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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Preplanning Funerals

Doug and I have seen the wisdom of preplanning our funerals for some time now. With rising funeral costs, it just made sense to get the arrangements made and the price locked in. It also makes life easier for the surviving family members to whom the responsibility might otherwise fall at our deaths.

A couple of years ago, we even sat down with a representative of one of the primary funeral providers in our area to discuss our options. We had a severe case of sticker shock when we walked out of that meeting and never did finalize a plan.

Recently, some friends of ours decided they needed to get serious about getting their funeral plans made. In doing their research, they contacted Northern Indiana Funeral Care (NIFC). Our friends were very impressed with the services and prices that NIFC offered and decided to let that organization have their business.

We met with a representative of NIFC on Tuesday, and we were equally pleased. They got our business, too.

Basically, they can offer less expensive funerals because they encourage people to have the funeral service and same-day visitation at a church or community center, eliminating the expense of the funeral home for those purposes.

They also are endorsed by the American Legion, Department of Indiana, for Veterans' Funeral Plans.

For those of you out there, especially here in Northern Indiana, if you're considering preplanning your funeral, you might want to include Northern Indiana Funeral Care in your investigation.

After all, not one of us is going to get out of here alive...unless we're blessed to still be alive when the Lord returns for His own.




For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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 first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)



13 comments:

  1. so funny, this afternoon the thought 'no one gets out of here alive' ran through my head, too. glad you got your's done and locked in.

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  2. Thanks for the reminder about seeing that this is done. I wonder if there is a similar organization here in Tennessee?

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  3. This has been heavy on my heart since my mom passed. While she had some arrangement made, there were still several unplanned areas that I was responsible for. An unpleasant topic for sure, but one that HAS to be talked about. I so appreciate the info and I will look for an organization like this here in Louisiana. God bless, Linda!

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  4. Theresa - That IS funny...that that phrase ran through your mind. It does lend peace of mind to have that planning finished.

    George - You could contact this group to see if they know of another in your area.

    Gail - With each death of friends or family, the realization grows that we need to get our own arrangements made. We're glad to have this settled.

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  5. George, I work with Indiana Funeral Care. Feel free to call Keith Dyer at Mid-South Funeral Care in Clarksville, TN. They offer the same types of services we have here.

    http://www.midsouthfuneralcare.com

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  6. It is wise to plan ahead and especially to let your loved ones know what your wishes are. I for one want to be cremated with my asses being thrown in the ocean.

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    1. Stephen - Your typo made me laugh. It was a typo, wasn't it? :)

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  7. Great article, Linda!

    You expressed it so well about "Northern Indiana Funeral Service" and the peace and contentment it brings to have things planned for when the Lord above decides to take us home (for people who know Him as their personal Savior).

    The verse you used in I Thessalonians is so true and another that comforts Dave and I is:

    I Corinthians 15:54-57

    When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Also, I really enjoyed the article about the birds and spring. Keep writing you are so good at it.

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    1. Thanks, Kay. We really appreciate that you and Dave told us about NIFC. We've been spreading the word. :) Thanks for sharing that passage from 1 Corinthians, too. That's powerful.

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  8. Linda, as I can see from all those comments, unlike me, no one has been surprised by the arrangements. Different countries have different customs... ;)

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    1. Petra - Maybe it's more a matter of our age groups than our nationality. :)

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  9. I have been thinking of pre-planning my funeral in Schaumburg IL. I think that it would be pretty nice to have it all set up so that my family doesn't have to worry about it.

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  10. great topic! Our Scarr Funeral Home team sees more and more clients daily pre-planning their funerals to make sure they have the funeral they want.

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