Diane Schroeder

Opening Song

Holy Spirit - Kim Walker

Greeting and Opening Prayer - Pastor Chris

I would like to welcome everyone here today as we have gathered to remember… and to celebrate the life of Diane Schroeder. Moments like this… are never easy.

For family, it means we have lost a sister, someone close to us, someone we have shared life with… someone we have laughed with, cried with, and grown up together with.

For friends, it means we have lost a companion, a confidant, someone who shared the same interests, someone we would hang out with, work together with, and worshiped God with.

For all in this room, we know Diane was a very special and loving individual… and she will be greatly missed. But there is something very important that we must understand. Diane… loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart soul and mind. Diane was a living expression of faith in the One who gave His life for us.

Because of her faith… we know that in our time of feeling this loss, heaven is rejoicing as Diane has made it home. We know today that Diane is no longer suffering the effects of having cancer. We know today that Diane is not in a position of medical need. Diane is celebrating her homecoming in the presence of God… forever in His arms… forever in His glory.

And as we acknowledge this celebration, we can also be grateful for the comfort that the Lord pours out upon those who grieve.

Just as Diane is forever in the presence of God Almighty today, we can be assured that His presence… His Spirit is also with us right now… in this moment. He sees your tears. He knows your heartache. He understands what you are feeling today and desires to comfort you with His love.

Today, in coming together, we honor a friend and family member with our memories. We honor her legacy of faith and her willingness and desire to care for others. Will you bow your heads with me as we open this service today with prayer… and ask God to fill this place… to fill our hearts… with His comfort and Spirit? Let’s pray...

Opening Prayer - Pastor Chris

Thank God for the opportunity to gather today.

Although our hearts are heavy, we are also overjoyed knowing that Diane is in heaven, rejoicing with the King.

Ask for the Lord to comfort all who are grieving.

Ask for the Lord to fill this place and to be with us as we remember Diane, her life and her legacy of faith.

Ask for the Lord to guide and direct us as we continue in the service.

Obituary - Gary Janssen

Diane Marie Schroeder, age 70 years of rural Republican City, Nebraska had her home going on Sunday, October 24, 2021. She transitioned from this life to her home in heaven with those who loved her by her side.

Diane was born February 8, 1951, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Elmer A. and Lucille A. (Duggan) Schroeder. She lived in Council Bluffs until 1994, and spent the remainder of her days on the farm near Republican City, Nebraska. She attended a rural country school through 2nd grade and then attended Glenwood Public Schools, in Glenwood, Iowa, graduating as Valedictorian in 1969. She went on to attend Jennie Edmundson School of Nursing in Council Bluffs, and in 1972, she earned a diploma in Nursing. Diane also attended Christ for the Nations in Dallas, Texas for one year to study Child Evangelism and Biblical Studies.

Diane worked at Jennie Edmundson Hospital from 1972 until 1994, on the orthopedics floor and as a House Supervisor. In 1995, she began working at Good Samaritan Hospital at Kearney, Nebraska, in the Intensive Care Unit. In 2007, she took a position as House Supervisor at Good Samaritan Hospital and remained in this position until her retirement in February of 2020. She was a member of The American Association of Critical Care Nurses and was a PALS Instructor.

Diane was a member of First Christian Church of Council Bluffs. At the time of her passing, she attended Heartland Worship Center of Agra, Kansas. She always had great joy in planning dishes for the monthly fellowship dinner.

Besides her faith in Jesus Christ, Diane’s life was very much about her love for animals. Particularly her dogs, cats and especially the horses. Diane raised, trained, and showed Morgan horses in the disciplines of saddle seat, pleasure and carriage driving. She later transitioned to miniature horses and American Shetland Horses. She made many trips to the winner’s circle with her beloved Pony C.L. Pocket Rocket, “Robby” and miniature roaster, Firefly Barbie Doll. Her home was filled with pictures, ribbons and trophies from her years of showing. Diane also loved to drive. Hours and miles were spent traveling to horse shows locally, regionally, and nationally. The relationship with Herron Stables made the whole show experience so much fun for Diane. The trainers and other stable clients became not just friends, but family.

She was a member of the American Morgan Horse Association; The American Miniature and Pony Association; The Nebraska Morgan Horse Association; and The Area VI Shetland and Miniature Horse Breeders Association Pony Club.

She is survived by her best friend, Deb Waddell of Republican City; her sister, Janice Abraham and her husband, George of Pompano Beach, Florida; brother, David Schroeder and his wife, Ruth of Council Bluffs; niece, Jill Schroeder of Los Angeles, California; nephew, Joshua Schroeder and his wife, Caley Jo and their sons, Price and Harris of Council Bluffs; as well as many beloved cousins and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Elmer and Lucille Schroeder.

Mid-Service Song

God of the Mountain - The McKameys

Message - Pastor Chris

This morning, I want to share a few words today that God laid on my heart as we were preparing for this memorial service. The message I want to share this morning is inspired of the Lord but is also inspired of the legacy and life of Diane.

Diane has attended Heartland Worship Center for the last several years and I always appreciated the time we had to converse on Sundays when she was here. She always had a smile on her face… she was glad to participate in the monthly fellowship dinners we do and… she was quick to tell me about the horse shows she had been to or about the ones she was getting ready to go to.

And then came the news… then came the report no one wants to hear… Diane had cancer. She would be facing treatments with hope that the cancer would shrink and make other future possible treatments a reality. But even after this news came… Diane remained strong… strong in her faith and strong in her desire to care for others.

I was glad to have the opportunity to sit down with Deb and with Jan to talk a little more about Diane and her life. You see, her life is NOT defined by a medical diagnosis… her life would be defined by the love she expressed for God and for others.

I want to paint for you a picture of who he was and what she was about.

Diane was a nurse. She started working in this field in 1972 and she continued her work as a nurse clear up to 2020. That is just shy of five decades of serving the medical needs of others!

Nursing is NOT an easy career for anyone. It requires a great deal of emotional and physical maturity. It requires a great deal of stamina and endurance. It will pull on emotions and weigh heavy on the heart as the care for the sick and the injured is administered. Diane’s heart was to care for others.. and she did this very well.

But her desire to serve and care for others did not stop at nursing. Diane was very active in her service for the Lord.

Diane served at various camps throughout her life. She was very much into child evangelism, serving students in youth groups, and discipling others through Sunday School. Diane loved the Lord! And her love and devotion for God could be seen as she served others faithfully.

Diane would lovingly give and was supportive of children in need.

She contributed to programs and outreaches such as Convoy of Hope: a ministry agency who provides disaster relief to people all over the world. They also supply various goods to rural churches to be used for ministry purposes.

For example, Convoy helped to connect this church with multiple semi truck loads of produce that we distributed to people in the heartland at the peak of the pandemic.

She loved to serve! She loved to help others!

And there was another side to Diane that is certainly important to mention here… Diane loved her animals… her horses, her pets, and so forth.

She was raised on a farm and 4H became a part of her life early on. And from there… animals have always been a part of who she is.

Diane was really into horses! She started competing with horses clear back in 1984 and has been involved in that community ever since.

In fact, Diane was at a horse show as recent as September of this year… and she drove a horse for her friends in that competition!

Along with the animals came the responsibility of caring for said animals. My oldest son, Mason, had the opportunity to help Deb and Diane a few times out on the farm. The work was… farm work. Not easy for sure. He was thankful for the compensation he received… but he spoke mostly of how nice Deb and Diane always were.

He was blessed by them… encouraged by them… and had no issue with going to help them with whatever they needed. He always looked forward to it. Now… how many teenagers have you known that were thankful to go and do farm chores? Well, when you’re working for Deb and Diane, you were working for two very kind and caring individuals!

She made an impact on a young man through her kindness and her Christ-like example. She made an impact on countless lives throughout the years of nursing and caring for the sick. She made an impact within the horse competition community through her example and her strength. Diane Schroeder was truly a strong, loving, compassionate servant of others. Diane loved to serve, she loved to help… and she loved to give. And most importantly… she loved to serve the Lord.

And that last sentence in the key. That last sentence unlocks the blessed hope. That last sentence reveals why Diane was so compassionate and loving: She loved Jesus first. And His love was evident in her life.

I want to emphasize something today as we remember who Diane was. Diane was a loving person because the love of God was in Diane.

The Love of God was in her.

Diane had made the clear choice to serve the Lord… and that is a choice that I pray every one of us will make in our life. it is the greatest choice anyone of us could make. And this morning, I want you to see how Diane’s choice to serve the Lord influenced her to give and to be generous as our God is generous.

I want to talk about the love of God for a moment. I want to talk about the depth and the width of His love for you and for me.

