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.
Life courses through our veins. Crimson fluid: red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. Our blood speeding through the labyrinth of endless channels called arteries and veins nourishes, oxygenates, cleanses, defends, and protects us. I did a little reading online about blood and was breath-taken by the stunning performance that never ends until death. I exhaled, “Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!”
“. . . The love [agape] of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5b). This is the end of a sentence that begins in verse 3. In another post, I’d like to discuss the relationship presented here between trials, character, and a heart capable of receiving the love of God poised to be poured into it. Continue reading →
If Character qualities were colors, love would be red. Red. Most of us associate red and hearts with love and the month of February. Here we are, entering this most interesting month when we celebrate Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and this year we have Leap Year Day! February is one of my favorite months.
Love is red: passionate, determined, bold, tenacious, loyal. . . . Here at Troy Christian, we have divided the character quality of love into two categories: love toward God and love toward others. We define Godward love as “being devoted to God as demonstrated by my obedience.” We define love toward others as “doing good to others, meeting needs selflessly.” The opposite of love is selfishness. Continue reading →
Categories: Spiritual Growth
| Tags: love |
What does this yielding to the Spirit in order to live from the new nature look like?
“And all of us have had that veil removed [that separated us from God] so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (II Cor. 3:18 NLT). Yielding to the Spirit makes us look more and more like Jesus.
“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure – this light and power that now shine within us – is held in perishable containers, this is, our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own” (II Cor. 4: 6-7 NLT). Continue reading →
What do these words have in common? Carne. Incarnation. Carnival. Carnivorous. Carnal. Yes, you see the similarity. They all have the syllable, “carn” in them. In the Latin, this means “flesh” or “meat.” We may go to the carnival (a festival, a time to feast on meat) to have fun and to eat chili con carne. A carnivorous species eats meat or “flesh.” Scripture uses the word “flesh” in several ways, often negative, but not always.
When Jesus Christ became flesh, he became the one perfect human being (John 1: 14; Phil. 2: 5-8). Christ is the beautiful picture of “flesh” as “flesh” was meant to be in human perfection. We call this teaching “the doctrine of the incarnation.” Then there is the negative use where “flesh” represents the sin nature or the old nature of humans (Rom. 7:18). This is the carnal nature – of the flesh, motivated by sin and self and for self. In contrast is the new nature – of the spirit, motivated by God and for God, good, and His glory (Romans chapter 8). Continue reading →
Have you noticed that it’s natural to do what makes sense to you and what you want to do, but that it takes intentional choice to listen to the Lord and follow after Him? It’s natural for a parent to respond in irritation to a whining child or for a child to roll his/her eyes at the instructions of a parent. It takes Spirit-self-discipline to respond calmly and humbly. This illustrates the two natures within the believer: the old nature (carnal – of the flesh) and the new nature (in Christ – of the spirit/Spirit).
God provides an illustration from His creation: the caterpillar and the butterfly. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV). This verse reminds you of the butterfly, doesn’t it? However, once a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it can never become a caterpillar again, nor act like one. Once we are “in Christ” we are positioned in Him, we have a new identity, and we have His provisions. We can fly. But we don’t have to. We can choose to crawl, operating from the flesh. We don’t become that caterpillar again, but we can crawl. Continue reading →
Every year goes so fast. We’re already well into January! Scripture tells us that our lives are like a vapor (James 4:14), so isn’t it interesting that we honestly act surprised at experiencing what we already know is true? This demonstrates two levels of knowing. Why does it take life experience to know the truth? Where does humble, inexperienced (child-like) faith come in? Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). Yet, faith also grows through experience (Hebrews 11).
The vapor speed of life stirs up stress and anxiety. I’m experiencing that right now. Are you? How do I grow in Christ and His character when my heart won’t settle down? For you, dear parent, how do you grow in Christ and His character when from the moment your feet hit the floor until your body folds under those sheets again late that night, you are simply answering the call of the immediate: cries for clean clothes, no time for a decent breakfast, where are those keys?, while driving to work thoughts of that difficult person you’ll have to face this morning nag your mind, and, oh, Joey’s game tonight conflicts with a deacon’s meeting! Continue reading →
Happy New Year! Without time, there would be no beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). One of the many virtues of God’s orderly creation is the renewing quality of rhythms and patterns. God created both matter and motion – things in space and time – “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3 NASB).
Speed up to the present. The year 2012. Thank You, Jesus, for creating seconds, minutes, hours, days, and weeks . . . (Heb. 1:2; Col. 1:16). Teach us to number our days that we may gain wise hearts (Psalm 90:12). Thank You for the rhythm of the revolutions of the earth, the orbits of the moon around the earth and the earth around the sun. Thank You for the faithful dance of matter with motion. Here am I, a little dust fleck on planet earth, infinitesimal in the universe, yet stunningly created in line with the character of my Creator, bearing Your image – Your child! Thank You! Continue reading →
Welcome back. Jesus said, unless we “change and become like little children,” we won’t “see the kingdom of heaven.” Last week, you read about my experience as a four year old. Now, I’m going to tell you about a two year old. What are the characteristics of little ones that we big ones need? And do we need to change our attitudes about the development and propensities of our young ones? Let’s consider another story.* Continue reading →
The question I posted last time was this: “How does a child experience God?” I said that I’d start by telling you about my first remembered awareness at age 4. Relax and consider my story.
We lived in a lovely, snug, Cape Cod style house when I was little. My mother had a beauty shop in our home, “Yvonne’s Beauty Shop.” My parents’ bedroom was adjacent to the beauty shop, and as a little one, I would come and go, enjoying all the ladies who were Mom’s clients. My sister and I were sweet entertainment for them, bringing to them many smiles and laughs.
One day when I was four years old, I was resting on my parents’ bed while Mom was working. It was quiet and I was alone. Looking at the ceiling, I was unaware of it, because I was thinking. This may be my youngest memory, and it is abstract in nature. Continue reading →
“Does anybody here need Jesus?” asks Milton Carroll in his modern, Christian chorus. Does anyone reading this blog want to know Him, not only as your Savior, but also as your friend, intimate companion, and mentor? Does anyone want to be more like Jesus? Are you a parent, a student, a teacher, a coach, a staff member, a grandparent? We’re on this journey together.
This is a new blog for our Troy Christian Schools family. Journey North Character. Here at TCS, we aim to focus on character development as the heart of our endeavors, and by that, we mean growing in Christ from the inside out. So, this blog is a place where we can talk about spiritual growth and the Christian walk. Continue reading →
Life courses through our veins. Crimson fluid: red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma. Our blood speeding through the labyrinth of endless channels called arteries and veins nourishes, oxygenates, cleanses, defends, and protects us. I did a little reading online about blood and was breath-taken by the stunning performance that never ends until death. I exhaled, “Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!”
Journey North Character 