MSI Press Blog

  In honor of Caturday, here is an excerpt for the award-winning book, How My Cat Made Me a Better Man by Jeremy Feig. Overcoming Roadblocks  I’d grown tired of the hard laminate floor in my living room. So, I bought a thick shag rug and laid it in front of the couch. While my feet loved the cushy, retro carpeting, Shelly did not. In fact, she was intimidated by it. She would cautiously walk around it, fearful it might come alive and devour her. She even stayed off the couch to avoid getting too close.  This went on for a few days until Shelly’s desire to lay on the couch overcame her hatred of the rug. I watched as she put a tentative paw on the carpeted edge. Noticing that it didn’t try to swallow her, she put another paw on it. Pretty soon, all four paws were on the rug, and Shelly was still in one piece. Success!  After that, Shelly and the shag rug became pals. She’d scamper across it with ease and slumber in its soft tendrils. While she was nervous during her early encounters, s

Happy Fourth of July, 2020! In celebration of this day, we present an excerpt from Joanna Romer's popular book, Helping the Disabled Veteran . Excerpt: Holidays The holidays may be a poignant time for your veteran, perhaps more than you realize. If he or she lost a friend in battle, or simply during the course of military service, your veteran may be reminded of that friendship with sadness during the holidays. Even though you’ve never met this friend, you should respect your veteran’s grief—the friendship may have been very close. Your veteran may feel guilty if unable to do Christmas shopping. If they are confined to a wheelchair, for instance. You can offer to help—either by buying the items he/she picks out or by setting your veteran up on the computer to do some online shopping. It goes without saying that lending a little extra cash during this time would be welcome. On the day of the holiday itself, don’t be surprised if your veteran wants to stay in his/he

Excerpt from  Lessons of Labor INTRODUCTION   Before giving birth for the first time, I was warned that labor would be the most painful physical experience I would ever endure, but no one ever told me I would be entering into battle with my own mind. No one explained that the pain of labor was just as much about facing my inner demons and giving up the pretense of control as it was about physical discomfort. I didn’t know that I would keep learning from the experience for the rest of my life.   This book is not a manual for having a “successful” natural birth or for becoming the ultimate Zen mother. Though you may have been searching for such a guide, I do not think you need one. I offer you the stories of my birth and early motherhood experiences to share the learning I received through this incredible rite of passage. Instead of teaching you how to labor or how to live your life, my reflections are intended to ignite your curiosity about your own labor as an opportunity for self-disc

  Excerpt: The Three Cornerstone [of Joshuanism] Humans have become isolated creatures. They spend most of their time alone, behind windshields and computer screens. Christians are not immune to this increasing isolation. Even when they come together for small groups or Bible studies, there is still a very private element to the way they communicate with one another. How many people actually tell the truth about what is really going on in their lives or their minds? How many people really admit how messed up their world is? How many people divulge their needs of the moment? Very few. Why is it only a few? Because no one wants anyone else to know that his life is not the picture perfect scene that it appears to be on the surface. Christian churches are just as isolated as the people in them. Most of them sequester themselves away from other churches just a few blocks down the street. Why? Because one church does things one way, and another church does things a different way. God forbid

  The following is an excerpt from the description and history of the Day of the Dead as written by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission in her book, Dia de Muertos. Los antiguos mesoamericanos, quienes comenzaron la costumbre de celebrar la vida de sus antepasados =cada año (el Día de Muertos) creían que la muerte es parte del viaje de la vida. La muerte no es mala, no es el final de la vida, sino el comienzo de una nueva vida. Nueva vida viene de la muerte, al igual que los nuevos cultivos en este valle agrícola en el que se encuentra la ciudad de San Juan Bautista surgen cada año para que nuestros maravillosos trabajadores agrícolas cosechen en beneficio no solo de nuestra ciudad, valle y estado, sino también para muchas personas en muchos estados de los Estados Unidos donde nuestro producto se envía todos los días. Tal vez esta interpretación de la muerte—de que sea parte de un ciclo de nacimiento y renacimiento, es la razón por la cual San Francisco se refirió a la muerte como “Herma

Excerpt from Christmas at the Mission  Angels In the  Bible, Luke tells us about the important role that the angels played in the birth of Jesus. They were the voices and choir letting the shepherds know the good news. Angels are messengers from God. In fact, that is what the word, angel , means [B2]   : messenger . [VW3]   Jesus’s birth is not the only time that the angels been involved in the affairs of people. Think about some other times: ·        Three angels appeared to Abraham; he gave them food and rest, and they told him that his wife Sarah, who was very, very old, would have a child—and she did: Isaac. ·        Jacob wrestled with an angel. ·        It was two angels who saved Lott [VW4]   [B5]   from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. ·        An angel appeared to Joshua before the fight for Jericho—and we know that Joshua and his people won, with the help of God. ·        An angel rescued Daniel from the lion’s den. ·        An angel announced to Zachar

excerpt from RV Oopsies: 101 Dumb Things That RVers Do!  (MacDonald)  91. UP ON THE ROOF Alan decided it was time to clean the roof of his motorhome while it was parked in the driveway. Since his model did not have an attached ladder, he propped his extension ladder against the side and climbed up with a hose and cleaning supplies. While spraying down the roof, his hose caught the ladder and knocked it down. OOPS! Alan’s wife was not due home for another four hours, but quite a few cars were passing by in view of the rig. He figured he would just wave and someone would stop to help. For more than an hour, he waved. The few motorists who noticed him waved back and kept on driving. Finally, a man stopped and put the ladder back up. Alan sheepishly thanked him and decided to clean his roof another day. When Alan reported this mishap to me, he still hadn’t figured out how to prevent a reoccurrence. I suggested several options: ·    use a distress wave (crisscrossing arms above the

  \ Excerpt from Damascus amid the War Ramadan Ramadan this year passes With no colorful lanterns Lighting up the holy nights in Cairo, No ziker 7 breaking the silence of The sacred Damascene nights. Baghdad stores are closed, Streets of Tripoli are empty, Gaza is under attack, Iraq is in flames. The World takes a nap While the Arabs Argue over who should have won The World Cup matches.                                                             7.20.2014 ***   No water, no electricity, no coffee!   So I decide to wander around the city.   As I pass our neighbor’s door, I hear the wind whistle through the key hole.   The door rattles as if it suddenly woke up from a rosy dream and realized its inhabitants have disappeared forever.                                         Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .