Dale Handy Memorial Service

Scripture Reading

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will help you;

I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.

Lord, you have been our refuge

Pray -

We are here to celebrate the life of Dale Handy

in every generation.

2 Before the mountains were born,

Read the obituary

before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.

Dale G. Handy, 71, passed away January 23, 2020 at University of Kansas Health Systems, Hays Med Campus, Hays.

He was born October 13, 1948 in Scott City, the son of Gilbert and LaVerne Whipple Handy.

from eternity to eternity, you are God.

A longtime area resident he was a cowboy vet tech, was a member of Faith Fellowship Church of Hanston; the N.R.A. and drove a bus for Pawnee Heights for several years.

On October 10, 1970 he married Ricki Bowman at Englewood, Colorado, she survives.

Other survivors include: a son, Nathan and Carrie Handy and their children, Austin, Taylor, and Jordan, Dighton; a daughter, Rochelle and Joe Miller, Burdett, their children Trevor and Shyanne Miller, great grandsons, Braxton and Beau, Ingalls, Ashlee Miller, Burdett; two sisters, Connie Stout, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Tami Burkhart, Burdett.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Daryle Handy; and a sister, Linda Handy.

An obituary just never seems to give justification to the life that somebody led

sure we can get the facts… dates, names ext… But it never quite gives the full story of the person

We could sit and share stories… I encourage that you do that, help each remember the great things about Dale

I thought of Dale for a long time as a grumpy old man… maybe there is a little truth in that

Pastors get to see a side of people that others do not often get to see.

Over the years, with Doctor visits, there were plenty, Dale would tell me or could tell me the name of every nurse around that could get that needle in with one stick… He would also tell me about the ones that were not so good.

But when you sit with him while his wife is having surgery… get to sit in while the doc says everything is fine… see the relief on his face.

I got to hear stories of when he and Ricki started dating… about them getting married. He would tell me stories of hunting, of working, about the kids, his grandkids, and then even his great grandkids.

of which he would tell me, “I am afraid those kids are going to have their hands full with those boys.”

We grieve today because we are going to miss him. We celebrate today because, as Ricki told me, “We know where he is!”

PRAYER!

Song - This is the Time I must Sing, Gaither Song

Message -

Introduction

I always ask what scripture comes to mind, or if there is anything that they would like me to speak about.

Funeral messages can be difficult if you are not sure where the perso

Ricki spoke to me about forgiveness, specifically, for all the things that we have forgiven others for, how can we not forgive others.

She also said that she wanted this to be quick, so I will do my best

Forgiveness is something that is hard for some people

and sometimes it depends on the offense

but when we, like Ricki said, realize all the we have been forgiven for, how could we not forgive

We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

We all went astray like sheep;

we all have turned to our own way;

and the Lord has punished him

for the iniquity of us all.

We must realize all that we have been forgiven for

God has set a standard that we are all called to obey

Now, if you are anything like me I would venture to guess that you do not always just do as you are told

There is a funny thing about that little three letter word in our verse,

the all, the whole, the entire

meaning every single one of us…

We have all gone astray… meaning that we have gone our own way

Dale Handy was not a perfect man. I think that he would have been the second person to admit that, right behind Ricki

Dale was a man that thought his way was the right way

When we go our own way, that is what the bible calls sin

we have all sinned against the Lord, broken his commandments and gone our own way.

I know that I have done it… you can always seem to tell as you are most of the way through it...

the way seems difficult, burdensome

but I will stubbornly continue for a time…

tells us that we earn an eternity of separation from God because of our sin

it calls it an eternal death.

But if you look at our verse again, you see that the Lord somebody punished Him in our place

who is this him…

tells that that God proves his love for us in this, that Christ died for us.

the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus Christ came to offer forgiveness and grace to all that will accept it.

Ricki also told me to tell people we know where Dale is and want them to know how to get there.

Dale had

The wish of the family is not that you feel sorry for them, but to join Dale in heaven one day.

Confess and repent of your sins, Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe i your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved.

A Cowboy’s Prayer

Our Heavenly Father, we pause at this time, mindful of the many blessings you have bestowed upon us. We ask, Lord, that you will be with us in the arena of life. We as cowboys do not ask for special favors. We don’t ask to draw around the chute fighting horse, the steer that won’t lay, or to never break the barrier. We don’t even ask for all daylight runs. We do ask Lord, that you will help us live our lives here on earth as cowboys, in such manner, that when we make that last inevitable ride , to the country up there, where the grass grows lush, green and stirrup high, and the water runs cool, clear, and deep, that you’ll take us by the hand and say: “Welcome home cowboy, your entry fees are paid.