Ask, Seek, Knock = ASK

From Kevin Eikenberry on June 6, 2012:

Matthew 7:7 reads: ”Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”(NIV)
I was always fascinated by this line for a variety of reasons, including the fact that seeking and knocking start with the curiosity of asking - and when taking the first letters of the three pieces of advice: ask, seek, knock – you get ask.

So what are you asking for?

Let me give you a short list of things to consider asking for.

Ask for information.

Ask for ideas.

Ask for an opportunity.

Ask for the sale.

Ask for help.

Ask if people need help.

Ask for forgiveness.

Ask for clarification.

Ask for what you want.

Ask for feedback.

Asking can be an act of daring, but think about how any/all of these questions can make you a more effective human being and leader.
Questions help us learn.
Questions engage others.
Questions make us more real and authentic.
Asking is powerful.

What are you asking for today?

Achieving!!!

We might want to consider putting these three quotes on our Esperanza walls---and hearts!

Reinita

A BEAUTIFUL bird from Puerto Rico--with a wonderful name--"Reinita."  How fun it will be to share these choice and interesting tidpits with our Esperanza scholars. 

Poems With Powerful Messages

This is a book that I highly recommend that every Esperanza stakeholder read!  Each bilingual poem has a powerful message. 

Small Things

I listened this morning to the BYU Devotional Speech "Small Things" that J. Michael Hunter gave on May 22, 2012.  It was a reminder that the small things, that aren't necessarily easy and may be inconvenient, may have a more lasting effect upon our Esperanza educators and Esperanza scholars and their families than any big thing we might do. 

Appreciating Diversity

Delivered On: May 20th 2012
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell

This Magnificent World

What do you see and feel when you look around at this magnificent world? Do you see diverse colors, faces, landscapes, and seascapes? What do you learn from others who live in different cultures, use expressions you might not understand, and eat things you might not consider food?

A nurse in the Far East stood nearby as a couple from North America prepared to take home their newly adopted little son. He was 18 months old, darling, enthusiastic—and Chinese. The father looked at the woman who had cared for the child since he was placed in the orphanage. "Tell us how you teach him and how you show him love,” the father said. She smiled and responded, "You will do it your way. And that will be good.”

The interchange was not about parenting; it was about respecting the different ways we do things and the beauty of those differences. What if everything in the world were the same? What if there were no tulips in the Netherlands, no Alps in Switzerland, no gazelles in Africa?

What if there were no regional accents or Italian operas, no Great Wall of China? What if there wasn’t a culture that gave us the ruins in Mexico, the hula in Hawaii, and walkabouts down under? Some people eat fish eggs and love them. Others work in rice fields from a tender age. Some live in apartments and others in yurts. This is a world varied in its natural wonders and rich in local traditions. And isn’t that marvelous!

The more we get to know the world’s diversity, the more we feel at home here. Because even though clothing styles, artistic styles, and parenting styles vary widely, we can share an underlying foundation of kindness, generosity, and understanding. In this sense, we can all be bilingual—we speak our native language and the language of love. This is what adds the human touch to an already magnificent world.

Taupe? Torp?

The following is one of my favorite stories from the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee.  It is not only super funny, but it also has a great message, especially for us working with students who will be learning at times in a language that is not their first language. 

RYAN MCLELLAN from New Zealand participated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.  This is what happens when you`re asked to spell taupe. 

JUDGE: This word has a homonym. Taupe. Taupe is a light brownish- gray.

RYAN MCLELLAN: Is it French?

JUDGE: It`s from French, which formed it from a Latin word.

 MCLELLAN: Torp?

JUDGE: No, no, taupe.

MCLELLAN: Torp?

 JUDGE: Taupe.

 MCLELLAN: Tarp?

 OTHER JUDGE: That`s his pronunciation.

 MCLELLAN: T-A-U-P-E. Taupe.

(APPLAUSE)

That`s his pronunciation. The judge there is trying to save this kid from a potentially fatal error. It`s not torp. It`s taupe.

He knows it`s taupe. He`s just from New Zealand. He knows what the word is.

This 13-year-old kid`s P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E in the face of people who would judge you, who don`t understand you, is obviously the best new thing in the world today.