John 3:16 speaks of His love. This passage, spoken by Jesus, tells of what motivated God to do what He did when He sent Jesus to the earth to die for us. It simply says

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God so LOVED the world that He gave. Even though the world was messed up with sin… even though the world had disobeyed and rejected the words of God… God so loved the world.

Do we understand today that nothing, and I mean NOTHING can separate us from His love? Not your mistakes, not your rebellion, not your behavior or your attitude or your past or even your present? GOD LOVES YOU.

And this is something you come to understand when you give your life to Him: A person begins to understand the fullness of God’s love… as they choose to know the Lord!

Diane was a shining light of God’s love because she was full of His love!

She had placed her faith in Him. She was willing to go all in for God just as God was willing to go all in for us!

When it came to helping us in our time of need regarding our sin… God did not hold back… God did not hesitate… God did not question… He simply gave. he gave His Son.

Jesus wasn’t given only so that He could live with us and minister to a dying and broken world. He was given to DIE for us… to take our place… to give His life as a ransom for many.

The life that Jesus gave opened the door to a new reality that we can experience - whoever believes in Him WILL NOT PERISH but have eternal life.

Listen to me today: Diane did NOT lose her cancer battle… She is now spending eternity in a place where cancer will NEVER get to touch her again! She will not have to endure one more treatment, one more doctor’s appointment, one more surgery, blood test, or PET scan. Cancer has FOREVER lost its ability to do any more physical harm to her!

And this is all because of what Jesus did for us! Let me say it this way… Jesus’ body was broken on the cross… so that we might be made whole again! That is a biblical promise you can take to the bank!

And the motivation behind what God did for us was love! Even when we did not deserve it, God’s love for us shined through!

Diane knew this love first hand and she lived out this love throughout her life! Because God’s love was in her… God’s love could now flow through her!

The Love Of God Flowed Through Her

Jesus was sent to this earth because of the love of the Father. Repeatedly Jesus stated that He was on this earth to carry out the Father’s business. His very presence on earth spoke of God’s love, but God’s love also flowed through our Lord and Savior.

Throughout much of His ministry, Jesus was seen as having compassion for those who were in need. The need might take on various forms, but jesus chose to respond in the same way to these needs: He responded with compassion and love.

Take for example what is stated in Matthew 9:35-38

Matthew 9:35–38 NIV

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I want you to see something… the original word used here for compassion is splanchnizomai which means moved in your gut or your inner most being. Jesus was so moved with compassion that it caused Him to act on their behalf.

The people were in need. They were helpless, they were harassed, they were lacking the kind of protection and provision that a shepherd would give to his flock. Jesus chose to serve. Jesus, through compassion and love opted to engage and to to just pass on by.

But look at the charge He gives to His disciples. There is much work to be done and only a few workers. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.

Diane… heard the call to come work… to come serve… to compassionately care for the hurting and broken.

Diane… engaged… Diane responded to the call. Diane followed in the footsteps of her Lord and Savior who came to serve those whom His father loved.

Diane understood what it meant to love her neighbor as herself. The love of God could be clearly seen flowing through her as she:

worked those 40+ years as a nurse caring for the needs of the sick

worked in the youth camps helping with needs and investing in the next generation church

worked in the farm and helped friends all the way up to her last month on this earth.

worked in the church by providing food for the monthly fellowship meals

worked as she discipled students through Sunday School and youth groups

worked as she went through a study program at Christ for the Nations

worked as she stayed positive and strong through her victorious cancer battle… while the cancer may have taken her body… it never had a chance at taking her soul! he is free of that disease by Jesus’ name!

And make no mistake about it, when she passed from this life and entered into the heavenly realms, she was met with angelic celebration as the Lord said to her WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT!

Diane’s work and service is in direct reflection to her hearing the call and responding to the call. The love of God was in her and because of her faithfulness, the love of God flowed through her.

And such could be your reality today as well… but before His love can flow through us, His love must be in us.

God’s love for you is there… again, there is nothing you can say or do that would stop God from loving you! But you must be accepting of His love, you must be willing to allow His love to come into your life… through the life of His Son.

Jesus stands at the door today knocking. He desires to fill you today with His love as he did Diane. Are you willing to open the door? Are you willing to let Him in?

If so, The Bible says that all who call upon His name shall be saved.

So bow your head, close your eyes. Pray a prayer, confess your sins, tell the Lord you know you’ve messed up, acknowledge that Christ dies for your sins.. and ask for His forgiveness. Then… RECEIVE his forgiveness! Receive a new freedom that can only come from Christ! And… allow His love to come on in!

