Living Hazzardously

Little pieces of our journey with Jesus

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Livinghazzardously, The update that is long overdue:

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First is WHAT:

We opened a business (Named “Spring Lake Heating and Air“)

and a mission (Named “Sam’s Place”).

We had hoped to one day open an adult foster care home as our primary occupation. But like so many plans I have made in life, God gave us something bigger, better and more achievable. Instead of focusing on 4-5 guys, we are now providing for up to 15! WHAT???!!? We still have our home, but we are no longer planning to open it up to “Adult foster care”… Instead, we opened a retired hospital built in 1938 and was converted to a retirement home in the late 1960’s. A home for 15 guys. A home (best as we can) family setting, a place for individuals to prosper in life, a place that’s quiet, safe, clean. Our “new” home is located on the Rice river and Bigfork river confluence in the bustling little town of Bigfork Mn. We still have plans of gardening, but gave up our plan on cows, a goat and a Donkey. Delivering help to the guys that sometimes need just a little bit of help to stay out of institutions, jail, sheds, parks, tents and cars. A warm clean place where meals are made from scratch and ramen noodles are no longer the only option. 

I am still working full time, providing the initial start up of Sam’s Place. Jess is working full time without a salary, together we are Livinghazzardously towards a goal of a self sufficient at Sam’s Place.

One thing that has never changed is: We desire to provide meaningful and productive opportunities that meet and advance the living skills of our new, expanded family.  We will see how God provides!

Second is WHY:

We first moved “up north” with plans to open an adult foster care home. Soon we discovered this would never happen, due to how Minnesota operates its systems (see Minnesota corruption and fraud in 2025). One of our motivations in this bold move was the inability to keep Al safe in the cities. With so many variables (that too is a long story, I would love to share, just ask) I quit my excellent paying job, and we loaded up the truck and moved to Spring Lake, much like Jed Clampet.

From a very early age, I wanted to open some form of “young-men’s camp” where individuals that struggle in life can go to get mentorship, guidance and direction. Jess has always had a big heart for the Special needs community and she has always wanted to help in that area…. Sam’s Place seems to be the perfect combination of both these heart driven paths. 

Now is WHEN:

God’s Timing! We had no idea that our son Sam would be taken away at the age of 22.  We had no idea that God’s plan, which included Sam’s love for those in need, would foster the hope and dreams we now call “Sam’s Place”. Never have we “given up” but we have always been on the hunt for that perfect opportunity in life to give back the blessings of God to those we can help. Through the pain of loss, God provided for us. In God’s plan we found the path. Confirmation came in so many ways (Family, friends, the Bible, our sons) it seemed to be the only option. So we started to take our leap of faith and changed everything in our lives, continuing to move toward this common theme we called “Living Hazzardously”. God’s provision has always been there!

Traveling to WHERE:

We needed the right place, right price, right peace! Where we thought our plan was in adult foster care, God’s plan was to move us into the area he would provide the perfect opportunity…  We thought we needed a house that could be used as adult foster care. God’s plan was to provide a business plan of Heating and Air conditioning so we could fund the big project of Sam’s Place. We thought our home needed to meet certain criteria to start adult foster care, God’s plan was to give us the basis to start a project we never thought of. We thought we would be giving up income and security, God had set us up to succeed in other areas. We thought we needed the land, God knew we needed a small part of a city block in Bigfork. We thought everything needed to fit our dream, God’s plan was bigger than our dreams.

We traveled for months, searching and visiting so many homes. We traveled from Chaska into the Arrowhead, over to Lake of the Woods, nearly to Fargo and all points in between.  Then we found Spring Lake.  It fit every requirement but one, the remainder of God’s plan…  

So, you want to know our bigger dream?

Our plan? It’s easy. We thought we would one day be building three cottages on our land to be used for our ministry of helping marriages survive and thrive in the world of special needs. Instead it was purchasing an old neglected hospital…. Although our dreams have changed a lot, our big dream was to provide respite care when needed. Now we provide direct support and instead of providing foster care, we provide adult care for those that need help in staying off the streets. 

Sam’s Place is a tax deductable 501c3. We need your help to continue in our long term mission. Not just to provide for our Guys, but to continue to improve & provide services, even when we dont make the ends meet, giving back, because God has first given so much.

Please join us on this “Hazzardous” adventure! We have many needs, but the most valuable is prayer.

