Order of the Polar Star

While researching my Swedish heritage, I decided to learn a little about Sweden's royal family. His majesty, Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, ascended to the throne on September 15, 1973. As I read about the king and his family, of particular interest were the orders which the king had received. Royal recognition from not only Sweden but other countries have been bestowed on King Carl, and as King of Sweden, he has the authority to honor others with these royal awards.

For example, the Order of the Polar Star is an "order of chilvary" and serves as a reward for "civic merits, for devotion to duty, for science, literary, learned and useful works and for new and beneficial institutions" and can be granted to either Swedish or foreign honorees.

In the United States, the highest award that can be bestowed by the President of the United States is the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Imagine receiving an invitation from a monarch to visit his palace. Imagine learning that he intends to honor you with the highest honor he can bestow.

As I pondered these thoughts one evening while driving home, the Lord reminded me that he intends to distribute awards as well. Among the higest awards are the Crown of Righteousness, the Incorruptible Crown, the Crown of Life, the Crown of Rejoicing and the Crown of Glory. The Bible teaches that there are other rewards that will be issued as well.

In Sweden, crowns are reserved for royalty. For example, King Carl's eldest daugher Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, is next in line to ascend the throne. In June of 2010, Princess Victoria married her personal trainer, Daniel Westling. Upon marriage, Daniel went from being an average Swedish citizen to a member of the royal family.

I was not born into the royal Swedish family, nor do I anticipate marrying or being adopted into it.

But, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I have been adopted into the royal family of God. Romans 8 teaches that if you possess the "Spirit of Christ" then you are "children of God", and if children, then "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ..." Revelation 21 states, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." And again, Revelation 22:12 reads, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."

God made a point to inform us of His reward system. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, Paul exhorts us to "...run, that ye may obtain."

I don't know about you, but I can think of no greater honor than to be the recipient of God's rewards. Run, that you may obtain.

Strategic Planning for Life

The vast majority of people live their lives without specific direction. The daily rat race pulls them along from one thing to another and before they know it, they're retiring from their careers having lived their entire life, having never achieved anything significant, wondering what legacy they are going to leave for those around them. How can you avoid this pitfall?

The answer is planning. "Plan the work and work the plan" is a fairly simple concept, yet very few know how to achieve this. It has been called a number of things, but we'll call it "strategic planning" for the sake of this article.

In any organization (i.e. company, church, family, government, etc.) it is imperative that the members of the organization be in alignment with the leadership. It is also imperative that these goals and objectives be successfully communicated by the leadership to the membership. If these goals and objectives have been effectively communicated, the division managers within the company had better ensure that their division's work (projects and operational activities) are aligned with those directives or their division will cease to be funded or the manager fired.

In all of the organizations listed above, God has established clear goals and objectives for each. They each have specific, unique purpose and jurisdiction, and it is incumbent on each individual to ensure that they are in alignment with these God given "policies and procedures." Whenever we recognize a lack of alignment, it is the responsibility of each individual to assess the alignment gap and create a strategy for getting back under the established guidelines.

While there are many methodologies for strategic planning, you can boil them down to four simple questions:

• Where do I want to be?
• Where am I now?
• How am I going to get there?
• How am I going to know when I've arrived?

Most people, when discussing changes they need to make in their lives spend quite a bit of time thinking and talking about them, but rarely do they turn those desires into "actionable" steps which result in the success of getting from point A (where I am now) to point B (where I want to be).

To illustrate how you can use these questions to lay out an actionable plan for yourself, here are sample responses to the strategic planning questions. The answers below are hypothetical and should be replaced with the answers that are on your heart and mind. Remember to answer the questions by providing statements of alignment. In the case below, referring to scriptural mandates within the responses provides the necessary alignment to Biblical directives.

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Where do I want to be?

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says I should "Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Within one year's time, I want to have a vibrant prayer life where I talk to the Lord about everything, no matter how small.

Where am I now?

My prayer life is often limited to giving thanks at meal times, but I often forget to take issues at work to the Lord. I often become frustrated or upset when things aren't going my way, rather than believing that Jesus Christ is in control of all things. Hebrews 2:8 says, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his [Jesus] feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him."

How am I going to get there?

1. During the next two month, I am going to research every place in scripture that speaks about prayer, document my findings, and share it with my accountability partner.
2. After researching, I am going to keep a daily prayer journal which I will keep beside my bed. Each night I will make an entry of the things I have brought before the Lord that day and any answers that He had given.
3. Once a month, I will bring the prayer journal to my accountability partner and demonstrate that I am following up on my commitment.

