I am Uncommon

January 24, 2020 By Alecia Baptiste 2 Comments

The God of Heaven,

the One who owns everything,

the One who owns the vast wealth of the Universe,

The One who exists in unapproachable light,

The King over all peoples,

The Majestic and beautiful of One,

The Source of EVERY good and perfect thing,

It is He that paid the greatest cost that could have been paid for me.

He held nothing back.

He spared no expense.

There is nothing more valuable than himself.

The Ruler of Heaven of Earth gave us is own life.

I was purchased at an exorbitant cost.

That’s how valuable I am to Him.

He paid this great price so that I might become his beloved child.

That I might enjoy living in intimate union with him forever.

So, I am uncommon.

How Changing your Focus can Change Everything

March 17, 2015 By Alecia Baptiste 2 Comments

I want you to imagine you decided you wanted to take a photo of a beautiful rose. You turn on your camera, find the rose that you want to photograph, but then you turn your camera in the direction of a pile of trash that is near the rose. You carefully adjust the focus, and the camera settings so that the item in view is clearly in focus. Then you snap, snap, and snap several photos. But you’re a bit annoyed! There’s nothing but a pile of trash in your photos. The rose is no where in site!

So you attempt this process again. Being even more careful, and diligent about your camera settings. Being careful to keep the camera steady. Checking the light and the camera angle. But again… you turn your camera towards the pile of trash, focus in and snap shot, after shot after shot.

Again, no rose.

At this point, you’re convinced that your camera must be broken.

But is it?Continue Reading

Lessons I’ve Learned from my Students Part 2

February 23, 2015 By Alecia Baptiste 2 Comments

Continuing with my previous post, I’d like to continue sharing lessons that I’ve learned from my students.

Focusing on the negative sucks the joy out of life

Let me just say that this is a BIG lesson for me. I’ve been a pretty negative person most of my life. I’m always finding the mistakes. I have a hard time seeing the good I’ve actually accomplished, because of what I haven’t accomplished. I believe this comes from this unrealistic expectation of perfection. As a result, I’ve found myself being hyper critical of myself and others, and at times–joyless. I’ve seen the negative affects that it has on the people around me. My negativity tears down the very people that I want to build up. Instead of speaking life into my husband and children, my negativity sucks the life out of them, leaving them deflated. This should not be!Continue Reading

Thoughts about Grace and Gratitude

January 20, 2015 By Alecia Baptiste 3 Comments

Recently, I went for a walk/jog and talked to God. We talked about grace. We talked about gratitude.

He told me how much He really wants us to be thankful. He really wants us to acknowledge His presence in our lives. He wants us to be aware of the many, many, many….MANY ways that he pours grace into our lives. Many of them we completely take for granted. We expect the grace of a beating heart, clean air to breathe, food when we’re hungry, rest when we’re tired, blue sky above our heads, wind blowing across our cheeks, pleasant weather, the little toes on our feet, sound in our ears, clear thinking, cute clothes to cover our bodies, the ability to work and produce income….

What effort on our part brought these blessings?Continue Reading