One thing that has never changed is this: LivingHazzardously is stepping out in faith, knowing it’s God’s prompt, trusting the Lord to provide.

Thanks, God Bless, C.

(Edit)

Below is a letter, please continue as we are indeed needing some help…

Subject: Help Sam’s Place Continue to Provide Safe Housing and Hope in Itasca County

Dear Friend,

We urgently need your help.

For eleven months (as of December 2025), Sam’s Place has provided safe, stable housing, home-cooked meals, and personal care to more than twenty individuals who had nowhere else to go — people coming off the streets, out of literal sheds, out of shelters, or recovering from hardship.

Recently, we learned that the 16 county “Rate 2” supplemental service designations we depended on, have been given to a different organization. This means we will not receive payment for over $40,000 of services we’ve already provided — or for the critical care we continue to give daily.

Sam’s Place was founded in memory of our son, Sam Arseneau, who passed away in 2022. Sam’s heart for the needy and outcast motivated his family to help people rebuild their lives.

We believe in doing more than offering a room — we provide community, guidance, and compassion. Without immediate support, we face serious challenges in continuing that mission.

Your donation today will directly support residents — local veterans, retirees, and neighbors — who depend on us for housing, food, and care. Every dollar stays here in Itasca County, making a difference right now.

Please consider donating today:

Online: samsplacenorth.com
By mail:
 Sam’s Place
PO Box 313
Bigfork, MN 56628

You can also call us at 218-256-9154 to learn more or pledge your support.

Thank you for standing with us during this critical time. Together, we can keep hope alive for those who need it most.With gratitude,
Jess & Charlie Hazzard
 Founders, Sam’s Place

I’m an odd duck…. Or am I a quack?

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When life gets messy, do you run and hide? Do you become hostile? Do you immediately switch into “damage control mode”? We all react differently in these situations and sometimes we regret the choices we have made in the past. As a Christian, what is the Biblical response to adversity? When things go south, what should we do? 

Peter in the boat cries out to Jesus who is passing them by, walking in the water… Peter leaps out at the first call from Jesus to step out in faith, but then he doubted his calling and sank.

Peter exclaims he would go to the place of death with Jesus on that fateful Friday but instead he hears the rooster crow, showing him how he failed again to have faith.

Jonah outwardly refused to do the will of God, but still ended up in Nineveh, to preach the word.

Esther complained to uncle Mordecai. Her uncle simply revealed if she didn’t do the calling on her life, God would raise another in her place.

Jess and I have been called to Sam’s Place, to serve those in need. When things get “messy” do we walk away? Or dig in for the hard push? Faith is one area God has gifted me. The truth is … it has topped my spiritual gift list for about 15 years now… prior to this it ranked in the bottom three.  I have no doubts about what Jess and I are doing.

BUT!!! This past week has put us both to the test. Let me tell you of some folks that could live at Sam’s Place. “Joe” had no family. Parents died years ago. Family is far away in a different state. Alone, lonely and tossed around from place to place. And “Bob” is a similar story as far as some aspects go… things got messy, I mean really messy, and it took a few days to get things worked out to get them better help, the system is the real mess. These two are humans that need a special kind of care… CARE!  The level of care we at Sam’s Place would love to offer but we are not set up for this level of care. We have to make decisions all the time to provide the right level of care… AND IT’S MESSY!! But we don’t quit. 

Let me tell you who we can care for: 

We can provide care for the lonely woman, living in the house or an apartment but struggling to keep the house clean, maybe forgets to take meds and would rather just stay away from people all day.

We provide care for the guy living with mental illness that just needs someone to monitor his mental health on a daily basis because he gets so busy with work that he forgets to eat or take his meds. 

We take care of the single mother that is trying to get her life together after her husband stops being part of her life, and she just needs help for a year or two.

That Vietnam Veteran down the block that looks out his window…  to make sure the kids are not coming into the yard to rip out the tulips he just planted.

That guy that’s always been an outsider in life, living in the trailer behind his mothers house when she was still alive.

The old guy that doesnt mean to make inappropriate comments but rather wants to say something nice, and always says it the most offensive way.

These are the folks Sam’s Place is looking to help, People made in God’s image, Messy people that you may not ever talk to because association with them may be embarrassing. People who may not always know what reality looks like and need a reminder that they can live a healthy and normal life, with a bit of help.