How will I know when I've arrived?

At the end of one year, I will be able to measure the results by looking back through the journal and identifying those items in which the Lord provided an answer, and those on which I am still seeking the Lord's guidance. Since there are 365 days in a year, I will count the number of days which I recorded an entry and divide by 365. If I only have 200 entries, then 200 divided by 365 is 54.7%. My goal is to achieve an 80% score or better.

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If you have any questions or comments, or are having trouble turning your answers into actionable steps, feel free to contact me.

Extra! Kungsbacka Article

Daniel från Florida på jakt efter sina rötter

Anders Peter Johansson från Hanhals gick till sjöss 1859 och hamnade i USA. Nu har hans sonsons sonson Daniel Johnson spårat sin förfader och kommit för att hälsa på sina släktingar.

Det har varit väldigt känslosamt. Fast det bara är några dagar sedan jag träffade mina släktingar så känns det som om vi känt varandra hela livet, säger Daniel Johnson.

När Extra träffar släktforskaren från Florida har han just ätit frukost på Hilmersgårdens Bed and breakfast och ska ge sig ut på dagens expedition. Schemat är späckat under veckan i Sverige.

Nio generationer

Hittills har jag lyckats forska nio generationer bakåt på min pappas sida, och i de bakre leden bodde nästan alla i Hanhals och Gressela. Många släktingar bor fortfarande kvar här, en del av dem visste inte ens att de var släkt med varandra förrän jag berättade det, säger Daniel Johnson.

Intresset för släktforskning är relativt nyväckt och Daniel Johnson började inte på allvar förrän i höstas. Men tack vare en utförligberättelse som hans farfars faster skrivit fick det hela en flygande start. I berättelsen beskriver fastern sina föräldrars liv och sin pappas barndom i Halland.

Han föddes 1845 och hette Anders Peter Johansson. Som 14-åring gick han till sjöss och när han slog sig ner i USA efter 15 år ändrade han namnet till Andrew Peter Johnson. Men han kallades oftast A.P, säger Daniel Johnson.

Med hjälp av släktforskarbaser på internet och Landsarkivet i Lund lyckades han spåra upp sin farfars farfars hemort och även leta fram levande släktingar. Till exempel bröderna Hans, Sten-Åke och Roger Herbertsson.

Deras farfarsfar Johan Emil var bror till A.P. När Roger Herbertsson och hans dotter Ida mötte mig på Landvetter hade både Roger och jag gåshud. Det kändes otroligt, säger Daniel Johnson.

Vill tillbaka

Idag, torsdag, går planet hem till Florida igen. Men Daniel Johnson hoppas komma tillbaka.

Min pappa, min fru och mina barn vill gärna följa med nästa gång. Dessutom hoppas jag att några av våra svenska släktingar vill komma och hälsa på oss i USA.

Det Sverige som förfadern A.P. lämnade var fattigt och överbefolkat. Men hans ättling är imponerad.

Människorna är fantastiska. Och precis som A.P, beskrev så växer det vackra blommor överallt, både i trädgårdarna och längs vägarna.

Gustaf Görfelt
0300-68 18 60

My First Trip to Sweden (Day 6)

Morning came early and Sten-Åke, his son Jonas, and his brother Hans Herbertsson (who everyone calls “Hesse”) came to pick me up at Hilmersgården. Hesse drove me to the Hanhals boat docks in his work truck where we were met by Chico (the other newspaper reporter). Chico had brought several copies of his newspaper article for me to keep. As we were boarding Sten-Åke’s boat, Chico took some final pictures.


We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather and it wasn’t long before we were heading out to sea. While we were cruising along, Hesse gave me a sandwich that he had prepared for breakfast along with some coffee, of course.


On the ride out, Jonas and I got to know each other a little bit. Jonas is a database administrator for a small technology company in Göteborg. Jonas and I speak the same language…technology!


It took about an hour to get to the place in the North Sea where the Herbertsson’s wanted to fish. Once the hooks were baited, we dropped the lines in the water. I let my hook down about 9 meters and it was only a few seconds before I had hooked my first mackerel. Not long after, Hesse caught a fish shortly after.

Somewhere in the middle of our fishing trip the lack of sleep from the past several days caught up with me. With the warm sun shining on me, I suddenly got very sleepy, sat down and took a very brief nap as we were going to the next fishing spot.

But, as the sea would have it, we labored most of the day and only caught 5 fish. I learned that the number 5 in Swedish is pronounced “fem” and the word fish is pronounced “fisk”. So, when we got back to shore, I went around telling everyone that we had caught “fem fisk”, much to everyone’s delight.