The love of God is unlike any love a person can experience on earth. His love for you is never ending. His love for you is everlasting. Diane knew His love and expressed His love toward others. I wonder if today we could make that same kind of commitment in honor of her legacy and Faith?

MESSAGE PRAYER - Father, help us to fully know Your love and to be expressions of your love. Help us to be moved with compassion, to be moved in our inner most being to serve others as Jesus did. Diane was a shining example of what this looked like and we are so grateful for her witness and example. I pray that all of us would choose to serve as she served, to give as you gave, and to allow Your love to be known in everything we put our hands to. Bless and keep these friends and family as they continue to remember and celebrate Diane. May your Holy Spirit comfort every grieving heart and bring peace to every troubled soul. Continue to walk with us and guide us through the remaining events of this day. Helps us to hear the call… as Diane heard the call… to continue to love and to serve others with a love that can only come for You. We love you and thank you for your Spirit that is with us today, in Your precious name we pray, Amen.

Closing Invitations

At this time this concludes our service hear today. Deb and the Family would like to invite you to stay for a lunch reception that is ready for you here at the church in the fellowship hall.

Also, there will be a grave-side service at the Cemetery in Indianola, Nebraska at 2:00pm this afternoon. The cemetery is located on the northwest side of town. Again, thank you for coming and sharing this time together. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Grave Side Remarks

I would like to start out by reading the words to a song… words of comfort and promise.

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet, God leads His dear children along; Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all through the blood; Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song, In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads His dear children along. Sometimes in the valley in the darkest of night, God leads His dear children along. Though sorrows befall us, and Satan oppose, God leads His dear children along; Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes, God leads His children along.

Away from the mire, and away from the clay, God leads His dear children along; Away up in glory eternity’s day, God leads His dear children along.

Diane certainly knew of God’s leading… for she chose to follow Him in all things. And even in this moment… God is leading us right now, through the sorrow and pain of loss… He guides us with the comfort and peace only His Spirit can bring.

It is never easy to approach this moment… this end of life as we know it moment. For it is in this moment that we say our final goodbyes… that we say farewell to a loved one, a family member, and a good friend. Diane will be greatly missed.

And we understand today that even Jesus knew what this moment felt like. When He recieved the report that His friend, Lazarus, had died, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus wept. He wept for the loss of a friend… and He wept for the heartache of the loved ones. But even in that moment of death… there was hope of new life.

Even in this moment… there is hope. Even as this body is laid to rest, we know her soul has never been more alive. For Diane loved the Lord… she served Him with all her heart… and with that faith was given entrance to heaven.

Our hearts grieve through the loss… but we find peace in knowing that in this moment, we say goodbye only to the body… for we shall see Diane once more when our time on earth is done.

John 14:1-6 reads,

John 14:1–6 NIV

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus came to lead us back home. Jesus came to make a way where there seemed to be no way. He came that through Him we might find our way back to the Father.

He has gone to prepare a place for all who place their faith in Him. And because Diane knew the Lord… she has found her way home.

We know that in this moment, Diane is not here. She stands in the presence of the Lord who said to one who was dying on a cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” What lies before us is but the earthly tabernacle, the house in which she lived among us for a time. Tenderly and reverently we commit that house to the grave. The body returns to the earth from which it came: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Spirit returns to God who gave it, waiting the day when both spirit and body shall again be united at the coming of the Lord; “for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise.”

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

“Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Diane will never again feel the pain or discomfort of cancer. Diane will never again experience the hardships and trials of this world. Diane has forever been set free as she came into glory… undoubtedly while hearing the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

Diane is home… in the Father’s house… no doubt taking care of the horses… perhaps even the white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True.

May the Holy Spirit continue to comfort you and bring you peace… and may the Spirit of God fill your hearts as we pray...

PRAYER - Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for Your leading. We are so thankful that You lead your children home. We are so thankful for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, as He made for us the way back to You. It is in Christ that we find our peace… that we find our comfort… and that we find our hope.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort family and friends as we share this final moment.

Fill us with your peace as we navigate this difficult season.

Help us to listen to Your voice and to find our direction through Your Word.

Keep us in Your loving arms and surround us with Your Spirit. We thank you again for being with us all as we remember Your faithful servant. Bless us and keep us in Your precious Name we pray, Amen.

This concludes our service today. We will be praying for you and available to help or serve in anyway we can. God bless.