As I was praying for officers and APD this week, the value of compassion came to mind. I can only guess, but I would think it is hard not to become jaded in your job. People making bad choices over and over and then blaming others, or even blaming you, for where they find themselves. Once you lose a compassionate heart, it can be hard to find it again even for people who didn’t cause their own misery.
     
Two things struck me about this quote: 1) the thought that being compassionate can bring happiness to you and not just others. 2) the idea that compassion is a “practice”. Compassion is a choice to empathize with another’s situation and to take action to help.
     
I am thankful APD strives to be a compassionate organization...that compassion has been listed as one of your values. I have seen compassion in action. I remember during a ride along, a man initially appeared to be driving drunk, but it turned out he was suffering from diabetic complications. One officer waited while a friend of the family came to pick up the vehicle so it would not be towed, and the officer I was riding with took the man home, carried in his groceries and put them in the fridge. 
     
As I pray for you this week, I pray that you would not be jaded by the things you deal with, but that as you practice compassion it would bring happiness not only to others, but happiness (and peace) to you as well.
     
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob 

Whenever I am asked to pray for officers in a public gathering, I have a simple acrostic I like to use with the word POLICE:

Protection at all times
Officers you work with
Loved ones who send you out each day
Integrity that you may always do what is right
Community support
Encouragement when days are hard & critics are loud

Integrity is such a huge character quality and so important to a strong society. In order for you to maintain the public’s trust, integrity is something you must exemplify both personally and on the job. I came across a story that I thought was a great picture of what integrity means. It came from the book No Shortcuts to the Top, the autobiography of Ed Viesturs who is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world’s eight-thousand-meter mountains. On his 3rd attempt at his last mountain, he found a note his wife packed for him. “My dearest Eddie, be great. Be the stand...Be it!” He says, “it was one of Paula’s favorite mottoes. Not ‘take a stand.’ BE THE STAND.”

 My thought/prayer for you as an officer and individual this week is a challenge. Don’t just “take a stand” for what is right. BE THE STAND.” 

Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob

As some of you know, my neighbor has been getting a lot of West side APD attention lately with an eviction and a couple domestic calls last week. The last visit was another domestic disturbance call because the property owner was not enforcing her own criminal trespass order. I went outside to see what was going on and waved down an officer to tell him about the now-homeless people sleeping under the new junk pile in my yard. The officer explained what was going on and said, “I just got back from vacation, and this is what I get to deal with.” Thankfully all of the domestic calls to that address last week were more nuisance calls than dangerous calls, but I can only imagine that calls like this are drudgery. But please hear this from a next-door neighbor that has to live next to drugs, prostitution, frequent disturbances and a trashy yard...THANK YOU for answering calls for service and dealing with messes like this. Because of the Tarrant constables serving and eviction notice and APD’s 10 criminal trespasses and frequent visits, the place next to mine is slowly being cleaned up.
   
I am thankful for the job you do serving my neighborhood, my church and my family, and I believe you are true pros who handle everything well from the mundane drudgery to putting your life on the line. I pray for you each week and another of my regular prayers is for recognition and promotion on the job. King Solomon once said, “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” That is my prayer for you this week as you continue to serve with excellence: may you be respected, recognized and promoted by your chain of command.
   
Your service is appreciated, 
Pastor Rob

Friday and Saturday are my RDOs. Saturdays are generally filled with “family work” like fixing/cleaning things around the house, grocery shopping with my wife (our old person’s date!) and paying bills. There is also the work I do for my side business and often some sort of preparation for Sunday’s church service. But Friday...Friday is supposed to be my day off. I say supposed to be my day off because I’m not real good at days off. Friday has often been a catch up day for all the stuff I “should do” or “need to do”. I have tried to “compromise” and “just do a little” or “work at my leisure”, but I found what May Sarton said to be true. I found my psyche (or my soul) was not resting and that definitely takes a toll over time. There is a HUGE difference between a working day off and a day with no expectations to produce anything. 
   
My pastor (who is also my boss) has talked to me about this idea. He reminded me that remembering the Sabbath is literally one of the 10 Commandments. In Hebrew culture, the Sabbath was not just about “going to church”. There was definitely an emphasis on the Lord’s day and honoring Him, but there was also a requirement of physical rest from all work. It was later explained that the sabbath was created for man, not man for the sabbath. It wasn’t about following a rule for the sake of rule following, it was about understanding the principle that the human body was created with a need for rest. It seems, on our own, we are often slow in figuring this out, so Somebody had to tell us!
   
Each week I pray for your safety on the job and favor with the community you serve. This week, I am praying for your regular days off. May you find the peace and refreshment that comes only by setting aside a day of rest without the expectation of producing anything. 
   
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob

I remember a ride out I did several years ago. It was a strange call where somebody from out of state said their daughter was in danger in an abusive relationship, so APD went to investigate. From what I could observe, it seemed the daughter was not in danger and the situation was some sort of on-going family dispute where the parents didn’t like the boyfriend. The daughter seemed fine and explained the situation, but the boyfriend must have had enough harassment from her parents, because he took his frustration out on the officers (verbally). Once he got going, his girlfriend, whom the officers were just trying to check on and/or help, joined in. I do not know how the officer I was riding with kept such a cool head and did not respond.
   
