Alecia Baptiste

Writer, Speaker, Mentor

A Lesson in the School of Grace that I’ll Never Forget

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19 years ago I was in grad school at the University of Texas. I was taking a senior level programming class for my engineering degree. I worked my buns off! It’s one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken. After spending countless hours on programming assignments, I made a C.

That was devastating for me. One, because I didn’t make C’s. It was ok for other people to make C’s,but not me. That was a big blow to my identity. I had always been the smart girl. Smart girls don’t make C’s. Two, because I could lose my fellowship. Three, because I had worked so dog gone hard!Continue Reading

Lessons I’ve learned from my Students Part I

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I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I currently work for a program called Brain Balance as a cognitive coach.  I work with kids and some young adults with a variety of learning, and behavioral challenges.  In the course of my time working with these struggling students, I’ve learned a lot.  Because my student’s challenges are so extreme, their challenges are quite obvious.  And because they are children, they don’t have the sophistication of adults who hide, excuse and mask their struggles.

As I’ve worked with my students, I’ve discovered some of my own flawed thinking about life. I’ve found myself thinking similar thoughts as theirs and making similar declarations.  It’s much easier to see someone else’s flaws than it is to see your own.  But the Holy Spirit is the perfect teacher and a revealer of truth.  He continues to teach me many lessons about life (and myself) through my students.

I’d like to share just a few of the lessons that I’ve learned from them, with the hopes that perhaps you will gain some insight as well.Continue Reading

Celebrate Failure

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Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. Albert Einstein

About 6 years ago I began pursuing my passion for creating art again.  My love affair with art began when I was in sixth grade.  The school I attended required every sixth grade student to take an art class.  Our teacher was Mr. Gianforte, who was better known as Mr. G.  With his instruction and inspiration, I discovered that I could actually draw and I enjoyed it!  I wasn’t born with some amazing artist ability.  My childhood drawings were like the typical kid.  In fact, I didn’t think I could draw at all.

For me, art has always been very personal.  I limited my artistic expression to sketches in my journal, which of course, were never good enough.  I didn’t share my drawings with others because they never met the standard of excellence that I expected of myself.

Yet, I continued to draw simply for pleasure off and on through the years.  I never even considered that someone else might actually enjoy my creative expressions, until one day I felt compelled to join my church’s art team.  It was something I knew I had to do.

But I was terrified.Continue Reading

Homeschooling Without Fear

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I believe one of the greatest emotions that I find homeschoolers struggle with, is the fear of getting it all wrong and failing their children. I think if we’re all honest with ourselves we all have this fear. I believe fear can be the driving force for many parents. It can lead us to make decisions that we might not otherwise make. It can keep us from taking risks. It can keep us living within the boxes of other peoples expectations. It can keep us from living life to the fullest. Fear often drives us toward unrealistic expectations and becomes a rigid task master. It can drain all of the creativity and joy from our lives.

We can not give our children our best when fear of failure is our motivation.  Love should drive us, not fear.

So what should we do?
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