Dating. Hey, that’s what you did before you got married. But if you want your marriage to go the distance, you need to continue to cultivate the dating habit! The commitment you made to each other when you choose each other for life will be enhanced and reinforced by the habit of dating.
How? First, dating helps you be intentional about spending quality time together. It’s hard to focus on your marriage when the kids are always around, or your phone is beeping and you are never alone!
Second, dates–even short, inexpensive ones–renew your friendship. When you date, you make your spouse a priority and that helps you keep your vows to love and cherish each other!
Have we convinced you that dating is beneficial? Then open your calendar. Choose a weekly date night and schedule a date. Then mark it, “marriage priority time.” Guard it with your life and if it’s absolutely necessary, keep rescheduling it until it happens.
“But you don’t know our situation,” one young mom told us. “Oh yes, we do,” we responded, “we remember what it was like at our house when our boys were young and that’s why you have to make your marriage a high priority by planning date nights.”
Cultivating the dating habit can enrich your relationship for a lifetime. It takes three weeks to develop a new habit and six weeks to feel good about it. In no time at all, you can bump your marriage up to a higher priority.
Since dating is a habit worth developing, why not make a date to plan more dates with your spouse? Together make a list of fun dates you would both enjoy. Anything goes from rock climbing, to taking a class together, to planning a romantic getaway for two. Then enter your next date with your partner in your calendar. Think about it. It’s the first step in cultivating the dating habit and it will remind you why you chose each other in the first place. (This could be so good for your marriage that we suggest you get off your screen right now – or right after you add a date night to your calendar!)
The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.
Proverbs 14:8
By David & Claudia Arp
Parents of 3
Grandparents of 10
1 Corinthians 13 Parenting Team Members
Founders of Marriage Alive and 10 Great Dates
Authors of many great books to enrich your relationship!
Check out the 1C13P Resource page for titles.
Looking for great date ideas? Try $10 Great Dates: Connecting Love, Marriage, and Fun on a Budget! Click HERE to order.