I’m reminded of Burl Ives narrating Rudolf the red nosed reindeer… Telling about the “Island of Misfit Toys” … The toys that are rejected by society for being old fashioned, odd in nature, not conforming to expectations… struggling to find a home, a place where they are just loved and accepted… A place where a Gal walks in and says “This is so much nicer than the places I’ve had to live” and she goes on to say, “Its clean!” Imagine, you just want a place to live that’s not gross! A place that’s not riddled with drugs and “drunk” smells. 

Give me your tired,

your poor,

your huddled masses

yearning to breathe free.

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

America is the biggest “dream land” in the world, folks are coming in by the 10 thousands, because it is the best place to live in all the world. It’s not a “fairytale” like Disneyland, it’s real, it’s messy, it’s home. Like America, Sam’s Place truly is the place of opportunity, for those we serve. 

Let’s get messy together! Let’s not worry about what someone “may say” . Let’s just make Sam’s Place the best community friendly, safe, loving and best place for everyone! Even if you don’t live or work there, you can still show love and compassion for the brother or sister, mother or father, uncle or aunt, veteran or orphan…

Serving others with love, sometimes will get messy. That’s ok. 

Charlie

Truth or Trust Fail

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I saw a movie trailer the other day starring Kevin Bacon and  Amanda Seyfried. Kevin made a claim “You broke the rules, there are no more rules anymore” This really struck a chord in my life… On one hand, we need to build sound and safe parameters to our lives for our safety and the safety of those we love. As a man, we have been given the responsibility of the protection of our families. Protection? From what? Maybe the horrible scene playing out in the Carolinas? Maybe from the fires in Maui? Maybe we should be testing fire hydrants in Cali?

What areas of protection do you see lacking in your world? Do we provide protections for others? WHO IS OUR CHARGE OF PROTECTION?

As the cofounder of Sam’s Place, Jess and I talk alot about how we can provide protection, how we can keep our residents safe…  safe, safe from what? I think back to the old movies like “Predator”. How would I protect anyone from that? I’m not a superhero… Well, I’m not super concerned about that type of threat, but I am concerned about other threats that are more realistic. Fires, floods and cold weather are real concerns… Locked doors, cameras monitoring who is “coming and going” are just a couple ways I can address safety, or maybe it’s the new boilers, electrical panels and a new roof? 

These are all great ways to provide protection, but what about the threats that we cant see? You know, the threats from within the mind? A few years back I got the opportunity to learn a bit about schizophrenia… It’s a difficult disorder. Imagine not being able to determine truth, hearing voices, seeing people and not knowing what is real. How do I protect someone from that? How horrible is it to allow a person to go on believing things that are not real? I guess if it doesn’t matter what a person believes then they can just imagine the reality they want? NO! That’s evil! 

I could go deep and prove my point here but in the end, If you don’t believe that objective truth matters, you will believe whatever you want to believe, regardless of facts, truth, reality and reason. If that’s true for you, I hope someone is looking out for you and protecting you from the reality of objective truth.

Back to trust, trust is knowing the person you trust will always do what is best for you in the long run. Trust is about putting others ahead of you and valuing the good outcome for them over your own desires… Think of it like the instructions on an aircraft, putting the mask on those that cant help themselves first is how is wrong and puts everyone at a higher risk of death. Taking care of the caregiver is how you take care of both people. BUT THAT SEEMS SELFISH. Until you are helping that person later, after the crash…

But what do you do when things are “WRONG” ? What do you do when trust is broken? What do you do when the one that is supposed to put you first with the lifesaving oxygen mask puts it on themselves and never helps you with yours, or worse, they put on the mask because they are saving themselves? What if the men in the Titanic got into the lifeboats to help the women and children get in but then they just stayed in the boat and did not help the women and children… 

The Movies are filled with scenes about trust fails, like life, the breach of trust is difficult… it destroys relationships faster than any other situation… 

If the plane had one too few masks, or the Titanic had too few boats… Where do you suppose you would see Jesus? Behind the mask? In the boat? No, he would be high and lifted up on that cross for you. For me. 

I’m so glad to realize that after I put the mask on my boys, help Jess into the boat, and stand at the end of life’s journey, I will always have company… The Men that take their jobs serious and Jesus. They will all be standing at the rails, watching the ones they love floating away to safety. 

Trust is a life’s journey, yet we all fail sometimes. Charlie