MSI Press Blog

 Yesterday, a newly adopted feral cat hid himself under our very large, 7-section sofa. I pushed the sofa out a bit to reach him and found that by doing so I had trapped his paw under one of the heavy bars that held the sections together in the back of the sofa. Concerned for his safety, I instinctively reached out with my left had, lifted up the end of the sofa (about three sections) and pulled the cat out with my right hand. My goodness, I thought, after letting the sofa back down, I have become quite strong from my training over the past seven months. Quickly, though, the reality set in. It as not my muscles alone that lifted the sofa. It was adrenaline pouring into the muscles, making them stronger. Very quickly, my wrist began to throb. Oh, oh! I made it through the night, sleeping though the pain -- I can do that. In the morning, the pain made it clear that I needed to confess to the doctor my foolishness at thinking I might be superwoman. I wrapped an ace bandage ar...

About the Book People are often at a loss to find the right words to say in prayer. Whether you're a believer but unchurched or are a devout member of a religion, if you wish to expand your home worship, finding the right words to say to God can be a problematic issue. The prayers in Everybody's Little Book of Everyday Prayers are nonsectarian-suited for Protestants, Jews, and Catholics, as well as unaffiliated deists who believe in God but not in organized religion. They cover a raft of occasions on which individuals or families may wish to say a prayer. If prayer is an integral part of your life, or you would like it to be, you'll find the help you want in Everybody's Little Book of Everyday Prayers. Delightfully illustrated by Zhenya Yanovich of Moscow & Siberia (Russia) and Charlottesvile (VA< USA). Book Endorsement "This book is a keeper. It gets to the heart of our communication with God." Rev. Grant A. Houser, M. Th. Review of the Book ...

General Prayers – Communicating with God – for Adults and Children Sometimes you want to talk to God when it isn’t an occasion or a specified time of day and when there isn’t something happening in your life that you want to ask God for or thank God for. You just feel a need to reach out to Him and talk to Him. You might be inspired by an especially pretty sunset, or there may be something else that you want to say that doesn’t fall under a particular prayer category.               I’ve always wondered whether maybe God likes those prayers best, when He hears from us at times when we want to talk to Him not to ask him for something, or to pray at a time we think we’re supposed to, but “just because.” Don’t you appreciate the phone call from a friend who says, “I was thinking about you, so I thought I’d pick up the phone and say Hi”? Don’t you appreciate the spontaneous kiss from your child—or from anyone else—that i...

... toward the end of the year, we had games and festivities, one of which involved guessing the amount of candy in a very large jar. Whoever guessed the right amount of individual candies was the winner. I didn’t care about the candy, but I did care about winning, as I was wired to be extraordinarily competitive, something that was often discouraged by my teachers who would classify my displeasure at losing as being a “poor sport.” In essence, they were trying to filter out of me the exact quality that would help me be successful in life—thanks a lot.             In any event, I watched as other children tried futilely to maintain their count of the giant candy jar. I had other ideas. When there was no activity around the jar, I took a ruler and decided that I would focus my efforts on counting the candies in exactly one inch of the jar. This would not necessarily give me an accurate count, but I believed it would give me ...

Today, I began my yoga classes. I dropped in to the gym's Flow Yoga class. Earlier, when I consulted with my trainer, Brittany, she suggested that, of the classes that the gym offered, yoga would be the most beneficial for me in my seeking to develop the skills needed for coping successfully with the ninja obstacles. I quickly saw how well she had identified my weaknesses, the most significant of them being balance. The yoga instructor was patient with me as I topped over again and again. Stand on one foot? No, I don't think so. Not yet, anyway. My ability to handle positions, like the downward dog pose above, surprised me, pleasantly so. All the work on core with Brittany for the past six months really had prepared me for poses requiring core development. Planks? Not a problem. Contort legs and arms? Not a problem -- for six months, I have also been working on flexibility. However, balancing on one foot ended up with both feet on the floor or real tipping over. Than...

How My Cat Made Me a Better Man by Jeremy Feig, would never have come into being with its heroine, Shelly. Here are some pictures of Shelly: And here are some drawings of Shelly by the late Zhenya Yanovich, up-and-coming Russian artist: Read more posts about Shelly, Jeremy, and this precious, award-winning book HERE .