Living Hazzardously

Little pieces of our journey with Jesus

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Eating elephants? Table for one please!

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“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time” I remember asking this question years ago to one of my youth group kids, they replied “I don’t eat elephants!” but metaphorically this student was trying to eat the proverbial elephant in one bite. I think sometimes we all try to do jobs in one full movement, metaphorically eating the elephant in one bite, but sometimes our perfectionist side takes over and we won’t start a job unless we can finish the job, in one fast stroke of intention. In the first case of eating in one big bite we usually become discouraged and stop. Giving ourselves the freedom to quit because we feel defeated. In the second case, we never start because we can’t imagine leaving something half done. 

In the first case we are highly motivated and step up and to play the game, energized and willing to fight anything in our way to make big results! Then we don’t see the results we expected, and we start to lose the drive to continue …This is self-evident in-house repairs, WE never seem to finish the trim until it’s time to sell the house. It also seems like my sons started out this way in life, starting a job and leaving my tools everywhere and the job half done (notice I didn’t throw myself under the bus?)

In the second case, when we see the project, we may even plan it all out but then we stop short of starting. We feel we can never carve out enough time to start and finish a task in one smooth block of time… So, the job just sits there, waiting to see the starting line.

So how do we decide what the correct level of motivation is? Too much at first? we burn out and quit… not enough at first and we feel like it will never even get done… I think this is easy to define, we just need enough to not quit. Enough to feel successful and productive start to finish.  And I believe this can be one of the most difficult things we face, starting and not quitting.

This project management requires discipline and dedication, experience and endurance, planning and perseverance… and in some cases it requires humility. Sometimes to make progress we need to ask for help, beg for help, and maybe even guilting people to help. Do you think guilting is manipulation? If I guilt my wife into cooking my favorite meal and she guilts me into a vacation because of the meal, don’t we both win? (maybe it’s because we both love to give the other whatever they ask for?) Be careful, manipulation can be from a selfish motive. But it may very well become a blessing to be guilted into helping… We can become a part of the bigger picture and discover success, satisfaction and symmetry of life. Take Road clean-up, by yourself is a daunting task, but shared with others becomes a community event. 

We are slowly making progress at Sam’s Place. HUGE thank you to the Bigfork 6th grade class a week ago on Wednesday… We filled my dump trailer three times with yard litter and branches… I got our new sign installed as they helped me with yard clean up. Then we turned our attention to the shed that was full of junk left behind from years of stuffing things into corners… the grand finale was cutting down the old sign, it fell and broke into pieces… ironic? 

We met with another inspector; this time we are looking at grants. We learned a lot and found out what we may qualify for, Jess is now doing paperwork and sorting out deadlines. 

The electric panels are all in, but we need to wait for Minnesota Power to install our overhead lines. We have a huge praise!!! We have been approved for a grant that covers about ⅓ of the electrical work so far, that leaves us to pay the remaining monster sized bill of about $40k, but it’s a necessity. We got another grant for the front door replacement, and now we need to finalize that project. Jess and I have made a few hard decisions and a few short cuts that we needed to settle on to make things work. It’s always hard to cut things out to keep in that budget, but it’s all part of being a good steward.

The electrical work came with a few expensive hidden gems like an electrical panel had caught fire and the breakers were “by-passed”. This was, I am pretty sure, probably from using all those electric heaters, because the boiler was dead. The upgrades do really look great, and it allows us to replace 1938 fuse technology with circuit breakers, safety first. 

These past two weeks I have been so busy getting the small things lined up, it feels good to be emerging on this side of these events:

