by Elaine Olsen | Jul 5, 2013 | family fun, God's voice, God's Word, parenting, peace, prayer
God’s Word instructs us to pray about everything. With prayer and thanksgiving we are to present our requests to God; accordingly, his promise to us in return is his peace—a measure of settled, heavenly comfort moving in to replace (or at least temporarily cover over)...
by Elaine Olsen | Jun 6, 2013 | family fun, friendship, grace, hunger, kingdom, letting go, packing up, parenting, pilgrimage
It’s not much. Just an old table with two even older chairs. I spied them alongside Hwy. 70 while winding my way home from my annual run to the eye doctor. My U-turn came as no surprise to my eldest son who made the trek with me; after twenty-four years of being my...
by Elaine Olsen | Apr 30, 2013 | family fun, Lessons from the Lunchroom, living God's truth, parenting, truth
The sound of Nerf guns blare from the living room – background noise to accompany my thoughts this afternoon. Make it stop! That’s what I’m thinking. Goodness, mercy me! How in the world have we survived this experiment, this year-long foray into the world of...
by Elaine Olsen | Apr 17, 2013 | conviction, faith, holiness, living God's truth, parenting
Messy and mad. Life is. I am. Messy life. Mad me. There’s no prettying up this one, not enough shine and polish to make it less obvious to others. Anyway, what’s the point of a cover-up other than to possibly fool someone into thinking I have it altogether? I...
by Elaine Olsen | Oct 2, 2012 | family fun, out of the mouths of babes, parenting, prayer
“When you come to the door, kiss me on the cheek so that I know I am safe.” So wrote my daughter on a slip of paper last week. She placed the note in the hallway, next to her bedroom door, so I would see it on my way to bed. At first glance, I thought these might be...
by Elaine Olsen | Sep 14, 2012 | grace, parenting
If I could take back the last thirty minutes of my life and live them over, I would. I wouldn’t have yelled at my daughter for spilling the milk in the utensil drawer. Instead, I would have offered her some grace and some tips on cleaning up the mess. I blew it, and...
