Date Nights are so important!

Dating is so much fun.  Finding the right person to share your life with and going out to fun places can be very exciting.

After you get married and start your family you realize just how much harder it is to stay as connected with your spouse, especially when he is away at work for hours if not all day, and you are left home to care for the kids, clean the home, and manage the home life.

Date nights not only become something fun to look forward to, they are imperative to keep you connected with each other, keep you in communication, and keep allow you to let your hair down and talk about other things rather than bills and disciplining the kids.

I feel that for us we need a date night at least once a week, sometimes 2 or 3 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). And a date night does not always have to be getting out of the house (although that is wonderful) sometimes it means being creative in your home, like having a candle lit dinner in front of the fireplace, watching a movie on Netflix (thank goodness for Netflix) with some popcorn, or, dare I say, playing a board game!  Anything that allows you to feel relaxed, have fun, and be connected.

For us, we've been mentoring a couple who is soon to be married, and once a month we meet and talk and we are actually doing a book called Countdown to Couple-hood, which is awesome.  It's a christian book on love and marriage.  Kristen and Brian are in their twenties, love the Lord and serve vigorously at our church in youth group and awana ministries, they lead the drama team, and Kristen is also a bass player in our church band.

Being able to mentor Kristen and Brian has lit a fire in our own marriage and has reminded us just how good God has been to us to lead us to each other and keep our marriage healthy and strong.

And one of those ways has been to stay connected by having date nights.

This past Saturday we ate dinner with Kristen and Brian at Ruby Tuesday and then watched Mission Impossible at the movies.  My kids were with the Lambertson twins having a ball.

So, whether you get to go out for a date night, or you stay home, put the kids to bed a little earlier than normal and have a date night at home, keep date night at the top of your list, make it a priority, not just around Valentine's Day, but always.  Our marriages are so important.