Author Archives: Karen Thomas Olsen

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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.

Anchors, Birthdays, and Busy Summer Days

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Karen Thomas Olsen

I awoke this morning before 6:00 with words swarming through my mind from the refrain of an old hymn I’d heard many times in childhood, but I doubt I’ve heard in years.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

My mind mulled over the final phrase, “in the Savior’s love.” Then the final words to Romans chapter 8 mingled with my thoughts, “the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

How does that verse begin? Oh, yes. The connection between hymn and biblical text deepened.

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

These crescendoing verses fully awakened me, and I realized that this hymn needs to be woven into today’s blog post. Yes, I need to post today. It’s June’s last day, and I’ve not posted this month. June, seeming so threatening to me at the beginning of the month, had rolled over me like those billows. I had wondered how I would make it to July.

July 1 is a significant marker for  many companies and organizations, indicating “the beginning of the new fiscal year.”  Every year in the spring and through June we receive requests for donations, desiring contributions before that significant date of July 1.

For me, July 1 is also a significant marker. It always marks the beginning of a new year for me. It is my birthday. This year it marks 67 years. Wow. What a marker. What a sizable wave.

I need an anchor. An anchor grounded in the depths of my Savior’s love — from which nothing can separate me — not anything in life, and not even death itself.  So, the month of June could not destroy me  — nor you. We are anchored to Christ, our immovable rock.

Beauty and peace after a storm.

How does the rest of that hymn go? Who wrote it and why? After my morning routine, I pulled out my hymn history books, hymn books, and some online sources. Time to explore.

Continue reading →

Categories: Devotional, Joy & Suffering -- Good & Evil, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Progress Via Plodding

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Karen Thomas Olsen

What have I accomplished since my last post?

I informed you of my aims to start a podcast, build a website, and publish (unsure of the form and method) my book. So, since then, I’ve further researched publishing approaches and podcasting. I’ve taken several online courses in self-publishing and in podcasting. I’ve listened to You-Tube talks on the subjects. I made some decisions and made some purchases.

Let me explain, but first, make sure you scroll to the bottom of this post to access a fascinating and outstanding documentary entitled The God Who Speaks. It is worth your attention, and you may want to pass it on to others.

Continue reading →

Categories: Christian Reader, Spiritual Growth | 2 Comments

Home Again, Home Again

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Today is a gorgeous, sunny day, here in Fort Wayne, Indiana!  So I wrote a week ago! I typed out a few more sentences, took some photos to share with you, and put away the article to finish another day. The day was gorgeous, but I was exhausted.

Showing God’s Glory

A week has passed during which we have experienced two days of  winter-retro: snow turned our green lawn white!! I put on a snuggly sweater. I wanted to start a blaze in the fireplace. Nonetheless, it was another gorgeous day– of a different sort.  Snow playfully dusted the pink and white blossoms of our ornamental crab apple and pear trees. “Hmm. If it keeps up,” I thought,  “we may receive much more that a light coating. I hope our plants and trees aren’t damaged.”

That night, the dusting turned into a thick and rich coating. In the morning, everything glistened. By the end of that day, most of the frozen elements had melted, moisturizing the land, appearing to cause little harm and mostly good. I’ll add some pictures of our contrasting gorgeousness below. (I wasn’t able to upload my new pictures, but I’ll include some from last spring. Hopefully, I”ll include the new photos in my next post.)  But first….

You’ve heard of “breakfast” – breaking the fast. I’ve been on a “post fast” and it’s time to break the posting fast.The last article I posted was on February 28. Paul and I were still in Florida, and in that post you can view a few pictures of palm trees and sights from a lanai in The Villages in central Florida (which I wanted to contrast to views from here in Fort Wayne!). I believe this is the longest break I’ve taken from JNC.  Keep reading. I’ve been praying and cooking up a few “new” ideas. So…

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Categories: Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Escape, Not Just from Winter . . .

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Karen Thomas Olsen

This was our plan from the start. Should we return to the Midwest (which we did do in 2018), then we planned to escape the terse winters. A compromise. We would have preferred to have stayed in Arizona for the rest of our lives. Family in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio wooed us back to the heartland. You understand.

Paul and I have been in Florida for nearly a month now.  I think that one of the most calming aspects of being here is sitting in the lanai (or sunroom), feeling a soft breeze, and watching the sway of the palm branches.

