Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Why Aloha? the whole world knows what aloha is--love in Hawai'i--but better to ask WHY ALOHA? the answer is as essential as breath & as fun as whistling, so LET'S GO!
Aloha Alive: The Dawn O'Brien Podcast
Ep. 20: Miracles in the Miscellaneous Drawer: Friendship, Faith, & the Aloha Spirit
WTBFF?! Two BFFs trace 15 years of faith, family, & service, going from a small Bible study to public miracles & everyday acts of aloha. We share practical tools for prayer, evangelism, parenting, & leading with "crowns down."
• Why relationships matter
• Prophetic ministry with students & witnessed healings
• Serving the houseless with practical compassion
• What's yr son's love language?
• Leading clean with “crowns down”
Mahalo BFF for snapshots of Jesus, LOLs & tears thru the years. ALOHA ALWAYS WINS!
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www.ChooseAloha.org
Aloha and welcome to Aloha Alive. I am so super stoked to have a special friend today. And I say that every time, and I do really mean it. But today it's my best friend, Lady Die Park. Good morning, Lady Die.
SPEAKER_02:Good morning, Dawn.
SPEAKER_00:She's also a pastor at Metro Church here in town, and she is a women's motivator. She might be an agitator, but we'll get to that in just a second. Before we begin, though, I have something new on set, and it's this beautiful lay poll. You and I are lay makers. This is by a teacher of laymaking, Kumu Lei or Lei Kumu, Gay Young. It was my birthday, and she made this special for me. Isn't it just a masterpiece? Beautiful.
SPEAKER_02:It's gorgeous.
SPEAKER_00:And as I start, I want to say thank you to everyone who tunes in. I was there out in the community yesterday, and I saw gay, and then I also saw Ray, who works in the front desk area of Hono Uli Uli Middle School, and she loves watching the show. So to everyone who watches the show or viewing Ohana, Mahalo Gozaimasimas, Mahalo Desne, Mahalo Millions, I do so love that you all watch and are thankful for all the testimonies and stories that we see. Now, as we get started with you today, best friend, I have like, I call it like the miscellaneous drawer. You know, like in the kitchen, you always have one drawer that has like a Phillips screwdriver, it has can openers, it has letters from 67 friends, not the year 67, because that would really age me. So anyway, it's a miscellaneous drawer. And today we have a miscellaneous drawer of questions. First question right off the tip of the bat, because you're one of your kids plays master championship baseball. Off the tip of the bat, how did we first meet?
SPEAKER_02:Oh my gosh, John. 20. Well, let me just go back. I was telling my husband today, I said, I think today's like the poi dog day that we're gonna talk about all kinds of questions. And he's like, No, we don't have a poy dog, we have huskies. And I'm like, Are you calling me a husky girl? Anyway, all that to say. How do we meet all another compliment? How do we meet? Um, I go back to 2010. 2010, we met, and so that was 15 years ago, 15 years of friendship.
SPEAKER_00:And remember, everybody, this is her version because it's kind of like newlywed game, if you guys used to watch. The one spouse gets one and then the other one gets to tell their version of the story. So go ahead, tell your story.
SPEAKER_02:So in 2010, I was invited to a Bible study, and it wasn't.
SPEAKER_00:She was not invited. Let me just chirp in right there.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, look, she's already trying to change the narrative of the story. Let me just tell you my version. But Jesus be your witness right now. A dear friend, uh, we had it at Kathy Thurston's house, remember? And my sister-in-law, Kimmy Park, invited me. I wasn't even invited by the host of the house. Kimmy invited me. And I went to the study not even knowing I was um a newly mom. My baby was only two years old, but I was so hungry for fellowship and just digging into the word, and I I didn't even know what I was stepping into. And I walked into this room of beautiful women, just beautiful inside and out. And I'll never forget you. You were Don O'Brien. Just her presence just filled the room. And I was like, who is this chick?
SPEAKER_00:A big mouth for a big guy.
SPEAKER_02:I just fell in love with you. And you literally have tears in my eyes because I really feel that that study being there was called Kohine, which is woman warrior. And our vision were, do you remember? Women worshiping in spirit and truth. That was a vision of the study. Wow, you remember. I remember. You made a sign of contract.
SPEAKER_00:But she remembers, and it was my Bible study.
SPEAKER_02:And you taught things, Don, that I never heard in church. And and be on the only reason I remember is because you gave us pop quizzes.
SPEAKER_00:I did. You cannot enter class every week unless you do your pop quiz first.
