Seven beautiful people were tragically killed in a plane crash on Friday afternoon: Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband, Jason, and daughter and son-in-law, Amber Nelon Kister and Nathan Kistler, Assistant Melodie Hodges, pilot Larry Haylie and his wife, Melissa. They were traveling to join the Gaither’s Alaskan Cruise.
Surviving daughter, Autumn Nelon Streetman, and husband, Jamie thank people for their prayers and support for them, their soon-to-be-born baby boy, and Jason’s parents.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna163931
May we all honor and remember their beautiful music (I’ve listened to them for many years).
In honoring this gifted family, we can pay tribute to those in our lives that have journeyed home~and those that remain in our immediate midst.
The brevity of life braces us for the brutal, breathless, breathtaking, and brilliant.
May melted with makeshift memories, medicines, and mindfulness. June jumped in and jolted me. It’s jam-packed. Will June have me juggling, jotting, and jaundiced (I couldn’t help that ;-)?
Jesus
When asked, “How do you not worry? How do you have faith? How do you have joy?”
“Oh, you haven’t met HIM yet, have you?” I replied.
Experiences like this happen to me frequently while hiking. My sometimes silent sanctuary. The few humans exploring the area acknowledged they knew how loved they were when I asked them. “Jesus, thank you for walking alongside me. Which path should I take?” The birds sang and the wind whispered again. Cool breezes calmed my consciousness. Clarification cleared my confusion.Is that a cross? Later, a cardinal directed me on the path least traveled. “Don’t take your eyes off of me, Karla.”
The peace that passes all understanding. A compassion that is combustible with Christ. Don’t gasp or grimace over guilt. Guilt is Godless. Sorrow is Godly. Can we stop taking trips of guilt? Will we feel sorrow for one another? Worry wastes and brokenness will beg. Jesus will meet you there.
Journey
Do you get caught up in the world’s web? Feelings, emotions, and circumstances will shift, swirl, and spin. Without warning you’re caught in confusion and chaos. To the right you see rubble, to the left you spot loss, and straight ahead is suspicion.
For me? I see forever and I view victory.
pics by K.L. Hale
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
C.S. Lewis
Although I’m not living in poverty, my soul is. It’s an emptiness and neediness that Jesus calls, “poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3). Without God, I’m incomplete. Repair is not needed–just restoration and reconciliation. You and I are not “wretched” souls. We have wretched life circumstances and our brokenness motivates us beyond ourselves. Once I thought all was perfect; my awareness was lacking. God IS love. When the dust settles and your heart hurts what will heal? Compassion, love, and grace. You will never be “good” enough. The opposite of bad is not good–it’s love.
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
C.S. Lewis
“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”
1 John 4:16
June
Jeez, June. You can’t jar me! I’ll be in 7th heaven when my favorite 7 humans pay a visit soon. A 60th wedding anniversary by my favorite couple will be honored. There will be family celebrations, a new scan for me, more bloodwork and a visit, and a better prescription to see. June, we’ll be fine. There will be holidays, birthdays, routines, and more–I’m sure the unexpected will be in store. As temperatures rise and attitudes flare, keep us grounded and safe, keep love in the air.
I’m living my reality and truth. God himself is called the “God of truth” (Ps 31:5). Jesus calls himself the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is also called the truth (1 John 5:6).
I’m embracing my imperfection with faith, flannel (not as much with these warmer temps), and fresh air. May truth guide you to a place where love resides. Perfection is not needed. Just faith.
Feeling over the moon I packed my bags again. Two weekend getaways in a row? How dare I think they’d only happen once in a blue moon. Shooting for the moon is a stellar goal! Two years ago I didn’t think I’d be howling at any moon, anytime soon.
Many moons ago a man walked our Earth his Father created. He was totally man, totally God. He hung the moon.
Saying “I love you to the moon and back” to family makes me think of the “over the moon” love that God has for US.
