Song ________________ Family Enters
Welcome
We were all shocked to hear of the passing of Debbie. We knew she had been battling her condition for some time but she was home and seemed to be doing relatively well. We have gathered here, as is our custom, to conduct a service to remember Debbie; to comfort her family; and ultimately honor God.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11.25-26
A question we might ask is, “Do we believe this?”
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Obituary
Debbie was a planner. She had already purchased a Valentine’s Day card for Mel. She had planned meals days in advance.
Debbie liked to journal and when Facebook came along, she used it.
Some posts in her FB account:
12.13.16 – “On my way home” – on 1.14.17 she went home to the place Jesus has prepared for her
Rosie · January 14 at 11:08pm ·
• Sitting here at my brother Melvin’s tonight can't believe his wife Debbie passed away this morning! I know of no one who wanted to live more than her! She has fought to live really hard the last few years but every time we thought she wasn't gonna make it she showed us she was and did !!
• I loved her faith in God her love for life her love for her family and her church family who were always there for her and Melvin anytime and every time they were needed !
• I'm gonna miss her calls her joyful spirit!! God truly gained another Angel today !! I know she's having the time of her life playing catchup with her mom and Dad !!
• Missing you already and still can't believe your gone ! Please keep my brother Melvin and the family in your prayers! He's took care of her so long he will be lost without her ! So after everything is done and over please continue to pray for he will be alone it's gonna be hard for him ! We appreciate all the prayers and kind words !!
Quotes she posted which expressed some of who she was:
• “No matter what you are going through, no matter how long you are waiting for answers; one thing that we can be sure of is God is faithful. He keeps his promises.”
• “Don’t worry! God is never blind to your tears; never deaf to your prayers; and never silent to your pain. He sees, He hears, and He will deliver you.”
• “Dear God, I want to take a minute not to ask for anything, but to simply say thank you for all I have!”
• “Forget about revenge. Instead pray for the people who have hurt you.” Matthew 7.12
• “God is the only reason I have made it this far.”
• “I love you to the moon and back.” – Special significance to her family
On Headstone – “If you miss heaven, you missed it all.”
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Eulogy
Descriptions of Debbie:
• “Big Heart”
• Dr. Nelson: She was like a cat – she had Nine Lives! Every time we thought she was going to pass, she bounced back.
• “She was a fighter.” – She did what she needed to do to live as long as she could. She went through the many demands and challenges of the heart transplant as well as the aftermath – 56 pills/day plus insulin – she wanted to see as much of the lives of her children and grandchildren as possible – she LOVED her family!
Heart Transplant Statistics
• 6-12 - Average number of months a patient spends on the heart transplant list.
• 1967 - The year the first heart transplant was performed.
• 4 - Number of hours it takes to transplant a heart into a recipient.
• 2,332 - Number of Americans who had heart transplants in 2011. About 2,000 transplants take place in the U.S. each year.
• 3,158 - Current number of people waiting for a heart transplant. About 3,000 people are on the wait list for a new heart at any given time.
• The transplant gave the Warden family 18 or so more years with Debbie
There are 862 Heart Passages in the Bible – Including:
Psalm 53.1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?
I Samuel 16:7 “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
John 14.1-6
Psalm 51:10, David asks the Lord: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
We need to get the heart that God has for us and means for us to have.
We need a heart transplant. The word “create” is a powerful word that David uses. It means, literally, to make something out of nothing.
Deuteronomy 6.4-8
Ezekiel 36:25-27, 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Not a second-hand heart, a recreated heart
Our hearts can become as hard as a stone when:
• We allow sin to harden it – Hebrews 3.13
• We become stubborn and rebellious – Psalm 95.8 Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness
• We can become proud – Daniel 5.20 (of Nebuchadnezzar) But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.
• We can develop unbelief – Mark 16.14 Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
God can Make a change of Heart
In the Movie Godfather III Mafia chief Michael Corleone meets with Cardinal Lamberto, reporting to the cardinal that executives from the Vatican bank and even an archbishop have been involved in a massive case of fraud. After hearing the news Cardinal Lamberto moves to a water fountain withdraws a stone and says: “Look at this stone. It has been in the water for a very long time, but the water has not penetrated it.” He then breaks the stone in two, shows the inside to Don Michael and continues, “Look. Perfectly dry. The same thing has happened to men in Europe. For centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity but Christ has not penetrated. Christ does not breathe within them.” The movie scene actually points out a significant spiritual truth – It is not enough to be exposed to Christianity. Man is in desperate need of a heart transplant.
Debbie understood this. She did not live her life unaffected by Jesus, rather, she lived expressing him by loving, and forgiving (quickly – except for Mel).
Debbie displayed a Servant’s Heart in many ways – to her family; to her church with 28 years as a Pre-School Coordinator at the South Yukon Congregation (she often worked way into the night to make sure everything was ready for the classes)
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.
When a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly it becomes a totally new creature. A metamorphose takes place. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! The man with a new heart is a completely new man. – copied.
Debbie got a new physical heart that gave her 18 more years with her family.
BUT, she already had the new heart that Jesus gives. She was transformed in this life by the presence of God in her life.
TODAY, she has been transformed into the eternal presence of God.
Revelation 21.4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
About Mel – devoted spouse; willing to sacrifice for Debbie – even a kidney; willing to give his life for her – he certainly has given his life to her; “For better and for worse” – lifelong commitment
Prayer
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