A Prayer for Listening

Teach me, O God, to listen that I may hear your voice in the busyness and the boredom of everyday life, in times doubt and times of certainty.
Teach me, O God, to listen amid the senseless noise that clamors for my attention to hear the beating of your heart.
Teach me, O God, to listen to those who are nearest me, my family, my friends, my school mates and my co-workers.
Teach me, O God, Father and Mother of us all, to know that I am created in your image.  Help me to trust the voice you have placed deep in my soul.
Teach me, O God, to listen to the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten and outcast, the cry of the anguished.  
Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice and in it the language that speaks to my heart; for the message that ignites my soul.
Teach me, O God, to listen.  Amen.

What Langauge Speaks to Your Heart?

"If you talk to a person in a language they understand, it goes to the head,  if you speak in their language, it goes to the heart."- Nelson Mandela

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="296"] King Kamehameha IV born Alexander 'Iolani Liholiho[/caption]

What language speaks to your heart?  What is it that makes your soul come alive?

"We are a royal school."  said the Rev. Dr. Malcolm Chun '72 now an Episcopal priest.  He recently spoke in a chapel honoring our founding patron King Kamehameha IV, his emphasis on faith, health and education.  It was the King, who, in his dedication to the faith, translated the Book of Common Prayer and a portion of the Hymnal into the Hawaiian Language,

Sticks, stones, and broken bones. The power of words and the power to change them.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="252"] Author: zalouk webdesign used under creative commons license[/caption]

Words and language are very much a part of our lives.  If we learn nothing else from our English Teachers, we should learn that words have power.  Whether our language is English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Farsi, Arabic, Norse, or even Sign Language.  The words we use are powerful.  Words can inspire us,  they can make us cry, make us laugh, they can be prophetic and passionate.  AND they can defeat us; they can be used to enslave ourselves and others leaving scars on our souls.