MSI Press Blog

  Today's book excerpt comes from  An Afternoon's Dictation  by  Steven Greenebaum . PART ONE: THE CALL TO INTERFAITH CHAPTER ONE   In 1999, I’d reached the end of my tether. Over the years, there had been one crushing event after another. The woman I’d intended to spend my life with, who had intended to spend her life with me, had been killed in a senseless traffic accident. My mother, who had lived her life fettered by the chains of patriarchy, had at last broken free and blossomed, recognizing her own self-worth, only to be struck down by cancer after just a few short years of truly enjoying life. And then my father, with whom I’d had major disagreements but whom I loved and honored as my father, had died a humiliating death, plagued by dementia. These were just the tips of the iceberg. I was one angry human. In the privacy of my house, I kept saying, sometimes out loud and sometimes in my mind, “God, you’re there? Really? I want five minutes, and I want some answers.” T

  When Carl was dying from cancer of unknown primary, he was reluctant to face his own mortality. He would not tall about it with anyone except our priest, Fr. Ed. When Fr. Ed arrived to give last rites, Carl had been mostly near-comatose for two days, but when Fr. Ed spoke his eyes flew open, he listened intently, and he even laughed at Fr. Ed's humor.  The following morning at 7:30 a.m., Carl passed away peacefully, surrounded by all his children and all his cats -- and of course, his wife. It was as if Fr. Ed's words, the last rites, or the presence that surrounded that encounter at last brought acceptance and peace. The vulnerable of someone approaching death, their apprehension, and their unwillingness to talk about it can be disconcerting for family members who not then know how to approach any of the realities of life at the moment. It appears that Spirit is quite important as this note I found somewhere online says: The Spirit A person’s spirituality is unique and pers

Today's shared blog post comes from Dr. Frederic Craigie's latest reflection. This week he quotes Robert Frost; find out what Frost said here . Fred is author of  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living . Book awards Book of the Year Award (gold) American Book Fest Book Award Finalist, Spiritual: Inspiration Reader Views Literary Awards, Silver Medal, Mind, Body, Soul Reader Views Literary Award, Silver Medal, Religion Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards Honorable Mention, Inspiration & Motivation Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Inspirational National Indie Excellence Award, Well-Being For more posts by and about Fred 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  s

  Peek into the future...and wait just a bit. Coming up some time this year is the publication of  Being Catholic in Troubled Times , a new book by Dr. Dennis Ortman.  For more posts about Dennis Ortman and his books, 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  services will mentor you through the process. 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 this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our  Au

  Today's book excerpt comes from  An Afternoon's Dictation  by Steven Greenebaum .                                                              Introduction These are hugely difficult times. When I began this book, COVID was loose and taking lives across the country and around the world as wars were raging and murdering so many innocents. Now, as wars continue, there are new diseases raging while many struggle to learn to live with “long COVID.” All this as people are at long last recognizing that the environment is in crisis yet continue to argue vehemently over what if anything to do about it. In the United States and much of what has been called the “free world,” the very nature of freedom itself is the topic of vehement and often virulent argument. The future of the Earth is in question. More personally, and for me of equal importance, the quality of life we are leaving for posterity is also in question. Even if, as I fervently hope, humanity at last rises to the occasion

  Recently Arthur Yavelberg, author of the multi-award-winning book,  A Theology for the Rest of Us ,  published a column in the Arizona Daily Star , called "Differing Spiritual Mindsets." You can read the article right here: A Theology for the Rest of Us  has earned the following awards: Best Indie Book Award Literary Titan Silver Aware American BookFest Best Books Award finalist For more posts about Arthur and his book, click  HERE . For more Arizona Daily Star columns by Arthur, 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 . 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 this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrentl

Today's book excerpt comes from Blest Atheist by Elizabeth Mahlou. Mercy   The Samaritan stopped because he was filled with mercy. He also had clearly been blessed with the resources to help. I stopped by habit. Very early I internalized the concept that helping even one person toward a better life is a way to justify one’s own existence. That may well have given a positive balance to the daily abuse I experienced throughout my childhood. Knowing that someone was better off because of something I had done—whether it was teaching a kindergarten class when I was in first grade, working as the teachers’ helper in conducting an extra reading group for the struggling readers in my elementary school classroom, or serving as an evening telephone resource to the eighth-grade members of my advanced mathematics class whose teacher kept confusing us with high school juniors—established a sense of self-worth that logically should never have appeared, given all the abuse I experienced