MSI Press Blog

  Most people have had a sore on their tongue. Maybe from biting it, maybe from stress, maybe from nothing at all. But when does a sore cross the line from nuisance to warning sign? This post is about pattern recognition — not alarm. It’s about knowing what to look for, what to feel for, and when to act. Benign vs. Cancerous: What to Look For Here’s how to distinguish a routine sore from something more serious: Appearance : Benign sores are usually round or oval, flat or slightly sunken. Cancerous lesions tend to be raised, irregular, and may be ulcerated. Color : A typical sore has a white or yellow center with a red border. Cancerous patches may be red, white, or mixed — and often bleed. Pain : Benign sores hurt early and sharply. Cancerous ones may be painless or cause a dull ache. Healing Time : Benign sores heal within 7–14 days. Cancerous lesions persist beyond 3 weeks. Touch : Routine sores feel soft, inflamed, and tender. Cancerous ones may feel firm, thickened, ...

  I recently told a pulmonologist that Doah—now nearly forty‑seven—entered this world with a zero percent chance of survival stamped on his chart. That was the official medical verdict. The unofficial one was harsher: the doctors called me immature for refusing to accept that he would die. They insisted that hope was denial, that advocacy was naïveté, and that my unwillingness to surrender him to their predictions made me the problem. Their solution was to remove him from me entirely. They tried to take custody so they could perform experimental procedures his own pediatrician warned were dangerous and unlikely to help in any meaningful way. The message was unmistakable: If you won’t give up on him, then we will take him from you so we can. I did what any mother who knows her child better than a prognosis would do. I removed him from the hospital, gathered what little we had, and took him out of state. The doctors we found there were not optimistic either—but they were willing ...

  What Does It Mean to Seek God? 1. The Question What does it mean to seek God. Not to believe, obey, or serve — but to seek . To look for something that may not be visible, may not be obvious, may not even be certain. 2. The Human Angle You feel a restlessness. A hunger that isn’t physical. A longing that doesn’t have a name. You try distraction, achievement, connection, control. None of it satisfies. And then, maybe, you whisper: God? Not as a statement, but as a search. 3. The Inquiry Traditions speak of seeking God as: Presence — not just believing in God, but sensing God’s nearness. Face — the Hebrew word often used for “presence,” suggesting intimacy, recognition, encounter. Direction — setting the mind and heart toward something higher, deeper, truer. Relationship — not a transaction, but a pursuit of knowing and being known. Repentance — turning from what numbs or distorts, and returning to what heals. Desire — not duty, but longing. A thirst for the sacred...