5 Elements of a Great Date Night

With the release of my ebook, “12 Months of Dates to Grow a Meaningful Marriage,” I’ve been talking a lot about dating this month. When you’re planning a date night, do you know what elements take it from blah to great? Here’s 5 elements you’ll want to remember!

1 — Adventure

Whether your first date or you’ve been married 15 years, a great date night always includes the adventure of something exciting or new! Find local events or concerts (bonus points if they’re free!), take a class together, do something out of your comfort zone!

2 — Emotional Connection

A great date night is about being emotionally connected, and not just physically present! Ask your significant other nostalgic questions, inquire about their dreams for the future, and talk about what you can be doing better as a couple to grow your relationship.

3 — Food

Some of the best memories are made around the table — and that’s why food is an element of a great date night! Try a new restaurant or recipe, or enjoy some of your classic favorites together.

4 — Physical Connection

Physical connection is a powerful element of a great date night which says without words, “I’m here for you. you’re my person.” Hold hands, sit next to each other on the couch or restaurant booth, give a massage or initiate an extra-long hug.

5 — No Pressure

The best date nights are those free from the pressure of expectation — leave room for spontaneity, go with the flow, and have fun! Remember that a date night is about deepening your own unique relationship — not about how it will look on your socials, or about copying someone else’s dating experience.

Want more date night ideas? Grab your copy of my ebook, “12 Months of Dates to Grow a Meaningful Marriage”! It includes 12 months of dates with various price brackets that are already planned out for you…something that will save you time, energy, and will add the spark of adventure to your relationship! Make your marriage top priority this year and invest in the things that matter.

5 Food Themed Date Ideas

Memories are always made over good food — so why not plan some date nights with a food focus? Keep reading for 5 unique date ideas!

Try some unique pizza toppings to change things up — or make each other’s pizza to surprise them! Go retro with soda in a glass bottle and watch a black-and-white movie.

Mystery podcasts, history podcasts, theological podcasts…the choices are endless! Don’t forget to pause often to talk about new ideas and process content together.

Charcuterie boards are simple to put together with items you already have in your pantry, so it’s minimum effort for a meaningful evening! Light some candles, place the board on the coffee table, and get cozy on the couch for reading.

Breakfast is a perfect way to start off a beautiful day together! Start your day with something sweet or savory, and have a dreaming session together about what you’d like to do in the future.

Don’t forget a blanket to relax on! A picnic is perfect for an easy afternoon of connection and people watching.

Grab your copy of “12 Months of Dates to Grow a Meaningful Marriage” today for more date ideas!

Date Night Coupons *FREE DOWNLOAD*

Many people use the beginning of the year to reassess goals and habits in their lives. What needs to change? What needs to continue? How can I be the best I can be…

How can I invest in a meaningful marriage this year?

Truly, it’s not your job or housing situation that matters. It’s people. It’s the relationships closest to you. And when your marriage is supposed to reflect the beautiful intricacies of the Gospel — you know it’ll need special attention to cultivate and maintain. It requires time, prayer, pouring into each other and choosing to show up no matter what.

And yet…everyone dreads planning a date night.

Let’s be honest. Most date night planning includes this cringing phrase — “Well…I don’t care. What do you want to do?” Soon all hopes of a romantic evening fizzle out with frazzled nerves and injured expectations. You end up at a mediocre restaurant, talk between checking your phones, and go home feeling like you haven’t really connected at all.

What if I told you I have a brand new ebook that has an entire year of dates already planned out for you, designed to put the spark of meaningful fun back into your marriage?

“12 Months of Dates to Grow a Meaningful Marriage” is here to take the stress out of planning, and to give you the tools you need to create meaningful moments with your spouse. Each month has a specific theme and three price brackets — choose one, or do them all! There are also question prompts to ask each other that go along with the topic of your date.

All for less than the price of a Starbucks coffee.

To go along with its release, I’m giving you a FREE download of monthly coupons to print out and give your spouse before each date. In marriage, it’s the little things that mean the most — so have fun and be spontaneous!

12-months-of-date-coupons-1Download

20 Ways to Forgo 2020’s Isolation

We’re two weeks into 2021…and if we’re honest, it sure doesn’t look much different from 2020. There’s still a global health crisis, political upheaval, and loudly abrasive opinions on just about everything. Travel is limited, stores are closed, and it isn’t easy to connect with others. For most of us, 2020 was a year of isolation and sadness, a year we never want to repeat again.

