Theme:  Faith.

From Webster's New World College Dictionary, faith is defined as "an unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence."  As Christians, we further refine the definition of faith to be a belief in God, in his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.  Then in Scripture we learn of three different kinds of faith:  saving faith, the fruits of faith, and the gift of faith.

All of us, who by grace have accepted the risen Lord as our Savior, have saving faith:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

This saving faith working within us extends our faith into all areas of our lives.  Saving faith directs us to be holy, to be built into a spiritual house.   Our ongoing work to become holy gives rise to the fruit of the Spirit:  "By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  (Galatians 5:22)

The gift of faith, rooted in saving faith, is given by the Holy Spirit to some in the Church to encourage and build up the Church.  "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ... to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit ... (I Corinthians 12: 8,9) Those with this gift of faith trust that God is good, they expect Him to move, and they are not surprised when He performs miracles.  The gift of faith is often accompanied by works of faith.  The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, details examples of this gift of faith in the stories of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others.  In your own life, in your personal experience, who has this gift of faith that encourages you? 

A suggested thought:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Click here to read the rest of this month's meditation on healthy choices.

As a Junior Directress, I know how hard it is to plan the year out sufficiently to anticipate the costs and to have some idea of what you will spend for any given project.  I find that the day before a meeting, I run off to the store to pick up lunch or snacks.  At that point it is too late to request monies from the Alpha Fund with such short lead time, so when I check out, I think "I am not going to apply to the Alpha Fund for $50 for today's lunch."  So I am not using the Alpha Fund.  Shame on me.  What I need to do is plan my year's events a little better so I can get the supplies I need, and that includes feeding the girls when that is part of the plan.  If you know you are going to do a training program on the weekends and will be feeding the girls, think about the cost and apply for a grant from the Alpha Fund.  If you are about to start on a service project, take a few minutes to think through what supplies you will need and see if you can estimate the cost of the items you will rush out at the last minute to pick up.  Then you can apply for an Alpha Fund grant to pay for those things.  The Alpha Fund Committee turns applications around as quickly as they can. The Alpha Fund was created to fill these kinds of requests.  It only takes a little looking ahead to take advantage of the Alpha Fund.  

Susan Keith

National Junior Directress

As some of you know, I teach early childhood education on the college level and have had the opportunity to teach a course in diversity. As educators we often have children and students with several different exceptionalities. This is also true for an officer serving in any of the different organizations or associations in the country, as there are always people who do things that we may not like or agree with.

In a book entitled A Framework for Understanding Poverty (2001), Ruby Payne talks about the concept of hidden rules.

While there is much controversy with her work, I do believe that we often have hidden rules when it comes to our lives. Were you brought up that it is impolite to interrupt someone when they are talking? This might lead you to question how to stop someone who wants to do all the talking during your meetings or book discussions. Were you brought up not to have debt? Then you might question someone who has just received a large check as a tax refund, but instead of paying her dues, she goes out to buy a dress. Were you brought up to always arrive 10 minutes before church is scheduled to start or a meeting is scheduled to begin? Remember that not every societal class or person has these same rules. I think it is important to remember that not everyone has had the same upbringing as you.

It is also important to think about where the Daughter has attended church. I certainly do see differences in Terre Haute, Indiana, concerning how to do things in church from the way I was taught to do things in Butler, Pennsylvania, or East Greenwich, Rhode Island. I also see differences in political beliefs and how they are reflected in our actions based on the part of the country in which you live.

So I challenge you to think about what these hidden rules might be in your life or chapter. Rather than stew because someone does things differently than you, step back and reflect on how we are all different and perhaps this reflection will help you accept the differences. These differences are a reflection of socioeconomic factors, ethnicity, abilities and disabilities, religion, gender, and many others. Remember that if we were all alike the world would be very different than what we experience now.

Pamela Sebura
Province V

Nancy Severin, Hanh Tran and Lyn Zolman traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota, to institute the Unity Chapter at Holy Apostles, St. Paul.  A year ago, Hanh, who lives in San Diego, was asked to talk to the women of Holy Apostles about the Order of the Daughters of the King.  The women caught on to the idea of prayer, service and evangelism and now, a year later, they have completed the study guide and are very excited about becoming Daughters.  All but two of the women are Hmong. 

Their service to Holy Apostles is legend. They made a quilt labyrinth which covers one-third  of the parish hall when laid out.  They made altar frontals for each season and did the handwork design on the frontals. They provide a meal for the parish once a month,   and they provided dinner and a lunch for the three of us.

The Hmong have a native dress which is stunning, and they decided to make their native dresses in blue and white, which they wore for the institution of the chapter.  They even made one for the priest, The Reverend Letha Wilson-Barnard, to wear.  These new Daughters are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they love and support each other.  They love being able to call each other "sister." They invited the Daughters at Large in the Minneapolis area to attend the institution.   

The Reverend Mary Gustafson and her granddaughter and Laurice Anderson. Minnesota Daughters at Large were guest at the institution.

Province VI welcomes Unity Chapter and the beautiful loving women who became Daughters of the King on April 19, 2015.

Lyn Zolman

Service and Evangelism Chair