SPEAKER_02:I had a Bible study that lasted for 10 weeks, and we had to sign this contract, and like I said, it changed my life. And it changed it. You established, you equipped me, and I was able to go out and help to equip other women because of what she poured into my life. Holy smack. So 2010, 15 years ago.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, lava. That's enough. That's all I can. I'm like, oh my dirt. Thank you, bestie. What I remember is I I looked and this girl walks in and I was like, I did not invite this person. Kat, did you invite this person? No, I didn't, Dawn. I know the rules. I'm like, and it's her house, Kat's house. Right. And then she walks in, not just crashes our party, she brings another party crasher. And I'm like, Mary, bringing two of you into a private, like exclusive Bible study. And know that normally church is wide open. You should go to church every Sunday. But this is like my general's table. These were hand-picked, hand selected. But I do love your sister. God handpicked me to be there. Kimmy Park. Don't ever use that line to my face unless we're on camera and I can't reach out and bless you in the name of Jesus right on the spot. Okay, but it was really a God appointment, and we knew each other since the kids were really small. And I was on a certain radio station at the time, and they would call every week to win the Chihu Champion contest of the morning. And really it was their father, Kaulana Park. Now, you have a ton of accolades talking about their dad, Kaulana, your husband, uh, who is my all-time big brother. I love you, Kaulana. Love you. But you have a ton of accolades. And when I looked at your very formal bio, because you are a very accomplished woman, which is why you're my best friend. You're a go-getter for God. The first foremost thing you said is first and foremost, I am a wife and a mom. Yes. So tell us about your Ohana Smoke.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yes. Um, my husband, Kaulana, uh, married 26 years. Um, and we are just in this stage. Our youngest is a junior Kawai. Well, Apollos, his real name is Apollos. Our middle one is Micah is 21, and then Dante is 23. So we're kind of in this 23?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. My Dante, you're a grown man.
SPEAKER_02:My gosh. That's right. He just had a birthday for. But we're in this stage of kind of like almost empty nesters. Yes. And we're learning how to communicate again in a way that we never did before. It's like, who's gonna pick up the kids? Who's gonna do this? And God is bringing us into a place of intimacy that we've never had before in terms of how we communicate, what we, you know, the things that we do together. We run parallel for so long that God's like, okay, now it's time for you guys to run together. There's more power in unity. I brought you together. We are one.
SPEAKER_00:I love that you said that, Diane, because and there's a lot of people who are in our viewing Ohana who have been running parallel, like you said. And both yourself, Diane Park, as well as Kaolana Park, very accomplished people in our island Ohana, in our Lahue, our community. And Kaulana, if you uh may recollect, one of the biggest things I love to brag about, my brother, he was the head of Department of Hawaiian Homelands under then Governor Linda Lingle. He's been downtown in the high rises working with different firms and um recently switched to another big job. But you both of you so accomplished, and then you had very accomplished sons who played all kinds of championship level sports, both with Kamehameha schools and then with the little league, right? Going to championships there. So there's a lot of drop-offs, pickups, and and raising kids, but now you're coming into a landing on raising young ones and it's a new intimacy. I love that.
SPEAKER_02:Latter third of our lives. How are we gonna go out?
SPEAKER_00:There you go. Now, another thing is I want to just pop you with another miscellaneous, you know, this is like the miscellaneous drawer in the kitchen. There's all kinds of scrambles in there. It might be a Phillips head screwdriver, it might be, you know, all kinds of other things. But um, tell me about the latest, greatest miracle you've witnessed. Because you operate a lot in the prophetic, and I don't see or hear that a lot in mainstream media today. God knows I don't like the mainstream media, so that's why I started we started this Godcast podcast. Tell us about the prophetic because you operate in it a lot. You um you do eve she evangelizes on airplanes, she's street prayer, not street preaching. She goes right into the jugular, right into the Jesus jugular. She does street prayer and you mentor young women, you're raising up your young sons, but you see tons of miracles. What was the last one you saw?
SPEAKER_02:So it wasn't until I met Jesus that I realized um my life has purpose now. There's peace in my life. And I was trying to pull from everything that the world had to offer and fill that God-shaped hole in my life. And I see so many young women, young men doing the same thing, but I really have a heart for young women as well as the students. And so my youngest, as you know, is a junior, and um, I'm part of their uh Christian association. And they asked me, Auntie, you know a lot of people who can you bring in to speak and impart and give wisdom, uh oh, to these kids.
SPEAKER_00:And so I was like a Christian club at one of the most prominent high schools in the state of Hawaii. So they're looking for speakers. Yeah, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02:And so I um the last speaker of the year, this was in May. I brought in Pastor Dominica Huna.
unknown:Boop boo!
SPEAKER_02:Oh, amazing. Yeah, and it wasn't just a motivational speaker because these kids don't need more motivation. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00:They need transformation, exactly, they need impartation, not information, right?
