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Pastor's Page |
JOHN ROTHFUSZ, PASTOR - Phone 779-901-0803; email:
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today I’m in a bit of a rush. I have to write this newsletter article. I need to pick some hymns and write a sermon for Sunday. I have meetings today with the council and the ministerial group. My to-do list is exceptionally long. I have an inbox full of e-mail that I need to deal with. I hope I have the energy to get it all done!
That’s one way to look at the day. Here’s another.
Today I get to come to a job that I really enjoy. I have the opportunity to write a newsletter article that can help people to grow in faith. I get to prepare a sermon where I have the pleasure of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus who gives us new life and hope. I pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to change people’s lives.
I get to meet regularly with young children when we gather for Sunday School and Confirmation, and I get to share in a youth mission trip later this month to Louisville, Kentucky. I get to share with people of all ages at Salem Lutheran, having conversations that mix laughter and tears with essential questions of faith. I get to plan out worship, serve our neighbors in need, and meet with a Church Council full of people who love our Lord and are committed to the ministry that we share. I get to gather each week for Bible studies and worship with people who want to grow in their walk with the Lord Jesus. It is exciting stuff, and I can’t wait to jump in and get started!
Two ways of looking at the day: one focusing on tasks that need to be ‘cranked out’ …the other celebrating the things that I get to do, things that I enjoy.
It’s quite tempting to focus on what I ‘have to do.’ With the different roles in my life, the to-do lists never seem to end. They can sometimes wear me down to the point where I approach each new task, even each new day as simply another task to get off the list. On those days, my motivation level plummets. I get overwhelmed.
But God has blessed me with the opportunity to do what I enjoy. I get to share my life with you, being a partner and a voice for God with you in all the joyful and challenging chapters of your lives. I like to write, I get to craft sermons that share the love of Jesus, and I appreciate knowing that the work I do in partnership with you at Faith makes a difference here and in the wider world. I even get to sing with the Salem Choir and the Praise Team, and lead a Hymn Sing once in a while! These aren’t just chores for me to slog through – These are opportunities to do what I enjoy. When I do what I love, I’m having fun, and I get more done!
This morning I’m reveling in God’s blessings. Bring on the to-do list…because it abounds in wonderful ministry opportunities! This is the day that the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Psalm 118:24
Yours in Christ,
Pastor John Rothfusz Thanks to Pastor Peter Reuss for inspiration for this letter.
