physical and sexual abuse she experiences on a regular basis, Beth delivers an accusatory youth sermon and gets her family expelled from the church. Having locked the door on God, Beth goes on to raise a family of seven children, learn 17 languages, and enjoy a career that takes her to NASA, Washington, and 24 countries. All the time, however, God keeps knocking at the door, protecting and blessing her, which she realizes only decades later. Ultimately, Beth finds God in a very simple yet most unusual way. A very human story, Blest Atheist encompasses the greatest literary themes of all time – alienation, redemption, and even the miraculous. The author’s life experiences, both tragic and tremendous, result in a spiritual journey containing significant ups and downs that ultimately yield gr...

  The day after Epiphany is always quieter. The star has already been followed. The gifts have already been given. The Magi have already gone home by another road. And yet — in 2026 — the day after Epiphany feels strangely louder. Because we wake up to a world still splintered by fear, suspicion, and competing truths. We wake up to neighbors who no longer trust one another. We wake up to systems that feel brittle, and communities that feel tired. Epiphany is supposed to be about revelation — the moment when the hidden becomes visible, when the light breaks in. But the day after Epiphany asks a harder question: What do we do with revelation once we have it? The Magi saw clearly — and then they acted differently They didn’t overthrow Herod. They didn’t fix the political landscape. They didn’t solve the violence of their time. But they did refuse to participate in it. They chose a different road. A quieter resistance. A small, defiant act of fidelity to what they ha...

(illustration by Zhenya Yanovich)   GIFT EXCHANGE “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” --Isaiah 9: 1   “I’m so exhausted! I can’t wait until the holidays are over,” adults complain. The Christmas season is filled with toil and trouble. Adults are fatigued with the endless round of decorating, cooking, baking, partying, gift buying and wrapping, and fighting crowds at the mall.  “I’m so excited! I can’t wait until Christmas comes,” exclaim children. They are excited to be on vacation, escaping the toil and trouble of school. Play time begins, and they look forward to Santa coming. They enjoy the rounds of parties, time with friends, caroling, meeting Santa, and getting gifts.  Both the giving and receiving, the toil and excitement, capture the true spirit of Christmas--and make the world go around. God gives the gift of Himself in His Son. We open-heartedly receive that great gift and respond by sharing ourselves with God and one another. The f...