SPEAKER_02:Exactly.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, it's Puna Ho, so you know, it's one of the best in the state of Hawaii, if not the nation. It's produced a president, but they don't need a lot more details and facts and all kinds of things. They get that 24-7-365. So tell us about Big Dom.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So Pastor Dom comes in and I'm like, okay, you know, I don't I don't give any direction. He's just like, this is what the Holy Spirit is gonna lead me to do. So I'm like, okay, go ahead. And he comes in, there's about 30 students in there, and he comes in and he's like, How many of you have ever had a prophetic word before? And they're they're like wow, he just like boom, boom, boom, right? He's just looking at them. He just goes in, go for broke, and he just starts calling out. You're a leader, you're gonna be coaching your coaches, you're gonna be standing in front of thousands giving your testimony of what God has done in your life.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, he just started calling it call it out, call it out, speak it. We gotta prophesy over our kids.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. Our youth. Wow. So go ahead. So after that, he's like, okay, and I was praying last night, and he's like, I feel like that God wants to do healing in here, not just spiritual healing, but physical healing.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, okay. So the hello, you had me at hello was the I'm gonna start calling out, prophesying over your head. And then he follows up with a little bit more, and now we're gonna start doing healings. Who needs healing? And again, this is a Christian athlete club, so you I imagine, and they're all out. Punah is the best of the best. They must have a lot of injuries, and you know, since small kid time. So go ahead, healings.
SPEAKER_02:So he came and he had a list. This is what God showed me last night. Somebody has a uh fracture in the wrist, somebody has a bad back, somebody's leg is sore, a sprain, et cetera, et cetera. So he's like, How many of you have that? So all these kids raise their hands. He's like, Okay, we're gonna pray over you. We're gonna ask God, the God of the universe, to heal you right now in Jesus' name. And so he starts praying over them, asks them, how many of you have been healed? They all raised, every single one of them raised their hands at the end of his prayer. But this was the miracle. I mean, it was just like miracle after miracle in this one hour. You could stop the story.
SPEAKER_00:I know, and I can hear that you're not, but you we could stop right there. And then all of them raise their hand, I got healed. Yeah, I'm healed. That pain is gone. This is my wrist is better. But go ahead. And then there's still more.
SPEAKER_02:And there's this was the this was the pow wow of it. He's like, How many of you have back pain? And only two students raise their hands. I remember this clearly. There was a girl on one side of the room and a guy in the other. And they both, he's like, Okay, I want you to stand up. So they stand up, and the guy realizes, like, uh-oh, I'm on the spot. And he's like, No, I'm gonna sit back down. He's like, No, no, no. He's like, You have pain, let's let's ask God to heal it. So he has him sit down and lean against the wall, and he's like, Okay, everybody gather around. And so he's like, put stick out your, you know, put your two feet out, and they do. And he says, one little kids notice one of his um legs is shorter than the other. Now we're gonna ask God to heal that because that's why he has pain in his back because he's not walking properly. And so he has one of the students come over and he's like, Hold, hold his legs. He's like, We're gonna pray right now. And he's like, and we're gonna ask the Holy Spirit to heal him. And there is no junior Holy Spirit in here, guys. Woo! Come on, preach. And so they start, he starts to pray, and he's like, You all need to pray.
SPEAKER_00:I don't want you to think it's me because we're gonna So he's empowering, equipping the students to step in and become the healers and believe in faith for a healing. Exactly.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so they start to pray, and literally before their eyes, this young man's foot starts to grow out before, and he's and it's completely even by the end of the prayer. They were like in awe, and then they do the same thing to the girl. So they saw two complete healings before their very eyes.
SPEAKER_00:Holy smack down. That is very gutsy faith. I had another word pop to mind. I'm like, Jesus, I can't say that word on my own podcast on the Godcast, but that's huge. It was amazing. That is a mega miracle healing right there in front of their very eyes. And of course, when you see something like that, because we as humans are very basic, right? We always say, I'm not gonna believe what I can't see. If I didn't see it, I don't, I don't believe it. Right. But when you see it with your own eyes, and God is so good to do that for them because he can do healing without us seeing things, and he can even not heal, but he did it in such a way that they could be part of it and then be the victors of it. Like, wow, I helped to pray for that person. And did it move their faith?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, absolutely. They all came back, they came back the next day, they were texting me, Auntie, that's so powerful. Let's bring him back, you know. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Now that's just a recent miracle. That's just a day in the life of Die, the supernatural super Shiro. I want to ask you, you evangelize on planes a lot. I travel to speak around the nation. You travel a lot uh around the state pretty much every week, uh, and then to the nation a lot to help with our four-square denomination, and we'll get to that in a little bit. The whimmel, not weasels, whimmel. We'll get to it. I think it's like something about women in ministry leadership. Oh my gosh, Hilo High nailed it. Okay, I didn't have to go to Punah for that one. But you um you do travel a lot, you evangelize on planes. I love it. I it drives me nuts. I don't like talking to people on planes. She likes makes a point to pray for people and talk. Tell us a testimony and what's your secret?
