Random Ryan Ranting

Have you ever realized that we often come out of a doctor’s visit worse than when we entered? Does this bother anyone else?

I was at the eye doctor yesterday. They dilated my pupils and numbed my eyes, did their thing and sent me on my way. I could barely see! But I could see fine when I went in! It can’t be good for someone coming out of the eye doctor to have to be guided to the car by someone else. (Much less for someone coming out—unable to see—and climbing into the driver’s seat as I did!)

And dentists are worse, right? Usually, we come away from the dentist’s office unable to move the lower half of our face. Hello! It can’t be good for someone coming in to see me coming out, holding my jaw and moaning, while my friend offers to take me to get some milkshakes and pudding.

And my emergency room visit two weeks ago. As I reported, they did not clean my wounds. Thus, I walked out every bit as bloody and wounded as when I walked in. It can’t be good for someone approaching the ER to see someone coming out looking as though they’ve just collided head-on with a tree.

I’ll share more about this next time. Am I the only one bothered by this? Do you smell what I’m steppin’ in?

Back from the Dead!

Praise the Lord! He is risen! And so am I! Yesterday was a fun day here at Highland Street. We sang all of our favorites and celebrated the resurrection. We had the young children come up to the front to tell us about what Easter meant to them. One little girl (2.5 years old) said a bunch of gibberish the first time the mic was handed to her (no, I don’t think it was a tongue, no one was edified). Then, she took a breath and said, “it’s about how Jesus died, how He rose again, and how He saved our hearts.” Wow! Someone sing an invitation song!

I’m doing much better this week. My face is completely healed (thank you, Lord!) and the rest of me is getting back to normal. I appreciate those of you who prayed for me last week—it was a very difficult week for me. But now I’m better and we’re moving on in this journey.

Today is the most beautiful day I’ve seen in Memphis. I wish my office had windows, and I wish I could afford a convertible.

Beat up, sick, drugged, disheartened. Fine otherwise!

Well, my injuries from the bike wreck are continuing to improve very quickly. The wound on my face is almost completely gone—so thank you for your prayers. It has healed much faster than I expected it to. But just as soon as I felt recovered from my wreck, I came down with a cold. Monday and Tuesday were not fun days for me. And in the midst of all this, my plans for our Easter Sunday here at Highland Street were cancelled for me. So there’s some deep emotional pain as well.

On the flip side, today I am the recipient of a Banana Cream Pie, which I have no doubt will solve all of my life’s problems. Further, I saved money on doctor visits by handling all of my medical needs in one outrageous visit to the doctor (ER follow-up, sick, prescriptions are running out, nice to meet you too!). And it has also been nice to have a great excuse for mistakes, mediocrity, and forgetfulness: “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m recovering from a serious head injury.” :o)

I've always wanted a CAT scan...wait, no!

THE SHORT VERSION: Yesterday at 3:30pm I rode my bike off a bridge (that’s the embarrassing part) and landed face-first against a tree (that’s the painful part). I was in the emergency room until 10:30 last night where CAT scans revealed no head trauma. I did suffer a concushion, a con-cushion, a cussion of cons, a concussion…my head hurts. I also suffered some scrapes on my right knee, left shoulder, and on the left part of my face. Thanks to some awesome friends, (Paxton Edwards, Stephen Snell, Josh and Joni Patrick, Chris Altrock, Charles Kiser, and Larry McKenzie) I’ve been well taken care of.

We should thank the Lord that it was not any worse. Today, I simply feel like I played a rough game of tackle football—and lost! Please pray for a quick recovery, and please pray that the scrapes on my face will not scar. Thank you for your prayers.

More Details about the Bike Wreck

This is probably more for my own records than for people to read.

I was riding with my friend Paxton Edwards. He was in front of me. I rode off a bridge and hit a tree face-first. He was unaware and kept going. Though we have no proof that I was unconscious, I must have been out for a couple minutes. He came back after a few minutes and found me sitting on the bridge taking off my helmet and gloves, with my arms folded around my knees. He knew instantly that I had suffered a concussion. He was able to convince me to walk my bike with him to the end of the trail (200 yards) while he called Stephen Snell to come get us.

I do remember the wreck, but the next thing I remember is sitting with Paxton and two other riders who had found us at the end of the trail. Altogether, it was about 40 minutes from the impact to the time when I came to my senses. Isn’t it amazing how the human body can operate and even communicate—without being fully alert? Kinda scary actually. Apparently I repeated the same conversation every thirty seconds. I used no profanity and mentioned no names!

It was during the ride to the hospital that I finally realized everything that had happened. I called my parents and my local emergency contacts. When we got the hospital, Larry McKenzie had already beaten us, looked for us, and left. What can you say? He tried. But within minutes there were seven people with me in the waiting room. There was one scary moment when the finance person announced that they were no longer accepting the church’s insurance. But I called the company and they said that since it was an emergency, I would be covered—whew.

