Jeff Stoltzfus - the blog

new look to the blog

2008-11-19T03:17:00.002-05:00

For a long time, this blog was half broken. It was bloggers fault for changing their code or something when they were bought by google. Now I've got a new look... hope you like it.
I lost some images along the way, and will try to get back to update those, but until I do, you will just have to check out the Web album. I will get back to doing some regular updates. Lots has changed, and more to come. I also have pictures on facebook, and so you should friend me there.
The entire site will probably continue to be more identity focused from now on, but I hope to continue to write on this blog from time to time.

Hertzler Reunion

2008-07-22T16:58:00.003-04:00

click on this slideshow to go to the web album. Here are some pictures from a reunion that my mom hosted for the Hertzler side of my extended family (my moms mom) hope you enjoy. This event was July 6, but I'm just getting around to posting the pictures

Cara Eve Stoltzfus 7/19/08

2008-07-19T21:19:00.002-04:00

Cara Eve Stoltzfus was born this morning at 10:36am.. and is doing wonderfully. Candace is amazing, and I'm humbled by her capacity to do this childbirth thing. 6lb 5oz 18 1/2 inches long. Shes sleeping now... i just changed my first diaper in about forever (ok about a year and a half or something) anyway... im proud of my daughter, and proud of my wife... this is the second baby she had with absolutely no pain medicine or anything. just gripping my hand. Thanks also goes out to our friend and Doula Jan King. She was helpful with the soothing words and encouragement.

some pictures are posted on facebook... if you dont have a profile there, you should. I will get around to publishing more here as I am able

Tylers graduation video

2008-06-29T00:04:00.002-04:00

this is a video for my nephew Tyler Price. congratulations bro. by the looks of these pictures, you have a great and loving family :) its something to be extremely greatful for, and no amount of wealth, power, or influence can purchase you this kind of stuff. I wish you the best in whatever you do, and wherever you go.

My sister Diane (tylers mom) pulled all the content together, and I just did the computer work. She came over from NJ to help edit it and we spent many hours together... over the course of 3 days...- i only had minor finishing touches... AND THEN my hard drive crashed. dangit! I had lots of stuff backed up, so I didnt lose my life, but I did lose this project in its entirety... so what you are viewing is the 2nd edit version. whew...

anyway... computers stink sometimes.

ultrasound

2008-05-16T12:16:00.000-04:00

heres some ultrasound pictures. One traditional and one 3d. its all a bit fuzzy, but when you see it in real life, its amazing how real it feels.

Looks like a girl they say. In our first ultrasound it looked like a boy. So who knows, and we are happy with HEALTHY. But we are pulling together some new girls names, and thinking that this new ultrasound was much more acurate (because of the size of the baby)

The excitement is mounting. :) just over two months... I guess we should start working on transitioning Tori into marias bedroom. guess we need to shop for bunkbeds. hmmm

springtime and puppies

2008-05-16T11:53:00.003-04:00

its been a good spring so far. Toby is growing quickly, as are the girls, and my wifes belly. :) It's a good time to be alive.

here are some pictures to enjoy... of course, clicking the slide show will take you to the album, where you can enjoy the pictures full size.

its been a typical april/may with loads of rain, some really beautiful weather. Trips to the park, and days working outdoors. It's fun to be across the street from mom - easy to do lunch together sort of randomly, even just sitting on the swings, or walking the dog.

We were watching old movies last night - memories... wish dad was here to share them.

new puppy

2008-04-17T11:17:00.000-04:00

Toby, our new puppy.

Maria and Toby, enjoying the Spring sun at the park.

Yes... I finally got a dog. Something I've been talking about for years. We bought Toby, a 9 week old Black Shih-Poo - half poodle, and half Shih-tzu. He's cute and rambunctious, and very much a puppy.
The girls adore him, and smother him with kisses... which he eagerly returns. Maria is enjoying caring for him too - its cool to see her excited about helping with all aspects of caring for him - I hope that continues. He's really small under 3 lbs.. but will grow to about 10lb probably.
Anyway, yall are welcome to stop by for a visit. he needs interactions with different people... to become socialized. So make it an excuse for a visit :)

anniversary trip to Ft Lauderdale

2008-01-16T00:37:00.000-05:00

it seems like the only time im blogging lately is when I have some photos to show off... anyway, i wanted to journal this trip better, but never got around to it. I will give a quick summary.

