5 Things I Learned From Being Freshly Pressed.

I’m still smiling quite a bit over here from the news that I was Freshly Pressed.  “Could someone please tell my daughter who God is please” was the post chosen to be featured.  Let me share with you what I have learned from this experience.

This was me when I realized more than 10 people had liked something I wrote.

5.  Always check the “Social” tab in your Gmail account!!! 

I tend to not check my email everyday and when I do, I scroll my primary mail and that’s that.  Well, lesson learned because I was completely and utterly confused when my WordPress notifications started blowing up on my phone.  I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why so many people were reading a post I wrote nearly two weeks ago and coming out of the woodwork to do so.  It wasn’t until someone who commented congratulating me on being Freshly Pressed that I was even aware it happened.  Afterwards, I looked and saw that the email landed in my social inbox FOUR days before!

I get it Tom.

4.  My “happy butt dance” scares little children. 

Apparently, jumping up and down on a couch is a normal reaction when something exciting happens to you.  My apologizes to Tom Cruise for starting that nasty rumor that he was obviously cooking meth in Oprah’s green room.  And another apology to my son who was frightened to tears by a grown woman jumping up and down on a couch and flailing around like she just cooked up some meth in the bathroom.

3.  It is possible to have a respectful and wonderfully intoxicating conversation about God.

There are a lot more people out there that are as enticed, enthralled and confused by the questions around God as I am.  I am truly amazed at the depths of thought that came my way when the FP flood gates were opened.   I stayed up so far past my bedtime trying to read and absorb all the different perspectives that night; all the while, drinking far too much wine.  I should probably apologize to anyone that received a reply from after 11pm.  I was probably “in the zone” but I suspect I probably should have edited a bit more.

Some comments swayed a great distance away from how I see things but out of the 219 comments, none were (too)overbearing or judgmental, which I find surprising and humbling considering the topic at hand.  Some people definitely had me saying “Whoa!”, as in, “Dude, easy on the preach”; however, none of the (as of right now) 804 people that have viewed the post were offensive.   If I haven’t replied yet, be patient.  I’m taking my time with this on purpose.

Faith in people restored!

2.  There are simply not enough ways to say Thank You.

Thank you.  Sincerely.  I find it a bit peculiar and almost comical that at the time I was having a conversation with a friend  over coffee about God and all the good and bad we thrive in and suffer from, a post I wrote asking for help in understanding who/what God is was being passed around the biggest virtual show and tell I’ve ever been a part of.  The answers I got both made me laugh out loud (at midnight) and sob like a fool.  The personal stories people shared and their incredibly personal feelings about God truly inspired me.  It’s still all sinking in.  So again, Thank You for engaging in my story and partaking in my journey.  One thing is for sure…No matter what branch of religion you hang out on, LOVE resonates with all.  And that is a beautiful thing.

It’s actually worse than this.

1. Getting Freshly Pressed causes perma-grin. 

I’ve been smiling for days.  People around me are getting nervous actually.  I just can’t tell you what getting recognized for my writing has done for me.  It’s not just the recognition but the conversation that came along with it both in commenting and in personal relationships.  I’m quite flattered, very humbled and perhaps a bit still punch drunk.

Couldn’t leave this out.