Sunday, I was able to share the reminder that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 15: because of the hope of the resurrection, our labor is not in vain. And with that, I shared a number of stories of families in our church who took up the challenge to bless someone during the Easter season. But I forgot one that I really wanted to share….

I remembered to share the one of the girl from our church who knew that another girl on her school bus was in a foster family, and so she reached out to her. And it was a great fit; for the girl from our church had also been in a foster family.

And I told about the college student in our church who is student-teaching at a local elementary school. She has two refugee families in her class – and one of them is in a family of nine kids. So she and her family blessed those families.

And one of the stories is ongoing. A nine-year-old took the $40 I gave him, and took seriously the challenge to bless someone else with it. He promptly added $10 of his own money to it, and then challenged his family to each give $5. With that, he quickly tripled the $40. He is making plans to ask Walmart and Target for a discount on school supplies, so he can take them back to his school for kids who can’t afford them.

So, that was Sunday, and some of the stories I shared. But I was going through my email on Monday, and I noticed I had forgot to share one of the stories. It needs to be shared, and even though I forgot on Sunday, I have a blog. So here it is:

The Wikman family heard the challenge to bless someone, and decided to buy toys for St. Joseph Children’s Home. To maximize their efforts, they invited some friends from church to join them. Then another friend pitched in. And then three other families from their life group. The end result was that a number of families got to join together and bought all kinds of stuff for kids at St. Joseph’s: bubbles, sidewalk chalk, frisbees, kites, gloves, scooters, all kinds of balls, and a rocket!

And it all started with a simple challenge, and a reminder: that our labor is not in vain. Everything done in the name of Jesus, and because of his love, matters. It counts. And is a part of what it means to be people who don’t simply believe in Easter, but LIVE Easter.