Karin Thompson is a Christian author from Sydney, Australia, writing inspiring non-fiction and heartwarming clean romance. Drawing on her background in counselling and years of pastoring alongside her husband in New Zealand, Karin writes stories that uplift, encourage, and point women toward faith-filled, victorious living.

Married for forty-eight years to her childhood sweetheart, James, she treasures family life with her two married sons and three beloved grandchildren. Her fiction features relatable, resilient heroines navigating life's challenges with grace, humour, and hope, while her non-fiction gently guides women toward deeper faith and personal growth.

When she's not writing, Karin enjoys a brisk walk, a good book, and sharing the joy of storytelling with her grandchildren. She invites readers to journey with her through stories rich in romance, self-discovery, and life's simple pleasures.

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Welcome to 12-minute convos with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, his creation. His truth spoken in one moment

became an evergreen seed for our generation today. The power of a conversation is eternal.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Good morning, Karen. How are you doing today?

Very well, and you?

I'm excellent, as can be. Thanks for asking.

What part of the world are you in today?

I'm in Sydney, Australia.

All right, wonderful. So you're on the other side of the world from me, yeah?

Thanks for connecting.

So tell me about this journey of being married, one, to your sweetheart.

You know, it's amazing that God can put someone in your life so young.

I met my husband when I was 15.

I mean, what I knew about life was just nothing,

but God knew who I would need through all my years growing up and the support that I would need.

Just to have someone that loves you and cares about you

is the most beautiful gift that God can give you.

You know, all these years, we've been good to each other.

We've been kind to each other.

And that's a very, very strong thing about marriage.

You know, it's not to pick on each other and belittle each other,

but to treat each other with respect and with dignity,

because your husband or your wife is also a child of God.

They also belong to Jesus, and God loves them, and God died for them.

So, you know, you're not only married to a man that's your husband,

but he's also God's child.

And so you need to reverence that and respect that in him.

So immediately, it feels as though the level of respect and love you have for others

has allowed you to be somewhat of a kind person by force.

Is that accurate?

Yes, I agree, because, you know, kindness seems to be a dying art,

because the Bible says in the last days,

people will be lovers of men, lovers of themselves, more than lovers of men.

And, you know, kindness is just, it's free.

Whether you're rich, poor, any color, it doesn't matter.

You can be kind.

A smile is a gracious thing to give someone.

And you just never know what your little act of kindness

could mean to that other person.

So I think kindness is a really big thing in life.

How did you bump to know Jesus Christ?

I was very blessed.

Thank you, Jesus, that I met him when I was 12.

I came from an abused home.

And basically, the school announced that on Sunday,

they would be giving the school hall out to these pastors

to start a Sunday school.

And I thought, oh, that's great, because I can go there,

and at least I'm getting out the house away from my father.

And I'll just, you know, tell him I'm going to Sunday school.

Not knowing, you know, God's got these things set up for you.

And the lady there, she said,

does anyone need a friend that will never leave you

and stay with you the rest of your life?

And, you know, with all the abuse that was going on,

I certainly needed a friend.

And so I put my hand up, and she said that,

you know, you can talk to him anytime,

all the time, whenever you want.

He will always be there.

Even though he's invisible friend,

he is your best friend,

and he will always, always have your back.

At 12 years old, that was the most beautiful gift

I could ever have received,

because it just, every time the pressure got too much,

or I wasn't coping, I would talk to Jesus all the time.

But how am I going to do this?

Please help me, please help me.

So it was wonderful to have met him so young.

How have you seen your relationship evolve over time

with Jesus?

I mean, it just is amazing.

I still talk to him all the time.

My husband always says to me, who are you talking to?

And I say, I'm talking to Jesus.

I still talk to him all the time.

I asked him all the time for help.

He's so gracious to me.

You know, whenever I need something, it just happens.

He takes such good care of me.

He's really been a father and companion.

He's been everything in my life.

And, you know, if you just stay with him through the thick,

through the thin, because life has ups and downs,

but you don't take it out on God and blame him.

You hold fast to him and let him be your anchor.

Your relationship will grow from strength to strength

and from depth to depth.

You will find that you will become so anchored in God

that no matter what the world throws at you

and what happens, your focus never change.

You always know that your father loves you,

that he's got your back

and that he's always there to take care of you.

Is it accurate to say the kindness that you were shown

way back at that Sunday school

and then the kindness you were shown

through the relationship with your husband

is what healed you into writing today?

Interesting, yes.

My books are about kindness, mostly about forgiveness,

because I really believe that unless you forgive you,

you just can't heal.

Forgiveness is definitely the first thing

that has to happen.

