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 can see a lot of progress in the course of a school year. But what about us?

This got my nerd mind going. As of yesterday there were 276 days till her 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 5 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 5 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 5 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 5 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 5 minute challenge that God would have you do. Let me just encourage you to only start with 1 challenge. 5 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 5 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.