Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;
Psalm 98:8
He was criticized for abandoning his party. He was fierce competition for the Democrats. Progressive? A bull moose. He was my age when he gave his speech that night in 1912. Theodore Roosevelt spoke of morality, responsibility, and compassion—not of his other opponents. Some say if he couldn’t rule, he would ruin. Injured pride and greed? Was he crazy?
He defied hardships and lost himself in danger. Theodore wasn’t a stranger to loss. On Valentine’s Day, at the age of 25, his mom, Martha, died of typhoid fever. Eleven hours later, his wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt (two days after giving birth to his daughter) died of a kidney disorder. He faced his fears and the frontier. Inconvenience and hard places kept his body and mind free from aches.
Defeats, tragedies, obstacles, and weaknesses only grew his grit. Adventures in the outdoors and willpower quenched Theodore Roosevelt’s thirst for greatness. It wasn’t any surprise to his 2nd wife he would break away again…to a punishing adventure.Punishment through physical challenges or punishment to himself for the pain and loneliness?
“On the banks of the River of Doubt, the same unyielding will and thirst for achievement brought him face to face with the absolute limits of his strength.” (Millard 2005)
“After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Theodore Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer Candido Mariano da silva Rondon, Roosevelt faced an unbelievable series of hardships: they lost their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and endured starvation, attacks, disease, drowning, and a murder with their own ranks. In the end, three men would die, and Roosevelt would be brought to the brink of suicide, but the expedition accomplished a seemingly impossible feat, and changed the map of the Western Hemisphere forever.” (Millard 2005)
“Who hears the rippling of rivers will not utterly despair of anything.”
Henry David Thoreau
For those of you familiar with President Roosevelt’s life, you might know of the tragic death of his son, Kermit (who accompanied him on this river trip). I was once in despair. It’s not that I didn’t want to be HERE. Just not in pain. Mental Health is not a disease. It is part of all of us. What flows through us and gives us hope? How do we face challenges and ride the rapids? How can we recognize the need for utter relief and build resiliency?
Resilience is the residency of Christ in my heart. The rapids we face are the battles for our hearts.💛
Days of floating the Ozarks’ rivers flow through my soul. Tranquil tributaries turned to raging rapids at times. The gushes and torrents were tough teachers. My resolve to rally runs like rivers. Droughts will deplete. Rainfall replenishes. Floods forge with my faith. Rivers rally my resilience. There’s healing in hard times-continued creek crossing despite crisis.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you…Isaiah 43:2
“The life of God is described in scripture as a river–a powerful, gorgeous, unceasing, everrenewing, ever-flowing river.” (Eldridge 13).
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you. A joy.” Rumi
Our Creator can calm currents. His love and grace will flow freely through the tributaries of your heart. 🩷
May the river of life from God flow in and through us and take residency of our hearts.
K.L. Hale
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. Isaiah 41:18
“Love is the river of life in the world.” Henry Ward Beecher
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.”
Norman Maclean, American author, from “A River Runs Through It” (1976).
“You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.” – Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author, from “The Alchemist” (1988).
Pics by K.L. Hale–rivers in the U.S.A.
‘”The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.”
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1
Some of us are blooming, some wilting. Some of us are sowing, others are harvesting. Together, in the garden. I crave our Creator and love HIM. And you.
Have faith, my friends. 🙏🌍💛
“With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” Ephesians 1:8-10
National Park Week!
“There is nothing so American as our national parks … the fundamental idea behind the parks … is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.”–President Franklin D. Roosevelt; 32nd president of the United States who signed Executive Order 6166, which created the National Park Service we know today
“If you drive to, say, Shenandoah National Park, or the Great Smoky Mountains, you’ll get some appreciation for the scale and beauty of the outdoors. When you walk into it, then you see it in a completely different way. You discover it in a much slower, more majestic sort of way.”–Bill Bryson; American-British travel author/journalist
“The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” Psalm 95:5
“A national park is not a playground. It’s a sanctuary for nature and for humans who will accept nature on nature’s own terms.”–Michael Frome; writer, educator, and conservationist
Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.”