As we got back in the car, I asked the officer about how he stayed so calm. He said it comes with the job, he doesn’t always do it that well, but he tries to give people the benefit of the doubt because he does not know what all people are dealing with, tries to not take it personally and do what he has to do. I know that is what is required of you on your job, but I was impressed because this guy not only did his job, he just didn’t get upset.
   
That day was not the only time I have seen an officer refuse to be provoked, but something about the peace the officer had driving away from that call stuck with me.  What if I put as much effort into not taking things so personally, giving people the benefit of the doubt when I don’t know all they are dealing with and try not to take it personally? What would that do for my marriage? In our family’s dynamic? For my friends?
   
My prayer for you this week is that you are successful in not being provoked on the job (may it bug the snot out of those trying to provoke you!) May you also be provoked less outside of work and may your relationships be stronger and richer for it. 

Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob

This quote is from a letter written by Ralph Waldo Emerson to his daughter, Ellen. Sometimes it is good to be reminded the day is over with all its drama, surprises and stress. 
   
It is interesting that in the Hebrew creation story, the sun, moon and stars were said to be created, among other reasons, to mark days, weeks, months and years. I believe we were given seasons of time to allow us natural times to reset. 
   
Obviously, there is something to be said for long-term planning. “Where do I want to be 10 years from now?” or “How can I advance in this job?” or “How do I want my kids to turn out?” These kinds of questions all require long-term planning. Resets like the turning of a new year and New Year’s resolutions to set goals and adjust habits can help here. But there are times when our mind and our soul need to live just one day at a time. 
   
At the end of the day, Emerson’s advice is good; put the day to bed. All that happened, let it go; tomorrow is a fresh day. And then rest...don’t worry about what the next day may bring. An often-quoted Hebrew rabbi once said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” 
   
I don’t know what your day, week, month or year has been like, but I pray that at the end of your day today, you can reset and be at peace. Today will be done and tomorrow will be a NEW day, full of potential to do or to change. 
   
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob

I read this prayer by the King of Ancient Israel 3000 years ago, and it made me think of Arlington officers, so this is my thought/prayer for you this week:

I am your servant; give me discernment…

Every time I see an officer talking to a witness, complainant or just about anybody involved in a call, you always have your notebook and are writing down what you hear. You are trained to listen to all sides of the story and then, to the best of your ability, discern the situation and make a call on what to do. Fortunately, EVERYBODY is ALWAYS 100% honest with law enforcement, so this makes discerning the truth easy! (heavy sarcasm)
     
Sometimes you have to discern and act more quickly whether it is something like reading a person’s body language or maybe rolling up on a dangerous call. Quickly discerning the situation and acting can be a matter of safety.
     
The job you do is dangerous, fluid and rarely black and white. I thought about that as I read a prayer by King David this weekend where he said, "I am your servant; give me discernment."
     
So that’s my thought or prayer for you this week. I am asking for you to be given discernment whether it’s as simple as hearing two different sides of a story or dealing with a situation that could be dangerous.
     
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob

I enjoy listening to a person’s story. Most of the time, you hear something you never would imagined just looking at the person. I am also of the opinion that you can learn from most anybody’s story. Sometimes you learn something worth repeating in your own life, and sometimes you learn something it would be good to AVOID. As an officer, you no doubt hear LOTS of stories of things that are best avoided in your own life, but have you ever paid attention to how the people telling these stories got themselves in their situation? THAT’S where you can learn from other’s mistakes.
  
You know what gateway drugs are. Have you learned to listen for people’s “gateway decisions” that got them into their situation? You may never do the thing for which a person gets arrested, but have you ever rationalized something because, “It’s not wrong. It’s not illegal. It’s not immoral. It’s not over the line.” Often times, these are the “gateway decisions” that lead us to negative consequences.
  
Because an option can be both not wrong and unwise at the same time, author Andy Stanley came up with what he termed “The Best Question Ever”. According to him, the best question anyone can ever ask when making a decision is, “What is the wise thing to do?” Not what is the right, smart, legal or even moral thing...what is the WISE thing? What a great question...but how can we know what is the wise thing to do? Andy suggests asking the question in three different ways: 1) In light of past experience, 2) In light of present circumstances, 3) In light of future hopes and dreams...what is the wise thing to do?
  
Whether I want to avoid making a dumb decision that will make my life harder, or if I want to help somebody else make a wise choice, what a great question! I am praying for YOU this week, both on the job and on your time off...be wise! In light of past experience, present circumstances, future hopes and dreams…what is the wise thing to do? 

Blessings,
Pastor Rob
 
Thoughts and examples taken from Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets: 
5 Questions to Help You Determine Your Next Move by Andy Stanley 
I am giving away a copy of this book. If you would like to be entered in the drawing, go to the comment section here, leave your name and email and simply say, "I want to be in the book drawing".

Make Life Less Hard Series
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Part 5