MSI Press Blog

    Recently, An Afternoon's Dictation (Greenebaum), reached #296 on the Amazon bestseller list of books in ecumenism Christian theology. The book has been on bestseller lists many times.  Book Description:  In 1999 Steven Greenebaum felt he'd hit the wall. Fifty years old, he could not make sense of his life or the world around him. For several months he angrily demanded answers from God, if God were there. One afternoon, an inner voice told him to get a pen and paper and write. Steven then took dictation - three pages, not of commandments but guidance for leading a meaningful life.   An Afternoon's Dictation grapples with, organizes, and deeply explores the revelations Steven received and then studied for over ten years. His sharing is NOT offered as the only possible way to understand it the dictation. It is offered, rather, as a start. The book's sections include deep explorations into "The Call to Interfaith," "The Call to Love One Another," ...

  Difficult people are rarely actually difficult . More often, they are the ones who care enough to speak up, who see what others overlook, and who refuse to quietly tolerate dysfunction. They are the early‑warning system of an organization — and if you listen to them with an actionable mindset, they often become your strongest allies. 🌱 Start with Actionable Listening Active listening is hearing. Actionable listening is responding. When a “difficult” employee raises concerns, treat their input as field intelligence. Listen with the intention to do something: Fix what is easy to fix — immediately. For the harder problems, ask them to suggest solutions. Even better: invite them to help build the fix. Make yourself accountable to them through servant leadership and reverse evaluations. This transforms the dynamic. They stop being “the complainer” and become a co‑architect of improvement. 🔧 Empower Them Through Servant Leadership Servant leadership flips the hierarchy: You serve t...

  Children don’t learn accountability by being cornered. They learn it by being invited into understanding. When a child denies responsibility—“I didn’t do it!” or “It wasn’t my fault!”—it’s rarely defiance. It’s a sign that their impulse control and emotional regulation are still developing. They’re protecting themselves from shame, not rejecting responsibility. Blame shuts down learning. Curiosity opens it. Replace Blame with Curiosity Instead of asking “Why did you do that?” —which sounds like accusation—try questions that invite reflection: “Walk me through what happened.” “What were you hoping would happen?” “What can we do to fix it?” These questions shift the focus from guilt to growth. They help the child explore cause and effect, intention and outcome, without fear of punishment. Over time, this builds the neural circuitry for accountability instead of avoidance. Why It Works Curiosity activates the brain’s problem‑solving centers. Blame activates its defense systems. When...

  There are moments in life when the body is altered so suddenly that the mind can’t keep up. An accident, a fire, a medical emergency—something happens, and a person emerges alive but changed. The world sees the change immediately. The person living inside that body often needs months or years to understand what the change means. I’ve always been struck by the quiet courage of people who survive disfigurement. Not the movie‑script kind of courage, but the daily, unglamorous kind: waking up, looking in the mirror, and deciding to keep going. It’s a form of resilience that rarely gets celebrated, yet it’s one of the most profound human strengths. The First Layer: Shock and Identity Whiplash People often describe the early period as a kind of identity whiplash. They know who they were before the accident. They know who they are supposed to be now. But the two selves don’t line up. Some say they feel like they’re wearing someone else’s face. Others feel betrayed by their own reflectio...

  The Mission Village Voice has published a lovely and insightful interview with Sharon Cole ( Hazel and Olaf ): " California or Bust ." Book Description: They sold the farm, packed up seven children, and chased a promise called California. Based on Hazel’s journal, this true story follows a family that leaves Wisconsin hoping for relief from brutal winters—only to run out of money with hundreds of miles still to go. Stranded and desperate, they enter a world of labor camps, endless fieldwork, hunger, and exhaustion, where families are worked hard, paid little, and treated as disposable. Once respected and secure, they find themselves suddenly labeled vagrants. Pride becomes a liability. Dignity must be defended daily. And survival depends on grit, faith, and refusing to give up—especially for Hazel, who will not allow poverty to erase who she is or break her family apart. This is a raw, gripping true story of endurance, injustice, and a woman who stood her ground when every...