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.
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 →
It’s early morning here in Prescott Valley, Arizona. I’m gazing out my front window: the Bradshaw Mountains in the distance and our American flag waving welcomingly over our front porch. A bit of pink blends with shades of blue in the gentle morning skies. Spring green is budding on our globe willow trees. Directly across our cul-de-sac, an ornamental plum tree is in full, confident bloom. Driving down a residential street yesterday, I witnessed a row of ornamental pear trees, covered completely in white blossoms. As my daddy would say, “I’m drinking it in!” Continue reading →
Paul and I returned the other day from a mini-trip to southern Arizona. We live in central Arizona — in the middle of a huge valley a mile high, surrounded by the Bradshaw and Mingus Mountain ranges. We live in a planned community, a development that is less than ten years old at the edge of Prescott Valley. When we moved here almost six years ago from Ohio, we most certainly moved to cowboy country. The open valley behind us is largely untouched by humans, and we hope it remains that way. Some cattle and horses lazily meander the meadows. Of course, ten years ago, our development was part of that natural setting. Our development is named Quailwood Meadows, a very appropriate name. Continue reading →
Margaret Clarkson published “God of the Ages” back in 1982, which I delightedly discovered in The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration. The words are set to a Gaelic melody probably familiar to you because it was made popular in the ’70s by Cat Stevens — “Morning Has Broken.” Such a lovely, delicate melody. Locating some biographical information about Margaret, I discovered that her story will lead us directly back to our reflections upon suffering. For now, we’ll consider her lyrics to this one song. Clarkson’s words are so rich exposing an expansive view of life and reality. Knowing the tune, you can sing along! Here are the words: Continue reading →
It’s dark here. Dank and cool. Looking up, light seeps through a crack along the horizon. No. It’s a door! What is on the other side? Try the door. Will it open?
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but Continue reading →
I’m still not mentally prepared to return to our good versus evil topic, so good reads seems good to me right now. Hope it’s good for you too. Good. Of course, we will find that the good versus evil theme threads through most writings of any genre in various ways — it’s a ubiquitous reality. (I love the word, ubiquitous.) For now, I have four books to mention to you as good reads. Take your choice. Continue reading →
We’re supposed to be on Part III of our serious consideration regarding good and evil. At times we need a break from such a heavy topic, so I have a light interlude for us today. I’ll offer myself as my own comic relief character. I’m puzzled and embarrassed. All I can do is laugh at myself, invite you to laugh with me, and ask for help — if anyone knows the answer!!
Here’s the situation: Continue reading →
Deep in our hearts we all long for goodness – goodness that is everywhere – in both motivation and result. Everything should be good, sensible, resilient, fair, kind, loving, beneficial. . . . Where does this longing for utopian happiness and justice originate? We know the answer. It originates in the heart of our Creator. Thus, it is good for us to consider that word, “creator.” Continue reading →
I had a post ready to publish last Friday, but then “the devil rolled into Newtown,” as I remember hearing the news anchor, Bill Hemmer, express. Most energy moves to the point of pain, so what I once had to say became unimportant. Language cannot express the suffering, so as the Scriptures explain, “We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now,” referring to the coming birth of “the glory that is to be revealed to us” in God’s eternal state when evil is banished (context of Romans 8: 18-30). “. . .We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly. . . .” This passage also states that the Spirit of God groans for us because we are too weak to even know how to pray!
Continue reading →
Journey North Character 