But I do feel that God has opened things in my heart

that have made me realize that it's not money.

It's not about resources.

It's just something that you can do.

It's within you, being kind, being forgiving.

God doesn't require things from you

that are going to cost you physically,

monetary and things like that.

What he's requiring from you is in your capacity

to already receive.

And like me, I've had people come across my path

that have enhanced my journey.

And that's what God does.

God is the great network.

Oh my goodness, can God network?

Look at us, we're talking across the world.

God is a great network

and he can put you with someone

that is just going to help your life so much

like he's done for me.

What was the first book that you actually launched?

My Journey to Enjoy My Life

about my journey from freedom from abuse

and how God restored to me life.

Because when you come out of an abusive home,

you're so used to living in shadows and hiding

and trying to tiptoe around your abuser

that you lose your own identity.

And so when I left home, I didn't have any identity.

I didn't know who Corinne Thompson was,

what I like, what I don't like.

I just wanted to make everybody else happy

as long as I just could disappear.

That was my first book, my Journey to Enjoy My Life.

So you did the non-fiction first

and then went to the fiction books, yeah?

Yes, two non-fictions.

I did another one, Encouragement for the Weary Soul,

where just some good old fashioned advice

based on scripture with some prayers

and encouragement on subjects that we deal with today.

And then I started doing the fiction

where I started incorporating characters

with problems coming from different backgrounds,

how they doubt with their world,

and when their world is all falling apart,

how they doubt with it.

But in the whole thread of the book

is kindness and is forgiveness.

I'm intrigued by James though,

was his story similar to yours in terms of meeting Christ?

The chances of James and I actually even being together,

it's a billion to one

because my husband was in the war in South Africa.

So he was there for 10 years.

So he suffered from PTSD with that.

Then he got terrible anxiety.

So he had his issues and I had my issues

and only God could sort something out

and make something beautiful out of all these issues.

When I met him, he wasn't saved,

but he saw Jesus in me

because I was always talking to Jesus.

And I would say to him,

don't worry, God's gonna take care of us.

God will help us.

I started going to church and he,

because he loved me, he just followed me everywhere.

So he went to church too.

And then she asked Jesus into his heart

and had a whole beautiful encounter with the Lord,

which really helped him with his trauma

and the things he had to deal with.

If you took a minute and just looked at yourself

being grandmother, mother and wife,

is there an emotional aspect

that goes with tremendous sadness

of you not being in that equation

at some point in this lifetime?

If I didn't forgive,

because I was a very angry young lady,

I was bitter, I was disappointed.

I had so much shame.

I had guilt.

I had remorse.

I mean, all the haves I had.

If I had not forgiven

and let go of the damage that my dad did to me

and embrace the identity and identification with Jesus,

I wouldn't have had a husband that loved me.

I wouldn't have had two godly men

who married two godly woman

and have three godly Christian grandchildren.

Because bitter people don't produce beautiful fruit.

Angry people don't produce beautiful fruit.

When you are full of animosity,

bitterness, unforgiveness, anger,

it festers and it festers and it festers.

And over the years, you are not a happy camper.

You don't come out and produce as a happy camper.

You're miserable.

You're always snapping, you're grumpy.

And so therefore people don't wanna be around you.

And eventually, even my father,

he never changed.

He died alone.

But because I let Jesus into my life,

the love of Jesus spread abroad in my heart

and changed my whole mindset.

So I became kind.

I became a nicer person.

Our love united and became stronger

because if you're good to each other,

you just get stronger.

And then of course, you produce a home together

and you introduce Jesus into your home.

And my whole legacy has changed

because of Jesus and because I let go of my past.

For the person that's listening,

that is probably in the same place you are back then,

what would you say to them to encourage them?

I would say to you that you need to hold on to God.

You need to hold on to God

with every fiber of your being and seek direction.

Get help, get counseling.

I mean, in today's world, you can talk to things.

You can talk to people.

In my world, this happened in the 70s, 60s and 70s.

Life was very different then.

Everything was under the carpet

and no one told anybody anything.

I really advise that you get some help.

But know that God loves you.

You're not being punished.

He's not trying to put shame and guilt on you.

None of these things are from God.

It's the enemy that comes to steal, kill and destroy.

So you really need to get help

and really seek God's face

and how he can help you get out of that situation.

Okay, and I appreciate you passing by

to have a conversation with me.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share?

I want to say that your past does not need to define you.

Because you had a bad start,

and I had a very bad start,

it doesn't mean that I have to be that person.

I can be a better person because of Jesus.

Thank you very much.

Again, a pleasure.

I treasure Karen Thompson.

Thank you for being on What Is Inspired

by 12 Minute Chronicles.