MSI Press Blog

  Dr. Elizabeth Mahlou, author of Blest Atheist , her conversion story (abbreviated here ), says she had two goals in the writing of this book. One, perhaps obvious, to any reader was to continue her conversion story after the immediate first weeks. The second, not obvious to any reader not in her personal circle, was the telling of a true story of evil, one that greatly disturbed her and some of her closest friends and one that was played out on a deeply spiritual level that is seldom discussed because many, if not most, people do not encounter such things, or if they do, do not recognize the spiritual warfare going on.  Elizabeth changed all the names and other details, such as location, professions, and organizations involved in this spiritual battle, which forms the hidden core and major prompt for this book--something the casual reader, or even perhaps the more intuitive reader, would notice. For those involved in the warfare, however, it did not matter that names were ch...

  The following excerpt comes from Since Sinai by Shannon Gonyou. Foreword This book is about my journey as a woman raised Catholic in a town with very little exposure to Jews and Jewish ideas who subsequently became Jewish. If you picked up this book, it could mean one of a few things. Maybe your family has been Jewish for generations, and you’re curious about why a total stranger to Judaism would want to join the community. Maybe you’re considering Judaism for yourself and are curious about what the process of conversion will look and feel like. Perhaps you’re a devoted Christian, curious about what would lead someone away from Christianity. This book will strive to provide a satisfactory answer to all of those questions. My high school English teacher told me that every piece of writing is a persuasion piece. I think that’s true, but this book is not here to persuade you that Christianity is “wrong” or that Judaism is “right.” I won’t even attempt to persuade you that Juda...

  Excerpt from  A Believer-in-Waiting  by Elizabeth Mahlou.  To the Reader My first intent was to call this book Hierophany and Contemplation because that is how my life with God has unfolded. However, the more time I have spent writing this book, the clearer it has become that a simpler title would serve better. That is when I remembered the appellation given to me by friends in Jordan a few years ago: believer in waiting. They refused to accept my professions of atheism and chose instead to view me as a lost lamb whom God would scoop up sooner or later, which, indeed, God did. Along with scooping me up, God gave me the task of writing. Although I did not gunderstand what that task was to encompass, I did know that this writing was not to be more of the professional books I publish but rather writing for the glory of God and especially for those who might also be lost lambs, believers in waiting, souls chased by the Hound of Heaven, or whatever other label one ...

  CHANGE OF HEART “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.” --Ezekiel 36: 26   “I hate change!” If I received a dollar for every time a patient said that to me, I could work for free.   They often add, “Change replaces the familiar with the unknown. The unknown scares me.” In response, I remind my anxious patients, “If there is no change, you are dead. The future is always unknown, of course, because it does not yet exist. You are now in the process of creating your own future.” I also ask them,”Why are you here meeting with me, except to change?” They tell me how miserable they feel and powerless to do anything about it. Frightening change is the price of relief. Therapy is for healing and growth. Some of my patients imagine that their trying life circumstances cause their distress. In our work together they learn that only changing their minds and hearts, their ...

  "... a conversion story that stands to strike a chord with many," according to Michelle Anne Schingler's review of Since Sinai (Shannon Gonyou) in Foreword Reviews . Click HERE for the full review. For more posts about Shannon and her book, click HERE . For more conversion stories, click HERE . For more memoirs, 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 concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  Excerpt from Anxiety Anonymous -  Steps to Wholeness Appreciating the addictive quality of anxiety may open the door to a different way of finding relief and enable you to be more patient with yourself. Conventional therapy has been limited in helping because it does not reach to the deeper roots of anxiety in the human psyche. Therapy, including medication, addresses the symptoms and not the underlying cause in the human condition. In the 1930s, it became clear that psychology had failed in treating alcoholics. Carl Jung, the renowned Swiss psychologist, announced the failure and the need for a spiritual conversion. He called alcoholics “frustrated mystics” who looked for the Spirit in the spirits. Bill Wilson, a hopeless alcoholic, found recovery outside the walls of traditional psychological treatment. He and Dr. Bob Smith founded the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and formulated the Twelve Steps as the guideposts of recovery. They realized from personal experience t...

  "A heartfelt peek into one woman's search for spiritual fulfillment and a sense of community." Read the full review HERE . Find out why. Click  HERE  for the full review. For more posts about Shannon and her book, click  HERE . For more conversion stories, click  HERE . For more memoirs, 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 concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  The following article is provided by Dr. Dennis Ortman, author of Anxiety Anonymous /American Bookfest Best Books Finalist Anger Anonymous /Book of the Year Finalist Depression Anonymous /Book of the Year Finalist Life, Liberty, & Covid The Pandemic and Hope Being Catholic in Troubled Tines (forthcoming) INFIGHTING “How blest are the pure of heart for they shall see God (Truth).” --Matthew 5: 8   “I avoid talking about politics and religion with so many of my family and friends. Our discussions quickly degenerate into arguments. Then we are fighting with each other. I just want to stay away from them.” This is a regular complaint these days. We live in a house divided. The polarization in our society is tearing apart families and friendships. Many of us hold rigid opinions about so many issues. We refuse to compromise, because, in our view, we would be betraying our conscience. The ideological differences in our society have been attributed to an ongoing “culture war” be...