We went to Ft Lauderdale for a couple of days. We had a great time, beautiful weather - just being tourists, eating in restaurants, catching a couple movies, and spending time together. We are celebrating 14 years of marriage.

We got a last minute internet package deal which included air, hotel, and car rental. So the expense wasnt that much...

a nice surprize when we picked up our car was that we were given a brand new hybrid Toyota Prius... it only had a thousand miles on it so far... and i absolutely loved driving it. It was so quiet and smooth. It had adequate power when you needed it, or on the highway, and this cool display that showed you when the electric motor was on, or when it was taking energy from your momentum and putting electricity back into the batteries. Really some very cool technology. We drove 260 miles I think, and it only cost us $22 - our average was somewhere around 45mpg... WOW.

Ft Lauderdale was nice... a very wealthy resort type place on the coast... and then more ghetto as you move inland. its amazing to me how much money is spent on boats of all different sorts, and expensive million dollar houses and these huge cruise lines. How much money is spent on excess and luxury. And yet i understand the attraction to it as well.

Family

2008-01-04T11:16:00.000-05:00

I've posted some pictures from my family reunion. click on the slideshow to go to the album. I had my camera out for the group picture, and then went around and just took some random shots... so I know I didnt even get a good representation of everyone that was there, sorry I got some people lots, and totally missed some people (thats how random goes I guess)

Ive got a huge family on my dads side, He was one of 14, and so I have 75 cousins just on that side. in my album you can see pictures of 20some of them... obviously just a small portion of the whole family.

It was nice to be together, even as we age, and our own families start their own traditions, and reunions, its still nice to know how we share something in common. Our blood, and our heritage. And its surprising how so much of our upbringing has been formational in our own lives. You can see a thread running through the family, even though it is morphed into something new because of spouses (who don't always get it :)

Anyway, its lots of fun. Its also fun to see after a long time apart, how people resemble each other... like Joe, who reminds me of my dad... and Fannie, who really resembles her mom (my grandma who we all called mummy.)

I could describe these people typically as loud, fun, goofy, but in a mature mischievous way. I enjoyed talking to my uncles about rook, and hearing Amos remember how he played with my dad so much when they were first married. He told how they played so much together that they could read each others hands, by finger signals and winks - basically cheating, and no one could beat them (naturally.) I would love to get together and play with all these old timers. I hope i get invited some time (hint hint)

In many ways, I am much younger than most of the cousins... I am the third youngest of 75, and Julie is 2nd youngest... So I don't have the tight relationships that some of the others have that spent a lot of time together as teenagers and stuff.

I know its hard to take time to spend together, and the holidays are so busy -BUT- we really should spend more than two hrs once a year.

pictures from the new york trip

2007-10-06T22:58:00.000-04:00

last week a bunch of us went up to Chris & Jess's "Club Truth" event in small town Wappinger Falls NY... on the way home we stopped off in Times Square, just for the fun of it. enjoy the pics.

much needed update on life

2007-09-17T00:26:00.000-04:00

Last week I was lamenting how much work it was to get together and organize worship for a retreat like this� just making sure everyone has music in the right key, and learning new songs, practicing old ones, holding practices with multiple people in multiple schedules, collecting various sound equipment, making sure you have all the right wires/adaptors/cables, changing guitar strings, lining up visuals, and the spiritual prep too� there�s so much more than that, but you forget how much time it takes to be organized. Last week was a busy one� plus preparing for deeper Thursday night, and Club Worship Friday night, and spending time with the family. It was a pretty full week.

BUT

Now that its over, I remember why I say yes to all these opportunities� I love honoring and serving God in all of these ways. Deeper went really well Thursday � a small group, but that is what it is supposed to be. We had a great time, and the discussion was good.

And then the weekend was a total blast� Club Worship had its hitches, but 2 young people gave their heart to Christ for the first time, and we had a core crew of worshippers show up, who stayed late, and really got into the music. The after party was great fun, and there is tons of excitement for the future.

