Spiritual Growth

A Thanksgiving Hallelujah!

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Psalm 150:1 exudes, “Hallelujah!” That is, “Praise the Lord!” “Boast in God!” This is a good introduction to the Psalm that I want to consider at this Thanksgiving season: Psalm 136.

In William MacDonald’s lovely Believer’s Bible Commentary, he labels this Psalm as “The Great Hallel!”1  This psalm boasts of the character, wisdom, power, and work of the Lord God in creation, history, and individual lives. God is addressed as the Creator (Elohim) and as the Almighty, the eternal Lord of the universe (LORD, YHWH or Jehovah/Yahweh). When you start unpacking word choices and the relationships between ideas, your eyes quit skimming over familiar words in which your  mind says,”Yeh, I know what this says.” We need to stop flying over familiar territory. We need to fly low, land our attention, and then dig.

I am supposed to be writing to you about Psalm 1, but since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, I thought I’d draw your attention to Psalm 136. Here it is, followed by a few thoughts. We don’t have time to do much digging in this post, but I hope to get you started on your own dig. (Offer a comment below and tell us what you’ve discovered!)

Psalm 136

Continue reading →

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Down a Biblical Stream

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Karen Thomas Olsen

“Behold,” says Isaiah 66:12, “I extend peace to her like a river.” My adventure in the rapids of Smith River in Northern California (note last post) did not illustrate “peace like a river.” I remember singing years ago a chorus that claimed, “I’ve got peace like a river.” This biblical simile has always puzzled me.1  As I pondered my river experience, ironically, this verse and song immediately came to my mind. My experience did not line up with the biblical figure of speech.

What does Scripture mean by comparing peace to a river? How are rivers, streams, and water presented in Scripture and for what purposes? Thus began a little word/theme study. Continue reading →

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The Declaration of Glory

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Karen Thomas Olsen

We have entered the monsoon season here in the highlands of central Arizona. It is another season within the summer. The broad, naked blue skies, vibrant with sunlight, have been overtaken by vast, billowy clouds and gentle hues of blue, violet, and gray with patches of pink, peach, and orange. Entranced by the skies, I walked the house-less circle behind our cul-de-sac yesterday evening. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1), and as the sun fell behind the mountains, the misty sky busily declared and declared. I did not have a camera with me, but if I did, the glory would have refused to be reduced to pixels.

Standing in place, I slowly circled and circled, eyeing the beauties a full 360 degrees. Continue reading →

Categories: Joy & Suffering -- Good & Evil, Spiritual Growth | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Balancing the Teeter Totter: Two Taxonomies

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Karen Thomas Olsen

It’s time to turn a corner. Will you turn it with me? I know. Who knows what’s around it? (God.) Well, I’ll tell you what’s up. I would like to share my biblical research with you and others. With the Lord’s help, I plan to look for an agent and a publisher to help me transform my doctoral research project into useful material (spiritual nutrition and exercise) for the Body of Christ. That’s you (and me too!) .

I’d like to use this blog to find other people who are interested in my research topic, so I’m going to share the heart of the research with you. I’d like to ask you to forward my blog to everyone you know who may find meaning and blessing through this research. My topic, suffering and joy, is relevant to everyone.

I’ve worked on this project for three years, praying, searching Scriptures, evaluating life, and seeking God’s leading in my researching and writing. The product is a theology of suffering and joy: the doctrine of the dance between suffering and joy. (The title of this post employs a different metaphor.) I use some some special vocabulary which I will share with you, but don’t let words become walls. I’ll break terms down through meanings and usages.

I have constructed two taxonomies. Taxonomies are filing systems — ways of categorizing and organizing things. The color wheel categorizes colors. Your pantry organizes your food supply. The Plant Kingdom and Animal Kingdom with all their sub-data are taxonomies that help us identify and understand plants and animals.

This study’s first taxonomy, The Taxonomy of Suffering, names our pains. A corresponding Taxonomy of Joy responds to each kind (taxon) of pain. Here is the title of my doctoral research project:

A TAXONOMIC THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING AND JOY

DESIGNED TO ASSIST IN CHRISTIAN GROWTH

Would this interest you or anyone you know?   Continue reading →

Categories: Joy & Suffering -- Good & Evil, Spiritual Growth, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

The Health of an Earthen Vessel

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Karen Thomas Olsen
“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.”

 

I ended the last post with “to be continued.” Well, it has taken me long enough to continue! I was preparing to tell a bit about what I’ve learned about health from my studies and experience. But what has kept me from this blog? I have been completing my doctoral research project.  I’m now revising my final draft and should graduate in two months! Before I discuss my doctoral research, I need to share some thoughts about personal health. Does your earthen vessel require much attention? If not, how blessed to be able to take it for granted! Continue reading →

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Reflecting Back, Treasuring Forward

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Hello! I have not forgotten you! I wrote a long post in January, and then set it aside to think on it. Do I really want to share this? I see I never posted it and haven’t posted anything since before Christmas! If I were to treat my blog like Facebook, I would post lots of pictures of our three week trip to the Midwest in December and January to visit family and friends in Chicago, Indiana, and Ohio. ‘Twas grand. 

But I always develop a topic or thought. So, the following includes the first part of what I wrote last month. Reflecting on the last few years, I observe in my rear view mirror some rays refracting toward the future, encouraging me that some changes I’ve made have improved my life and hopefully, my future. I hope the same for you.  Continue reading →

Categories: Being Like Jesus, Joy & Suffering -- Good & Evil, Spiritual Growth | Leave a comment

A Christ-Blessed Christmas to You

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Karen Thomas Olsen

I’m praying for those who read this post: May you receive Christ’s blessings to you this season. “Please note: Salvation is God-given, God-driven, God-empowered, and God-originated. The gift is not from man to God. It is from God to man.”*  Continue reading →

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Anticipating the Future Via Treasures from the Past

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Karen Thomas Olsen

It can’t be avoided. The older we get, the more that life is behind us rather than in front of us.  Often I wrestle with this blinding, “under the sun” perspective. I miss much of my past: the chatter of two, little girls and all their activity in our house, the planning of family gatherings, the greatly anticipated arrival of grandparents accompanied by a trunk full of garden goodies, homemade berry and cream pies, and ranger or chocolate chip cookies. Continue reading →

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

Autumn Awe

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Karen Thomas Olsen

I wonder, I wonder. . . What percentage of people do you think consider Autumn to be their favorite time of year? I’ve heard a number of people state this recently without any solicitation on my part. It’s just an exhale: “Oh, this is my favorite time of the year!” How interesting to me, because it is my favorite time of the year too! What is your favorite season?

Season makes me think of seasoning. Ha. Then it makes me think of the Greek terms for time: chronos and kairos.  Autumn should be spelled “awetum.” All the senses in the fall are in awe: the warm colors and cool breezes, the crunching leaves under stomping feet and hot, spiced cider under tantalized tongue. . . . All memory rich. . . . Continue reading →

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Paper Prayer Partners

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Karen Thomas Olsen

Paper prayer partners aren’t really paper partners. They are people who have become my partners in prayer through their instructive writings. I can share in the life of Christ and Christ’s people through the written legacy that God-lovers have left. Their words have brought richness to my life. I would like to share with you some of my favorite books on or of prayer. Continue reading →

Categories: Spiritual Growth | Tags: , , , | 6 Comments

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