SPEAKER_02:I think um, honestly, Don, when I sit down, uh, before I even get on the plane, I'm already praying, like, Lord, seat me next to somebody that you want me to share the gospel with. It's not about me, it's not anything that I say, it's you, Lord. You have a divine appointment, you know, right there. So when I sit down, I'm already like scoping out who am I sitting next to? Do I get the arm rest? Right? All of those things. Um The important thing.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, do I get the arm rest? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:But I think about, honestly, Dawn, um in the US, let's say just maybe there's 150,000 people that die every day. And my question is, where do they spend eternity?
SPEAKER_01:Whoa.
SPEAKER_02:You know, it's a heavy question. And the other thing that I think about is um there's only one thing that you can do in heaven. There's one thing that or there's only one thing you can't do in heaven, I should say. We can praise the Lord in heaven, we're gonna worship in heaven, eat, but there's one a lot. Sorry. But there's one thing that you can't do in heaven, and we will not be able to share our faith with a non-believer in heaven.
SPEAKER_00:Oh because there's only gonna be a little fresh conviction today for you. Wake up and smell the Jesus coffee. We can't help save another person.
SPEAKER_02:Because there's only gonna be believers in heaven.
SPEAKER_00:I've never thought of that.
SPEAKER_02:There's only so there's only one thing that I can do. So how many shots at the goal that I'm gonna get? Yeah, I'm gonna take them.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. You know, and you do, you do it every time. And she fasts and prays and says, Oh, I'm going on a trip, pray with me.
SPEAKER_02:I'm like, but if you think about it, you know, a lot of people may feel like this is outside of my comfort zone. But as I step outside of my comfort zone, yeah, I'm stepping into God's comfort zone.
SPEAKER_00:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:And you know, I'll just sit down and you know, you have those people probably like you, Don, just like, I have my book, don't talk to me.
SPEAKER_00:No, I have my headset on, I've got a hoodie on, I look like the unibomber. Yeah. And I've got a book. Everything's in place that says, do not disturb. If I could hang a sign up that says do not disturb, I would. But I'm an introvert. You're the exact opposite.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes. But I mean, I I'm very sensitive to people's you know impressions. And but I'll just pray and I'm like, Lord, give me opportunity. And you we usually end up talking about, you know, where are they going? What are they gonna do there? And sometimes just out of the blue, God's, I'll be like, no, God, I don't, I'm scared. Because God has led you.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, and you do get scared. Thank you for showing. I've heard you say that God will give you a vision or he'll give you a word knowledge, which means it's kind of like for those of you who are secular, psychic friends. Somebody knows something about you that they should not know, and she will impart that, and they'll be like, Yeah, excuse me, how do you know that?
SPEAKER_02:Many times, and I'll uh just so it'll be like a question like I know this is kind of weird. Sometimes it'll be like, I know this is kind of weird, but I feel like the um God wants me to pray for you. What can I pray for you for? Nobody has ever said no on the plane, they've all said yes, and then they will start to share. And many times I've had women say, like, either I'm coming back to church or I'm going through a divorce or I've been coming out of depression.
SPEAKER_01:Wow.
SPEAKER_02:And through that, it's just like God just gives me a view. I'm just the bridge, like He is the bridge to that conversation to help give them hope because many times they don't have hope or they've they've fallen away from the Lord and they want to come back, they just don't know how. And this is confirmation that God sees them. Yeah, and I am just honored to partner with God in that story. Um the word says preach the word in season and out of season. So there's only two seasons, Don. It says, be ready, preach the word in season, out of season. There's only two seasons, in season or out of season, right? So that means always be ready.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Yeah. So I'd rather be in than out, is what you're saying. We're in. She's in. You've seen a lot of people come to faith that way. And so thank you. And your secret, may I dare guess, but you can confirm or you know, is it boldness? Like you just got over your own ego. Because another thing that I want to say over you is you're drawn to street prayer and you're drawn to houseless people. You love hanging out at Echo Park in LA, which is like a bunch of addicts. There's chronics, they're shooting up on the street. You're over there ministering, you have the time of your life. Other people go to Turks and Caicos or like Tahiti. She goes to Echo Park. So you're drawn to people that the rest of humanity literally we run away from them. We try not to make eye contact. Yeah. You're like, hey there, friend, making eye contact, giving a sandwich, ministering. Like, what's your secret? Why do you do that? It's just the in season, out of season.