The retreat went really well, despite our lack of practice, and despite technical challenges, and sound system issues, the team fell together and played pretty tight, getting better as the weekend progressed. We rocked the place, and I really felt that the worship was as genuine as it could possibly be. It wasn�t perfect, but nothing is, and there were several cool ways that God showed up. I was impressed with pretty much everyone on the team at different points as they were featured. It was lots of work in preparation, but once we got to the weekend, it went very smooth. I�m quite privileged to be able to work with a team like that who basically gave up their weekend just to help lead worship.

I also just had a blast, staying up late, jamming with Danny and Isaiah, hanging out with the crazies on the worship team at Applebee�s etc. I laughed harder than I have in a long time, and it just felt good.

Someone rear ended me, and I have another smash in the back of my van� and a light that needs replaced� but it could have been much worse.

I beat my girls home� they were at the mountains with the Esh extended family, so when they came home it was great� lots of hugs, and I realized again how much I love them and love to hang out with them too. My daughters are growing up so fast, and when I was away from them, even just for the weekend, I�m able to get perspective, and see how much they have grown.

Tori is basically carrying on full conversations which we can usually follow, and Maria keeps surprising us with what she comes up with, and how she is helpful with taking care of her little sister and stuff� she sounds more and more �grown up� in her conversations too. Its so much fun, and they have so much energy, just jumping on the bed and climbing around on stuff. Fatherhood has been great fun so far.

new pics

2007-08-10T01:33:00.000-04:00

here are some pictures of the work that we are helping with at Hope of the Nations - the new home of Club Worship. Yay... the lighting grid is 100% online... now we just need a couple lights on the stage, and the lights will be ready.

the mullet - im so proud

2007-07-25T22:58:00.000-04:00

the mullet is my brother in law...
the "mate" "what the world" is my sister... im so proud!

what a fantastic idea for a youth group missions trip fundraiser... one of the best ive seen LOL.

Evan Almighty

2007-06-06T00:59:00.000-04:00

Went to see a pre-release screening of Evan Almighty tonight in philly� yeah, we feel pretty special don�t we� cuz tonight is the first time the film has been shown in its entirety in America. And only to a select few people in select few cities� Everyone else is gonna have to wait till June 22 to see it. OK� big whoop

So anyway, here�s the it�s a great film� good family comedy. This is something that pretty much anyone can get a kick out of. A great chance to take your family to the theater together.

Steve Carell did a good job� he�s just funny to watch. And I loved Wanda Sykes. The lines they gave her came a mile a minute, and she was just hysterical. Very funny stuff.

The story line had great little moral lessons along the way, of course �God� humor thrown in there with Morgan Freeman playing God� I love the way that they make God out to be someone with a sense of humor, but accessible, wise, and someone you can respect and reverence in a way. (not like the goofy George Burns)

I could tell the audience was churched people� just how they laughed at all the God jokes and stuff� the audience was really into it� maybe its because they all felt special being at the screening and were excited about that. But it was cool. It was fun to have a responsive crowd.

I liked the film much much more than Bruce Almighty. � Which ended with Bruce still being snarky, and how it was still so much about him. This film is very much about how you can give of yourself to make a difference in the world. So it never was about Evan, but about what God wanted to do in the world through him (and of course us)

Even though �Evan Almighty� was a little bit predictable, and never went really deep, I still recommend seeing it� the animals were freakin amazing� and the ark was incredible, totally realistic, and just blew me away with how they pulled it all off to look so real. I�m sure there was CG, there had to be� but I didn�t really see it in the entire film� (of course it was my first viewing) the only shot that I was sure was CG, was just this massive wide shot with all the animals getting ready to enter the ark... It just would have been impossible to line the animals up like that.

So its definitely worth seeing. Just cuz you can laugh, and maybe it could spark a conversation about faith. Of course faith in a God you can see, is physically there � and who performs miracles right in front of you� is hardly the same kind of faith that we have, but still.

Evan Almighty IMDB site

Zach Lutz

2007-05-24T14:39:00.000-04:00

wow... what a shock, to hear this morning about Zachs accident... and that the Lord called him home. Our sympathies and prayers go out to Audrey and the entire Lutz family.

This is a great david crowder band video

2007-05-03T11:13:00.000-04:00

the vote

2007-04-19T11:06:00.000-04:00

I am ready to go, ready to serve.

