From the daily routine to anniversary trips and everything in between, let’s continue to date our spouse…keeping things fun!

One of my favorite things in this season of life is having an early breakfast with my husband each weekday morning. It may sound simple, but it is a great start to the day! For those of you who don’t know us, we were high school sweethearts…me being a sophomore and he a senior when we started dating.  Life was full and fun! We spent a lot of time with some of our other dating couple friends, riding 4-wheelers, hiking and all sorts of things. After about two years of officially dating, we got married in 1997. I want to add here that we definitely walked through some hard things in our marriage and not every day is rosy, but overall, it is good and we love each other a lot!

 Our oldest child was born two and a half years after we were married. With little ones, it was challenging to find a lot of time to go on dates, but we did, just not on a regular basis. In case you thought I was supermom, I was not and early morning breakfasts with my husband were rare or non-existent in those days! But we had to be more creative with finding time together. I highly encourage you to prioritize first... time with Jesus and then with your spouse. It’s so valuable! Trade date nights with friends or reach out to parents/siblings. Even just sitting on the sofa for a time with no TV on...processing the day after the kids are in bed...is sweet! Or put on some worship music and soak in Jesus' presence together.

Probably one of the most important things you can do is to find at least one thing that you both enjoy and do it together! Some people may say...we have NOTHING in common. I challenge you to ask Jesus to help you enjoy something that your spouse really loves, even if it feels impossible! Start with conversations and learning more...even if it is not a desire you have. This is a way we care for and build each other up!

Despite those full-on busy years with littles, with God’s help and grace, we cultivated a deep friendship and love that gets sweeter every year! We know that most likely in the not-so-distant future, we will be empty nesters. Our hearts’ desire is to always enjoy being together! I believe that one of the things that kept us close were the adventures that we took together as we sought to follow the Lord and His promptings. From raising four kids, foster care/adoption and mission work, there was a dependency on Jesus that was so vital to daily life and this we learned together. There was not a shortage of tears, especially from me, but it was worth every “yes” that we gave!

I love this quote by Melissa Usunobun...

"When love is strong enough to go beyond measure, it can go anywhere. let love go beyond measure and beat expectations."

So I encourage you to choose to date and really “see” your spouse today. Be fun! Focus on the positive and affirm him! And if you are in the midst of littles, take heart! God sees you!  I won’t say “enjoy them…they grow up so fast” as this was said to me when my kiddos were little and I didn’t find it very helpful.:) But this season will pass…and you will look back and treasure those times. And now, with our third little granddaughter just being born this summer, I am soaking in the joys of this season and the gift it is to have a window into their little hearts! Find joy in each day and don’t forget to slow down and breathe! For creative date night ideas, I encourage you to check out this amazing resource…175 Best Date Ideas... from a young mom and blogger, Alida! Take time to invest in your marriage today!