I hate rainy days.  Those gloomy, all day long, gray, rainy days.  They’re miserable and all I ever want to do is sleep.  I want to hide in my cave of an apartment and sleep.  Wake up long enough to eat some soup and then go back to sleep.  I have bear-like instincts.  It’s yucky outside and I just want to hibernate until the sky looks better.  Dreary, rainy days are terrible.

But I love apples, and flowers, and trees, and… breathing.

The thing about rain is, that we need it.  We really really need it.  As crappy as they are, they are extremely necessary.  The rain makes plants grow and plants are good to eat, or look at, or at very least, they create oxygen.  Even though I have a negative physical reaction to these days of gloom, I end up really enjoying the result.

Sometimes, things we hate are exactly what we need.  Things that make us miserable now, are preparing us for something fantastic in the future.  Sometimes we have to put up with today, so that we can enjoy tomorrow.  You have to go to work today to earn a paycheck, so you can go out on Friday.  Or…..so you can pay your electric bill and not freeze to death in the winter.

It seems to me that God sometimes uses confusing, strange, not so good circumstances and events to shape us into the person we need to become.. the person we’re supposed to become.  He brings us to problems so that we learn to trust Him, but also so that we can learn.

It’s no secret that I pretty much despise  my boss, but through my interactions with her I am learning to love the unlovable, to overcome evil with kindness, to become more patient.  I am learning to pray and forgive someone who does…pretty much nothing to deserve it.  If nothing else she has provided me with plenty to blog about and I am *cough* grateful for that opportunity.

And someday…..God please someday… I’m going to have an actual career and this time I’ve spent in oppressive servitude will have given me skills and knowledge I will need.  It will help me to appreciate my awesome new job.

What can you really know about yourself if you’ve never experienced pain, or loss, or rejection.  If no one has ever been mean to you, or treated you unfairly, how can you appreciate the people in your life who love you?  If every day were sunny and 75 degrees, you wouldn’t appreciate the weather.  You’d have no basis of comparison.  You need to accept the rainy days.  Or the snow.  A cold day or gloomy winter, makes it all the more glorious when the sun comes back.

Take the time in your current circumstances to learn and grow.

(Photo By pennacook)

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1. Infect others with joy: How to fight your boss
2. Choose to Change Your Life Today

Today I turn 29.

29.  There it is.  Almost 30.  This number seems much higher than it should be.  I don’t feel 29.

I feel like a cake that isn’t fully baked.  Still mostly batter inside.  If you put any pressure on me, I’m unstable, still gooey.  I’m going to give us all salmonella.

Most of the time I feel like I’ve been on the verge of starting my life for over 10 years now.  Always teetering on the edge of so much opportunity and never falling over… never actually getting started.

When you’re 18 they tell you that the world is your oyster .  Problem is that I’ve been scratching at the outside of the oyster for 11 years and I feel no closer to finding whats inside it than I was at high school graduation.

But lately, I’ve been a bit less panicked about speeding towards 30.  I’ve gained a bit of perspective on things.  I’ve been thinking about the greatest person who ever lived.  Jesus.  Someone who still  has major impact on the world 2000 years after his death.

Pretty much everything we know about Jesus Christ happened after he turned 30.  Other than being born and teaching at the temple when he’s 12, the bible says one thing about what Jesus did in his early years.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.”

Before that line he’s 12 and the next thing we read after, he’s 30 and being baptized.  All the years between, he spent learning and growing.

Learn and grow.

Jesus spent most of his life preparing for his great purpose.

As far as I can tell, Jesus didn’t own a house, or get married and have kids (SHUT UP DAN BROWN).  He certainly didn’t drive a flashy sports car and have a solid 401k.  His life wasn’t measured by our opinion of success.

So, I’m not going to worry or stress out about turning 29 and still being so undercooked.  I also reject the world’s opinion of success.  I’m ignoring the oyster.  It will open when it’s ready.

I will spend the next year learning and growing.  Preparing for whatever lies ahead and helping others learn and grow if I can.

I might spend 30 more years learning and growing before I’m fully cooked and I’m ok with that.

