Author: Jon Gauger

I don’t know about you, but I confess to being easily shaken up. A critical email, a negative text, tension at work—it doesn’t take much, and I’m all shaken up. At times like these, many of us revert to unhelpful self-talk. Meaning, we bash ourselves. I can read the thought bubble in your mind. You’re saying, “Yeah, I’m easily upset by people and problems that oppose me, but that’s just who I am.” Maybe. But that isn’t who you have to be. David addresses this soul sickness when he invites us to better self-talk in Psalm 16:8. His personal testimony—his…

It’s official. Expedia’s latest data now reveals 2026’s most sought-after travel destinations. One can’t help but wonder if these nominations are somehow connected with the airlines whose tickets Expedia sells. But all of that aside, here’s what’s apparently in for the globe-trotting set. Occupying the number one Expedia destination spot is Big Sky, Montana, which features an “artsy vibe and frontier spirit.” Not to mention some awesome scenery. The second-place award goes to Okinawa, Japan, offering “an archipelago of semi-tropical islands.” You can almost see yourself immersed in the turquoise water. In third place is Sardinia, Italy, the “understated gem…

What would have happened if Jesus never came? What if there had been no announcement of “Joy to the world,” no “Angels from the realms of glory,” and no occasion for a “Silent night”? Here are ten ways life would be different if Christ never came: Without Jesus, nothing would resemble anything of the faith that is everything. Thank you, Lord, that Jesus did come, that we can sing joy to the world, that sin and sorrow no longer reign—all because Christ came “to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.” That’s what I call a Merry…

He was a fugitive on the run, desperate for a place to hide. The 38-year-old man had escaped a prison sentence for aggravated assault and resisting a public official. Fresh out of options, he noticed a life-sized nativity set and seized on a moment of inspiration. When no one was looking, he stepped right into that nativity scene posing as someone adoring the Christ child. That’s when an onlooker of no less stature than the town’s mayor walked by. At first, he was impressed by how “lifelike” the figure was. But then the mayor realized it was all a fake…

Unlikely. Unexpected. That was my reaction to the announcement that ABC would be airing a Kevin Costner TV special exploring the birth of Jesus Christ, “like you’ve never seen it before.” So, we watched it—every minute of it. Part drama and part documentary, the program, between scenes, offered viewpoints from an array of sympathetic experts, including Francis Chan. The dramatic portrayal of the aged Simeon chuckling as he lays eyes on the infant Jesus is pure delight. Yet when he turns to Mary with the prophetic utterance, “a sword will pierce even your own soul,” we shudder at her agony…

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  Psalm 34:1 This verse makes perfect sense on a Sunday morning. But what about when life stinks? Just a couple of years into his marriage, my friend Rick noticed his wife exhibiting signs of mental struggles. But she was too young for anything serious, right? Walking alongside Rick the mile-and-a-half commute from Moody to the train station, he shared often. About how his wife's condition grew so bad that she had to be hospitalized and then institutionalized. Rick went on to live most of…

Praising God, giving Him glory—it’s optional, right? It's something we do on Sunday mornings or when we hike up mountains or saunter down a beach at sunset. Praise is the thing you do when you feel especially close to God or grateful for something He's done— like a Thanksgiving family gathering, right? Yes, but… Psalm 29:2 says we are to “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name.” Nothing was mentioned there about our mood or happiness quotient. Nothing to suggest that giving God glory is contingent upon our satisfaction with our circumstances, the weather, or the Almighty Himself….

As a kindergartner in Romania during the Communist era, Cristina remembers her teacher asking, “How many of you kids go to church?” Brave Cristina stepped forward—alone. The teacher then reamed her out in front of the entire class. "Never, ever go to church again!" she demanded. Cristina protested, "But my parents go to church." As often happens, word of Cristina’s brave classroom stand got around. A school caretaker named Natalie later approached Cristina quietly, asking her to sing a song from church. Natalie was curious—and hungry, for what she did not know. Though Cristina may have felt a sense of…

“Where are we, guys?” At church orchestra rehearsals, I ask that question with alarming frequency. Keeping track of all the measures you’re not supposed to play can be more difficult than actually playing. I often joke, "If a piece ain't in 4/4 or 3/4 time, I'm not responsible for counting." Muddying the musical waters is the fact that songwriting has evolved in recent times. There's no shortage of codas (confusing notations that direct you to play some—but not all—of a section of music). Plus, you now often encounter a pre-chorus, second chorus, post-chorus, turn, alternate ending, and on it goes….

Contrary to the TV commercials, America does not run on Dunkin'. Increasingly, it runs on bashin', as in bashing our political (or any other) opponents. Skepticism and snarkiness are now the aging parents of a toxicity no one could have imagined ten years ago. Example. The very day we read about former Vice President Dick Cheney’s death, I saw a fellow train commuter’s phone flashing the headline, “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”  And to think decency used to draw the line. Apparently, we’re now celebrating death, folks. Of course, the boulevard of beastliness is a two-way street. Conservatives rarely…