by Elaine Olsen | Jul 4, 2019 | faith, kingdom, living God's truth, packing up, trust
I picked up eight stones in the first few steps of my walk this morning. I’ve been walking this street for a week now; it’s my new route in this new chapter of living. Whereas my former neighborhood boasted several streets full of twists and turns and lots of scenery,...
by Elaine Olsen | Jun 12, 2019 | grace, ministry life, packing up
“When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.” –John 21:9 Finish strong. I used those words repeatedly in the classroom as the fourth nine weeks of the academic school year arrived. Students have a tendency to...
by Elaine Olsen | Apr 30, 2019 | family fun, ministry life, packing up
Packing while unpacking. It seems like a contradiction, but it’s really just a delicate consideration about things kept, things discarded, things remembered, and decisions therein. One doesn’t pack up a house … a history … without a little unpacking of the...
by Elaine Olsen | Jun 14, 2014 | dad, faith, family fun, heaven, letting go, obedience, packing up, parenting, pilgrimage, surrender, trust
Through the front windshield, I could see that they were talking – daddy telling a story to my thirteen-year-old son, sharing a ride together in that ’93 Chevy truck that’s been in the family for over two decades. I followed closely behind, staying in the...
by Elaine Olsen | Jun 30, 2013 | church life, knowing God, living God's truth, ministry life, night visits, packing up, pilgrimage, sundays
“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.” –Genesis 28:10-11 Certain places. We’ve reached a new one—a God-ordained assignment just an hour south of our last one....
by Elaine Olsen | Jun 19, 2013 | church life, faith, knowing God, letting go, living God's truth, ministry life, packing up, pilgrimage
This isn’t my first rodeo. In the course of my lifetime, I’ve lived in five different states, ten cities, and changed physical addresses at least eighteen times. My family and I are less than a week away from making it number nineteen. A new home. New...