This past Sunday, the congregation voted to bring me on staff as Pastor for Young Adult Ministries at Zion. It is a half time position, but more than that it is a great new challenge as I continue to forge ahead in life.

I�m really excited about what God is going to do with this. It is a sizable step for Zion to take, and a bit of a risky one at that� but I am trusting that God has our best interest at heart� and I�m also needing to trust the collective wisdom of the congregation � and as they hear from God about what is the next step to take.

I was unsure how the vote would go� and I had set the bar high � as far as percentages go� but the vote was strong and affirming � stronger than I expected to be honest.

I think it is great that Zion is taking a particular interest in this segment (20 somethings) These young people have so much to offer the church, and many times are overlooked for stuff� And I am stoked to be part of something new and a bit progressive. (at least for our area.) I don�t have too many pre-conceived notions about creating programs and stuff� mostly I want to come alongside of what God is stirring up in the hearts and lives of the young people at Zion.

The 20 somethings currently at Zion� well it�s a great group, and I love em� and I fully expect that some that have drifted away will re-engage, as we (as a congregation) say �you are important to us.

quizzing and family pics

2007-04-02T00:04:00.000-04:00

Zion has the funnest quiz teams of all!!

We are in Ohio visiting with Conrad and Vicki - as they are hosting the two Zion teams for the invitational Bible Quizzing tournament. Its been a great weekend. We stayed an extra day, which was nice to be able to spend some extra time with Conrads and the family etc.

you can see some pics from the park we went to etc.

Enjoy the pics, maybe I will write more later

Jeffs pics - family

2007-04-01 quizzing pics ohio

Picasa Web Albums - jeff - 2007-03-20 aq...

2007-03-20T23:14:00.000-04:00

2007-03-20 aquarium

this morning at maria's suggestion, we woke up and decided to take a trip to the aquarium... invited mom along for a fun day... heres some pics. It was a lot of fun, just spending time with the fam, and enjoying and marveling at God's creation.

Afterward of course being that close to chinatown we had to stop and eat dinner and walk around a bit.

Facebook | Home

2007-03-19T18:24:00.000-04:00

Facebook
ok... I broke down and got myself a facebook account.

there is no sense in social networking on a site where no one you know is there... so I suppose now is the time to get on board. Because everyone is going there.

I hated to add another social networking site to my list... but oh well... seems like people are moving there from myspace - and it is so much better. No ugly sites where you have to scroll vertically and horizontally to see everything... and the networking is much more advanced. Not that I ever spent much time there anyway. But weve got quite a number of friends on our Club Worship myspace...

oh... and from what I can tell so far, spammers havnt hit facebook as hard.

the only thing is that very few people my age and older are on there at all... which either means that I am technologically more advanced then people my age and older... or that I am socially immature.

I guess the main reason I am there is to stay connected with some of these friends that ive made - mostly from church/clubworship over the years. Its nice to see the real side of people - rather than their church face.

the black hole framed - and supergirl

2007-02-13T23:56:00.000-05:00

ok... sorry rachel, I forgot here is a picture that includes that hole into my new "projection room" sorry, i posted the wrong one previously.

the paisley couch

2007-02-12T15:22:00.002-05:00

the famous Paisley Couch... lots of memories, we had a TV show called "the Paisley Couch" and then later, I took the name for my recording projects "Paisley Couch Studios." But alas, the duct tape, and years have overtaken this old lady. The legs are sort of loose underneath. Typically you don't make special connections with a piece of furniture, but this piece has history... and some funny stories attached.

An old girlfriend picked up this couch at an old yard sale around 1990 - her dad bought it for her I think for $30 in Lynchburg, VA. It sat nicely in her apartment for a while... When I moved back home in 1991 the girlfriend and the couch moved with... so we started this TV show and named it after the couch. And the couch found a new home at ACTV. The TV show was a Christian Artsy Fartsy Alternative show... very cool for the early 90s.

For the opening to the show, we strapped this couch to the roof of my little hatchback, and videotaped it driving all around the countryside... including clips of Julie (the hostess) relaxing on the couch, on the roof, while driving. mmm to be a young and crazy again... lol

So the relationship with the girlfriend ended, and she knew the value that we now had invested in this couch, with our logo, the name of the show, set design based on the couch, opening to the show etc... so she took advantage of the situation and demanded that I pay $100 for the couch. It seemed like a lot of money at the time, but I did buy it. And have owned the couch ever since.
So anyway, we need to get rid of this and get something new. Its all just turning to shreds - and we use blankets to sort of cover it all up - sort of improvised slip covers.

