MSI Press Blog

  What is a book jewel? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Each month, we share near-daily, or as often as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is A Theology for the Rest of Us by Arthur Yavelberg. Description: If God exists and is good, why is there evil? Avoiding such questions underlies the spiritual emptiness and anxiety in today's world. A Theology for the Rest of Us explores how to approach the divine through Eastern and Western religious traditions without dogma, challenging readers to "be you lamps unto yourselves." In a time of internecine wars and all kinds of abuse of authority and

Arthur Yavelberg, author of the multi-award-winning book,  A Theology for the Rest of Us , shares the following column from his blog: “If there is nothing for which you would commit murder, you cannot play the role of  Lady MacBeth! ”  That is how the now aging opera diva,  Maria Callas , dismissed a young, pretty, but not quite ripened, ingenue who aspired to one day take center stage on her own.  She had the voice, yes, and even something of “the look,” but she lacked the life experience to be able to channel the passions depicted by a  William Shakespeare  or  Giuseppe Verdi.   While this production at the  Arizona Theater Company  did not intend a spiritual debate, it is significant that Callas insisted "for which you would commit murder” and not “if you have not murdered.”  In religious terms, Callas was echoing the famous line of Jesus: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.“ (Matthew 5:2

  BODY OF CHRIST “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” --I Corinthians 10: 16)   When I left the priesthood many years ago, I was disillusioned with the Catholic Church. I was looking to belong to a loving family. In my distressed state of mind, I experienced the Church as a dysfunctional family. For a few years I was estranged from the Church, and from all institutional religion. However, I felt something missing. So, I went to churches of various denominations, looking for a home. Eventually, I found a Catholic parish that filled that need. I discovered that being a Catholic since childhood was in my bones. It was a truth about myself I could not deny. After leaving the ministry, I became a psychologist. A life of service still motivated me. My passion was, and still is, to understand the dynamics of personal transformation and to accompany my patients on their journeys toward healing and growth. I have come to believe there are thr

  The following post is shared by Arthur Yavelberg, author of  A Theology for the Rest of Us , This is a painting by the 20 th  Century American Painter, Edward Hopper .   It is titled, “Night Hawks.”  To ask in the spirit of Captain Obvious: is this real ?   The answer, though, is not so obvious .   It is “real” in the sense that it is a painting that one can see, touch and even smell .   In other words, it is some -”thing ” that is composed of a variety of material elements .   However, it is not “real” in the sense ( read more ) A Theology for the Rest of Us  has earned the following awards: Best Indie Book Award Literary Titan Silver Aware For more posts about Arthur and his book, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our  author au pair  servic

Arthur Yavelberg, author of  A Theology for the Rest of Us , recently wrote a column for the  Arizona Star, " A Not So Obvious Presence ." A Theology for the Rest of Us  has earned the following awards: Best Indie Book Award Literary Titan Silver Aware For more posts about Arthur and his book, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter  here  or on our  home page . Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing but need help from a knowledgeable team? Check out our au pair author services . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of any of our books? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.c

  Here is the review in its entirety: Diana Skidmore Keathley's memoir,  GodSway , is an extraordinary testament to a life shaped by divine encounters and unwavering faith. The narrative unfolds as a journey marked by early messages from God, intertwined with episodes of overwhelming fear that crescendo into a harrowing attack. Keathley, in her vulnerability, confronts God's love head-on, paving the way for a transformative response that defines the rest of her life. The book captures the essence of a life in dialogue with the divine, chronicling a poignant challenge to God that becomes a turning point. In the crucible of this challenge, the author's audacious faith is not only affirmed but rewarded with a celestial outpouring of messages, dreams, and outright miracles. Keathley emerges as a woman shaped by these experiences, embodying audacious faith in a Creator who is both powerfully loving and intimately involved. Awards New York Book Festival finalist Hollywood Book Fe

  Diana Keathley, author of the award-winning  GodSway , wrote an intriguing blog post, quite seasonal, recently: " The Monster in My Head. " (The link will take you to this blog post -- and others.) Should you not like clicking links, here is the full post: With my broken foot booted and propped up, I sat angled in the corner of the couch surfing the station guide and Netflix to find something to take my mind off the most recent frustration. Looking for something uplifting and inspiring, I was annoyed that so close to Halloween practically all I found were horror movies and sci-fi thrillers – a myriad of variations of ghosts, monsters, murderers, and resident evil. As someone who experienced my own version of a horror movie inside my head as a young teen, I can’t understand why people choose to watch those scenarios, on purpose. “With the door firmly shut and locked, I could roll with the wave of sheer terror that I physically felt surging up through my legs, torso, and engu

  From Arthur Yavelberg, author of A Theology for the Rest of Us -- Not So Still, Small Voice In times of terrible tragedies—whether personal or world-wide—many in the West think of the Bible and pray.  While the text of the prayer may be general–”Please fix this!”–there is usually the hope that there will be some dramatic, divine intervention—much like, say, God splitting the Red Sea in the Book of  Exodus .  However, while there are many examples of such miracles in both the Old and the New Testaments, there are also accounts where God’s presence is not at all obvious.  For instance, in the Book of Genesis, the  Joseph  of “The Coat of Many Colors” fame is despised by his brothers, sold into slavery and spends years in an Egyptian dungeon—only to rise to power by the side of the Egyptian vizier, save the lands from a devastating drought and rescue his family.  As Joseph tells his bewildered brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now be