John Muir; Scottish-American naturalist, environmental philosopher, conservationist, and author known as “Father of the National Parks”
“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”-Genesis 1:26
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15
Welcome to Flannel with Faith, where I celebrate faith, flannel, and fresh air! This March I’m exploring everything that makes my Missouri special! If you’re visiting for the first time, I’m K.L. Hale (a.k.a. Karla) , a small-town Missouri gal and writer who is passionate about my roots. I recently traveled to Maryland and back, but my heart and soul belong to Missouri. That’s why I wrote a creative non-fiction children’s book about my home state to celebrate our bicentennial in 2021.
From the rolling hills to the bustling cities, there’s something for everyone in this great state. So, whether you’re a long-time resident or just passing through, I hope you’ll find something to love about Missouri!
As the mighty Mississippi and the Missouri rivers flow through my home state, memories drift through me. My deep roots began as a tiny seed sowed with faith, family, and friends in small-town Missouri.
Sometimes called the “fly-over state”, Missouri was born 149 years before me. It became the 24th state in the union on August 10th, 1821. Known for its friendly people, landmarks, rivers, lakes, and trails, it’s also called the “Show-Me” and “Cave State”. My Midwestern home has a remarkable history!
Missouri is more than a fly-over state to me. Rolling hills, farms, businesses, cows and other farm animals, church steeples, rivers, and dusty winding roads famously scatter the countryside, small towns, and big cities. Bass Pro made my “big” city famous. My tiny hometown, Clever, was born because of the railroad. It boomed in 1911 to 500 (and only about 100 more when I graduated). Clever has grown approximately 180% since 2000 with a population of over 3,000 now! A metropolis!
The Native Americans gave us our name. They settled near a river and found their fame! (The state and the Missouri River are named for the tribe, Missouria. They called themselves "People of the River Mouth")The Adventures of Faith and Finley
Mainly an agricultural state, the mighty Mississippi and Missouri rivers provided hubs for commerce and trade in the early 19th century. Do you know what the Gateway to the West (St. Louis Arch—does the Corps of Discovery expedition and Lewis and Clark jog a memory?), Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harry S. Truman, Ginger Rogers, Sheryl Crow, and Walt Disney have in common? Each called Missouri home. Did you know Missouri has 93 state parks and 7 National Parks?
My home city, Springfield (also known as the “Queen City of the Ozarks”) sits on the Springfield Plateau which ranges from nearly level to rolling hills (Wikipedia, 2024). With a population close to 172,000, it’s the 3rd largest city in Missouri. The Ozark Mountains, which to many folks aren’t real mountains, is a physiographic region in MO, AR, OK, and the extreme SE corner of Kansas. (Wikipedia). Most of the region falls in Southern MO and Northern AR.
There are numerous rivers to love in my “neck of the woods”. The Buffalo River in AR was our country’s first National River. Roaring River State Park in Cassville, MO holds a special place in my heart. Early years on the Finley; and older ones on the Roaring River with my family made my love for the outdoors SURGE!
“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll,…whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, …It is well, it is well with my soul.” (Horatio Spafford)
As March marches on and spring is about to spring, stay tuned for part II–My Missouri’s Music!
Have faith, my friends. 💚
Have you heard of NET, yet? ❣️🦓
Family and friends–thank you for your prayers, love, and continued support. You all impact my life in such positive ways. I love you all. ❣️If you’re new to FWF, allow me to introduce myself:
About Me:
Just call me rural. Born and raised in a small S.W. Missouri town, my roots run deep. Headstrong in completing every goal, I began teaching and motherhood (the best experience in the world) at a young age. The truths learned under steeples, our Creator’s Great Outdoors, traveling and meeting others, curiosity, and being tossed around the River of Life have grown my communion with Christ.Through teaching, learning, living, laughing, and adventures, my body has climbed out of valleys; and ascended and descended mountaintops (physically, spiritually, and emotionally). Having had a taste of the R.V. life for nearly 4 years (and many years of camping), I crave simplicity and long for the roads less traveled (if they lead back to what matters most…family).
I’ve fallen and landed flat on my faith.
In May of 2022, I was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Neuroendocrine. Also known as NET (Neuroendocrine Tumor), the primary mass originated in my pancreas and metastasized to my liver, lymph nodes, ribs, spine, skull, hip, and pelvis. In November of 2023, as a patient of the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, the bulk of my cancer was removed (along with several organs)from my abdomen.
