“Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.” Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort Some people are afraid of the word independence, as if it would mean being alone. That’s misinterpreting, of course, but it could often mean standing alone. This is not the same as loneliness, but simply that you are strong in and by yourself, in your faith, in your convictions. It also means that you’re always on the move, g

Below is my own favorite images from Photos – Södertälje Party (2). It’s the lead singer from Nordman, Håkan Hemlin. The “moment” is caught, I think, that represent this performer the best (as I see him, anyway). I had a nice chat with Håkan after the show, in which he told me that he had just bought a new camera, an Canon 400D, and that he was having a lot of fun with it. But he explained that he feels stupid sometimes, because he take pictures of everything he sees. Said he

Last night I was moved by a verse in the Book of Mormon, one of our sacred books of scripture. In 2 Nephi, chapter 11, we read that Nephi was anxious to learn from God what his father, Lehi, had seen in a vision about the tree of life. Then, as he pondered in his heart, Nephi was “taken away” by the Spirit of the Lord. A beautiful conversation followed between the two, but I want to focus on verses 16-17, where the Spirit asks: “Knowest thou the condescension of God? And [Nep

Linda posted a comment on Opportunity is the Blessing, with a great quote and personal challenge. Here it is. “Came to think of it; there was another movie some years ago, quite similar to this one – Bruce Almighty. I looked it up and “God” has a few interesting words to share from this movie as well: Parting your soup is not a miracle, it’s a magic trick. A single mom who’s working two jobs and still finds time to take her kid to soccer practice, that’s a miracle. A teenager

I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I love to play. Boris Becker A good attitude to have. With this outlook, life is so much easier. Because if the end result is not always what we had hoped for, we can always say: “Oh well… at least I had fun playing, and I gave it my best shot!” It’s like I’ve said before, it’s not always the goal that bring happiness, but more often the journey. See also The Journey is the Reward #losing #famousquotes #sayings #quo

If some of you are getting tired of the many “A Prayer for the Heart” posts, about our son’s heart surgery, I understand. If you think it might be a bit too much, you certainly don’t have to plow your way further. It’s you choice. But I don’t – and please don’t misunderstand me on this point – write this for you. What I mean is I don’t write these posts to entertain in any way. I just write them because I feel I should. Let me try to explain. Blogging about this important mom

Continuation of Take Control (1): Be a Captain So in which end do we start if we want to take control of our lives? How about with the following truth: We reap what we sow. I believe most people, deep down inside, want a life filled with goodness. Doing good, then, has to be our first task. Because when we strive to do good, good will be our reward. No matter what faith or conviction we might have in life, this is universally true: The first step in gaining control of our liv

These are some thoughts I wrote down in September, but have not posted here until today: I never thought I’d say it: RIX FM (a commercial hit radio station) has given me inspiration! I was listening to the radio the other week, and I heard one of the DJ’s say that she neither smoked nor drank because this gave her the greatest sense of control. Then she challenged her listeners: “I want to tell everyone out there: Take control of your life!” Wow. How simple, yet profound. I l

We sat and watched Gorden B Hinckley’s funeral service this weekend on the Internet. It was very moving. At the end, during the closing song, as images were being projected of the life of President Hinckley, I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. Isak asked carefully: “Dad… are you crying?” First I wanted to deny it, not wanting my sons to focus on me, but rather on the broadcast, but as the trickle turned into a steady stream of tears, there was no way of hiding it. But a

The thought of the day comes from Lance Armstrong: “I take nothing for granted. I now have only good days or great days.” I like that approach. Perhaps the choices we have are not between good or bad, but between good and great. In other words, with a positive outlook my life will always be good, and with some extra effort it can even be great. I took this photo an early autumn morning. The sun is just rising, casting its rays on the water and the birch trees. I remember this

I know I posted a different Christmas card earlier, but I (and the family) can’t help sending this second one (with a photo by courtesy of the Nativity Story, a motion picture from 2006). To me this photo is amazing. I am filled with so many thoughts and emotions when looking at it. I don’t even know where to start – so just feast your eyes on it and let yourself go. In the past weeks I have met many people in different circumstances. Most of them are more or less stressed by

A week ago we lost one of our oldest, but dearest members of our congregation, Agnes Traviss. Yesterday her funeral was held. Until my release two months ago, I had been her bishop for several years. I had truly enjoyed her company. She always wore that gleaming smile on her face that would make you forget your own worries for a moment. Often when I looked at her from the stand I thought about her life as a single woman, struggling to get by. She had had many reason to compla

Lately my sons and I have gone to quite a few hockey games to cheer on our local team, Södertälje (SSK). When we went two days ago the team lost 0-1. In fact, every time we’ve seen them play this season they have lost. I made that comment to the boys and jokingly added that perhaps we should stay home next time. Then perhaps they would win for a change.They didn’t like that idea at all, wondering how in the world their dad ever got so superstitious. Besides, it was fun to go

Last week I attended a CES Conference. At one point a friend and colleague gave all the participants a few minutes to write a personal psalm. I’m not a poet, I know, but I was still glad to have a few solitary moments to clear the world from my mind and write these words of gratitude. For the wonders of the earth, I adore Thee For the light in heaven, I see Thee For the glories of thy creations, I admire Thee For the blessing of family, I honor Thee For the companionship

I had a tricky lesson recently. The text was taken from the first half of Leviticus (Old Testament), and dealt a great deal with the sacrificial offerings the Israelites were commanded to perform. Understandably, some of the students were… how shall we put it… a bit nauseated by the description of these offerings; blood sprinkled on the altar and intestines being cleaned, etc, didn’t appeal to all students. For these reasons I tried to minimize those part, so as not to gear o

Giving is better than receiving. That’s at least what my daughter thought when we tried to take her picture, luring her with some candy from the side lines. You see what her eyes are saying, don’t you? If you just GIVE me some of that candy YOU will feel a lot better… and I will scream a lot less! And so it was. Just think of all the wonderful things life teaches you. Louis #Giving #babies #Inspiration #christianity #hands #photo #Truthfindingthe #sayings #Photography #christ

What beats a bedtime story? How about four bedtime stories? My sons kidnapped me! They wouldn’t let me go. I started with one story (which was our deal), then a second, just to show them I cared. When my time was up, the little terrorists started pressing me. “You’re not a nice daddy if you leave now”; and “We’re going tell mommy that you…” (well, we’ll skip that part…). “Okay”, I answered with faked authority, “but only one more!” Somehow that one became two. You know, life