Author: Jon Gauger

Harriet Miller Ellwood passed away quietly on July 16, 1910. You say you’re not familiar with Harriet? She married Isaac Ellwood, a fabulously wealthy businessman who earned his millions selling and distributing barbed wire. Diana and I visited their estate in DeKalb, Illinois—a town known for corn more than wire.  Apart from the stately home the Ellwoods built, what caught my eye was an unusual collection of, well, stuff. I refer to the lot of minerals, relics, and curiosities made by Mrs. Issac L. Elwood. Its treasures number in the hundreds and include: A flower from Lincoln’s coffin Lava from…

“I'm an electrical engineer turned Bible teacher and theologian. I hope that's not shocking.”  Fred Dickason has a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face.  He is 94 years young—and I do mean young. He zips around his apartment complex, greeting just about everyone by name, then welcomes us into his home.  There, we record an interview for an upcoming Moody Radio broadcast. Fred's answers and reflexes are lightning-fast. We are discussing his newest book, Dangers of the Spirit World.  Though several of Fred’s books are considered classroom standards in seminaries and Christian colleges, he’s lately given…

Can you name this author?  Two clues: Clue #1: He wrote nearly 10% of the most quoted lines ever written or spoken in the English language. Clue #2: Only one other English writer is quoted more often. Who was he? William Shakespeare, of course (“a rose by any other name….parting is such sweet sorrow…”). He wrote 37 plays that total 884,429 words. By comparison, the King James Bible contains 783,137 words. If the pen is mightier than the sword, Shakespeare was among the mightiest. That’s why I was so stunned when I saw the offer from Amazon Kindle. I could…

How to ruin a perfectly sunny morning: STEP 1: Find yourself snarled in stop-and-go traffic. STEP 2: Come to a complete stop and wait until… STEP 3: Another car bumps into yours. That was us.  In God's kindness, the collision claimed no casualties. The airbags didn't go off, and when we surveyed the damage, it seemed apparent this was a rather minor accident. Thankfully, the other driver was insured, and the fender-bender left our car drivable. No drama, mama. One month later, we were reminded that things are not always as they appear.  The voice on the other end of…

Mutts Gone Nuts. That's how they billed the evening.  Five dogs—all rescued from animal shelters and trained by Scott and Joan Houston and Sam Valle—delighted the audience with their antics and agility.  We smiled as the dogs scampered on rotating barrels. We chuckled as these furry friends danced on two legs.  Then trainer Samantha Valle—who has appeared on Kelly and Ryan—introduced us to the greyhound that holds the record for the highest jump of any dog in the world. But the thing that blew my mind was watching one of the dogs jump rope and then do Double Dutch jump…

You probably never met Manish Sukhadev.  He recently succumbed to the Coronavirus wave sweeping over India. But before he died, Manish lived.  Really lived. He was an Awana missionary in central India, and that’s where I met him back in 2011.  Born a Dalit—India’s lowest caste—he was a short guy with a big smile and an impish laugh. Manish was one of those guys who was “on” 24 hours a day.  He was never not a missionary. Flipping through our India photos, one of my favorites is a shot of Manish parked on the cement floor with someone he had…

Did you watch the American Country Music Awards last weekend? Despite having fewer viewers than last year, the ACM awards show still drew a larger audience than its network competitors combined. Though I like a lot of modern country music, award shows are not my thing.  But I’m so glad Diana was watching. I was working on a sermon in my office when the sounds of Amazing Grace echoed down the hall. Sauntering into the family room, I watched Carrie Underwood proclaiming, "was blind, but now I see!" Then gospel music legend CeCe Winans joined her for a stunning rendition…

Do you enjoy routine maintenance?   I don’t, for two reasons: “routine” and “maintenance.” There is nothing fun about either one.   In my experience—and perhaps yours as well— routine maintenance is rarely routine. Drive your car in for a "routine" oil change, and they invariably present you with an $850 list of "critical" issues you "absolutely must address!" Stroll into the dentist's office for a "routine" check-up, and you walk out with a $1,500 quote for a crown.   Last weekend, we decided we'd be good homeowners and clean out our dryer vent—routine maintenance recommended at least annually. But…

How big does something have to be for you to consider it giant-sized?  For cereal makers, the answer appears to be “not very big.” Consider two boxes of cereal in my hands (see photo below). On my left is what Quaker calls a “giant” sized box of Life cereal. In my right hand is what Kellogg’s considers a “mega” sized box of Frosted Shredded Wheat (don’t judge our cereal choices, please—that might be another blog). I’d say that one box is certainly full-sized—-maybe even large. But mega? No way! The “giant” box of Life cereal weighs in at 24.8 ounces. Yet a quick bit of…

Flipping through The Ultimate Book of Randomly Awesome Facts, I stumbled upon the following statistic: The total amount of money in the world adds up to 60 trillion dollars.  That’s a 60 with a whole lot of zeroes! John D. Rockefeller was the world's first billionaire and, at one point, the world's richest man. Since he was a billionaire in the early 1900s (when a billion was actually worth something), he is still regarded as the wealthiest person in modern history. When a reporter asked him how much money it takes to make a man happy, Rockefeller famously replied, "Just…