  • Broiler chickens are set up in the brooder
  • Piggies are in the pen learning about fencing.  I picked up Mangalitsa pigs this year… Did you know this type of pig is called the “Kobe Beef” of the pig industry?  On a side note, why is it that every year it takes two days of fence repair before I can bring home the pigs? Seems odd to me. 
  • Caught two escaped piggies
  • The water line froze and burst in a few spots, that’s a future repair… Dragged out all the hoses for now. 
  •  Jess is running a fever, and I am running the program solo…
  • It’s not often I get a truck stuck in my own yard. But when I do, I bury it up to the axles.  I knew it was a bad day when I backed up, the truck slid sideways and immediately sank into the soupy mix… two days later, a lot of hand digging, a stuck bobcat… I can go to work again… 
  • 4000# of flooring is picked up from the cities and unloaded into Sam’s Place
  • I picked up al from his dad’s place
  • Jess planted her flowers this week, she loves her flowers,
  • Drax knocked one flowerpot over to sleep on the flowers
  • We bought more flowers 
  • I installed the brother in laws mini-split
  • Got the inner tubes installed in the lawn mower
  • Spent time with my bride

I love having weeks like this where so many things just fall into place and click, but it’s also nice to sit down and write my blog post, it is truly one of my all-time favorite things to do. I am exhausted just writing about the week!

Random thoughts, back to Sam’s Place… Our original hope “was” to maybe be able to reopen in only a few weeks, but we quickly determined, before we bought Sam’s Place, that it would take months… We still moved forward, trusting that God was and still is leading this mission.

Anyway, thank you for checking in with us and we look forward to getting the boat in the water and catching dinner soon. 

“It’s time to remember the important things, 

perhaps forgotten or maybe never known.”

Sky Pilot Frank Higgins

From Jess and Charlie at Livinghazzardously, 

God’s peace be your blessing until we talk again next week. 

ITS RAINING, PIGS AND CHICKENS, BUT…

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Sam’s Place needs your help! I don’t want to sound desperate, but winter is not that far away.   You can help Sam’s Place get a new roof! You can make the difference to somebody who needs your help. 

As it turns out we had a surprise with the roof, without being able to perform an intrusive inspection (peeling back the “repairs” it was ugly looking, but reality is, it was hidden) we were left to think the repairs were ugly but usable for at least a couple years… The truth is the “repairs” made the roof unusable and NOT REPAIRABLE. 

We immediately started a fundraiser for the roof, but we still have a long way to go. 

We are still focusing on reopening ASAP, but this roof issue will set us back months or longer without some financial help…

Our original hope “was” to reopen in only a few weeks, but we quickly determined that it would take months… We still moved forward, trusting that God was and still is leading this mission. Sam’s Place needs you. 

Today we got the bill for the electrical upgrades needed to get insurance and provide a safe electrical distribution system. This will serve us today and well into the future. It was higher (a lot higher) than we had hoped. We found an electrical panel had caught fire and the breakers were “by-passed”. I am pretty sure this was in response to the electric heaters put into play because the boiler was dead. That was the first part of the building that lost its heat because of the boiler failure.  The upgrades look great, and it allows us to replace 1938 fuse technology with circuit breakers and eliminate the power panel from one more bedroom into a common space. 

I hauled my dump trailer to the dump, it’s now empty and ready for helpers tomorrow to clean up the yard waste and some tree trimmings. I will be installing the new “Sam’s Place” sign out front and removing the old name, I guess it’s called “rebranding” I call it “Sam’s Place”

I am meeting with yet another inspector tomorrow, I pray it goes well, I am feeling a bit discouraged right about now. 

We got our broiler chickens into the brooder, our feeder pigs are coming here on Thursday, and we are blessed beyond measure, but a bit tired, I guess. On a side note, why is it every year it takes two days of fence repair before I can bring home the pigs, seems odd to me, oh and don’t forget to fix the water supply either.

As always, May the Lord bless you on this day.

“Coffee Cup”

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We are Jessica and Charlie Hazzard. We have purchased the historic 1938 hospital in Bigfork, MN, and we need your help to get a new roof. The building, which we have renamed Sam’s Place, is a 16to20-bedroom, independent living facility for special needs adults or elderly with some special services and meals provided. We are inspired to provide an updated, clean and safe living environment for those who may not be able to advocate for themselves. We need financial help, community assistance, general labor and professional services.

 A man I call “Coffee Cup” – As I peeled the bedding from a single sized mattress, I saw holes worn through the top that exposed the coil springs inside the mattress. This mattress, like many others, was covered with layers of blankets and sheets, stained and covered again and again… I thought, “Would I sleep here? Is this how I would provide for my kids? Would I put my mother in this bed?”  I can’t believe this is the best we can do for those who need our help. The blankets covering the springs had actually intertwined the fibers with the mattress, making it necessary to apply a good amount of force to remove the blanket.