(Photo By chidorian)

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Merry Christmas readers!  My hope is that you all have a wonderful day.

Long after the paper is trashed, the gift cards are used up and you’ve long forgotten what was in those boxes under the tree, I hope you carry with you the warm memories you create today.  That is the real gift.  I hope you feel the love of God and the love of your friends and family today and in the new year.

Have a great Christmas.

(Photo By valeblos)

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1. Who’ll Stop the Rain?
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Watching an inhuman amount of Sailor Moon.  Shut up its awesome.  Unless you watch it in English.

Stressing out about my ever increasingly boring job. Meh

Sleeping too much.

Researching a method for a DIY bird bath.  (What did the world do before google?)

Becoming obsessed with making and eating Bento. And Rice balls!  yum.  and look!

Kitten photo by: dominiqs

Bento pic by: gamene

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“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr. Seuss

I know someone who speaks in a false accent.  At least we’re all pretty sure she’s faking, because every now and then it vanishes entirely and she sounds like a bland mid-western.  No one is sure why she tries to pass herself as a prim Brit.  Maybe she thinks it makes her seem more important, or special, but it manages only to make her look silly.  She’s trying too hard to be someone she isn’t.

While I hope none of you are faking an accent,  we all wear social masks from time to time.  We pretend to be something that isn’t quite true to fit in with others.  We conform to what we think others want us to be, and we hide our true self for fear that we would be rejected.  And lets face it… sharing yourself with others openly, honestly and being rejected…. sucks.

So we project false traits or persona’s to protect ourselves.  Many times we have several different persona’s that we wear in different circumstances.  We repress opinions that might offend others, or smile when we really don’t mean it, and unfortunately in our society, we have to.

It’s unlikely you’d have a successful job interview if you were truly yourself.  Showing up in pajamas without combing your hair isn’t going to impress anyone.  So you dress up, you look nicer than you would for a night of playing Smash Bros with your friends.  When the interviewer asks you what your greatest weakness is you have some cookie cutter response like “I work too hard, I’m a workaholic.” When the truth is “I procrastinate too much and most of the time I’ve finished a project minutes before the deadline.”

Social masks are a necessary evil.  I don’t think you’ll lose your identity  by wearing nice clothes to impress an interviewer, or laughing at a joke you don’t think is funny.  Hopefully you can recognize yourself in your masks.  At the core, your values and personality should still exist.  Hopefully, you haven’t abandoned too much of who you are just to fit in.

Hopefully you aren’t from Iowa pretending to be British.

(Photo by Alaskan Dude)

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I try to keep a Gratitude Journal, though many days I fail to use it.  I forget about it, or am too tired (lazy) to pick it up and write. I think gratitude is important in trying to maintain a positive outlook.  Try to be thankful for small things as well as big blessings in your life and you’ll find yourself more content with what you already have.

With that in mind I’d like to take the time today to thank readers of this blog for linking to Not Enough Coffee from their own blog or on Facebook, re-tweeting links for articles, mentioning @enoughcoffee in a Follow Friday and just general support.

As always, thanks to my friends and family for love, support, comments and link sharing! 

Thanks to:

Awesome blogs you should check out, who were kind enough to link here.

The Stylish Thirties

Blogation

Everyone from The Heartland- You guys are overwhelmingly supportive and caring. 

Followers on Twitter who have recently re-tweeted:

Michaelpakkala

howspiffy

grandmasneaky

My own personal  photographer, who loans me her lovely photos

Ash Makemson

My random and awesome co-workers who frequently inspire article ideas and listen to me ramble on until a workable thought is formed.  I’ll not name names, (to protect the innocent) but you know who you are.

Jon of Awesome By Default- who helped me learn WordPress and all the shenanigans that are involved in getting a site running and gave me a place to start writing again.

If I have forgotten anyone, I apologize.  If you’ll just let me know in the comments how awesome you are I will edit and rectify the situation immediately.

(Photo by Nanagyei)

(Today’s article brought to you by: Amanda’s coffee maker)

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“Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.”
~Unknown

How often do you try completely new things?  When is the last time you abandoned all reason and took an ambitious leap into an activity you’d never tried before?  If you’re like me, it may have been a while.

