Author: Jon Gauger

It was just a small pine bough there on the sidewalk.  But I was obliged to pick it up and take it to my office.  I have always loved the smell, the look—even the feel of pine trees.  It must go back to my childhood at Christmastime. To this day, the smell of a pine tree brings back so many happy memories, and whenever I pass by a Christmas tree lot, I like to stand there and just sniff the air.   My favorite restaurant in the entire world is called White Pines and at home you’ll find a soap…

Confession.  I keep some contact names in my Outlook address book even after they have passed away.  A former boss.   A friend.  I just can’t bring myself to delete their names.  For example, there’s this guy I met in the pulpit of a church in Romania. It was one of the first times I ever preached in Ploiesti, the oil producing town an hour north of Bucharest. Stefan (not his real name) stood next to me and translated the message with remarkable ease—despite my rookie ways.  He Never Complained Stefan was not a large man, but he had a huge…

They came from entirely dissimilar cultures. They gathered from opposite sides of the ocean. They spoke languages different from each other. Yet they sat down and enjoyed each other’s company, getting to know each other over a Thanksgiving dinner together.   Something More Current You are perhaps envisioning the Massachusetts meal we know today as the first Thanksgiving. Yet I have in mind something much more current.   I'm thinking of a series of “Thanksgiving meals” we shared days ago in Sofia, Bulgaria at Moody Radio’s Global Partners Training.  More than a hundred Christian media professionals gathered from nearly a…

Interesting Windows They say that the eyes are the window to the soul.  If that’s true, there are some mighty interesting windows out there in God's animal kingdom.  Take, for example, the giant squid.  Most animals’ eyes are smaller than oranges.  But—try to picture this–a giant squid's eye is larger than your head! Goat’s eyes are not nearly as large, of course.  But they do have a unique feature.  Their pupils are rectangular shaped.  This means they can see a panoramic view of 320-340 degrees—and can almost see behind themselves.  Seeing Behind You Seeing a lot is one thing.  But…

If you could live your life over again, what would you do less of? Here's what Thursday Thought readers have told me: Ron wrote, “I think I would invest less in people and spend more time in relationship with the Lord of the universe.  Not that there is anything at all wrong investing in people.  Just that looking back, I haven't been too successful at it.” Russ told me, “I would work less…be less concerned about work…and spend more time with my wife and kids! Work will always be there. Kids grow up and leave. Age brings potential limitations. Enjoy…

An Unguarded Moment For months now, Americans have been pushed, polled and prodded with political talk.   We've been blasted with TV ads, blistered by web coverage and broadsided by office talk.  We've watched debates, had debates of our own and the election is nearly upon us.    In an unguarded moment, I made the decision to go out on a limb and make some very specific election predictions.   With full awareness that some future “fact checker” may wish to hold me accountable, I stand by my claim that these insights are given with 100% certainty.   Prediction #1 On Wednesday,…

The idea was doomed from the start. In a well-intentioned attempt at physical fitness, I agreed to play racquetball with my son, Tim, during my lunch break. Though I love the sport, it (apparently) no longer loves me. Tim and I discussed the fact that he is about half my age. We agreed we’d both “take it easy” and play “just a little bit.” Five weeks afterward, my throbbing back still reminded me I shouldn’t have even attempted playing “just a game or two.”   It’s one thing to overdo it in sports, but what about the rest of life?…

Sometimes the Word of God really messes with your life.  Have you noticed? The other morning, I prayed on the train in to Chicago that God would specifically direct me to someone who needed some encouragement, or something of Jesus Himself.   Know what happened?  Nothing.  Nothing that morning.   In fact, nothing out of the ordinary happened all day long.  That afternoon, as I walked the 1.5 miles back to the train, I reviewed some memory work, the third chapter of First John. Because it helps to cement the verses, I often quote them out loud.  I was three-fourths of the way…

I can still feel the burning sensation of the stinger, jabbed into my flesh. But honestly the fault was mine.   At one of the grandest camping places in the country (kings-camp.org) our old pop-up                                                                                                                                                 is on loan to our son and daughter-in-law.  For some time, the hatch that covers the power cord coming out of the thing was broken off.  I should have replaced it months ago but didn't. A few weeks back, my Dad asked if I needed anything from the local camping store.  I walked him over to our pop-up trailer, showing him the plastic power cord inlet…

Her slightly chunky two-year old arm twined around mine as stray blonde hairs from her head tickled my shoulder. As Lucy nuzzled into me, my heart was as gooey as a chocolate bar in summer.  At that moment, the tot at my side could have asked for the moon, and I would immediately have called up NASA with a down payment.   Lucy and her older sister, Joslynn, recently came out with us to spend a weekend at the camper.   Because my natural “gifting” tends toward silliness, two-year old Lucy is usually not far away.   Silly faces.  Silly noises. …