We returned the boat to a small dock in Åsa near Sten-Åke’s house. After unloading the boat, we spent a few minutes touring Sten-Åke’s house. He has solar water heating panels and his home’s heating unit is geo-thermal. The system sends fluid down a long pipe in the ground and uses the earth’s constant temperature to partially heat his house in the winter. It seems that the heating systems in Sweden are much more efficient than those we have in the United States.

We left Sten-Åke’s house and drove to Hesse’s house back in Hanhals where Hesse began smoking the fish we had caught. While we were waiting, we looked at two beat up cars that Hesse used to race in demolition derbys. I also met one of Jonas’ young daughters and we jumped on the trampoline together. Not long after, we were all enjoying a fantastic meal of freshly smoked mackerel, potatoes and salad.

After dinner, we shared stories over ice cream and coffee. One particular story about a tree and a stick of C4 has us laughing. Sten-Åke commented on how nice it was to have me visit.

Hesse drove me back to Hilmersgården.

Earlier in the week, Ann-Helen had asked me to stop by her place to see if her other daughter, Helena, had made it back from vacation. So, I got in my car and drove to Ann-Helen’s house. No one was home. So, I drove next door to Astrid’s house to see if she knew if they were coming back soon. I had forgotten that Astrid didn’t speak English, but she quickly went and got her daughter Mariann (Ann-Helen’s sister), to translate.

I learned from Mariann that Helena had returned and was having dinner over at Mariann’s daughter Anna’s house. I asked directions and Mariann decided to lead the way in her car because the directions were a little complicated. When we arrived, everyone had just finishing desert. Charlotta was there and I was able to meet two more cousins: Helena and her family, and Mariann’s daughter Anna and her family.

As the sun went down, it occurred to me that this was the last time I would see my relatives on this trip. The flight back to the U.S. was leaving early the next morning. I don’t know how my cousins felt at that moment, but saying goodbye was difficult for me. I didn’t want to leave. I had connected with my Swedish roots for the first time. My ancestors had farmed this very land for hundreds of years, and I had spent the last few days getting to know some beautiful people…family I never knew I had.

I can’t wait to go back!

My First Trip to Sweden (Day 5)

The night before, Anna and Lena had agreed to meet me at 10 AM at the IKEA store just south of Göteborg, Sweden. As I was eating breakfast at the Hilmersgården, Eva informed me that the reporter from “Extra Kungsbacka” was on his way to interview me. Gustaf Görfelt, a young man from the newspaper, arrived about 9:30 AM with his camera and notepad. As we sat in the dining area, I began to relate my story and Gustaf began taking notes. After the 15 minute interview, we walked outside and I posed for a few pictures before heading off for Göteborg.

I arrived at the IKEA store around 10:15 AM and immediately found Anna and Lena. We walked through the store comparing the prices of things between Sweden and America. Some things were more expensive and some things were less. As we were leaving, I picked up a bag of Swedish Fish.

The three of us got in Anna’s car and began driving north. Lena handed me a tourism brochure which listed many of the places to visit and asked which I would be interested in seeing. After looking through the pages, I determined that the Aeroseum was first on my list.

When we arrived at the Aeroseum, Anna handed me a pass that they had purchased in advance that would get us into nearly every tourist site in Göteborg. They were so thoughtful!
Inside the underground museum, we were able to sit in the cockpit of a retired Saab Viggen jet and climb in the air intake, through the engine housing, and out the back of the aircraft.


After the Aeroseum, the three of us decided to eat at Burger King in downtown Göteborg. The burger was exactly like the American version. Following lunch, we walked down to the water and passed by the immigration building where many of the Swedish immigrants had boarded ships bound for the distant shores of America.

After the Aeroseum, we visited Maritiman which is an impressive floating museum of old ships including retired freighters, a naval destroyer and a submarine. We were able to walk through the vessels on a self-guided tour.


Not far from the Maritiman was the Götheborg, an authentic replica of an East Indian trade route ship that had originally been built in 1738. On September 12, 1745, the ship sank when it hit a submerged rock (known as the Hunnebådan) as she approached the Göteborg harbour. The replica was built using the same methods that were used in the 1700's. The Götheborg is scheduled to sail to New York in 2013.