SPEAKER_02:It's really the compassion. God has given me great compassion. I don't see people, just like you, Don. I don't see people on the outside. God sees the heart. I try to look beyond that. Maybe it's just a circumstance that they fell into that was hard, or maybe it's a life choice, right? And like I said, everybody needs Jesus. You know, if you are breathing, you need Jesus. Hallelujah. If you have a breath, if I am breathing, I need Jesus.
SPEAKER_00:You still have purpose. Exactly. He still has a plan for you. Because Jeremiah 29, 11, he never meant for harm or calamity, but for a future and a hope. So if we draw breath, then God still has a future and a hope, a plan for you. I want to thank you for that. And and you just said something that I want to really highlight about, you know, maybe they fell into a bad season. Yeah. You know, we're looking at a world that you and I both agree are in the last seconds of the last days. Every single day, I force myself to look at the headlines. You know, I'd rather be one of those who just checks out and says, I don't watch the news anymore. Mary, the news is still happening. Okay. Facts are facts, science is science, and the news is gonna happen. So when I look at things like we're on the brink of, again, another world conflict. Um, there's a lot of starvation in certain nations, there's a lot of houselessness going on or homelessness. And I was talking to a dear friend of ours, Charmaine, Hawanio Kuevo, who is now with Salvation Army this last week. She said, Don, you'd be surprised. There are people we used to know in our um church leadership who are now calling for assistance. Yeah. And they're houseless. Absolutely. And I went, what? And she doesn't, you know, there's confidentiality, never shares names. So please know that that is sacred and tapu and kapu. But she said, you know, Don, if I trace it, and we were speaking with a circle of seven ladies at a general's table, she said, if I knew that you missed one car payment that kind of led to you missing a house payment or a rent for a month, and then you couldn't take your children to school, and then you couldn't go to work on time and you got let go because catching the bus, you were figuring out the bus and you missed it three times. She goes, if I backed all of those up to know that if I gave you six thousand dollars and you didn't miss the house payment or the car payment, wow, and that wouldn't send you on this spiral downward and outward.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Leadership in Hawaii, and I I imagine across our nation and around the world are suffering. Absolutely. And that's where I would want someone like you, Diane, because you do, you step into the fire. It's kind of like the picture of, and I always admire our first responders, right? Yeah. But it's our our police force and it's our firefighters who run in when everyone else is running out. And you're one of the spiritual first responders that you do, you run in. Like I can't even get sick. And Mary is at my door and she knows I'm very private. I'm like, do not bother, do not disturb. And she's knocking and she has my favorite foss soup from just down the street. Or she's like, sis, did you need me to go beat that person up? Because I heard what they did. I'm like, hey, hey, hey, we're you're a pastor first and foremost. This titta can scrap spiritually. So thank you for doing that, Diane. But is that why? And I'm going back, that was a long point made. Yeah, that people are coming on hard times and you're running to them. Yeah, absolutely. And is that, do you sense, and I'm kind of leading you here, but I'm gonna ask it anyway, do you sense that's where the body of Christ needs to be at this moment?
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. It's not the church is are the people, right? It's not a building, as you and I know. And so what we do on Sunday is just a time to gather, but then we go and scatter. We go and take out if we go and take, we are the hands and feet of Jesus to go out there. And I really feel like there's we need to be doing more in the community to reach these people. Many of them don't even know what they're missing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. And that kind of goes back to our Porgy de Lima Ohana, who she's blood related to, when they say, We don't know what we don't know. Yeah, Donnie, you don't know what you don't know. And I'm like, okay, right up there with Pastor Wayne Codero saying, the eye cannot see the eye. What? What are you doing? I'm trying to see my eyeball. Um, but it it's deep, but it's profound, and it's true that uh we really we just gotta keep going in and helping. Yeah. Next question in my miscellaneous drawer of random items. I wanted to ask you. Um, you love introverts. There's a big secret that's maybe not so secret anymore. Kind of like my secret nickname is DOB, because that's my initials, Don O'Brien. So I started secretly calling myself that. And then I go outside and people are like, What's up, DOB? And I go, Hey, that's my secret nickname. How'd you know that? And they're like, because I listen to the radio and your podcast, and you always say that out loud. Oh, okay, sorry. Yeah, um, I am an introvert, is the other secret, extreme introvert. It's not a secret. Okay, because I post it every day. I'm saying it right now, but okay. And you are not, you're an extrovert. I love people. You really, I mean, she's text stalking me yesterday in traffic, and I was like not picking up my phone. I was not in a talking mood, and she's like taking a picture of me and texting me. So, anyways, you and you know, I would say Kaulana is an introvert, and I would say that two of your boys are introverts too. Not Apollos, because you named him that from the Bible because he's gonna be a great public speaker. But how do you love introverts? I are you talking about yourself? I'm my family. Yes.