ALSO in the picture... notice a little black square in the wall... this is the new home of our video projector... in the closet - which shines through the small hole in the wall onto the screen. Its nice to not have the fan noise and the heat in the same room. It also gets the ghetto setup that we had before, with an old speaker box sitting up on the couch to project the image on the wall.

Cutting a hole in the wall made me a little nervous, but it worked out great, and putting a shelf up in another room, and running the cables and stuff... Its a project I have wanted to complete for several years.. finally got it done this week.

our fridge

2007-02-12T15:21:00.000-05:00

this is our fridge... we recently of course pulled a bunch of old photos off cuz it was just way too full and overflowing... anyway, I try to pray for these people on a somewhat regular basis, as I think about it. If you feel left out... well then you just need to send us a photo of yourself.

my future

2007-02-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight is a congregational meeting at Zion to discuss whether or not to bring me on staff part time. It has been an interesting journey to this point � I believe God revealed to me last April that the next year would be a journey and that I would just have to walk through it to see where He would lead me. Its not always about the destination, but many times it is about the journey � and are we willing to trust Him in it.

Ok, so that�s where I�m at� trusting.

The cool thing is that I can really say that I am confident that God will continue to lead, no matter the outcome of tonight�s meeting. I am clear minded, and have a peace, and an openness that is hard to describe. If you think about life as a book, I realize that the next chapter is still completely blank � and that�s cool with me. I know that I will not falter, or flounder, but that God will be writing something new � and so that�s what gives me peace.

Clark (at ACTV) last night asked me about what I was doing with my life� when I explained about the meeting, he asked if I was excited. The question caught me by surprise and I had to think about it. I suppose I am �cautiously optimistic.� I know that finances are an issue at Zion� If they did hire me, the starting salary would be small I am sure, but it is still more staff than Zion is used to having. Since I sit on Church council, I know the finances � and we aren�t struggling, but we aren�t poised for expansion necessarily either. Being �cautiously optimistic� means that I am ready to go, but ready to change gears if needed. It means flexibility with a smile. It means I will be happy no matter the outcome, and Zion should do what is best for Zion, and not necessarily what is best for me.

All that said, I really do love the congregation, the young people and young adults that I have the privilege to know. I�ve been part of Zion for 19 years, and in youth ministry there for 13. It is not a cookie cutter church, it is distinctively family, it is diverse � especially between city folk and country folk, rich and poor, young and old. It�s very balanced. I�ve seen lots of great churches in my years, but none quite like Zion� so it would be difficult If God called us elsewhere.

I decided that if I was hired, I would be excited � about new things, about new structures, about new challenges, and new vision. I would be excited about what God wants to do through me as a servant of His�. So I guess I am excited about the future whatever it holds.

At the same time, this year God has been teaching me about myself, about my shortcomings, about my lack of self discipline, about my selfishness. That part is ugly. Its what I am working on. I continue to see myself the way God sees me. As imperfect, but redeemed� He looks at me with a measure of pride, and still recognizes my immaturity sometimes. In any case, I wanted to get some of this out there � cuz its what�s is going on in my head, and it will be interesting to look back in a year or so and reflect.

i love picasa!

2007-02-04T00:35:00.000-05:00

I used picasa a couple years ago... then got away from it... then about 6 months ago, I downloaded version 2.0 amazing! possibly the best piece of freeware on the planet right now. Anyway, I posted some pictures into a web album. - which is free too. And so freakin easy.

Jeffs pics - family

Danricc took the pictures of the reunion,

zmyg reunion

and I took a couple of silly pictures at youth group tonight... we had a small group, so after worship and teaching, we took a road trip to goof around at walmart etc. Oh... the running pictures are a silly game we played - that jeremiah sort of made up, which involved ductaping someone and then chasing them around trying to blow qtips through a straw and getting them to stick etc... yeah, I did mention its sillyness didnt I? It was fun, but as a game needs some refinement.

heres the pics

zmyg 2007