Next, we took the Paddan Canal Boat Tour. I learned that when Göteborg was being built, the city’s founder hired Dutch engineers to help design the city because it was close to the water. The Dutch engineers designed and built a canal around the city. The Paddan Canal Boat tour is an open-topped boat, guided tour around the city by way of the canal. One interesting moment is when the tour guide asks everyone to get on the floor of the boat and to keep your head down. The boat passes under a bridge that nearly touches the top of the boat. This is called the “cheese slicer” because you are not able to sit in your seat and pass under the bridge.


Since most of our day had been walking the streets of Göteborg, I was needing a some serious energy. Anna and Lena told me that their brother Thomas had decided to join us for dinner. We agreed to meet him at the Hard Rock Café. Since Anna and Lena visit the Hard Rock Café quite often, they are able to get seated more quickly than most guests. Within a few minutes we had a table and I settled for a steak dinner. Our waiter was from Pennsylvania but had lived in Sweden for 4 years. During dinner, I learned that Thomas was in school studying Information Technology security and was planning to become a certified information security professional.

After dinner, Anna and Lena said “goodbye” and Thomas agreed to take me back to my car which was parked in the IKEA parking lot. Thomas drove a sporty, black Honda Civic which made it back to IKEA in no time at all.

It was an amazing day, thanks to my Larsson cousins, and I needed some serious rest. Tomorrow my Herbertsson uncles (Hans and Sten-Åke) are planning to take me fishing in the North Sea.

My First Trip to Sweden (Day 4)

Monday morning started with photography. Since it had been raining most of Sunday, I wanted to return to the Hanhals church with my camera. I could not have asked for a more beautiful day. After taking pictures of the church and surrounding cemetery, I retraced the route that Roger Herbertsson had taken me on the previous Friday and spent time documenting those locations with my camera.

Before leaving the United States, I had learned from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) that Swedish parents desiring to teach their children at home were having their rights taken from them by the Swedish government. As a result, I had contacted the national Swedish organization for homeschooling (Rohus). Mrs. Caroline Olsson, a member of the Rohus board, had agreed to meet with me to discuss the current state of homeschooling in Sweden. I wanted to hear about the challenges first hand and understand how home educators in America could help, especially those of Swedish decent. Mrs. Olsson and I met at the café of the Kungsbacka bus and rail station. We had a delightful conversation which I will describe at a later time.

After my meeting with Mrs. Olsson, I drove back to Hilmersgården where I met two new cousins for the first time, Anna and Lena Larsson. Anna and Lena drove me about 30 minutes south to Veddige where I would spend the day with their family. Anna and Lena’s mother (Elvy Helgesson Larsson), their aunt (Alice Helgesson) and their uncle (Ingvar Helgesson) are all descendents of Olof Martin Johansson (Andrew Peter Johansson’s brother).

Both the Larsson and Helgesson families are flower farmers and have large green houses for cultivating the beautiful blossoms that are present everywhere in Sweden.

After a relaxing lunch on the Larsson’s covered patio, Alice Helgesson gave me two CD-ROMs full of old photographs and documents she had so graciously scanned for me. After she had explained each photograph, Alice was interested in seeing how I entered the information online. We logged on to ancestry.com and uploaded some of the pictures that she had given me.

Alice had also provided some old letters that had been sent from the United States, by Anders Frijof Olsson, to the relatives in Sweden. As I typed, Anna verbally translated the old letters from Swedish into English.

Not long after, we all headed over to Invar Helgesson’s house for an amazing dinner of grilled steak and pork along with some tasty side dishes Ingvar's wife Monika had prepared. After dinner, we took a few pictures of Ingvar’s farm and greenhouses. Afterword, I had a chance to talk to Ingvar’s two daughters, Malin and Emma, while enjoying fresh berries, ice cream and coffee.

As the night drew to a close, Anna and Lena drove me back to Hilmersgården so I could get rested for the big day tomorrow…touring Gothenberg.

My First Trip to Sweden (Day 3)

It was Sunday morning and the family had planned a wonderful day for me. During Saturday’s excursion, Ann-Helen had been encouraging each of the relatives to meet at the Hanhals church on Sunday. The service was scheduled to start at 9:30 AM and I arrived around 9:15 AM.

The day was overcast and there was a light mist of rain falling. Matthias, Linda and their three boys arrived the same time I did and we walked to the entrance together. As I approached the front door, Chico (the newspaper reporter) met me there with camera in hand ready to continue gathering facts and photos for his article. It was scheduled to be in the paper next week.

I walked in, shook the young minister’s hand and took a seat about half way down the aisle, on the right hand side, next to Ann-Helen and her family. Each row had its own door that you had to open to access the pew. As I watched some of the families with small children, I imagined that this door was to keep the children confined to the pew during the service. The pews were made of hard wood.

