diff -u xbindkeys-1.7.3/xbindkeys.c xbindkeys-1.7.3-reloaded/xbindkeys.c
--- xbindkeys-1.7.3/xbindkeys.c	2005-05-04 13:28:39.000000000 +0100
+++ xbindkeys-1.7.3-reloaded/xbindkeys.c	2006-12-12 05:02:49.000000000 +0000
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 #include <libguile.h>
 #endif
 
+extern char rc_file[512];
 
 void end_it_all (Display * d);
 
@@ -226,13 +227,26 @@
 {
   XEvent e;
   int i;
+  struct stat rc_file_info;
+  time_t rc_file_changed;
 
   XSetErrorHandler ((XErrorHandler) null_X_error);
 
+  stat(rc_file, &rc_file_info);
+  rc_file_changed = rc_file_info.st_mtime;
+
   while (True)
     {
       XNextEvent (d, &e);
 
+      // if the rc file has been modified, reload it
+      stat(rc_file, &rc_file_info);
+      if(rc_file_info.st_mtime != rc_file_changed)
+        {
+	  get_rc_file();
+	  rc_file_changed = rc_file_info.st_mtime;
+        }
+
       switch (e.type)
 	{
 	case KeyPress: