Religion

Let’s get our increase on

Dear Lucy: I really want this to be my best year ever. You have been writing about planning for the new year. Is there just one favorite piece of advice that you have?

– Queen of 2013

Dear Queen: Thanks and I am having a lot of fun with my own planning. I also plan to be a Queen in 2013! I have a long list of stuff that I am doing this year that I have never done.

I am signed up to take Salsa dance lessons. Every year I think I will do something to exercise and the truth is that I don't like structured exercise. I refuse to disappoint myself again. So, I am going to get out, meet some folk and DANCE! That, Queen, is my first advice...do something fun and different.

I have a wonderful friend who asked me a year ago to join her and some other really cool women on a cruise. At the time, I didn't think much about it, said yes and paid for the trip. It is coming up soon and I am getting really excited. I have never been on a cruise before because I can't swim. How stupid is that? Next piece of advice: don't let stupid and fear get in the way of joy and adventure.

Now I have really, really white hair. Not gray, but white. I have worn it super short for the last ten years. I recently let it grow. I have had the same hairdresser over 25 years along with a bunch of other ladies I really enjoy. So everyone has been watching to see how long I can stand to let my hair grow. I think some of them have even taken wagers on how soon I will cut it.

Well, last week I suddenly had the urge to color my hair. I don't know where it came from. My hairdresser, Angela Kneeland, said that it was actually a subconscious desire to cut it. Well, I was the entertainment for the evening as we all waited to see what color my hair would turn out to be. Everybody claimed it looks great. I have not yet decided. But, it sure was fun and I do look different. Third piece of advice: It's just hair. This is the year that I let go of attachments to old ways of being that don't make me who I really am.

Now here is the last one and a permanent one that I have practiced for a long time. I affirm every day that I am a person of increase. This means that I am always looking for the opportunity in every situation to give my gifts, offer my help, and uplift those around me. I make certain that I am prayed up and believing in the eternal goodness of God. This becomes my strength, my wisdom and my confidence. I declare in my heart that wherever I go I will bring peace and leave peace. I decide to look for the face and character of Jesus Christ in all I see. Sometimes I have to work really hard at it because appearances try to convince me otherwise. Yet, I have found with persistence that when I bring the Christ spirit, I find the Christ spirit.

When we seek to increase the good in the world around us, the world cannot help but give it back to us. From one Queen to another, let's get our increase on!

Lucy

(You can watch Lucy on Channel 17 (Comcast) every Thursday at 10:30 am. (Send your questions to her by U.S. mail to: Heartworks4U, LLC; 4646 Poplar Ave. Ste 201, Memphis, TN 38117 or by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Get your free gift at http://www.heartworks4u.com/)

(For help with the feelings that get in the way of prayer and peace of mind, get Lucy's new book, "BE NOT ANXIOUS." Order it directly from her at 901-907-0260 or from her