Cruisin' to Glory, 2010 Edition

What a fantastic car show we had Sunday! Our annual Cruisin’ to Glory featured beautiful weather, our first outdoor service under the sun, and more vehicle entries than last year. I heard so many people, especially those who brought cars to display, express how much they enjoyed the event.
Our outdoor stage with one of our Red Bags

Our open-air service started with some great worship and inspiring stories of a physical healing and a life transformed. Our theme was Restoration, which means returning something to its original condition. Our lot was full of restored vehicles, and our church is full of restored lives – only God can accomplish that.

Even the little men love cars.

Activities abounded for everyone. The competition tent attracted both men and women vying for prizes by setting spark plugs and identifying automotive fluids, among others. The kids enjoyed a helicopter candy drop, face painting, bubbles, and a real fire truck with an 85-foot ladder. There was also a smoke house to train kids how to escape a flaming building and a demonstration of how firemen extricate people from a car. Plus the youth served up some great food.

Candy from heaven??

While I didn’t have a car to enter, the picture of my 1966 GTO did make the fan-shaped bulletin. Why did I ever get rid of that car??

But the best part for me was hearing that two people picked up Red Bags, signifying that they made commitments to follow Christ. More lives restored – awesome!

My Sunday Memory Loss

Last Sunday’s event during our morning service will go down as one that no one in attendance will soon forget, though I can’t remember it myself!

I was about 15 minutes into my teaching when I had a serious memory loss. While I didn’t lose my ability to function, I couldn’t figure out where I was in my notes. I started repeating myself, finally stopping to pray, then asking Pastor Jim to come up to help me. After several minutes of discussion, they prayed for me and ushered me off the stage.

My first vague memory of the event is in my office about 30 minutes afterward, answering questions but not remembering the date, my teaching topic, or what I did the day before. I was taken to Goshen Hospital where my memory gradually returned until I remembered everything except for the event itself. (Watching it later on the DVD was a bit weird but answered a lot of my questions as to how I acted. I was so proud to see our leaders doing such an awesome job of leading and caring for the church the remainder of the service.)

I spent the night at the hospital, and was given a battery of exams the next day, including an MRI and echocardiogram. Everything came back with good reports, so I was sent home Monday evening.

Grandkid therapy is the best!

Ice cream is a great healer.

While at first it was feared I had a mini-stroke, the doctors concluded that I had Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). Fortunately, these are rare and benign events that typically don’t recur nor indicate any other malady or danger. The main characteristic is the person is unable to form new memory. Whatever they do during the episode is forgotten in a few minutes. After a couple hours it is over, and memory is restored except for anything that transpired during the TGA. The cause of them is not clear.

Today I’m fine, except for some raw emotions and tiring more easily, which are typical aftereffects. I have assumed a reduced schedule for a while until I get back to full strength.

Pastor Jim called a church-wide prayer meeting for last Wednesday which was very dynamic and well attended. God is already using my experience to rally the church and give us more passion for Him and the future of our church. We are determined not to let the Enemy distract us from God’s future for me or the church.

While this ranks right at the top of the list of scary events for me, I am super grateful to God and our church for the outpouring of love, care, and support I received.

Thanks to each of you who prayed for me, sent cards, and expressed your appreciation. Let's go after all God has for us to extend His Kingdom!