Rae's Craft

The Power of Learning "Education, clear and simple, is power." - Hill Harper The more we know about the world, the more power we have. Knowledge makes us useful-it can even make us indispensable. For example, if we are one of the few people with significant historical, economic, scientific, or engineering knowledge and understanding, others will look to us for help and guidance. There are all different types of knowledge. Some people learn by experience, other by schoolin

The Artist Within "I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious." - Andrew Wyeth When we use our natural talents, we are "working" all the time, but it does not feel like work-we are just doing what comes naturally to us. This is the best way to live-to spend all of out time perfecting creative works of love. If you could spend all of your time doing just one thing what would you choose? I WILL SPEND AT LEAST PART OF TODAY DOING SOMETHIN

Resolve to Succeed "Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." - Abraham Lincoln The first step toward anything is to resolve to do it. If our resolve is firm, nothing can stop us. Let's say your dream has always been to become a nurse so you could travel the world and help those in need. Making your dreams come true will make all the classes and studying worth it. If you resolve to do it, you will do whatever it takes t

Getting There Is Half the Fun "We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way." - Anonymous Did you ever travel with someone who was determined to get from point A to point B the fastest way possible? They don't want to veer off the road even five miles to see Mount Rushmore, Lake Tahoe, or the Grand Canyon. I do understand the need sometime for trying to somewhere in the short

Loving Those Changes "When you're finished changing, you're finished." - Benjamin Franklin I have accumulated more than 100 photo albums over the course of my life, from the paint-by-number one that I made in grade school to the latest and greatest pictures of my grand-kids and various travel activities. Flipping through these albums shows me that I have changed greatly in looks, size, demeanor, experience, and attitude over the years. I hope I'm growing older gracefully.

Choosing Your Path "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - William Jennings Bryan I do believe we choose our own destiny. Sure, there are forces that are beyond our control, but foe the most part, our choices determine the path our life takes. Go to college right out of high school or take a year off to travel the world? The rest of your life will be affected by that choice. Get ma

Blessed Screwups "A mistake is simply another way of doing things." - Katharine Graham When we are young, we are often admonished for our mistakes. We begin to try to avoid mistakes at all costs. But this is impossible, isn't it? Everyone makes mistakes, and for the most part, they are simply learning experiences. Mistakes can even be fun- like when you get lost and you to ask for directions. I've met wonderful, helpful, friendly people that way. I've made huge mistakes

Creative Thinking "The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows." - Aristotle Onassis The secret of success is to figure out something truly special and make use of it. This takes a lot of work, study, and determination. We ponder things every day, though; did you ever think that maybe you just haven't looked at something in a practical way? Think of your day-to-day life; what is something you dread doing? Can you think of a way to make it easier, or think

Infinity and Beyond "If you wish to advance into the infinite, explore the finite in all directions." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Many aspects of our world are a mystery to us, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. There will always be things out of our reach, but what we can do is explore anything and everything within our reach. As we do that, more and more becomes clear, and we find more and more happiness and satisfaction. TODAY I WILL MAKE PLANS TO VISIT A MUSEUM OR

Give It Your All "Just do what you do best." - Red Auerbach This is good advice. Many of us are lucky to have a lot of choices, but this makes the choosing difficult. If you do what you do best-and what you love- it is easy to be happy. If we are using our natural talents, we feel as though we are doing what we were meant to be doing. TODAY I WILL MAKE USE OF MY NATURAL TALENTS. #RaesBlog #RaesCraft #Readings #book #PatriciaLorenz #PositiveQuotesforEveryDay #Blog #Blogging

Nobody's Perfect "When you are offended at any man's fault turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger." - Epictetus It's easy to get exasperated with others, isn't it? Most of us live in relatively close quarters, and thus there are a lot of opportunities to let our own needs get in the way of common courtesy and understanding. In addition, many news sources focus on stories about people who messed up, and we all take turns discussing the

To Give Is to Receive "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." -Zig Zigalar In her book No Greater Love, Mother Teresa relates a story about a wealthy woman who asked how she could share in Mother Teresa's work. As the two women talked, Mother Teresa complimented the woman on her beautiful sari. The woman confessed that she sometimes spent as much as 800 rupees on one sari. Mother Teresa mentioned that her own

Friendship "Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit." -Aristotle We can't hurry anything in this life; everything really does come to fruition on its own schedule. Have you ever tried to make something happen, only to have each attempt foiled? We do have to exert some effort, but then we just have to let go and let nature take its course. For instance, if we try too hard at any relationship, we do not come off as we truly are. Think a

Stargazing "Too low they build who build beneath the stars." - Edward Young Why not shoot for the highest? What is your dream? Start toward it today. Have you always wanted to be a great actor? Start taking acting lessons and going out for auditions. You may or may not ever make it to Broadway, but at least you'll be living your dream. TODAY I WILL TAKE STEPS TOWARD FULFILLING MY DREAM. EVEN IF THEY'RE BABY STEPS, I WILL BE THAT MUCH CLOSER TO ACHIEVING MY GOALS. #RaesB

Confidently Speaking "I've played golf all my life so I've had lots of practice. But so have all the other pros. The difference between good golfers and great golfers is confidence. You've go to believe in yourself if you're going to win." - Lee Trevino Nerves get us nowhere. We have to prepare and then believe in our capabilities and ourselves. If we have prepared properly, why should we be nervous? We are ready. If we let nerves take over instead of confidenc

Let's Start Now "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." - Anne Frank Look at the world around you- what needs to be done? Are there people in your community whose basic needs are not being met? Volunteer at a soup kitchen or donate money or goods to a shelter. Is your neighborhood park or community center looking a little worse for wear? Research ways to help. Perhaps you can set up a cleanup day on which voluntee

The Economics of Trust "If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin Money is important, but knowledge always takes us further. We need money to live, but knowledge enriches our lives. We can have all the money in the world, but if we don't know anything what good will the money do us? Maybe we

Life by Example "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." - Albert Schweitzer I have always admired my dad's example. He is now in his 90's, but his life has been one consistent example. If he sees a scrap of paper on the sidewalk, he picks it up and tosses it in the trash can. In the summer, he'll bend down to pull a stray weed from a sidewalk crack. If he sees a project that needs doing, he's the first to volunteer. If some

Kindness Matters "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." - Mother Teresa Compliments make you feel good, and giving them feels just as good as receiving them. For example, if you compliment someone's cooking, seeing their pleased reaction leaves you with a good feeling. Compliments are contagious; after someone receives a compliment, he or she feels good and is more likely to compliment someone else. And the more you compliment othe

Turn the Corner "It is good to embrace a hope." -Ovid Hope is what keeps us going when things are at their darkest. Hope can get us through all the hardships of life-stress, disease, disaster, a tumbling economy, and war. How do we find hope when all seems dark? We think over past experiences. Anything can happen, right? Haven't we all had times in our past when everything seemed dark, but then something wonderful happened? We know there's every possibility that that c