The service began and I could hear Chico’s camera in the back of the room taking pictures for the newspaper.

The service was in Swedish and I did not understand the words, but the order of service was very similar to what I am accustomed to in the United States. The congregation sang a few songs, an offering was taken, there was special music and the minister gave the sermon.

Once particular song was entitled “"Jesus är Vår Kung" which I realized meant “Jesus is Our King”. I had never heard this song before. A young lady named Malin was leading the singing from the piano and as the small congregation sang the words I could not understand, the spirit of the song and the sweet sound of the singing moved me as I pondered the notion that my ancestors and their decedents had been worshiping Jesus on this very spot for more than 200 years.

After the sermon, Malin pulled out a hand drum, started an appealing rhythm and led the congregation in a song that I had heard as a child. The song was entitled “Don’t Build Your House on the Sandy Land”. I later learned that the topic of the sermon was about this very thing and Malin had selected the song because it went well with the minister’s message.

At the end of the service, I recognized one word: “America”. The minister was looking right at me and was obviously announcing the fact that I was visiting from America and that there was going to be a coffee following the service in my honor.

As we exited the church, several other relatives were just arriving. Many came and hugged me and wanted their picture taken with me. It was here that I met Sten-Åke Herbertsson (Roger’s brother) who was planning to take me on a fishing trip on Wednesday.

A small group of family members walked me around the church looking at the grave stones of my ancestors. Many of the names I instantly recognized from the many hours of research I had performed prior to my trip. The graves were beautifully adorned with flowers and the surrounding lawn was perfectly manicured.

We then walked to another nearby building where many family members were gathered to have coffee and some snacks. Members of the family which had not yet seen the family tree gathered around and engaged in delightful conversation about where their names appeared on the tree. Many of them realized for the first time that they were related to neighbors they had known their entire lives.

Ann-Helen had learned that I could play the piano and during the reunion asked if I could play a song. I sat and played my arrangement of “Amazing Grace” which everyone enjoyed.

Not long after I was introduced to a new cousin, Christina, and told that she would be taking me to her house for lunch and showing me around later that afternoon. So, I followed Christina in her car to her house where I met her husband Niclas and two boys. Christina made a wonderful taco lunch and shortly afterwards, Christina, Charlotta and I set out for our sightseeing trip to Tjolöholm Castle. I thoroughly enjoyed walking through this incredible building with my two cousins. The tour was in Swedish but Christina and Charlotta helped interpret along the way.


Once we had returned to Christina’s house, I learned that Christina was taking me to Mathias and Linda’s house for dinner. Christina’s two boys were also coming so they could play with Linda’s boys. We had a wonderful time eating Linda’s delicious cooking and talking about all kinds of things. During the conversation, we were discussing cake baking and I had to call my wife to find out what to call a cake covering made from almond paste…marzipan.

As we got ready to leave, Christina accidentally backed her car into a big rock and damaged part of the bumper. I felt awful for her.

Christina dropped me off at the bed and breakfast. I said goodbye to her and her two sons, went inside to my room and went straight to sleep. I was really, really tired, but it had been an incredible day!

My First Trip to Sweden (Day 2)

I awoke Saturday morning at 8:19 AM. The problem here is that Roger and Ulrika had invited me to have coffee and go for a walk at 8AM. Roger, Ulrika and Ida were leaving for Turkey later that morning to visit their younger daughter and I wanted to see them one last time, and here I was already late. So I sent Roger a text message letting him know I was running behind, but would be over a little later.

The Hilmersgården has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, so if there are other guests, you have to share the bathroom. Fortunately, no one else was in the bathroom so I was able to get in and get out quickly. I got dressed, had a little breakfast, stuffed my backpack with a jacket and Nikon D70 camera, and headed out the door for Roger’s place. I had missed the morning walk, but was able to enjoy coffee with Roger and Ulrika. Roger and I also had an opportunity to look at the genealogy research that I have stored on ancestry.com.

After saying our last goodbye’s, I headed over to Ann-Helen’s house where I met her husband Anders and her cousin Margaretha. After looking at the family tree, we had cookies and coffee on the back patio and had fun looking up words in the Swedish-English dictionary. Ann-Helen also showed me some old land maps from the 1800’s which show where the old houses stood. She showed me the spot in her back yard where the Anders Larsson house used to stand.



After taking a few pictures, Ann-Helen, Margaretha and I headed off to meet Ann-Helen’s mother who lives next door. Astrid loves flowers and is said to have “green fingers”. We took a few photos at Astrid’s house and then headed off to see the old house at Gressela 5.


