Public Safety Ministries Inc.

Just a quick entry on my first thanksgiving in 25 years that I haven’t been a cop.  I am so thankful for that life I lived for more than half of my life.  I’m also thankful for the abundance of opportunities I see in my future.  But most of all I am thankful for now, this year, this month, this day, this moment.  I just started reading a book called “The Sacrament of the Present Moment”.  Definitely more on that later, but it has given me words that reflect my greatest appreciation.  So, my thanks today are for a gift we don’t often recognize, the gift of Now.

Well, I’m off to attend to our holiday activities, have a great Thanksgiving!

Take Care

Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Executive Board Meeting
111507

Dear God,

We thank you today for this opportunity to gather in the spirit of law enforcement leadership.  We ask for guidance as we carry out our leadership roles in this association.

Specifically today we ask that you help those of us in the profession as we ask “Why?”  Help us find peace, strength and even joy as we, and those we lead, seek out and challenge the pain and suffering of the world.  We may never understand the pain and suffering, but help us understand the value and importance of our mission, To Protect and to Serve.

Bless the food we receive today as nourishment for our bodies, the information presented as nourishment for our minds and the fellowship we share as nourishment for our souls.

Amen

It’s a beautiful morning in Dover NH, a bit chilly and brisk, but sunny and fresh. Dover is just a short distance from Durham, home of the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. After our college visit expedition, we head home today, UNH is now on the top of Amy’s list. So yesterday we decided to stop here on our trek back to Boston just to spend some more time walking the campus and exploring the area.

I have been a fan of New England for many years. It started back in the 80’s (does that make me sound old)?) when we came out to visit my wife’s sister who lived out east for awhile. Then we came out here on our camping expeditions for many years to visit other friends who live here. I’ve often said, “If I couldn’t live in Minnesota, I’d live in New England”. So I’m excited that Amy is interested in venturing out here for college.

Now the bad news, selfishly, I’m not so interested in sending my oldest daughter so far away to school. With some rough math, that’s almost 5000 miles away from her brother Pete living and going to school in Fairbanks AK. Sometimes I wonder if we did something wrong that has caused our kids to want to go so far away. But I know in my heart that we did something right, something that has let our kids seek adventure in places away from the safety and comfort of home. There is a great line in the book “Alaska” by Michner, it says something like “Adventure and a safe haven, that’s a good mix.” We’ve tried to live by that motto, and maybe it has rubbed off on the kids. I know that they know, our haven, The Carlson home, on .82 acres, in Shorewood MN, next to Mike’s 2.5 acre pumpkin patch and sled dog training track, will be a haven the can always come home to.

Well it’s time to get going. We are off to Logan Airport to drop off the rental car, check our bags, then spend a few hours in downtown Boston before flying hom tonight. It has been a great adventure, but I am looking forward to returning to the haven. And no matter where Amy goes. I know that she will feel the same until she finds her own haven.

Take Care.

Well I’m sure you will all be happy to know that the tire warning light hasn’t created a problem (as of yet anyway).  I think it’s just an out of balance light, it’s hard to know since there is no manual in the car. Anyway…..

We had a great day yesterday!  It is amazing how visiting a place can change your perspective of a school.  You look at schools on-line, in brochures, talk to people, see pictures and you think you have a pretty good perspective on what you will see.  Looking back (you know that hindsight thing) and I can see we were looking at things we wanted to see, not necessarily how they actually were.  Hmm, maybe a lesson on life and spiritual fitness here?

Well we learned a lot, fell in love with one of the schools, not so much the other, but both great in their own right.  Met some good people, experienced the New England we remember from many visits here in the past, a very good day of learning and experiences.

Today we head north to Waterville to visit Colby College.  Looks like a great school but unless there is a financial aid package of substance, really out of our league financially.  But we want more perspective, and if today is anything like yesterday we should get some.

Gotta run, I mean drive,

Take Care.

This morning I write from The Holiday Inn Express in Lawrence MA.  Amy and I flew out of Minneapolis yesterday for a father / daughter college visit trip.  Three years ago I started an on-line travel journal, when Pete was also a high school senior, and we took a trip to Alaska and the Yukon for some sled dog racing and college visits to the west and northwest (way northwest!).  The big difference is that I wrote about the last trip in my Eden Prairie Police Chief Weblog.  This time I write as a chaplain and seminary student exploring his own educational future as we explore my daughters.

Today we head north (hopefully, there was a tire warning light flashing in the rental car as we pulled into the hotel last night) to the University of New Hampshire in Durham, then up to the University of Southern Maine in Gorham ME.

Stay tuned, I’m gonna refresh on posting photos so you can see some of the sights we do.

Take Care!

I just took the 2 block walk from my office in downtown Excelsior to Dunn Brothers Coffee overlooking the lake and across the street from Excelsior Bay Books, my literary headquarters. And guess what (well, you already know) It is SNOWING! Oops, wait a minute, now it stopped. Oh well, the point is that it’s cold, windy and feels like winter. I haven’t done a wandering post for awhile but all of my writing has focused on the functional. But today I have some reprieve, last night I finished my final project paper for my Church History Class at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS).

I spent the morning doing some pre-freeze dog chores at home, draining hoses, filling holes, etc. I also took some time for reading, reflecting and prayer. All in all a very peaceful morning. This afternoon I’ve been spending some time looking back at the past year and how I’ve spent my time. It felt like I was pretty busy and it turns out I was. In the past ten months I’ve made over 60 appearances at different events as chaplain. I delivered 16 invocations, 15 military reintegration presentations, 7 retirement presentations, another 9 misc. Public Safety Ministries talks at church groups, civic organizations etc. and another dozen or so site visits and misc events.

I’ve also spent a lot of time building the business and taking care of administrative chores. The big news on that front is that I just recently received 501 (c)(3) tax exempt status. So now I am officially, according to the state of Minnesota and the IRS a: Minnesota Tax Exempt Non-Profit Corporation. (That means you can give PSMInc money and write it off, or if you already gave, now I got the papers saying you can deduct. More on that later as now I need to start venturing down the fundraising path.)

So I’ve got the seminary stuff on track, the business stuff taking shape and the outreach opportunities are in full swing. And soon we’ll have snow. I’m hoping to do more sleddog stuff this year, but I’ve got a lot of training to do (mostly me!)

That’s all for this wander, Take Care!