Vianne Stensaas Memorial Service

WELCOME

OBITUARY READING

SONG: Amazing Grace

THOUGHTS by Mickey

“Get up and move on. This is not your place of rest anymore...”

This is quote by Charles Spurgeon as he reflects on —Micah 2:10a, and describes the Final Journey Home,

[M&E 2-7-26 AM : Final Journey Home Down a Dark River Called Death]

The day is coming for us —just as it has been for many of our dear friends here at Cornerstone—our National Treasures, I have called them.

One day, God will call us home too.

Yes...

One day, every believer will hear God’s voice call them home: “Come up here.”

It will be like God saying…

“It’s a time to Leave the home you’ve lived in, the city where you worked, the people you’ve known and loved. Get up and take your final journey.”

It’s a promise meant to fill us with hope, not fear.

Heaven is not a loss but a homecoming.

Our hearts already belong where Christ is, and part of us is always listening for His call.

And what do we really know about that journey? Or about the place we’re headed?

We’ve read a little.

God’s Spirit has shown us something.

We have dear loved ones who have gone ahead of us.

But honestly, we know only a small glimpse of what lies ahead.

The future world is still mostly unknown to us.

We do know this:

God draws us across what may look like the shadow of death, a dark, turbulent river and promises— He will be with us.

What comes next?

What kind of world will open before our eyes? What glory will we see?

No one has come back to describe it in detail.

Still, we know enough about heaven to welcome that call with hope and even joy.

The crossing may feel frightening, but we don’t have to be afraid.

God walks with us through the shadowed valley, so we are not alone and we need not fear.

Yes, we will leave behind everything familiar here—but we are going home to our Father’s house.

Where Jesus is.

To an unshakable life, to a city built and designed by God Himself. This will be our final move, our forever home—

living with the One we love, among His people, in God’s presence.

As Believers, its ok for us to spend time thinking about heaven.

It strengthens our steps and lightens the road.

This tear-filled valley is only a passageway to something far better.

This broken world is just the threshold to a world overflowing with joy.

To those left behind— there are tears and moments of brokenness. Even emptiness

However…

We don’t have to grieve like the world.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 MSG

13–14 And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.

Prepare us, Lord, by grace alone For that bright home above; Then call us up, and let us join Heaven’s song of love.

That great cloud of witnesses cheering us to stay the course, to remain securely in the Father’s arms, to go the distance, and listen for the Spirit’s call “Come on up. This is not your place of rest anymore.”

SONG: How Great Thou Art

OPEN MIC:

John Paul Cooper

Family

Friends

Jim and C’Cie Birch audio and ppt

SONG: What A Friend We Have In Jesus

CLOSING

Comments

Painter and flowers

First oil painting was of a Russian Tea pot in her early collegiate years (1950’s). When they returned decades later the tea pot was still there.

Vianne had a skull fracture after being hit by a car plus had an appendicitis that caused issues making her drop one of her double majors.

23yr old she heard Elvis in b/w on the Ed Sullivan Show

HERE IT IS …She had developed the heart of a worshipper- as a follower of Christ, but also as a lover of nature as we see in her paintings!

This should inspire us to be a lover of our Father God but also a lover of what he has created!

ICE CREAM SOCIAL

please help with chairs and tables

box for memories to be read

SONG: 🎶She’ll be coming around the mountain🎶

PRAYER

PtL

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M&E 2-7-26 PM

IN SHORT

“Come Up Here” Revelation 11:12

Revelation 11:12 NLT

Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.

One day, every believer will hear God’s voice call them home: “Come up here.” That promise is meant to fill us with hope, not fear. Heaven is not a loss but a homecoming. Our hearts already belong where Christ is, and part of us is always listening for His call.

Still, that call comes in God’s time, not ours. While it’s natural to long for heaven, we are invited to wait with patience and trust. God knows exactly how long each of us should remain here—and every day we’re given is an opportunity to love, serve, and bring fruit into His kingdom.

So whether God asks us to stay and work, or calls us home to rest, our prayer is the same: to be content wherever He places us, as long as we live in His presence.

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IN FULL

> “Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Come up here.’” —Revelation 11:12

> Without focusing on the prophetic setting of these words, let us hear them as an invitation from our great Forerunner to His holy people. One day, every believer will hear that same voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” This should fill God’s people with joyful hope.

>

> Rather than fearing the moment we leave this world to be with the Father, we should long for the hour of our freedom. Our hearts should already be where Christ is, watching and waiting for the call that says, “Rise up and come away.”

>

> We are not being called down into the grave, but upward into heaven. Our spirits were made for heaven, and they should yearn for their true home. Still, this heavenly call is something we must wait for patiently. God alone knows the right moment to say, “Come up here.” We should not try to rush the timing of our departure.

>

> Deep love for God may make us cry out for heaven now, but patience must do its full work. In His perfect wisdom, God decides the best time for His redeemed people to remain on earth. If regret were possible in heaven, it might be this—that we did not stay longer to do more good.

>

> How we long to bring more fruit into our Lord’s harvest, more jewels for His crown—but that requires more time and more work here. Yes, a shorter life means fewer sins, but when God is using us fully—when He allows us to plant generously and reap abundantly—we can honestly say it is good for us to remain.

>

> Whether our Master tells us to “go” or to “stay,” let us be content either way, as long as we are allowed to live in His presence.

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Vianne

1934 Sept 7

23yr old she heard Elvis in b/w on the Ed Sullivan Show

Homeschooled before high school, as she had three certified teachers in her family (mom, dad, and grandmother)

Grew up in Lyman County in western SD. 

She was validitorian of her HS class

They met as Harlan was a sophomore and she was a freshman. Attended Madison School for teachers. Sonic they wouldn’t have gone to college they may not have met. 

Vianne had a skull fracture after being hit by a car plus had an appendicitis that caused issues making her drop one of her double majors. 

Vianne’s father, owned the Murdo Coyote newspaper in Murdo, SD. He thought that Harlan would be a great editor there but Harlan didn’t want a small town position. 

Painter and flowers

First oil painting was of a Russian Tea pot in her early collegiate years (1950’s). When they returned decades later the tea pot was still there.

Very popular teacher in China. 64yrs old 

Very proper women

St. Joseph Indian School

Married March 5, 1954 to Vianne in Madison, South Dakota First Methodist Church by Rev. Henry Houghtman. 

72 Anniversary would be March 5, 2026. 

FUNERAL SERVICE DETAILS. 

Cremation 

Service at Cornerstone Feb 22 3pm

-Slide show

-Open mic to share thoughts but not to go too long. 

-box for memories to be read

Will be Buried in Reliance South Dakota 

Favorite Songs/Hymns

-Amazing Grace 

-I Come to the Garden Alone

-How Great Thou Art

-what a friend we have in Jesus (perform in China in their apartment complex in Guangzhou)

ICE CREAM SOCIAL

-She’ll be coming around the mountain