View from the lanai or sunroom.

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Palm branches, slow-dancing in the breeze, sooth my soul, reminding me, ironically, of Psalm 46:10. Ironically? Yes. This verse instructs us to “be still” or “cease striving.” It is the movement of the branches that arrests me. Rhythmic palm branches slow, slow, slow my spirit. My pattering thoughts nearly stop. “Be still” (KJV) or “cease striving” (NASB) “and know that I am God,” waft through my  mind, while the palm trees woo.

Slow-dancing palm branches. (Yes, those are my tootsies. I’m leaning back in a comfortable chair. Being still.)

 

 

 

 

The sons of Korah composed this impressive psalm. Long before the psalmists’ insistent imperatives of verse 8 (“Come, behold the works of the LORD”) and verse 10 (“Be still”) are seven verses of declaratives: truth claims and affirmations.  Just what our hearts need.

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Categories: Devotional, Spiritual Growth | Tags: , | Leave a comment

The G. of G. # 7: Vision, Collision, and Mission

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Karen Thomas Olsen

This is my fourth attempt in the last week to write a blog post. There is so much to say that I don’t know what to say. Wearing my biblical worldview lenses, I’m always looking to interpret the visible world through spiritual lenses — seeing the temporal in light of the eternal.

When we entered 2020, many people were excited about the year, seeing some special meaning in the number 2020 — as in 20-20 vision. Admittedly, we were hearing news of some infectious sickness tormenting some cruise ships, how terrible, but that was just a dark blotch in the corner of our vision. “God, have mercy on those people,” we thought, and continued on our way. No 2020 vision there. Looking ahead, many thought the year was looking good. I too had this sense. It never occurred to us that those cruise ships were a microcosm of what we would become worldwide — a foreshadowing of the year and maybe years to come. And pandemic was but one (very large) aspect of the coming collisions. I don’t need to name them.

I just finished reading the new biography of Elisabeth Elliot written by Ellen Vaughn entitled Becoming Elisabeth (published in 2020). Hmm. And what does this title mean? What was she before? She was Betty. Betty. Not Elisabeth. She became Elisabeth after the publication of a side work she did at the bidding of others, taking her away from Ecuador for a year, to do a work which would introduce her to the world. She returned to her missionary work before her manuscript was published, drawn back to the people who killed her husband and four other missionary men.  Through Gates of Splendor introduced Betty to the world as Elisabeth, and so she has ever been. Elisabeth Elliot. E.E.

Elisabeth (Betty) Howard was born on December 21, 1926.  Elisabeth Howard Elliot Leitch Gren died on June 15, 2015. Interestingly, this biography of her early years was published in 2020. A sequel is expected.

 

And who are we? What are we becoming? As individuals? As Christians? As whatever identifying group? As a nation? Becoming ________________?

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Categories: Biography, Government | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Finding “Merry” in Good Ole “Merry Christmas”

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Maybe you cringe as the sound of the word — “merry.” It has become trite — an overused word emptied of substance. It may also be a word that seems to mock you, especially this year. First, let’s put some substance back in the word-container, “merry.” Then, let’s see if it still mocks us.

Merry is a word for joy. Joy, as a word-container, holds a broad and deep cluster of concepts discoverable in the Scriptures!  When one facet of joy is absent from our hearts and lives, this does not mean that all joy is gone. We need to further explore both our lives and the joy word-containers found in Scripture to unearth other evidence and the many languages of joy available for us. This is an important way that we can take our distressed, panicky thoughts captive and live by the Spirit rather than by our limited sight (II Corinthians 10:3-5; 5:7). Boy, do I need this today!

Over a period of years I’ve researched these biblical ideas of joy, and I’ve been surprised at some of my discoveries. Certainly, ’tis the season to gift you with some of my finds — not mine to give but God’s gifts for me to share with you!

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Categories: Devotional, Joy & Suffering -- Good & Evil, Theology | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

The G. of G. # 6: Lesson from a Leprechaun

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Karen Thomas Olsen

This Grammar of Government series continues. While we continue in limbo, waiting for final election results for certain races, most notably, the presidential results, let me tell you a story.