SPEAKER_02:I think it's just knowing like you keep pace with the person. I know when you need to retreat, I know when my husband needs to retreat, I know when the boys need time, and and I respect that. Wow. Hey, you gotta come up for air and I'm gonna be there for you. And I want you to know that I love you no matter what. When you're in your cave or you're out of your cave. Thank you. And it it's really just uh being uh perspective, what is it, per perceptive of people. You know what I mean? Like even when I talk to people, like if there's people that are really loud, then I can jump into that and and speak the same language, but then there's people that they're more quiet and reserved, so then I'll mirror exactly how they speak.
SPEAKER_00:And you do it well, you have to say because then I don't want to scare them or it's it's just you're extremely perceptive. I would even say it's uh in the world they say it's women's intuition, right? You just have this ike or you're just sensing, and then in the Christian realm, we call it discernment. Yeah, you're highly discerning, and I want to thank you for that because and that's how it survived 15 years. Yeah, I'm still single to this day because I'm really hard to get along with. But I love this about me. And then one person survived the many forest fires, tsunamis, natural disasters. I keep coming. I keep coming. I try to like literally bomb the relationship. I'm like, we're done two years ago, we're done. I'm not your don't talk to me. And she's like, no, not giving up. I'm like, please stop texting me from right behind my car. Stop taking pictures of my car. But you love me to know, and thank you for not taking it personally. Yeah. Because it is, there are times as introverts, and and those of you who are introverts know we just need to go recharge. Yeah, it's not personal at all. I need quiet time, doesn't mean I'm rejecting you. It means I need to go recharge like my little cell phone or else I'll be dead. So thank you for doing that and for being a percept perceptive woman. So that is the Twilight Zone Rubik's Cube conundrum that is figuring out the introverts. And she sees all my posts. Like, I love the one that said, um, people always say, Why don't you step out of your comfort zone? And I'm like, Well, why don't you step out of mine? Get out of my comfort zone. I would love all of us to be quiet, believe it or not. So there are many people, thank you, Diane Park, who often say, Don, I would just love to hang out with you. Can we do coffee, lunch, tea, spa, whatever? And I'm like, No, you don't actually know what that costs. No. You can go talk to Diane. She's like, All right, practical advice for boy moms. Oh respect. What?
SPEAKER_02:Respect. Respect, respect, respect.
SPEAKER_00:And I love that you nail it in one word, because pretty much, and I'm not trying to be a sexist, guys have a really short attention span. You just gotta get right to the point.
SPEAKER_02:Whether you're respect one, three, seven, seventeen, or fifty-seven, seventy-seven. I believe that it's in respect. And one of the things that I've learned that I've had to learn, right, as my husband, is just I respect him. And but then I realize as I as we have young men growing up, um, they know that their mom loves them, right? They know that I will be there for them, but do they know that I respect them?
SPEAKER_00:Wow. They don't know that. How would you show respect to a young, let's say your youngest is a junior in high school, or even like for a seven-year-old, because I have a little juju boo, my nephew, yeah, and I really want to try ri practice this respect thing with him. How do I do that with a seven-year-old?
SPEAKER_02:A lot of it is in the words that we use. I I I had to change my language, uh, Apollo Kauai. I love you. Now I say I respect you, I honor you. I really try to incorporate those words, and I have to say there's something in their spirit that just rises up. Like my mom respects me, you know. She I know she loves me, but does she respect me? And when I start to change those, I see a shift in the way that they they are towards me, they are to towards in in our house. Maybe I asked them to do a chore. It's like, yeah, mom, sure, I'll do it because I respect you. And I'm not saying that it isn't it comes naturally, I'm not saying that it's easy, but I do understand how men and boys, even at a young age, they need respect.
