Good Morning!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to purchase a small treat to show one person that you care about the details of their life.

Have you ever experienced a time when someone blessed you with a small gift?  A gift that seemed to come completely out of the blue, not for a birthday or specific celebration, just to bless you on an average day.  The surprise of those kinds of gifts, the incredible joy of little treats, are small on cost but big on value.

This is the fourth challenge in the Mission Encouragement series.  I am asking my incredible readers to spring into action and perform small acts of encouragement in their daily lives.  These missions are simple and practical.  If you would like to catch up on previous missions, here you go:

Week One: Text Some Joy
Week Two: Joy of an Unexpected Card
Week Three: Delightful to Hear Your Voice

This week’s challenge: purchase a small treat ($5.00 or less) for one person.

This week we are going to offer encouragement by recognizing the details of someone’s life and buying a small gift to match.

One Person: Who do you interact with throughout the week?  What little things do you notice about them?  Who do you sense could use a little break in their day?

What to get?  The goal is to get your chosen recipient a gift that shows you are aware of some specific detail about their life.  This week’s mission may take a bit of purposeful preparation before making a meaningful purchase.

Food:

Food can often be an inexpensive and readily available treat.  How about performing a “Random act of Cupcake”  by bringing someone a cupcake to celebrate their day.  Cookies, candy bars, soda, coffee and ice cream are fun treats as well.

Pinterest is full of cute treat sayings:

"Kudos for a job well done" on a Kudos Bar
"Thanks for going the Extra mile" on a pack of Extra Gum
"You're all that and a bag of Chips" on a bag of Chips 
"Time to give yourself a Break" on a Kit Kat Bar
"I'd fall to Pieces without you" on a Reese's Pieces
"Thanks for all you Dew" on a Mountain Dew

The options are not just limited to junk food.  Go healthy.  Many kinds of fruit are naturally individually packaged.  Apples, pears, oranges, bananas and more.  Even a bottle of water can be a treat, especially when the tag reads “Those who refresh others will find themselves refreshed”.  What a great way to say thanks.

Supplies:

What does this person use day in and day out?  Sometimes it’s nice to have something that we can frequently use.  Go for the fun version of that supply.  I use pens throughout the day.  Really any old pen will do, but I enjoy using pens with purple ink in them.  It’s something different.  It’s a little thing, but it brings big joy to my life.

When it comes to office supplies in general there are many options for fun colored post-it notes, or clips or pens to brighten someone’s day.  Every industry has its little things that are needed.  Most often they are the ones we take for granted until we do not have them.  Perhaps a supply item is what will brighten someone’s day.

Fun & Silly:

Perhaps what your recipient needs is just something silly to break up the day.  It could be a container of play dough or a matchbox car or silly putty or another toy that will remind them of the laughter of younger days.  Maybe it is just a roll of vibrant colored streamers to decorate their office or car or bedroom on a random day.

Flowers are fun to receive.  Many grocery stores have floral departments that sell individual flowers.  Even a single rose can make someone take pause in their day.

Stick a Note on It:  This does not have to be a fancy note, a post-it note will do.  Just write a line or two on it and sign your name.  I have found through years of encouraging acts, that the human connection is sweetened if the recipient knows who gave the gift.

Enjoy the Process:  So much of the joy found in encouragement comes through the planning and preparation.  There is a rich satisfaction to finding a unique way to reach out and brighten someone’s day.  Whether you deliver it in person, or leave it to be found by surprise, I hope you are uplifted knowing that you were intentional and purposeful about adding some PEP to someone’s day.

Prayer: 

Beloved and Treasured Lord, Thank You so much for all of the little treats You give us in life that bring us joy.  Lord, help us to savor those treats.  Help us to use the joy we have received to pour encouragement into others around us.  Remind us of how uplifting little actions can be.  Please make us aware and sensitive to the needs of those around us.  May we see those who could use some little loving actions to help them through their week.  In the joyful name of Jesus, who gives so many little treats, amen.