The old house at Gressela 5 is where Johannes Andersson (Anders Larsson’s son) reared his family. When Johannes Andersson died, his son Olof Martin Johansson reared his family there. The last person to live in the house was Olof Martin’s daughter Olga Olsson. Since Olga’s death in 1982, no one else has lived in the house.

After taking pictures of the old house at Gressela 5, we returned to Ann-Helen’s house briefly to pick up Ann-Helen’s daughter, Charlotta. The four of us then traveled to the Fjärås Bräcka visitor’s center where we had a nice lunch of cauliflower and crab soup, followed by some coffee.

Next, we went to meet Margaretha’s son, Matthias, and his family at their home. It might be interesting to note that Matthias and his father, Sven, raise more than 5,000 pigs at a time. They also maintain farm land to grow the crops to feed the pigs. In addition, the family has several apartment houses nearby that they rent for 5,000 – 6,000 Swedish crowns per month.

When we arrived, Matthias’ wife Linda was outside painting some tongue and groove boards while Matthias was inside watching his three small sons. Linda remarked that it was nice to be outside painting boards for a change while her husband was inside with the kids. We went inside and after everyone got a chance to look at the family tree, the boys showed me their Legos, miniature farm, trucks and tractors. We then admired the family garden while Charlotta and the boys jumped on the trampoline.

Not long after, we were on our way to Äskhult, an ancient village dating back to the 17th century. After walking through the old houses, we visited the village’s small café and gift shop where we had a snack. It was there that I learned the Swedish word for ice cream is pronounced “glass” and the Swedish word for glass is pronounced “gloss”. On our way back from the village, Charlotta mentioned that she enjoys talking to me because she is learning new English words.

We soon left Äskhult and traveled to Ann-Helen’s niece’s house. Christina also said to have “green fingers” and has a beautifully manicured back yard. She lives in a new development and has two sons. Her husband Niclas Hermansson works for Volvo Trucks.

After visiting Christina, we drove back to Ann-Helen’s house. I knew that family and friends back in the United States were eager to see some photographs, so Charlotta helped me get on their laptop and upload the first round of photographs to Facebook. Anders Davidsson showed me a shirt he had which was covered with old American cars and the words “Route 66”. Anders told me that it had been a lifelong dream of his to visit America and drive Route 66. He and Ann-Helen had been to New York several times to visit family they had there, but had not been able to fulfill his dream yet.

About an hour later, Anders and I left to pick up Astrid and we all went to Margaretha’s house for dinner. Margaretha had apple cider and pretzels, toast with goat cheese and roasted walnuts, potatoes, salmon with red onion sauce and salad. For desert, we shared vanilla and chocolate ice cream with fresh raspberries, strawberries and of course, coffee. It was a meal fit for a king. Ann-Helen’s sister Mariann, who was watching her grandson Gustaf, also attended the dinner. Margareth’a husband Sven has never been to America, but would love to come see the big farms. Since the family had planned to meet at the Hanhals Kyrka (church which is pronounced “shirka”) in the morning, the dinner guests asked questions about how often our family attends church in America, how often we take communion, do we baptize our children and a number of other questions. After an incredible meal, it was time to go.

Back at Ann-Helen’s house, I finished uploading the photos to Facebook and headed off to Hilmersgården. It was 11 PM when I finally got in bed.

My First Trip to Sweden (Day 1)

My first day in Sweden was better than I could have imagined. Roger Herbertsson, a direct decendent of my great, great grandfather's brother, had offered to meet me at the Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport. I had no idea what Roger looked like. As I exited the baggage claim area, I saw Roger and his daughter Ida for the first time in my life. They were holding a sign that read “Daniel Johnson” and they both had bright, welcoming smiles on their faces. We exchanged hugs and Roger showed me that his arms were full of “goose bumps”. It was a thrilling moment for all of us.

Prior to leaving the United States, I had reserved a car with the Sixt company through RentalCars.com and it was available for pickup at the airport. We walked to the rental car area and I provided the agent with my passport and driver’s license, a requirement for renting a car in Europe. The process was seamless and I soon had the keys to a new Mini Cooper. Roger decided to ride with me and I followed Ida as she led the way in Roger’s car. Roger told me that he was impressed that my driving was very smooth and considerate of the passengers.

Since it was lunch time, we drove to Kungsbacka and had lunch at Roger’s favorite café. While we were eating, Roger made arrangements with Kurt “Chico” Johansson (a local newspaper reporter) who was to meet us later that afternoon. Chico was planning to write an article for the Norra Halland newspaper about my visit.