Once in a blue moon, I get disheartened. Then, love and logic lasso my heart and brain. To those who can no longer dream, promise, howl, or even love to the moon and back—I pray for you. You’re in my heart. I speak the name of the moon hanger over you.
Imagine Jesus saying, “I love you to the moon and back!” He means it! What he offers is more than the moon 🌙 What does he want? For us to love him to the moon and back with all our heart! Oh, and love others, too!
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16
An antique desk invited me to…WRITE! Thank you Keith and Melinda for making me feel at “home”.
Tears flooded my face as we parked. Finn gave me a look—she KNEW. It was a full circle moment. Stone county was home for 15 years and this community, 11 years. This cottage will forever be home in my heart.
Karla’s Cottage, owned by my dear friends/former neighbors, is the perfect place to enjoy before another treatment. Peace and tranquility, combined with exceptionally unique decor, create a flawless faith-filled environment. Even with an achy back, low reserve, and other physical things you can’t “see”, I’m STILL on cloud nine. Dinner with friends, an upcoming good ol’ Ozarks’ shindig with bluegrass, gospel, comedy and more…laughter, love, friendship, music, …my heart is as full as the moon (without any fear of a total eclipse—let’s wait until April for that ;-).
I’ve come full circle. The road ahead will be bumpy at times. This cancer doesn’t “go away”. The bones are responding to treatment (some being stubborn) and a few pesky lymph nodes will need attention. I’m winning! A few days ago I walked my trail thinking of full circles, full moon, and the circular scan I’d soon experience for the upteenth time. “God, you not only created the planets, stars, light, darkness, oceans, animals, and us silly humans, you’ve offered us the moon. I want to lasso it for others.Thank you for bringing me full circle.” As Earth spins, some spin out of their own orbits. The miracles and magic of our world may not be felt or seen because of health, losses (loved ones, health, or finances), anxiety, depression, disease, or even imprisonment in an unbroken circle of criticism or crankiness. I’m blessed beyond the moon. I don’t know why I’m here still while others lose battles. My pain won’t be wasted. Not one second will be taken for granted. For no one is guaranteed another hour, day, or full moon.
Let’s shoot for the moon!
If you were told you only had one full moon left, what would bring you full circle? Do you know you are loved to the moon and back?
Have faith 💚
SurrealDo you see the craters?
“As I take man’s last step from the surface, back home for some time to come — but we believe not too long into the future — I’d like to just say what I believe history will record: that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus–Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”
Eugene Cernan-Apollo 17 commander
My peek through the limbs!
Pics by K.L. Hale-dedicated to Gary Fulz, fellow photographer and lover of nature, his JOY-filled daughter who never wastes her pain, and his precious wife and family.
One of MANY amazing notes! If you visit the Branson, MO area, check out Karla’s Cottage—Keith and Melinda will take great care of you! 💛
“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”
Psalms 73:26
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:35
“Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
“If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Savior. It’s not about perfection-it’s pressing for progression and surrendering to self. When the world can’t satisfy, our Savior can saturate—filling voids and bringing value to the valleys and peace at the peak.”
K.L. Hale
“The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
“One touch of nature makes all the world kin.”
John Muir
“Peace begins with a smile.”
Mother Teresa
“The wound is a place where the Light enters you.”
Rumi
“There. I’ve done my best. If that won’t do, I shall have to wait till I can do better.”
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
C.S. Lewis
“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”
C.S. Lewis
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart.”
Helen Keller
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Oscar Wilde
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln
“Life is a succession of lesson which must be lived to be understood.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”
Robert Frost
“Everything you can imagine is real.”
Pablo Picasso
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
Ernest Hemingway
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
Confucius
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover.”
Mark Twain
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work form beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
May 2024 bring joy, good health, laughter, and love lessons. Undoubtedly, it will bring the unexpected, too. What gives you hope in the haphazard? Joy in the juggles? Persistence in pain? Faith in the fuzzy? May love light your way.
You are all treasures to me. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. I look forward to my future with faith, family, friends, flannel, and faith!
