Alleluia? Halleluia?

This piece of art glass is hanging in my office; it was a gift from the retiring president and his wife. I think it's really pretty hanging there, and I thought I could get a picture of it, so I did.

It wasn't until then that I realized the word used on the glass is "Alleluia" -- not "Hallelujah." According to Yahoo! there's really no difference, except that the Germans translated the word from the Hebrew slightly differently.

But thinking about that -- my own blindness in really seeing what is in front of me -- I am reminded that the biggest part of communication is listening.

Do we listen? Do we concentrate enough on what is in front of us to really be the joyful recipient of what is being communicated to us? Can we be good communicators if we are not good listeners? I am wondering today if our assumptions sometimes speak louder than what is truly being told to us.

Alleluia. Praise to God.