About Karen Thomas Olsen
Born and raised in Ohio, I attended college and graduate school in Indiana, moved to Scotts Valley, California south of San Jose to teach, back to Ohio for many years, to Arizona for 11 years with my husband, and finally to Ft. Wayne, Indiana to be near family. (Leaving Prescott Valley, Arizona in 2018 was very hard. Sigh. But for family? Worth it.)
I have taught in three Christian high schools and one community college. My first teaching position was in Scotts Valley, California. In the summer of 1980, a tall, dark, and handsome 26 year old California boy, who had recently completed his degree in Aeronautical Operations from San Jose State University, followed me to Columbus, Ohio where I had accepted a new teaching position at Worthington Christian High School.
There in Worthington we were married. Paul became an Air Traffic Controller, and we raised two beautiful girls in Piqua and Troy, Ohio. We now also have a son-in-law and two precious grandsons born in 2009 and 2012. In 2007, Lockheed Martin transferred my husband to Prescott Valley, Arizona, which was a great adventure for us. Arizona was a good place for my health and great for Paul, a California boy who loves the sunny southwest! However, being far from family is not easy. So, in July of 2018 we moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where we are near relatives and just hours from each of our daughters, one near Chicago and one north of Cincinnati.
For years, I worked in Christian school curriculum design and development, which was challenging, exciting, and satisfying. After retiring in the summer of 2012, I focused on completing a doctorate, pursuing some writing projects, and being involved in Christian education at our church. Maintaining this blog continues to be important to me. With great gratitude to the Lord who carried me through the process, I graduated from Trinity Theological Seminary in August, 2016, earning a DRS (Doctor of Religious Studies) with an emphasis in theology. My dissertation is entitled "A Taxonomic Theology of Suffering and Joy Designed to Assist in Christian Growth."
Besides reading, learning, teaching, and writing, I love to swim, stroll around the neighborhood on my bike, take Water Aerobics classes, mingle with neighbors, and participate in our local church. As my health permits, I love to travel and see God’s amazing creation.
I’m wearing my eye glasses or “life lenses” which instruct me to “Look for the Lord in every page of Scripture, in every corner of nature, and in every chapter of my life." No matter the direction of my life, it's a journey north.
Some of the best reads for any of us are the journals and writings of our ancestors. My father died ten years ago this July. Does that make Dad my ancestor? According to Webster’s, yes. I tend to think of ancestors as people who lived generations ago, not my own dad — the man whose expressive face is as clear as the sound of his hearty laughter saved in my mind, the man who picked me up and carried me to the house when I fell off my bike, the man on whom I leaned my head and rested as he drove us home after church on Sunday evenings. . . .
Dad is now my ancestor, certainly my children’s and grandsons’ ancestor. So, his writings are now more valuable. Here is one of his poems Continue reading →
How about an easy read today. Something light, if you call oil something light. Well, the Bible speaks of the “oil of gladness,” so this topic will be light-hearted and nutritious. I’ve been wanting to get to a health topic. Continue reading →
So many things to think about, so many things to do, so many things to read, so many viewing options, so much world conflict, so much local trouble, so many broken souls, so many fractured lives, too many broken promises, too few believable voices, too many options at the grocery store, so many restaurants to enjoy, so many toxins in food and environment, too few reliable sources of anything, so much disappointment through experience, yet so much hope in youthful vigor, too few stable anchors, but then only One is needed.
Take a breath!
Most generations concur: Continue reading →
Here is a beautiful description of God’s grace and the gospel of Christ: “This incredibly extravagant generosity of God.” From Acts 20:24, this is the way an older pastor and Bible scholar interprets-translates the ending of Acts 20:24, describing the Apostle Paul’s gospel-sharing calling. 1
The Via Dolorosa – The Way of Christ’s Suffering 
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Hello!!!! “I’m back from the Front, Old Top!”
That is an old saying from World War I. I learned it from my dad who heard it from his dad who was a WWI vet. When a soldier said it, he’d hit his friend on his back, then his front, and then would pat his head — “I’m back from the Front, Old Top!” I too say it occasionally, but without the gestures.
Paul sharing the gospel with a young man who prayed to receive Christ at the mission’s Salsa Festival on March 29.
So, we’re back from Florida where we spent 17 days at the Good Samaritan Mission. Wow! Continue reading →
Harry Blarmires, Charlotte (from Charlotte’s Web), and Frank Lloyd Wright. What do they have in common?
In my last post, I closed by asking, “Do you have a truly Christian mind?” In this post, I simply want to list the six characteristics of a Christian mind that Harry Blarmires describes in his book, The Christian Mind (first published in 1963). Continue reading →
Today, I want to share with you a YouTube video and a book. Both address the meaning of life, though in different ways. You may want to listen to the YouTube presentation first and then consider the book, or at least the theme of the book. Continue reading →
“When I get a little money, I buy books. If any is left, I buy food and clothes.”
Erasmus (1466-1536)
I resonate with Erasmus’ attitude about books — well, with a twist to it. When Paul and I have house shopped, one of my first concerns has been a good room for our library. I praise God that I have never had to choose between reading and eating! You know the two are much alike. We eat for the body and read for the soul. Yum. Of course, God made this comparison millennia ago (Ezekiel 3:1-3; Rev. 10:10). Today, let’s consider two nutritious books.
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Time to turn a corner on topics. I’m beginning a series on good reads, good health, and good deeds — a loose arrangement of topics that may be of benefit to you. Thank you for reading my posts. I want to bless you.
When you read The Wall Street Journal or People Magazine, you do so (if you do) for differing reasons. You have purposes. You are looking for Continue reading →
The day came, as it comes in some part of the day to all, when Kate’s copacetic vista vanished like a vapor. That was the problem. Too often the substance of her copaceticity consisted of nothing more than vapor. This is not the stuff of stability. This is not the stuff of a truly copacetic nature (note previous post). A nature is faithful to itself, though weathered through the seasons. In contrast, a vista exists only when one peers from a particular pinnacle. Continue reading →
