Intentional time together is essential to a healthy marriage.
Because marriage is both life’s most valuable and most difficult relationship, prioritizing quantity AND quality time is critical. Daily life works against intentional time, and you have to fight for it.
Committing to planned date nights is an excellent way to facilitate relational time necessary for a healthy marriage. Regular date nights will help you to (re)connect and focus on your relationship. But without planning and preparation, date nights can end up being completely wasted. Have you ever gotten in the car with no plan only to end up at the grocery store? Have you ever driven away to date night with no idea what you are going to do? This is the wrong way to kick off your date night. Want to invigorate your relationship? Here are two principles for facilitating great date nights:
Date Night Won’t Happen Unless You Plan it.
You can talk about a date night forever, but it won’t happen unless you plan it. You don’t have to have a $100 date night every single week, but simply making a plan for when and how you will do date nights is the first step toward success. When we had small children, we couldn’t afford to go out for a date every week. What worked for us was to go out every other week and to have intentional date night at home on the off weeks after the kids went to bed. This plan saved us a lot of money on babysitting and meals, but still created valuable time together. Date night spontaneity is overrated. Make a plan that works for you, review it regularly, and schedule it. Men, love your wives by taking the lead in this area whenever possible.
Date Night will be Lame Unless You Prepare for it.
Getting into the car on date night and asking your spouse what he or she wants to do will not lead to the best date night. Remember, spontaneity is overrated. You are serving your spouse by showing that you have put some time in to prepare for date night. Make a reservation at a restaurant. Do a little research. Keep a date night file of ideas. Have a plan. Your spouse will feel loved when you care enough to prepare for a good night together.
Ready to invigorate your relationship? Do away with lame date nights? Plan and Prepare and watch what happens!
Know someone who might benefit from this? Feel free to share below!