SPEAKER_00:That's really good. Another thing that I learned, because I'm always trying to bless. I have a lot of nephews, and I was never a mom, but I want and I have godsons like Kawaii is my godson, Dante, Micah. Um, I learned not just to respect or I respect you, it's to say, I'm so impressed by you. Wow. So with any Kane or man, that is good, that's coin. That's good language to know when you actually are impressed, because their spirit man will know if you're deceiving or just trying to fluff their feathers and flatter them. So I love that you said that. Respect. So I can do that with either a seven-year-old, a 17-year-old junior at Punahou, or a 77-year-old. I love that. Okay, the power of prayer. We're gonna switch topics again. Remember, junk drawer. It's not the junk drawer, it's the miscellaneous drawer. Power of prayer, weapon of warfare, and scripture sword is what I titled this next part because you're a supernatural superhero. You don't just operate on the natural, you operate in the supernatural. You don't just operate in what's real, you're operating in the surreal. You are so sharp in that realm. I would also call it the prophetic and the spiritual to those who use common language. We also know that we are created. In the image of our creator, and that we are to worship him in spirit and in truth because he himself is spirit. So when I say things, I can speak in English or pigeon, LaT, but I also want to really address the spiritual things. How, what advice would you give to our viewing Ohana to get more um sharper in the spiritual realm? Because I really respect and regard you as someone who is a very spiritual person.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so a couple things come to mind on um reading the word, but it's not just reading the word, it's really declaring it. Declaring because heaven is voice activated and hell is silenced by scripture. Wow. Say that again. Heaven is voice activated, and hell is silenced by scripture. And so if we could be reading the word, but not just reading it, but really declaring it, because Jesus really gave us the blueprint in the wilderness, right? He didn't wrestle the devil with tears or feelings. He wrestled them, he he declared the word of God. It is written, right? Yeah and so I've been really learning how to declare the word of God not only over myself, but over my family, over my finances, even. And really taking that to heart because I think so many times we just read it not just for head, you know, for head knowledge or make us feel good, but there's purpose in it. The word says that God's word goes out and it does not return to him void. And if that's true, then we need to be speaking more of the word.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. That's so good. So word applied. Yeah. Uh what are some of the life hacks that you would give to a young warrior coming up?
SPEAKER_02:Get into the secret place. And if you don't know what the secret place is, in the word it says that go into a room and close the door. And that's really the time that I get with the Lord. It's not, I don't, I'm not just spouting off all these things to the Lord. It's really sitting before him in the secret place and listening to what he has to say to me. Because a lot of those times that's where dreams, um, seeds are planted, um, future destinies are changed. Come on. Um, things are put into our spirit as we're listening to the Lord. And I think so many times in this busyness that we have social media, we have TV, we have all those things and noise coming at us that we cannot hear what God is wanting to say to us. And He's speaking all the time to us, but do we take the time to listen to Him? And so I really try to carve out that secret place time. And I think that's really key to a lot of things will be will come out of that time that I spend with the Lord.
SPEAKER_00:And is it interesting? I find that this happens to me that when I'm trying to read my Bible, do my devotions, have a time of prayer, I hear the little notifications going off, right? Yeah, big bing, you know, or a ring, or you know, there's gonna be some guy doing yard work outside. There's always this distraction. Absolutely. There has to be, I really sincerely believe, and you've heard me preach on this the three Ds of the devil, the three D vices, right? And number one was deception. He's a liar. Number two is uh division. He divided Adam from Eve, he divides parents, he divides companies in order to because divide and conquer. And number three is distraction. Distraction is destruction. If I can distract you, I can destroy you, I can rip you away from God's call. So I love that you said that getting into the secret place, into the quiet place, because God really does. He speaks in the still soft voice, right? Right? Right. Thank you for that. Um you wrote last question, and then we'll get to the last, last question. See how I'm polygamy slide on me. I get I double barrel loaded that one. Last question, and then I get to the last last the last question is you wrote a chapter that interested me in a book. It's called Lead Clean. What does that mean?
SPEAKER_02:Um, so my mentor, Dr. Marion Ingenieris, she's writing a book called Lead Clean and Leading Clean actually, and she got a bunch of authors together and just asked us to write what does it mean to us? What does leading clean mean to us specifically?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And I was praying about it and it was instant. The Lord gave me, I love, there's a scripture in Revelation 4, 10. It says the 24 elders um fell down in worship before the throne and they cast their crowns before him. And I was like, okay, what does that mean? And I started to dig into that. And immediately the Lord said, Crowns down. That's the name of the title of the of the chapter that you're gonna read, crowns down. So I'm like, Lord, what does that mean? I love the crown flowers, you know. But also, what is crowns down? And when I looked it up, the crowns that these elders are gonna cast, that cast them before the Lord, is they're crowns of victory. They're not crowns of royalty. And so the things that we have overcome in this world, we are going to, at the end of our lives, we're gonna be able to cast them, to give them back to the Lord, because He is the one that allowed us to overcome some of the things that we have gone through. Whether it's whether it's maybe something prideful that you've had to overcome or something very traumatic that you've had that you've had to overcome, he is the one that is going to, we get to give it back to him and say, Thank you, Lord, because I would without you, I wouldn't have been able to overcome the things that I've overcome.