The Waiting Room: The emergency waiting room was an unusual experience. I’ve been in these before. This one, however, looked more like an airport waiting room than an ER. No one else around me looked hurt. Most of them didn’t even look sick. And then there’s me. I had blood all over the left side of my face and neck, and my shirt was very bloody. I was the only one who looked like I was in the right place! And yet, it was four hours before I was seen. Four hours! You would think “possible head trauma” would be prioritized, but I guess there were lots of people with “certain head trauma.”

Once I was taken back they gave me a tetanus shot and examined me. The C.T. scan only took about ten minutes and then I had the results about twenty minutes later—no head trauma. After that they gave me a pain medication prescription (which I filled but don’t think I’ll need) and gave me some instructions for taking care of my flesh wounds.

Then I was released. They didn’t even clean my wounds! I would imagine a hospital would not want someone walking OUT of the ER looking marred and bloody. I don’t think it could possibly encourage anyone coming in! Ah, well. I feel really good this morning.

Paxton Edwards and Stephen Snell actually spent the night with me and woke me up every couple of hours to make sure I was okay. They asked me multiplication questions and we managed to enjoy ourselves. Don’t worry, I shared some of my leftover pie with them from Pi Day! I’m grateful to the Lord and my friends for taking care of me.

Happy Pi Day!

Well, I just heard an awesome idea. In fact, this idea is so wonderful that this very day I am launching a new Ryan Porche tradition. Today is 3.14. Pi day! And to celebrate, I’m going to have some pie! And I’m going to plan to have pie on March 14th from this day forth—because I love pie and we need creative and goofy ideas like this to help make life a little more enjoyable. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I’ll just have to be an enthusiastic participant!

My favorite pie is probably chocolate ice box with whipped cream. Although, I’ve yet to meet a pie I haven’t liked. What’s your favorite pie?

Incapable

Several weeks ago, I was reflecting on worship leading while driving home from church. I was thinking about how completely impossible it is to lead worship. Have you realized this? It’s impossible. It can’t be done. It doesn’t matter how amazing the music is. It doesn’t matter how captivating the message is. It doesn’t matter how warm and inviting or visually stunning the atmosphere is. It doesn’t matter how much the praise team has rehearsed. Only God can touch someone’s heart. Only the Holy Spirit can allow us to stand in His presence. Period. No man or woman can lead others to worship.

So, I realized that I’m twenty-three and I’ve been hired to do an impossible job. Nice. This encouraging moment is brought to you by the letter “d” which stands for desperate. The Lord continues to teach me this.

I tell you these things to set the stage for the Lord’s glory. The last couple Sundays at Highland Street have been so powerful. God was all over the place yesterday! It was amazing! So, my job might be impossible, but it’s still the best job. I get to watch the Lord work on people’s hearts every week. He continues to answer so many prayers. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

To Mom and Dad

Today is my parent’s anniversary! This morning, I was writing about experiences when I was taught about worship as a child. When I finished writing them, here are the thoughts that passed through my mind: I need to thank my parents. Hey, today’s their anniversary! I will blog a tribute to them! Yesssssss! So, here are some memories about being formed through worship as a child. I’d like to hear from you, too, but you’re not allowed to comment until you’ve read mine. :o)

The most important thing I remember is that Sunday mornings in our home were different than other mornings. There was no TV or radio allowed. Rather, my parents played worship music all morning as we had breakfast and prepared for church. We would listen to worship music in the car as well. Also, I recall having a number of conversations over Sunday lunch about the worship assembly we had just experienced. What was your favorite part? What did you think about this? What did you think about that? I remember one particularly formative conversation one Sunday after my family had visited a different church with a different worship style while on vacation. Experiences such as this are so formative for children.

At Highland (Abilene), when I was in elementary school, there was one Bible class on Wednesdays devoted to worship (taught by Bob and Janice Allen). We learned new songs together and worked on memorizing songs. We also had discussions about worship. The class was a semester’s length and it was open to 4th and 5th graders. Also, on Sunday mornings, the children are not dismissed for “kids church” until the sermon—they’re with the adults for everything else. The children are frequently an active part of the worship assembly on Sunday mornings too—being invited to the stage for a brief kid-friendly illustration which fit the theme of the day. Activities such as this speak volumes to both adults (we value children; here’s an example of how to teach your kids about God) and children (we love you and you are special to all of us).

As a musician, I was always quick to be involved in the praise through song. I learned all the bass parts to the songs by sitting next to my Dad and listening to him. For years I sang the bass part an octave (or two) higher since my voice hadn’t changed yet. Then, as a teenager and college student I led all the basses as a member of the praise team. Now, I lead praise every week. My journey began by simply following the example of both my parents and my grandmother. We all need to be reminded that children are always watching. When it comes to adoring your God through praise, what example are you leaving for your children?

“From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise” Psalm 8:2
“Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn—for he has done it.” Psalm 22:30-31