After lunch, Roger showed me the way to Hilmersgården, the bed and breakfast I had booked through the city of Kungsbacka’s website. Once we arrived, Eva Elmquist (the proprietor) showed me the room where I would be staying. After putting my luggage in the room, I went downstairs and unrolled the family tree that I had brought with me. Roger and Ida began studying the tree with great interest. About that time, Chico arrived and began asking questions about my visit, looking at the family tree and taking pictures for his newspaper article.

Shortly after, Ida had to leave to go exercise with her mother, so Roger and I decided to drive around Hanhals so I could get the lay of the land. The first stop was to introduce me to Ann-Helen Davidsson, another relative who would be showing me around the next day. We agreed to meet around 10 AM the following morning.

Roger then took me to Fjärås Bräcka which is the only place in Sweden where you can see a fresh water lake and the ocean at the same time. We then drove around Hanhals including Pilagården, Torkelstorp, Skåre and the surrounding area.

Near Pilagården, one of the crops that is grown during the summer months is horseradish. The Swedes call this “pepper root” and there is a local processing plant which prepares the locally grown horseradish for sale.

Roger and I also visited the wharf where twelve years earlier in 1998, Roger’s father, Rune Herbertsson, had died tragically when a homemade sand dredge had capsized in the channel. A gasoline tank was stationed on either side of the floating platform which drove the old truck motor they were using to turn the dredge. One of the tanks had less fuel in it so the platform began to tilt to one side. Rune’s friend went to stabilize the platform by moving some fuel from the other tank into the empty tank when the platform capsized. Rune became trapped in the cabin of the vessel and drowned.

After driving around Hanhals, it was time for dinner so Roger and I drove back to the same café in Kungsbacka where we had eaten lunch. We met Roger’s wife Ulrika there and had a nice shrimp dinner.

After dinner, Roger and I drove to Hanhalsholme. This is a historic Swedish site where an ancient king had built a fort. The fort is no longer standing and it is now the location of the local swimming school where many youngsters first learn to swim in the Kungsbacka fjord. As we walked around Hanhalsholme, the sun began to set.

Roger invited me to his house. Ulrika was home now and I showed her the family tree. Roger gave me a copy of an old photograph which he believes is of his great grandfather, Johan Emil Johansson, his wife Albertina and their first daughter Alice.

After the brief visit to Roger’s house, I drove back to Hilmersgården and went to bed. I had been awake for 31 hours.

Foggy Bathroom Mirrors

Scenario: You're in a hotel bathroom enjoying a nice, hot relaxing shower...that is after you've played with the pulsating shower head and finally realized that it wasn't going to work except on that one setting, and after multiple attempts to get the shower curtain to stay all the way closed, you finally decided that it wasn't worth your time to even report it to the front desk.

Elated that, unlike your shower at home, you can run that piping hot water over your weary body for a long time without running out of hot water, you soak in the steamy, self-made sauna.

Suddenly, reality hits as you recall that you had reluctantly made a breakfast appointment with one of those pesky vendors. So, you grab one of those starchy white towels and step in front of the mirror.

The moment your feet hit the cold tile floor it occurs to you that maybe the hotel staff didn't clean that floor too well so you toss down another towel to stand on thereby ensuring that those feet of yours stay clean and don't cool down too fast.

Looking up, you are confronted with the reality that the mirror has been rendered useless and is covered in a thick steamy fog. What to do, what to do?

My friend, I have the answer for you. It is not a new fancy invention, but rather a method for fixing the problem. Here it is:

1. Open the bathroom door
2. Take a hand towel and roll it up so the roll is about 12 inches wide
3. Hold the rolled towel with two hands (one hand near either end)
4. Lean over the sink and place the towel on the mirror as high as you can reach
5. Press down on the towel and SLOWLY move the towel down the surface of the mirror (SLOWLY means that it should take 10 - 15 seconds to reach the bottom of the mirror)

By following the steps above, you will have a clear, fog-free mirror that will serve you well as you make adjustments to your appearance.

After you have tried my method, I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment on its effectiveness. Enjoy!

Is Project Management and Strategic Planning Unspiritual?

After discussing this topic with a number of leaders from Christian organizations, I have concluded that some leaders of Christian organizations believe that project management and strategic planning are in direct opposition to the concept of being led by the Holy Spirit. This is simply not the case. In fact, the Bible illustrates these disciplines for our advantage.

First, some terms for those that are not familiar with the project management area of study.

