Our only daughter started middle school this morning. This is a big deal around here, so since yesterday was a holiday here in the USA, we tried to have a low-key day to get ourselves ready. As I was reflecting, I thought about how seasons like this allow for new opportunities and new growth. As kids, we could see a lot of progress in the course of a school year. But what about today?
This got my nerd mind going. As of yesterday, there were 276 days till my daughter’s last day of school for the year. What could be accomplished in that period of time? The danger of thinking that way is that we overwhelm ourselves with too big of a challenge and don’t do anything. But what about 5 minutes? What could be accomplished in five minutes? Turns out a lot could be accomplished if we commit to a five-minute habit.
Spiritually, a new five-minutes a day practice could make a big difference. I saw one site that said you could listen through the New Testament in 18 hours and 20 minutes. That is less than five minutes a day. You could actually listen through the Psalms as well.
Physically, 5 minutes a day could make a big difference. If you were to simply add five minutes of walking a day to your life, by the end of the school year, even at a slow pace, you would have walked about 44 miles. You can drink a bottle of water in five minutes. I am guessing 276 bottles of water over the course of the year could be good for your health.
I am sure that you can be creative and find a five-minute challenge that God would have you do. Let me just encourage you to only start with one challenge. Five minutes. For me, I have shared elsewhere that I am committed to learning Spanish well enough to preach it. Well I am going to add five minutes extra a day to that learning time to see where it takes me. I hope you come up with a simple practice for yourself and see what the year will hold. {eoa}
Kevin Senapatiratne is head spiritual pyromaniac for Christ Connection. Kevin speaks around the United States, helping Christians find the fun of prayer. He is the author of Enjoying Prayer. You can learn more about his ministry at enjoyingprayer.org.
This article originally appeared at christconnection.cc.
Ron Allen 
Eddie Hyatt 
Michael L. Brown 
