
to be honest, when i was first thinking about beginning a blog last october, i was throwing a couple of name ideas around. i knew i wanted something unique that would represent me in a way that would make people want to know, what does that blog name even mean?? i narrowed it down between "check engine light" and "(flash) pasteurized." the first was taken, so that made my decision easy.
when most people think of flash pasteurized, they think of vegetable and fruit juice beverages and not my blog. in fact, my favorite juices like odwalla, naked, bolthouse farms, and sir real all undergo the process of flash pasteurization. per my best friend wiki (better known to the masses as wikipedia), flash pasteurization "is a method of heat pasteurization of perishable beverages like fruit and vegetable juices, beer, and some wine. compared to other pasteurization processes, it maintains color and flavor better. [...] it is done prior to filling into containers in order to kill spoilage microorganisms to make the products safer and extend their shelf life. flash pasteurization must be used in conjunction with sterile fill technology and therefore has the risk of post-pasteurization contamination if hygiene standards are not rigorously enforced."
the parts i put in bold in the definition above are the most important. for me, in some weird way, these words represent my faith in a non-overt, non-in-your-face kind of way. as weird as it may seem (because i'm weird), these words describe me. being (flash) pasteurized is all about being made new and whole, free from any blemish or crap. flash pasteurization is a process i must go through daily in committing my life to God and renewing my faith. for me, my faith is incredibly important. it is the most important. it defines who i am and my direction in life. i would not say i am a "religious" person; to me "religion" is a set of man-made rules that came about as a way of trying to explain God in a way for our feeble human minds to understand and grasp. for me, God can't be explained or taught; He cannot be put in a box; and He cannot fully be understood or comprehended. He can only be experienced and felt. i know a lot of people don't like "Jesus-y" blogs. (i'm still not sure what that entirely means other than to say my life itself is full of Jesus.) and that's fine. we're all very much entitled to our opinion and you have the choice in which blogs you choose to read or not read. i will not make apologies more my faith or beliefs, just as i hope you would not make for yours.
if anyone else has any questions about anything, shoot me an email. there's one specific question, i'm wondering why none of my readers have asked... we'll see if anyone's secretly dying to know that one. in the meantime, can someone please tell me what possesses someone to get this tattoo?!?!