Walking back to my car, I thought about life’s extra, unrequired and maybe even unexpected joys. What a difference they can make—to your mood, your perception, your mindset, etc. When someone goes above and beyond, it’s just a gift and blessing! Thinking about going the extra mile reminded me of a book I read long ago about Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer. Part of the Zappos mission is “delivering a WOW experience,” according to its website. This company trains its employees to go the extra mile for customers, offering services that don’t just meet customer needs and expectations, but exceed them. 

Tony Hsieh, the Zappos CEO and author of “Delivering Happiness,” tells countless stories in his book about “WOW moments” created by his customer service department. One of the first ones that really inspired his focus on delivering WOW experiences was when a customer service representative answered a late night call one evening from a customer who was looking for a specific pair of shoes on the Zappos website. That specific pair wasn’t sold by Zappos, though. But instead of turning this woman away, the Zappos employee ended up finding a local store that sold the shoes, and she went and personally purchased and delivered the shoes to the customer. Talk about WOW! This story ended up laying groundwork for what would become a guiding principle for Zappos, exemplifying the lengths the company encouraged employees to go to for their customers’ happiness. 

Have you ever had any “WOW moments” from God? I can’t even begin to count mine. Sometimes it’s little things, little God nods that go above and beyond my hopes and expectations. But sometimes it’s bigger things! Last spring, a teacher friend and I received news that we were awarded a grant from Fund for Teachers, which would allow us to explore five different countries in northern Europe over the summer—fully paid by the organization. My heart is still full to the brim with joy and gratitude for this incredible experience, which I attribute 100% to God’s generosity! God loves to overwhelm us with His goodness and blessings. Ephesians 3:20 says He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” 

Here’s that same verse in The Message translation:

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. -Ephesians 3:20

That’s the kind of God I want! A God who exceeds my wildest dreams and expectations! And He does JUST THAT, purely out of love and grace. But I challenge you to not let it stop there. How can you pass along God’s exceedingly abundant goodness to the people around you? How can you show God’s love and grace by delivering WOW experiences to people? A “WOW moment” that you create could increase a believer’s joy in the Lord, and it could open a nonbeliever’s eyes to the Lord. Win-win situation! Need some ideas? I got you covered. Here are 20 simple ways to go above and beyond for somebody today in the name of Jesus. 

1. Bring your coworker coffee just because. 
2. Deliver some baked goods to a neighbor. 
3. Go visit an elderly friend, family member or church member. Sit with them for an extra hour, chit chat and offer the gifts of presence and time.
4. Find the perfect way to surprise someone on a Monday to chase away those Monday blues. Does the person love hot chocolate? Bring her a hot chocolate! Does she have a sweet tooth? Bring her a little Dairy Queen gift card so she can treat herself after work. 
5. Mail an encouraging note to somebody who’s been on your heart.
6. Offer to take a task off somebody’s hands at work.
7. Take an extra 10 seconds before pulling away from the drive-thru window to speak some kindness and gratitude to the restaurant employee.
8. Leave a bigger-than-necessary tip at a restaurant. (And jot down a Bible verse reference next to the amount on the receipt?)
9. Surprise your family with a fun, out of the ordinary dessert after dinner.
10. Deliver a thank you note or small gift to someone whose work/contributions often go unnoticed and unrecognized. …like maybe the janitor at your workplace.
11. Leave an unexpectedly encouraging comment on somebody’s social media post.
12. Host a casual game night for a few friends, creating the space for some fun fellowship together.
13. Offer to pick an older church member up for church, and/or take him or her to brunch after service.
14. The next time you’re in charge of organizing a gathering, think of some way to give everybody that extra, unexpected WOW factor. Cool party favor? An extra thoughtful and personal touch? A food served that’s somebody’s absolute favorite? 
15. Invite a couple girlfriends over for a fun, out-of-the-blue, low key movie night.
16. Surprise somebody and either do a chore they usually do for you or do a chore they hate doing on their own.
17. Sit next to that coworker who always eats by herself on your next lunch break.
18. Go on a walk with somebody in your life who lives alone and might be grateful for some extra people-time. 
19. Bring donuts to work on a random day.
20. Rake up those fall leaves covering your neighbor’s yard, or shovel the driveway if it’s winter.

Did you notice that none of these things have to cost you a ton of money? Most of them cost time, thought and energy. How fun it can be to delight people with the added WOW experience. …to go one little (or big!) step further than is expected or required. I think you’ll find that not only is it awesome for the person on the receiving end, but it will be pretty awesome for you, too! 

And my final little encouragement is to be sure and add a touch of Jesus to your WOW moment. That might mean jotting down a Bible verse on a tag to add to the baked goods you’re surprising your neighbor with, or sometimes it might simply mean praying a silent prayer as you deliver the WOW. Invite the Holy Spirit to partner with you, so that your “work” might be Kingdom work. Being a conduit of Christ can be fun. Find ways to create WOW experiences in the name of Jesus!