On November 1, 2017, one year ago, I took a friend’s advice and went to “The November Project,” a fitness movement that meets three times a week at 6am for a morning workout. We ran up and down the wooden stairs over by the high level bridge and did push-ups and sit-ups and burpees in the fresh fallen snow, and gave high fives and hugs, and commended each other for “just showing up.”
Over the past year, this group has become a vital part of my life. The simple act of moving my body, first thing in the morning, has helped me to be healthy and balanced in many other areas. The November Project was started by two rowers in Boston who knew how difficult it was to keep active during the cold winter months of the year. So they made a pact to work out every morning in November and the movement was born.
As winter approaches and it gets darker, colder, and more difficult to stay active, what will you do? What is your November Project? Perhaps running stairs in sub-zero temperatures is not your thing, but how about cultivating a regular practice of reading a devotion or writing a letter to someone who needs encouragement? What might change in your life if you started each day with half an hour of quiet, listening prayer? Even something as simple as prayer-walking in a mall, if you approach it intentionally, can open your heart to new opportunities and relationships that you would otherwise miss.
So I hereby challenge you: start a November Project this month! And let Jesus bring new vitality into your life as you make it a regular practice.
With a big hug and a high five from your caring pastor,
Curtis
Leave a Comment