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.
Paul Olsen and Dustin and Ryan DeFord
How do I write today’s post? What I had planned must be set aside in light of the great loss that has been thrust upon us. Most likely you’ve heard, but for us, we are a part of the devastated ones, praying for those who are more devastated, those closer to the 19. We live about an hour from Yarnell, Arizona, where the fierce fire on Sunday, June 30, claimed the lives of 19, beautiful, capable, dedicated Granite Mountain Hotshot Firefighters.
Dustin DeFord, a buff, rugged 24 year old red head, is our friend and was one of these “Hotshots.” He belongs to our church. He was in our home on Father’s Day for a big, noon dinner. Continue reading →
I just returned from a water aerobics class down at the pool at our community center. Back to my studies and writing. In the background, I’m listening to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sing such songs as “Because of Who You Are” and “Hallelujah Anyhow.” I could houseclean to this kind of music, but I’m not cleaning. I’m contemplating the edges of Divine Majesty, eating Greek yogurt with almonds, daydreaming about my family and our future, and still seeing in my mind the crystalline, blue sparkles of the pool’s H2O. “Glory Hallelujah to the Risen King,” the choir now sings. My! My senses are being exercised in the otherwise stillness of my kitchen, where I sit on a padded stool by my counter with my laptop. Continue reading →
My last four posts were written in the mid west– somewhere between Chicago, Illinois and Dayton, Ohio. After five weeks away, I’m now back home in the high dessert of central Arizona — in Prescott Valley. Still adjusting. Continue reading →
Hello!! No one took me up on addressing the question I threw out last time: Why do our minds, emotions, and wills want to fight each other? Maybe it’s too obvious to you. Maybe you are uncomfortable with responding to a blog. A number of people tell me they read the posts but don’t want to comment; they just like reading them. Pleased you read and enjoy. Well, where shall I go from here? When in doubt, it’s time for chocolate. Continue reading →
The intersection between Scriptural concepts and life experience fascinates me. A study of the words translated as heart in the Bible have led us to understand that the biblical concept of the heart includes all the functions of the immaterial self: Continue reading →
I’m experiencing my second spring this year. I enjoyed an Arizona spring, and after flying to Ohio almost two weeks ago, I am now enjoying a lovely Ohio spring. Spring here is about a month behind our high desert spring. (Down in the Phoenix area, spring is earlier yet and of a different sort.) In very broad strokes, I see the beauty of Ohio as the beauty of a coy lady and the beauty of Arizona as the beauty of a scruffy faced man. Of course, every state has a variety of beauties, but these stand out to me.
I remember my mother showing me Continue reading →
Long ago and far away, when I was a young school teacher at Baymonte Christian High School in Scotts Valley, California (south of San Jose), I accepted an invitation by two other high school teachers to go spelunking. The three of us plus one high school senior headed out in “exploration clothes” (jeans and old clothes that covered a person well). The caves were nearby in Santa Cruz. The entrance was so obscure that it was not even noticeable to passersby. “Where are we going?” “What are we doing?” Lying on our stomachs, we slithered through narrow tunnels — first forward, then smooth turns to the right and left. We stayed close at each other’s heels.
Continue reading →
I don’t hear this expression much anymore, but when I was a little girl, I remember hearing Christians talk about “asking Jesus into your heart.” This was a way of describing how to become a Christian, how to be born again. Ask Jesus into your heart. Some little children have taken this quite literally, thinking that Jesus is inside their blood pumping organ.
We discover many expressions, idioms, and metaphors in Scriptures — phrases that Continue reading →
Good morning! It may be later in the day for you, but pretend you are enjoying a lovely sunrise with me as you read. The sun is busy rising over the mountains, casting pastel hues. It’s a happy morning — cheerful skies lighting our hilly horizon. My heart is light and happy and relieved today. A load of responsibility has been lifted. I’ve been climbing a personal mountain, as some of you know. All of us have mountains to climb — placed before us by genes, heritage, circumstance, and those of our own choosing. Many mountains surround us. Some we must climb, and others, in our fascination, we choose to climb. We are determined to make an attempt.
Years ago, Continue reading →
I share with you this Easter week end a rich poem by William Cowper (1774). This dear and sensitive friend of John Newton’s (author of “Amazing Grace”) lived a quiet, rather secluded, and reflective life. Sounds easy. It was not. This poem/hymn draws me to Cowper, a troubled soul. I hope you will read it slowly and carefully . Continue reading →
Journey North Character 