We learn from the history of the past. We know what didn’t work in 2020, and how to make 2021 different. This year doesn’t have to be a repeat of last year. Here’s 20 ways to intentionally find connection and joy:

  1. Start an online book club. Choose a book, use a video conferencing platform, set a time, and ask your friends to join you weekly! Recently, I had the privilege to join a virtual book club who were going through “Dear You”. It was so much fun—if you start a book club using my book, I’d love to join in for a visit too!
  2. See if your neighbors could use a hand. Offer your time to your neighbors—especially elderly neighbors. Could you pick something up for them at the store? Do they need help shoveling their driveway? If you have leftovers, would they be blessed by them?
  3. Talk to people in line at the store. The world can seem like an unfriendly place, especially in these times. Instead of escaping to your phone as a way of retreat, engage in cheerful conversation to those standing in line with you.
  4. Have a prayer schedule. Make a list of people you want to pray for, and create a schedule that will help you be intentional in prayer. Maybe you pray for a certain person on a certain day, or you set an alarm as a reminder to pray for something specific every hour.
  5. Make a phone call. Go beyond technology and make an old-fashioned connection! A phone call can brighten someone’s day…including your own.
  6. Set up a virtual coffee date. Coffee shops may be closed where you live, but it doesn’t mean you can’t socialize over caffeine—you just have to be creative! Set up a video call with friends, each with your own mug of something sweet and warm from the comfort of your home.
  7. Start a new project. What new project or hobby have you been wanting to pursue? Let go of any excuses—and do it! Find others who could help teach you or give you insight.
  8. Text a blessing. Write out a prayer and text it to a loved one. We all could use a reminder of God’s love during these times.
  9. Pay for someone’s coffee order in the drive-thru. Doing something for someone else brings a connection to your heart. Be a blessing, and brighten someone else’s day!
  10. Memorize Scripture. Fill your mind with the Word of God to stay focused on Truth.
  11. Have a walking buddy. Meet a neighbor or friend at a park and get some exercise together.
  12. Send a letter. 52 cents is all it takes to surprise someone in the best way!
  13. Put together a package. Do you have a friend who has a birthday coming up? Put together a special package—you could mail it, or drop it off on their porch for a surprise!
  14. Assemble blessing bags for the homeless. So many people are going hungry and are in need of help. Put together blessing bags to distribute to people who are in need in your community.
  15. Start an accountability thread. Put together a group text thread with friends to keep each other accountable on attaining goals.
  16. Journal. Keep a record of what’s happening —both in your heart, and in your world. One day you’ll want to look back at this time and remember how God provided and the things He taught you!
  17. Pass out flowers. Buy a bouquet of flowers…and pass stems out in the parking lot.
  18. Host a virtual game night. Use a video conferencing platform to host a game night—trivia, pictionary, and scavenger hunts are three easy ones to play with a group.
  19. Look for ways to celebrate. Don’t pass up the small opportunities to celebrate! National donut day, national butterfly day, national tea day…just do a quick search online, and plan something fun!
  20. Be intentional with your family. With social activities limited, be intentional with your family. Enjoy each others’ company, watch a movie together, go for a winter drive. Cherish these days as opportunities for lasting memories!

The “good days” aren’t far away…they’re just waiting to be discovered, right here, today. Let’s make 2021 the best, most meaningful, intentionally connected year yet!

The Legacy of Goals

January often symbolizes a blank canvas of opportunity, new resolutions and fresh beginnings. It’s packaged in personal planning and development, focusing on achievements for the upcoming year. There’s a lot of hype around January—lots of goals eagerly made, and eagerly begun.

But what is the legacy of the goals you make?

Goals are great, and New Years Resolutions aren’t bad. But when the new year starts with a funeral, it frames everything in a completely different light.

Yesterday, a family—close friends of my family—perished in a tragic crash, leaving no survivors. Husband, wife, son. Gone. Everything they worked for, lived for, now has to be sorted through and sold, their personal belongings pawned for a purchase. In an instant, their lives were wiped away with nothing but ashes and items that remain.

Who do you work for if there’s no one to leave it to? What kind of legacy do you leave that will last eternity?

Fitness goals, business goals, personal goals…they’re not bad, and I’m not saying they should be neglected. Nevertheless, in your pursuit of plans I purpose you ask yourself these hard questions. If you were gone—your entire family gone—who would remember you, why would they remember you, and what things of worth will you leave behind?

Your jean size won’t matter.

Your Pinterest home won’t matter.

The figure on your check won’t matter.

The argument you had last week won’t matter.

We all survived 2020, which in some ways was nothing less than a miracle. We all know the fragility of life, watching loved ones suffer through the virus and friends who are gone. Facing our mortality should change the way we approach 2021. We’ve seen the darkness, and we know the immeasurable worth of the Light.

Build your goals on the things that will matter, friend. Things that will last eternity.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” —Matthew 6:19-21