• A project is simply work that has a definite start and end.
• Ongoing work, operations, does not have a definitive start or end.
• Strategic planning is the excercise of formally documenting the answers to the questions: 1) where do I want to be? 2) where am I now? 3) how am I going to get there? 4) how will I know when I've arrived?

In project management, there are five (5) primary process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring/Controlling and Closing. All of the activities of a project will fall into one of these five areas.

Examples of these activities demonstrated in the Bible...

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Initiating
Initiating a project is the act of defining the scope of a project and gaining executive sponsorship and support for the project. In Genesis, we see the Godhead agreeing to initiate the "project" of creating man. In order to do so, a suitable environment also needed to be created. The project had a definite start and end date (six earth days to be exact) and the Triune God was the sponsor.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." ~ Genesis 1:26

Planning
The planning phase consists of the activities associated with scheduling, budgeting and answering the "how are we going to do this project" questions. In 1 Peter we see an example of God performing planning activities.

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God." ~ 1 Peter 1:18-21

Executing
Executing contains the activities in which the work actually is performed. Jesus, speaking to His mother Mary, indicates that the timeframe for His ministry on earth, which had been alloted during the planning phase, had not yet come. Jesus was intimately familiar with the "project schedule" which had been developed by His Father.

"And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" ~ Luke 2:48-49

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." ~ John 2:4

Monitoring and Controlling
Monitoring and Controlling consists of those activities, performed over the life of the project, that focus on ensuring that the project is meeting the intended objectives. Activies can include status reporting and quality assurance.

An interesting example of a Monitoring and Controlling activity is found in the book of Job.

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. ~ Job 2:1

Here we see God calling his subjects, including Satan himself, to give an update as to the status of the project which God has begun executing!

Closing
Closing a project consists of ensuring the project team members are transitioned off the project, closing contracts and any other final activities that need to be performed. Some examples of closing activies are:

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross..." ~ Colossians 2:14

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." ~ Revelation 21:1

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When discussing the need for project management practices within Christian organizations, one leader indicated to me that he did not want his organization to be "institutionalized". He supported his statement with, "you cannot use the same concepts here that you use in the business world."

Really? The vast majority of Christian organizations have offices with telephones, computers, copiers, fax machines and a host of other items that have been developed by the business world.

I am suggesting that it was not the business world that developed the disciplines of project management and strategic planning, rather that these concepts originated in the mind of an incredibly organized God.

So what do I think this leader meant by his statements?

Suppose a minister gets called at 3AM to visit members in the hospital or intervene in a difficult family situation. In his mind, these were unexpected opportunities to serve his membership and were impossible to plan.

So, how do we build flexibility into the planning process when the nature of someone's work is unplanned? Simple. By keeping a log of past activities, it becomes easy to estimate the amount of unplanned work that occurs within a month, quarter or year. In a short time, it will become evident what percentage of unplanned work can be expected for certain activities. As a result, hours can be dedicated to unplanned activities and the remainder of the hours can be dedicated to projects and planned operational tasks.

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If you would like to discuss these or other topics further, feel free to contact me.

A Sketch of the Life of A. P. And Lillias Johnson

by Agnes Romie Johnson Meckfessel (also available in PDF) History records that in 1658 the extreme Southern part of Sweden was released from Denmark by the Treaty of Roskilde. It is recorded that at this time numerous families of noble birth and breeding settled in the valleys, building their castle-like homes, cultivating their fertile fields and raising their sleek cattle. Here for hundreds of years the lives of these people were ordered and stable, filled with a sort of peace and assurance. As the years went on, generation after generation, the families intermarried and the population spread out. Many families later drifted to the seacoast towns. The towns grew into cities. It was in the country where the great forests marched down to the placid lakes, abloom with water lilies, where stately beeches and feathery willows bordered the turbulent streams, that Andrew Peter Johnson was born. It was the year 1845, the date May 15. Perhaps the first sound he heard was the ecstatic twittering of birds which abounded in this land of lavender-tinted heather, rose-colored rhododendron, and sweet-scented yellow Honeysuckle. It may have been this beautiful environment where he first found himself that instilled in him the love so great for all nature that he always associated all things beautiful - whether it be a perfect flower, or a wave dashing on the rocks, breaking into a shower of diamond-like drops, with the Infinite. It was the happy songs of the birds he loved, intermingled with the faint tinkle of his Chinese wind harp that were the last sounds he heard when he died at his home in Sacramento, California one day after his eighty-ninth birthday on May 16, 1934. Read the rest of the story: http://www.eyelightmedia.org/andrew_peter_johnson.pdf