date your spouse Archives - Page 5 of 11

Spring is Here

It’s a New Season

Spring is here!! And it’s about time. Sometimes the winter months can be long and can take a toll on us mentally and emotionally. Just like the grass and flowers have new growth for the new season, this is the perfect time to breathe some fresh air and life into our marriages. Does your marriage need a refresh? I’m a firm believer that just like we do spring cleaning every year our relationships need to have that refreshing.

Quality Time & Road Trips

Spring means the ending of the school year and graduation season is upon us. My wife and I went to her friend’s graduation. This was road trip to Chicago to support someone who is important to her. Besides, I always enjoy a good road trip. With two children under the age of four, it can make for interesting road trips. When the kids went to sleep my wife and I were able to enjoy the rest of the trip just like when we were dating. It’s a couple of hours of us driving, talking, and laughing. It is truly one of the best things for a quality time person such as myself. It’s like a refresher for us and a chance to solidify our connection.

I shared this story to show that we need those moments from time to time where we need those opportunities to reconnect. Spring is the sign that new life is coming out from the doldrums of winter. The same can be with our marriages and relationships. Here are three date ideas that will help to spark some new life into our marriages.

Date Ideas

Road Trips

the great thing about road trips is that you don’t need a specific destination or a lot of money. Just get in the car and go. Hit the highway in any direction and see where it takes you. Being in a car with someone forces you into an intimate time. You’re too close to in proximity to be distanced mentally and emotionally. Enjoy the road and enjoy each others company.

Go to the beach for your own spring break

While the water may not be ready for you to swim in, pretend you’re dating again and pack a picnic full of all your favorites. Hit the beach or your favorite spot that has a great view and enjoy your picnic.

Pick a book for this season

How often do you and your spouse read a book together? Do you like fiction? Does he like nonfiction? Does he like sci-fi while you like romance? What about finding a book you both will love? Take some time and find a book you’ll both enjoy, then read you’ll be able to talk about it together over dinner or a nice night walking.

What do you like to do in the spring to breathe life into your marriage?

Marriage is Precious

Marriage. The best thing ever. Fun. Tough. Love. Work. All of these words and more have been used to describe marriage before, even in my own life. One word that can be forgotten in describing marriage is precious. The dictionary describes precious as of great value; not to be wasted or treated carelessly. Can we say that we treat our marriages or even our spouses like this?

Buried Treasure

Honestly we should treat all of our relationships like this. Think about if we treated our closest friendships this way. There would be a lot less drama surrounding or following us.

Our marriages should be treated as precious. In a way that shows, says, and shouts that we value this relationship.

A Toddler’s View

My son is 3 now and about to turn 4 this month. For his birthday there will be plenty of toys and gifts for him. If I ask him where any of the toys that he got for Christmas a couple of months ago are….you know what his answer will be “I dunno.” That is because at his age he doesn’t fully value or think of his toys as precious. At this stage everything is something for him to race around, jump off of or throw. I have to teach him to value things.

Many times we treat our marriages as a toddlers toys rather than something of great value and not to be treated carelessly.

It’s time for this to change. Marriage while made up of work, compromise, laughter, and love, should be precious. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be bumps or hills along the way. What it does change is how we approach and overcome these things.

Fight For It

Things that we value we’re willing to fight for. We don’t easily let them go, or like a child that forgets where their Christmas toys are, we neglect our spouse and our marriage.

Dating while you’re married may not solve all the bumps and hills, but it can help keep you and your spouse connected. I’ll write more on this later. We all remember that feeling of getting dressed up, the butterflies in your stomach as you head out for the night and the enjoyment when you just have a good time with someone. We should continue to date when we’re married for those feelings.

My Gift To You

With all that being said, I have a FREE Resource for you guys. It’s my Dating in Marriage Manifesto. Click the link below and get your copy. I wrote it for all of the reason above and so much more. Like the saying goes “It takes a village to raise a child,” I believe the same can be said of great marriages. We tend to think that we go through things alone. We don’t. You’re never the only one in your situation or that has gone through it before.

Click Here for Your Free Resource

The Art of Dating

Is dating dead? Do people date today or is it all hooking up and a “Netflix & Chill” mentality. What does this look like for married couples? Can and should married couples continue to date? The answer to these latter questions is a resounding Yes! As you guys know, I’m a big proponent of dating in marriage. Every couple should date and make it a priority in their marriage.

Protecting Your Marriage from Divorce

I recently heard of a couple that I know that was getting a divorce. When talking with a person who is going through a divorce, it can be hard to know what to say to try and add some comfort. It is hard to see a person hurting and not know what to do or say to offer some help.

While we may not know what to say, most of us have the thought later like I did. “How do I protect my marriage?” “I didn’t get married to get a divorce 10 or 20 years later.” So how do we protect ourselves and our marriages from the dreaded D-Word?

The Other D-Word

We protect our marriages by using another D-Word. Dating. We have to continue to date our spouse. We take the dating part of our relationship for granted when don’t make time with each other a priority.m Before marriage, we ask someone out, go on some dates, get married and then life just settles into a routine.

Dating should be the one part of our lives that continues to grow as we grow. Dating is the part of the relationship where we on purpose are trying to get to know each . We look to communicate, and we look for opportunities to reach out during the day. Our dates become experiences that we cherish. They become fond memories that we can laugh about later.

The dates become few and far between. The cherished memories get farther and farther away.

Don’t let your marriage be a forgotten thought. Continue to date your spouse. Build memories together and have fun. To help you I’ve got a free resource:

Download my Dating in Marriage book.