Cancer will not define me. Friends, none of us are defined by what we do, a disease we may have, and our mistakes or successes. I bet my life on a promise from God. It’s the one truth to which I cling. My joy, despite the diagnosis, only comes from the grace and mercy provided by my Heavenly Father. It’s not about religion. To me, it’s about a relationship with my Creator. Do you know how loved you are?
It was a fast follow-up in Bethesda, Maryland last week. ONLY 16 vials of blood, one C.T., and an M.R.I. were needed on this trip. Have I shared about my amazing surgeon, oncologist, and nurses? Results revealed my left bile duct is dilated. If pain, jaundice, or itchiness occur, I’m to call ASAP. I have one naughty lymph node growing by my aorta and another one staying stable (as most of my bone tumors). Monthly treatments need to continue. With that, glucose levels must be monitored. My bones ache. Particularly my back and neck–but GOD is so good. I’m using the warmth of a heating pad, medicine, and miracles to keep on keeping on. While in Maryland, our Creator SURROUNDED me with the coolest people! A young gal, studying to be a teacher from New York, had only flown 2 times, and prayed for a “nice Christian woman” to sit next to her (Lily, you blessed ME), the taxi driver from Ethiopia shared about God and the miracles in his life the entire drive from Reagan airport to Bethesda, a couple from Utah shared about their 12 years experience at NIH/NCI, another couple from Boston were on their first trip after her diagnosis of an autoimmune disease, I met an amazing woman and artist from Denver, CO named Quana (pronounced like Keanu), who has overcome cancer and lives with debilitating disease, a 30-year-old from Cleveland has an autoimmune disease impacting her teeth and jaw, and young children were wrestling to stay put in strollers as their parents, exhaustingly, tried to console them. I’m a middle-aged woman. I can do this. Seeing children suffer breaks my heart.
Although I had 3 flight delays, one flight change, and a long layover coming home, I was STILL surrounded by God’s grace. Josh, from Springfield, shared his faith story as we waited at the Charlotte airport to fly home. This journey is surreal. From planning my funeral to the miracles from our Maker. I’ve bet my life on HIM. If you wonder where I get my joy, after years of unknown health mysteries, brokenness, and utter disbelief at some situations and desperation, I’d love to tell you more. My reserves are a bit low. But talking about Jesus puts a kick in my step. I’m living proof of miracles. Evidence is ALL AROUND if we choose to accept it.
Embracing imperfection with faith, flannel, and fresh air
K.L. Hale
I’m a Christ-following, flannel-wearing, blog-writing, nature-craving, dog-loving, coffee-sipping Mom, “Grammy K” old soul, history buff, and curious learner. I’m an Indie Author of a creative non-fiction children’s book (Faith and Finley Tour Missouri 2021). I’ll keep dreaming of open prairies, big mountains, rivers, and the historically stunning places of our amazing world–and stay grounded with faith, family, and friends. My name is Karla. I’m flannel with faith.
“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” —Mark Twain
They say in Missouri if you don’t like the weather, stick around a day, it will change! With snow and frigid temps in the forecast, a good night’s rest and recent health side effects diminishing, I had high expectations for my sunny Sunday.
Realistically, resistance was repealed. Mentally, fear was fended off. Emotionally, enthusiasm elevated. Spiritually, my Savior strengthened and supported me.
The bluff blew his bluff. Stumps couldn’t stump me. Lushness was lost, but the forest was heavenly.
The trail was tackled…just a tad. If tallying, it was only 1.5 miles. It was my trail of tender tears, talks with the trees, whispers by the water, and grounded grace. My soul sang.
My expectations aren’t too high or too low. They are just right.
“My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him.”—Psalms 62:5 (ASV)
photos courtesy of K.L. Hale, Spirngfield Conservation Nature Center, Missouri Department of Conservation, Springfield, MO.
“We tend to get what we expect.”
Norman Vincent Peale
My expectations aren't too high or too low. I’ll move forward with faith, Lo, my strength and health grow. K.L. Hale
While Flannel with Faith is where I share my heart, Finley River Publishing is where you'll find my book and the shop collection. Read the story behind the collection here!
