“Adventure and a safe haven, that’s a good mix”

By Dan Carlson, on September 27th, 2008

It’s Saturday morning as I write this post. Fall is in the air this morning after a hot summer day of 85 degrees yesterday. It is in the 50′s this morning, a cool mist hanging over the yard, gray skies, light breeze, and my coffee couldn’t taste better. As I sit in my basement office, surrounded by my books, pictures, memories, and with family upstairs …. this .875 acre plot in Shorewood Minnesota is my haven.

“Adventure and a safe haven, that’s a good mix”. I love words and I love the stories that they tell. Over the years I’ve got in the habit of saving quotes that inspire me, words that are good for my soul. The “good mix” quote comes from James A. Michener’s Alaska and it has stuck with me ever since I first read it over 20 years ago.

As I sit in my haven this morning all I can think about is the “adventure” that surrounds me. I see it in my two oldest kids who have picked education adventures in opposite directions and opposite sides of the continent. They have had success and learning experiences in those adventures, but I’ve always seen the importance of the havens in their lives as their adventures unfold. I think about the adventures of the law enforcement professionals I serve as their chaplain. The challenges they face in crime, politics, leadership, career decisions, personal tragedy… all adventures that depend on their skills and abilities to keep our communities safe. And I look at my own adventure, leaving the haven of a career I loved to pursue another that calls to me.

This is what life is all about folks. Often it seems to complicated and overwhelming, but if you work at it you can pare it down to “adventure and a safe haven…a good mix”

Today I pray for blessings on your adventures and I pray for your awareness to the wonderful havens that surround you. Often they get lost in the clutter, but they are there and they are “safe”.

Take Care.

Leave a comment   Exercises, Stories, Wanderings

An Updated “About….Public Safety Ministries, Inc.”

By Dan Carlson, on September 27th, 2008

As the ministry has grown and evolved, so has the mission, vision and strategies associated with PSMInc. The following is the new version of “About…” located to the left of this post.

Our Mission:
Promoting Spiritual Fitness in the Public Safety Professions.

Our Vision:
To provide public safety leaders with the spiritual care and support resources they need for personal spiritual fitness development. In turn, those leaders will possess the resources needed to promote and support the spiritual fitness of their employees and organizations. The end result will be organizations with spiritually fit employees providing quality public safety services to our communities.

Our Strategy:
We will actively and professionally engage public safety professionals and organizations through a traditional chaplaincy ministry of presence, service and relationships. We will provide spiritual care and support services, including referral resources, to the public safety community in times of need as well as in times of calm. We will be present as they gather to accomplish their critical responsibilities and we will work to provide opportunities to gather for spiritual fitness growth and development.

Our Ministry Outreach Projects:

Chaplain Care and Support Services:
- Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, Appointed Chaplain
- Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association, Appointed Chaplain
- Public Safety Ministries Inc. Website
Service Projects:
- Military Reintegration, Training and Support
- Police Officer Retirement Planning, Training and Support
- Public Safety Chaplain Services in Minnesota, Resource Coordination

Leave a comment   Site announcements

I’m Baaaaaack!

By Dan Carlson, on September 26th, 2008

Yes, summer is over and it’s time to get back to the world of the internet and technology and everything else that goes with keeping this website active. As summer started to approach the maintenance of the website had become more of a burden than the blessing that it had been. I was running out of stories to tell, or at least the enthusiasm for telling them in this format. But now after several months of letting it “sit” I’ve felt some new energy in getting going again. For the past couple of weeks it has been almost a daily occurrence to say to myself “that would make a good post”. I wasn’t going to start things up until I knew I’d keep it going and I think that time has come.

Here’s a little catch up on what we’ve been up to lately. The Carlson household continues to be in a state of transition. Amy, our second (of three kids) graduated high school and she now resides in Durham, New Hampshire at the University of New Hampshire. That’s about 1500 miles to the east. My oldest, Pete, still lives in Fairbanks going to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and diving deep into a career in the fire service there. That’s 3500 miles to the northwest. Who knows where number three, Sophia, will end up, but she’s still got 6 years to figure that out. I’ve been retired from the EPPD for almost two years now and this past year I have been blessed with the opportunity to hang my hat, part time as a pastoral assistant, at Faith Lutheran Church in Waconia MN while I pursue ordination through the ELCA. Cam continues to work for the Minnetonka school district and we are starting to get into the groove of a “new normal” as our lives change and evolve.

So, that’s it for now, start looking for more stories, ramblings, wanderings, and to steal a line from my old boss, City Manager Scott Neal “stuff that’s crossing my desk and my mind.”.

I’ll close with a special thanks to EPPD Lieutenant Greg Weber who has been my most consistent reader to encourage me to keep writing. Our most recent conversation is what motivated me to start up again.
Lt. Weber
Lt. Weber

So I’ll start keeping you posted again.

Take Care

Leave a comment   Wanderings