by Elaine Olsen | Jun 2, 2020 | conviction, friendship, living God's truth
My son surprised me with some thoughts he posted on social media last night … not because of what he wrote but, rather, because he chose to share them in such a public way. Nick plays his cards pretty close to the vest when it comes to social media, so I was...
by Elaine Olsen | Aug 21, 2019 | ancients, death, friendship, heaven
We said good-bye to her last evening. Elegantly adorned in a deep fuchsia dress with her silvery, full coiffure swept perfectly to her right side, Inez Perkins was laid to rest in a pecan-wood coffin next to her beloved Calbert. During the service, she was surrounded...
by Elaine Olsen | Oct 9, 2017 | family fun, friendship, hunger, living God's truth, pilgrimage, sundays
We drove my Grandpa Al home yesterday. Well… sort of. He wasn’t really my grandpa. My Grandpa Al died in 1994 at the age of eighty-three. The man we drove home, Howard, is seventy-four but could have passed as Al’s brother. Short in stature, round in the belly,...
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 | Aug 11, 2014 | artistry, contests, creation, friendship
She’s enormously gifted, my friend Melanie Dorsey. She’s a creative in all that she does. Whether lending her heart to words, painting, sewing, cooking, re-purposing furniture and beyond, Melanie pours her all into the project at hand. I don’t think...
by Elaine Olsen | Jul 17, 2014 | artistry, friendship, grace, trust
“There’s something in there, Elaine. I’m not quite sure what ‘it’ is, but there’s something in there.” So says my artist friend while staring at a pile of scraps in her attic sanctuary. To the casual onlooker, those scraps don’t look like much. Just a pile of colorful...