I tend to talk myself out of trying  new things.  I dismiss them as something outside of my skill set.  I tell myself I don’t have the talent before I’ve ever even attempted it.  I’m afraid of failure.

I make excuses for never giving the effort.  I am self defeated.  I have put limits on myself that only exist in my own mind.

“I can’t do that, I’m not good at math- I’m not artistic- I don’t have the patience.”

I’d bet you do this too.

We both need to stop it.

The cliched truth is that neither of us will know if we’re good at something until we try it.  More than that, we won’t know if we enjoy it.  Small children LOVE to finger paint, but, be honest, mostly they just make a mess.  Finger paints don’t have much artistic value, but that doesn’t stop kids from loving it.  And the truth is, no matter how much we wish it wasn’t the case, most talents take time to develop.  Maybe Michelangelo started off by finger painting and after a life time pursuing his love of art he developed epic talent.

Most of the time when you start a new activity, you’re going to suck.  Forget about being good at something and decide if you like it.

Just try new things and stop talking yourself out of it.  Ignore your preconceived limitations.  Who cares if you’re no good?  Plan to fail.

“I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.”

~ George Burns

(Photo by abbybatchelder)

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Gather ’round, it’s story time!   Sometimes, its hard to remember that things happen for a reason.  There is a plan, and the things we go through prepare us for the things ahead.  I read this story about a year ago and I like to re-read it when I’m feeling overwhelmed by life.  Hopefully it brings you some comfort as well.

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly, that he brought home.

One day a small opening appeared he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours. It struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but, it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly, he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and the body would contract. Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

The man acted with well-intentioned kindness but he didn’t understand the consequences. The restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening, were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.  If God allowed us to go through all our life without any obstacles, that would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been.

(Photo by: by kevincole)

and once again the above story…..  not written by me.   Written by someone Unknown.  That guy writes the best stuff.

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Any man can be a father.  It takes someone special to be a dad. ~Author Unknown

Father’s Day was yesterday and if you forgot you’d better call your dad asap with apologies and some epic excuses.

I would like to take a moment to thank dads for being awesome.  I can’t imagine the person I would be without the influence and guidance I’ve had from my father.

If you’re lucky, you had a father that:

Taught you how to fish, swim, ride a bike and how to drive

drove a truck and helped you move all your stuff

never let you win at anything

taught you right from wrong

helped you play with your toys on Christmas morning

Even though Father’s Day is over, call your dad again soon.  Thank him for working  insane hours at a job he probably didn’t like so that your family had enough money.  Thank him for all of his help and advice.  Thank him for being your dad.

Lets all try to remember to appreciate our dads even on days that aren’t specifically pointed out as “dad days” because they’re awesome and we wouldn’t be who we are without their guidance.

Thanks Dad.

(Photo by: by AmySelleck)

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So, I read the most horrifying thing a week or so ago.  Came seriously close to melting my face off like acid.  Word acid.

The article was titled 10 New Ideas for Getting Inspired to Write, which sounded like just the kind of article I would like to read.  The ideas presented are good, solid ways of finding inspiration when you’re blocked as a writer.  The final item on this top 10 list however, labeled simply, Look Within, was a serious kick in the face.  A ninja kick, because it came out of no where.

I’ve never heard of anyone who worked a boring job, came home to a boring family, watched three hours of boring television, and then proceeded to write something of spellbinding greatness. It just doesn’t happen.

Ouch…

…and then these words followed…

If your life is a soul-sucking heap of mediocrity, then your writing will be a soul-sucking heap of mediocrity.

These words felt as if they were ripped from my very soul.  At very least they will be etched upon my retina’s for all eternity.   These words should not be so surprising.   To be a well adjusted person you have to interact with others, seek excitement and live your life.  But sometimes we abandon this knowledge for a comfy couch and netflix or tivo.

If we spend our lives waiting for something to happen then its likely nothing will happen.  Sometimes you have to go make things happen for yourself.   You have to say YES! to adventure.

The quoted article was written by Jon Morrow from CopyBlogger.  You should go check out the entire article.

(Photo by: Ana Santos)

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