Our dear friend Jeff passed on this afternoon. His brother posted quite a statement of faith just about an hour ago. The posts of this story can be read on their Caring Bridge site.

Jeff leaves behind his wife, Stefani, and his 8 children.

Jeff’s brother, Michael, who witnessed Jeff take his last breath moments ago, wrote this last night…

You may think this is only about the Schultz family, but I know it is also about you. I encourage you take your next step towards Christ with whatever you have (thimble to barrel) and let us know what happens.

Knowing Jeff, he’s seeing a bigger picture to his battle with cancer now from heaven’s view.

A good friend of mine is on the verge of passing away. Their latest posting shared that Jeff Schultz, father of 8 children, will likely pass away tonight.

The picture above was taken two years ago at a Quiver Full picnic. Jeff and Stefani are on the left, and that’s me holding two of my kids on the right. Jeff had just been operated on for tumors that were not yet thought to be terminal. Stefani in this picture was pregnant with their 8th child who ended up born with Downs.

The Schultzes have gone through so much in the last two years, but they have been an incredible testimony of faith. Visit their site and you’ll see many more smiles than sorrow, and their faith in God is ademant throughout their posts. Please keep them in your prayers.

Here’s a picture of the kids with Stefani:

I often am asked, “How much do you spend on groceries?” Most people think to themselves a basic mathematical equation: T1K x 13 (T1K = their one kid) x Their Grocery Bill = The Jeubs’ Grocery Bill. Without fail, when we figure out the real numbers, my grocery bill is usually a half or a third of what most people spend on T1K!

How can this be? For one, God is our ultimate provider. Let me make perfectly clear that I do not want to detract from how incredibly proficient Jesus Christ is in providing our “daily bread.” I am thoroughly convinced–and evidences pop up all the time in our lives–that God will always provide the necessities in life to those people who are faithful.

In fact, I’d go out on a limb and say this: it matters not how many kids you have when it comes to your daily needs. God has always kept Chris and I on the edge of our finances, but you know what? We have always been taken care of. If we had 100 kids, I believe God would provide for this. Almost engrained in modern parents is the idea that they must be perfectly prepared for the coming of children. The argument goes something like this: Not only must parents be mature enough to have children, they have to have all their finances in a row and be totally secure in order to face the drastic–and expensive–world of babies.

In reality, this is backwards. As for maturity, a young couple can stay forever self-centered and egotistical if they avoid having children. Once the first baby comes along, the same young couple miraculously matures. They grow into the next phase in life: child rearing. Whether through adoption or natural birth, couples who become parents grow up.

Isn’t this the way it always was until recent history? In the 19th century, it was not uncommon for the 14 year old couple to get married. And this was right when their hormones were just getting turned on to each other. Those elders in that generation did not flip out about 14-year-olds not being “mature” enough or “financially stable.” Of course they weren’t. Getting married in the mid-teens was not that big of a deal.

Don’t misread me; I’m not advocating teen marriages. There is sense in waiting through the educational years. However, I am protesting the thirty-somethings who are still on the Pill thinking children are somewhere (don’t know where) in their future. What these couples don’t realize is that they have a window of opportunity to procreate, and if they pass without partaking, they will miss out on the beautiful maturation of raising children.

-Wendy