One of my favorite books is Children's Letters to God by Stuart Hample and Eric Marshall. One letter is a request from Ginny, who asks God to create a new holiday to fill the void between Christmas and Easter. Her reason is simple: "There is nothing good in there now." Anyone who lives in Chicago from January to April whole-heartedly shares that sentiment. It's generally cold, windy, and gray—and that's on the nice days.

To add some heat to this meteorologically challenged stretch on the calendar, Promiseland (our children's ministry) lavishes special thanks on our volunteers one weekend each February or March. The kids throw parties for their small group leaders, we bring in food for each service, and we even ask parents to join the festivities. Although this happens at our church during winter months, November's reputation as a month with focus on thanks makes it a very viable option, too. One year we alerted the whole church about the festivities through an article in the weekend ...