by Elaine Olsen | Dec 14, 2020 | Advent, christmas
2020. What can be said of it? What should be said of it? Of all it has been and for what remains to be written, words fail to calculate its full measure. It’s been too much; it’s been not enough. It’s rattled us … scattered us … marked us … changed...
by Elaine Olsen | Dec 23, 2014 | Advent, christmas, friendship, God's voice, miracles, pilgrimage
We have an annual tradition of opening up our Christmas gifts to one another at the same time … over the phone. She lives in northern Ohio. I live in eastern NC. We’ve been friends for over twenty years, and every time we talk or get together, it’s as if we’ve never...
by Elaine Olsen | Nov 30, 2014 | Advent, calling, christmas, exemplify, give aways, prayer, truth
My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46). I’ve been talking to my soul lately, asking it to keep pace with Mary’s magnificent declaration. Like her, I want my soul to amplify Jesus. I want my soul to make him bigger … more obvious to those around me. But it’s hard....
by Elaine Olsen | Dec 26, 2013 | Advent, christmas, creation, faith, fellowship with God, knowing God, pilgrimage, silence, worship
I’ve been waiting for this day for several weeks now. December 26th – the day after Christmas. No wrapping. No baking. No one needing me quite so much. More peace. More quiet. More time to take a walk beneath the beauty of a setting sun. This is where I found the...
by Elaine Olsen | Dec 14, 2013 | Advent, christmas, family fun, parenting, pilgrimage
She held on tightly, arms wrapped fully around my waist and her head burrowed deeply in my coat. “Mom, I don’t want you to go.” Her plea was persuasive but not enough to keep me from loading up the van and making the two hour trek northward to my parents’ home. “I...
by Elaine Olsen | Dec 4, 2013 | christmas, hunger, letting go, living God's truth, pain, parenting, peace, suffering, surrender, worship
Silent night. It’s been one of those for me. I tried to fill it with a few phone calls and text messages to friends while waiting in my car for my kids to emerge from their youth group meeting. No one answered. All was silent, and the hush filled my heart until I...
