Vacation time is a good time of rest, but there are still stresses you can't get away from in this life even by taking a vacation. My wife and I are in a real mess. We went on vicarage last year and leased the house we bought when first we came to Seminary. We rented it at mortgage cost to a woman who we trusted because she was a Christian single mother with 3 children. We had hoped she would purchase the house from us at the end of the year. The problem she had was she didn't have good credit and was having difficulty securing a mortgage loan. She told us that she still wanted to purchase, but she would have to wait until January to get the loan secured.

We came back to Fort Wayne and found an apartment and signed a lease. We were in the process of creating an extended lease and decided that since she hadn't purchased from us at the end of the year that we should bump up the rent to cover our renters insurance on our apartment. In doing this we found that she could not bear the burden of an extra $25. We also wanted to put the house up for sale as a technicality. We still wanted to help her obtain a mortgage loan and were willing to help her get it, but she decided 4 days before the lease was up that she was going to move out of the house that month. She was violating the agreement of the first lease which was now a month to month lease. The lease agreement stipulates that a 60 day notice is required and rent is to be paid. She wants us to apply her security deposit as her rent.

Being naive about the laws in this regard, we agreed verbally. Finding out later, we should not have done this as that amount is to be applied toward any damages that may have occured during her lease period. So we are stuck with paying our mortgage and the rent for both places until the house sells. To say we are now financially strapped is a major understatement. We are financially devastated at this point. I am considering asking for an advance on some money from my Grandfather, but that is only for consideration at this point.

When you have financial stresses it is difficult to leave them behind because creditors don't wait for payment. This is time to put the give it to God and let him take the burden for what is going on. It is hard for us to give things like this to God. What does he care about our finances and debt? He cares a great deal actually. We get into financial messes because of our sinful nature. We spend it on things we don't need, but want. Giving this and other burdens to the Lord is what he wants us to do.

If you have burdens such as these, give them to the lord in prayer.

May your day be peaceful in Him

Vacation from the Vocation is important. The time away from the office of ministry is crucial to the mental and physical health of the Pastor. He needs time with his family to keep a connection with them as well as a break from the constant burden the office puts on him. The stress of the work can be debilitating healthwise as well. A Pastor friend of mine contracted Multiple Sclerosis during the first couple of months of his second call. Some problems in the congregation began to escalate the MS and caused him to have to step back to 50% of his workload and take disability pay. MS is a disease in which stress can escalate the symptoms.

I pray that all Pastors take advantage of the time they are given each year to get away from it all and recharge their batteries. Jesus would often go off by himself to pray especially after teaching large crowds of people. His humanity experienced fatigue and he needed the time alone to meditate on His Father's word.

If rest is good for Jesus, it is also good for those whom he has called to do his work.

This is my final year of Seminary Studies. I have just finished my vicarage in Tullahoma, TN. The people in my vicarage were great to be with. They always gave me encouragement and made me feel as if this was the right vocation for me. Vicarage is a year of practical learning in the ministry and if you are a Pastor reading this you know the experience well. For me, Vicarage gave me experience with Sermons, leading worship, visiting the sick and shut-ins. I delivered some 30 sermons in my year, some were good and some were stinkers. I got to know many of the people fairly well by visiting with them in their homes.

We have now moved back to Fort Wayne, IN. It is summer and we are preparing for our vacations to Minnesota and Texas to see family and friends.

I will post again as things cross my mind.

God's blessings on your Summer
Scott Strohkirch