Ka Ipu o Lono shares weekly devotionals to provide spiritual enrichment to members of the Kamehameha Schools ‘ohana. For more inspiration, visit the KS “Our faith” website.
Heluhelu Baibala
Eia hoʻi, e nā hoahānau, ʻo nā mea ʻoiaʻiʻo, nā mea maikaʻi, nā mea pono, nā mea hala ʻole, nā mea lokomaikaʻi, nā mea lono maikaʻi ia; inā he mea kūpono, inā hoʻi he mea e hoʻomaikaʻi ʻia ai, e noʻonoʻo iho ʻoukou ia mau mea. ʻO nā mea a ʻoukou i aʻo ʻia ai, i loaʻa hoʻi, i lohe a i ʻike hoʻi iaʻu, ʻo kēia kā ʻoukou e hana ai; a me ʻoukou hoʻi ke Akua ka mea e malu ai. – Pilipi 4:8-9
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. – Philippians 4:8-9
He manaʻo o ke kahu
I recently got to talk story with one of our senior athletes who participated in last weekend’s girls’ basketball state championship. She was blessed to have had this last season of hoops and relished the idea of moving forward and attending softball practice this week.
Wow, are we talking about practice? Yes, the daily application of skills and drills that make an athlete better. The rigor and the routine of completing a whole day of school and quickly getting to the gym, the playfield, the court, or the pool to practice is such a great way to reinforce all the learning. Practice helps to sustain the reframed mind of the athlete, performing artist, and any doer for that matter to apply what they have been trained to positively think through so that when the game, or hōʻike begins, they are mākaukau.
The knowledge of reframing our mindset to become positive thinkers is attended to throughout the Baibala Hemolele. There is a multitude of scripture passages that teach us how to restore our thought life to focus on God’s goodness, peace, joy, hope, and love, even during the most demanding situations.
One of my “go-to” passages is found in Philippians where Paul is encouraging all to serve the Lord by rejoicing in any condition. How do we do this? We are instructed to focus our thoughts on the most excellent things that we have before us. Not only is Paul exhorting us to focus our minds on this blessed list of exceptional qualities of grace, but more importantly, we are meant to apply these positive attributes through, you guessed it, PRACTICE.
Nowadays, the thought of greeting the new dawn with a half-hearted will to get out of bed has crossed my mind now and then. It has been a symptom of worry or exhaustion or both. However, I have learned to put into practice what Paul has taught me to meditate on. Be excellent in your thoughts, blameless in your speech, and joyous in your actions, today!
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