This is “Coffee Cup’s” reward for living here 30 plus years. His life was centered in a tiny room that had no sunlight. The window that had once been the source of beauty and blue skies, was now shielded by the underside of a makeshift roof protecting 1000 gallons of fuel oil. Jess started to weep out-loud. She proclaimed, “He deserves better. They all deserve so much better.”

This man we will call “Coffee Cup” had been living here longer than most people can remember. “Coffee Cup” could be found daily, walking the town that loved him and talking to patrons of stores. One day I watched him for a couple hours, walking from the north to the south and back north, visiting his regular stops along the way. Now I see him in a different light. I see a man living in an 11-foot square room with a chair, a portrait of himself as a young man, and his “nice” clothes that looked untouched for years, hanging in his private restroom that had been stripped of the sink and commode. The toilet flange was still where it should be but was “covered” like so many other problems in this grand, old building. I wondered, “Can ‘Coffee Cup’ articulate the needs he has?”

“Coffee Cup” had to be moved to a new home in a new town by the Itasca County Adult Protective Services.  I often wonder…. Is he confused? Is he lonely? Is he scared? Does he have the support he needs now?  He was such a loved part of Bigfork. Everyone knew him and now he is gone, likely to never return.

THE INSPECTOR! – We met with the county inspector that filed the report that eventually led me to this building on a service call to “fix” the boilers that had stopped working. I own Spring Lake Heating and Air. When I saw the attempted repair on a cast iron boiler with epoxy, I knew this building had not seen a professional for decades, and it would require a miracle to revive it.

The inspector was very patient, and we had many questions about his initial findings. He revealed that he had inspected about 4 rooms where clients had slept, and of those rooms inspected, THREE HAD ROOF LEAKS! Obviously, this was no shock to us after we were able to thoroughly inspect the existing roof. We knew the roof was no spring chicken, but not what we were told when we bought the building.

I have rehabilitated many houses, as well as worked commercial & residential heating and air for many years. Although I am well qualified to handle this task, we need help. As hard as I work to maintain my full-time job of a small business owner, a small startup hog producer, a father to a special needs son, and a husband to a loving wife… I can’t do everything that needs to be done on my own.

After requesting quotes for roofing repairs and replacements, I was turned down by some companies, as they told me, “We are not interested in taking on this project.” I have secured quotes from our local builders to replace our rubber roof with a truss and formed metal roof. We need this before winter. 

We have begun the process of applying for grants, but for many it will take up to a year to qualify and receive funds in order to start a project. SO, we are reaching out to the community for help.

Although this project is important to the community, it serves as more than just community benefit. This project is about making improvements to a historic building that has existed in the Bigfork community for years and utilizing it to provide a safe, clean, caring home that someone would actually want to live in. 

Who will live here?

This could be your uncle’s home.

Your brother that lived in a cabin in the woods might live here because he wants to live in his “small town” rather than dying in the city.

Maybe your mother will live here? She is just not able to keep up on her house repairs after Pa died, but she doesn’t want to live in a “home”.

This is a home for those that can almost do everything and want to live more independently. They want to live with dignity. This is where you would like to live if life is just too much alone. This is a home. 

Contributions can be made directly to “Sam’s Place” c/o Bigfork State Bank or online at our Go Fund Me campaign: Help put a roof on Sam’s Place

Check our Facebook page at Sam’s Place Bigfork MN for specific smaller projects that can be volunteered for like painting, landscaping or cleaning…. or maybe you would like to purchase a front load washing machine, pour concrete steps, or help replace windows and doors… There is no shortage of work.

Follow our blog at About Living Hazzardously

There is no donation that is too small. Every dollar makes a difference.

Thank you in advance for helping us help our community.

There is no donation that is too small, every dollar makes a difference. 

Sam’s Place, read more about our vision and Mission here Sam’s Place (livinghazzardously.com)

Connect with us on Facebook at Sam’s Place