Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley are coming to Mount Vernon Nazarene University this weekend.

Click HERE to hear a conversation with New Life Church of the Nazarene pastor, Troy McNichols. New Life Naz is sponsoring this event.

The Morning Thing shared some insight from the Smalleys today.
(From “Take the Date Night Challenge) Common-sense reasons why committing to a regular date night can revolutionize your marriage:
1. Date nights are critical for the health of your relationship. Marriage relationships are dynamic; they are alive and always changing. And just like any relationship, marriages need to be fed and stimulated to stay alive and grow.

2. Date nights help you get reacquainted. The notion that you already know all there is to know about your spouse is a myth. There is always something new to learn about your spouse, because we all change. Dating is a great way to update and deepen your knowledge of your beloved. It’s vital that you keep that curiosity and interest in your mate flourishing.

Why Date After You’re Married? 7
3. Date nights are a great investment in the future. Just like a savings account, the more you invest in your relationship, the more it will grow exponentially over time. Dates also lay the framework for future times together, encouraging you and your spouse to look forward to spending more time together.

4. Date nights put the focus back on your marriage. As you well know, day-to-day distractions pull your attention away from your spouse. Dates help you refocus and put that person back at the top of your priority list. When a date night is going the way it should, the only thing the two of you have to concentrate on is one another. (More on this later!)

5. Date nights help you remember the good times. A good date will often bring up fond premarriage memories. Recalling these memories can help you and your spouse generate positive feelings and anticipation for your next date.

6. Date nights send a positive message. To your friends, family, and especially your kids, marriage needs to be viewed as something valuable, special, and precious. Marriage is something important enough to put ongoing effort into. And date nights communicate to your spouse that he or she is valuable enough not to give all of your prime time to other people or things.

7. Date nights strengthen the marital bond. The more time you and your spouse spend alone enjoying each other, the stronger your bond becomes. This naturally deepens your intimacy and brings you closer together.

8. Date nights are a great way to reconnect. Dating helps you unplug from your busy and hectic pace of life in order to simply enjoy being together.

9. Date nights rekindle the romance in your relationship. Having a night out with your spouse is an important part of keeping romance alive.

10. Date nights inject excitement into a stale marriage. Under the stress of work, household duties and child-rearing, spouses can become nothing more than distant roommates. Just like the young couple at the beginning of this chapter, spouses need to feel that rush of excitement and adrenaline from time to time. They must never succumb to the idea that their marriage is simply a recycled union of two tired and bored souls.

11. Date nights help you both decompress. Every couple needs a chance to enjoy one another’s company without being weighed down by the demands of life. A date night should be free from the distractions of children, extended family, friends, or work. It should represent an opportunity for you to rediscover the person you fell in love with. We’ll explore this concept in much greater detail in the next chapter.

12. Date nights strengthen your commitment. By making date night a priority, you are communicating to your spouse that divorce is out of the question and that you are committed to strengthening your marriage by spending ongoing, quality time together.