First, I must admit that I really have been in need of the comforting admonition I offered in my last post on November 5. It contained a number of Scriptures, but the article was bookended by this passage:

“Do not be anxious about anything,

but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.  

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV).

With this encouragement in mind, I want to tell you a story that I first heard when I was eight years old.

I tell this story in the chapter of introduction in my yet to be published book, A Traveler’s Guide through Suffering and Joy. The story goes like this.

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The G. of G. # 5: Praying for Our Nation

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Karen Thomas Olsen

This will be a shorter post, and I’l continue the theme in the next post (hopefully, next week).

This election week has left us with much angst, but as Christ-followers, we need to keep preaching the Word to ourselves (listening to the Holy Spirit, our teacher). We are citizens of two kingdoms, and we view this temporal citizenship through the lens of our eternal citizenship. Thus, we pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Paul and I have participated in several group prayer meetings this week. With anxiety I entered the second prayer session and impressively experienced the very claims of the Scripture being discussed:

“Do not be anxious about anything,

but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.  

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV).

We were encouraged to pray. That is our part. We were encouraged to trust God’s sovereignty. His rule is His part. He is good and faithful, wise and true. And as we prayed, I felt the angst and anxiety drain out of my heart, mind, and bones. The weight lifted, and I smiled in faith.

We were encouraged not to feed our spirits with news and social media and such. Instead we were encouraged to drink in Scriptures, listen to worship music, and praise God.  After the prayer session, I sat at our piano and played beautiful hymns, drinking in the Bible-drenched lyrics. Thank You, Lord! I trust in You and Your Sovereign working of Your wise will for today and every tomorrow.

Below are some Scriptures to encourage you:

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Categories: Government, prayer | Tags: , | 2 Comments

The G. of G. #4: In God We Trust

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Are you familiar with how the motto, “In God We Trust,” came to be placed on our coins and bills? It’s interesting. Often times, it seems that conflict is necessary for humans to be humbled and to face their need. I’m sure that each of us can personally concur.

I’ll get to a short version of that story. But first, I want to ask you this. Did you read any of the four Christian worldview articles that I listed in my previous post? If not, I’d encourage you to check out this site: https://prayvotestand.org/worldview!

These worldview articles will not only help you to see biblical principles that impact social issues and public policy, but they will also give you good examples of how to build biblical perspectives on issues and show you how to improve the biblical shape of your own worldview. A Christian worldview is not static. No matter how old I am,  I’m finding that I can continually grow toward a more sound view and practice.

This is the fourth article in a series entitled The Grammar of Government.*1  I plan to write one or two more articles in this series before moving on to another theme.

Have you re-read The Constitution of the United States recently? The Declaration of Independence? Our Constitution and the Bill of Rights are often studied in conjunction with The Declaration of Independence and compared with colonial charters and constitutions, and colonial self-governing perspectives and practices. Fascinating.

Have you noticed that the Constitution of the United States never references God?

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Categories: Biography, Christian Reader, Government | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The G. of G. #3: How Do You Build a Biblical Worldview to Apply to Politics?

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Over two weeks have passed since I posted my last article in this series, The Grammar of Government. Since then, the trees have broken out in vibrant colors. Paul and I spent four days camping with two dear friends in Pokagon State Park along Lake James, just 40 minutes north of our home here in Indiana. And politics rolls on.

Our president has encountered COVID19, fought the battle with impressive medical assistance and through God’s grace, and now he seems to be even more energetic. A fascinating and helpful Vice Presidential candidate debate occurred. A Presidential candidate debate was cancelled. Political town halls and rallies are happening.  The Senate this week has held hearings to scrutinize Amy Coney Barrett (currently a circuit court judge for the seventh circuit of the US Court of Appeals, who was chosen by President Trump to fill the Supreme Court seat left open by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Senators bloviated. Barrett articulated. Delightfully or begrudgingly, the audience recognized in ACB refined, humble, well-rounded greatness.

How do Christians build a biblical worldview and apply it to civic and political involvement in our Constitutional Republic? In this post, rather than my writing my views, I want to pass on to you a number of articles and a resource that you can explore online to assist you in this pursuit.

I hope that these will encourage you in your personal prayer, research, and decision-making on behalf of our country. You may want to mark these sites to come back to them as you can. Continue reading →

Categories: Government, Perspectives on Culture, Theology | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

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