SPEAKER_00:Love that crowns down, lead clean. And you see that in the um ath athletic realm or arena, that um I'm number two movement. You have a lot of these champions in all kinds of sports who say, actually, I'm I'm they are champions, but they're humble to say I'm number two. God is number one, Jesus Christ is my number one. Yes, beautiful friend. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02:So I wanted to present to you, Don. This is um, like I was talking about crowns. It's not a crown of royalty, but it's a victor's crown. And in the ancient Greek times, the Olympics, this is what they gave the victors when they won. And so this is called a Stephanos, a Stephanos crown. And so I want to present this to you, Don. Because I know that there's many things that you have overcome and that you will continue to overcome in this world. And I just want you to be reminded that God is with you. He, if he is for you, who can be against you?
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Oh, thank you. And let's just pretend this is Jesus. I'll put the crowns down right here in front of him so we can do our last, last question.
SPEAKER_02:And I believe, you know, later on, we are never gonna we're gonna wish we had more crowns to give him.
SPEAKER_00:Every single thing, right? Which means we gotta be out there achieving and then laying it down before him, not sitting home quiet, sitting on my hands. No. Shucks, I really like doing that. Last question we ask every guest. Um, it's kind of a tradition, is what is aloha to you? It could be a memory, it could be a flavor like haul, how pia cool, which how lolo, that we didn't invent that until like five years ago or 10 years ago. Um, it could be a memory, a flavor, or maybe it's a lay, a smell. And then the who is your aloha hero, past or present?
SPEAKER_02:Very simple. Aloha is just a guiding principle. It's a spirit, it's an aloha spirit, it's Jesus in me. It's not a thing or a memory. It to me, it is it's a lifestyle, right? It's compassion, it's love, it's unity, it's respect, it's all of those things. That's what aloha is to me. How can I give this away? How can I you do it, Don? You give it away every day. I try to give it away to whoever I meet. Um, and then if you pull that thread a little bit longer, right? It's I was talking to uh my husband this morning and I was telling him about this question and we were talking about it. But he's like, um, he's like, Diane, he's like, one of the things that you like to do is you like to anoint me last night. I was anointing him before when he was sleeping, but he's like, You do that why? And I was like, Because I feel like you are set apart for the Lord. And he's like, that's it. He's like, You do things to show that God is setting you apart, me apart to do the things for the kingdom of God. And so, um, yeah, that's aloha to me. It's just it's just giving Jesus away.
SPEAKER_00:I don't think we've had that answer yet. And I ask every guest, and there are many great answers, but I have not heard aloha is a spirit because we do say that it's the aloha spirit. So, and that's God's spirit, right? Kauhane Hemolele in Hawaiian is reserved only for the spirit of the living God. Thank you. And who is your aloha hero? Somebody who lives true, pure aloha, past or present, and why?
SPEAKER_02:Two people. Number one, I think of is my dad. Um, he passed away in 2014. Um, but this man, he loved people. And I I think I really learned that principle from him. Whether it was the postman to the lady at Safeway, to the lady at Longs, to and when he passed away, they all came to his celebration of life. It was a massive party for Uncle Bob. I loved it. But that just showed he he gave away who he was. We can't give away if we don't know who we are. If we're filled with the spirit, if we're filled with the Lord, that's what we're giving away. And so if he gave himself away, that's how much I always love that that quote. It says, People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Yes. And when they know you care, man, that could change somebody's whole day.
SPEAKER_00:And that was Uncle Bob. And what is your um she's Polish? What is it? Your Polish last name, Balutski.
SPEAKER_02:Sorry, Ambrozowitz A to Z.
SPEAKER_00:Uncle Bob Ambrozowitz. I love it. Okay, thank you for telling us the why that he was. Who was the other person you said to? And the other person is you, sis.
SPEAKER_02:And we talked about this on your birthday. You see people, and it really changes people. You know, they could be having a bad day and they see you, you smile, you love on them. We were at your birthday party and you just passed by somebody else that was having a birthday and you gave away your later, and you could just see it just made her day. And so thank you, sis. You embody that spirit in everywhere you go. So I love you.
SPEAKER_00:Mahalo and Mahalo from my favorite Pua Kenny Kenny Lei as an emblem and embodiment of the Aloha spirit. She knows it's my all-time utmost favorite. Well, that's our wrap-up on the girl to girl, heart to heart. Poi dog. Um, yes, the poi drawer. The poor miscellaneous drawer, the BFF's best friend special edition with Pastor Diane Park, who is also part of Wimmel, not Weasel. Thanks for getting it right. And then she's also a women's motivator, and you can see why she's also they say that behind every great man is a great woman. And I don't know about that quote, but I would say it this way that beside every great woman is a great woman also. And so my best friend at my side is Diane Park. Thank you for inspiring and motivating me and keeping me sharp. We love you, and remember that aloha always wins. Aloha.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you.
unknown:Wow.