It’s not the beginning of a new year, but Kevin and I just made a resolution: We have created a monthly Family Night and Date Night, and we are committed to them! No more “We should go out more” or “We should have a Family Night”. We have picked the days for each month, and they are on our calendars!
Why did it take us so long to make Family Night and Date Night a priority? I have no idea. We have always been more spontaneous about taking the kids out, and Date Night? Well, we just fit that in when we could, which was rarely.
Individually, Kevin and I have a few weekly and monthly commitments that are always on our calendars, and nothing interferes with them, except for a serious illness in our family. These are personal commitments that do not include the rest of the family.
After listening to a message from Andy Stanley on time and commitments, I asked myself, “Why on earth are we putting all these other so-called “important” things before our marriage and our family!?!” We can fill our lives with so many “good” things that the truly important things might never happen. What kind of message are we sending to our spouse and children when we get so excited about Girls’ (or Guys’) Night Out, but we don’t give them a special night to look forward to?
So yay for Family Night and Date Night!
Two other things we are doing to make family a priority…
I put a limit of one TV show per day for Caleb and two TV shows per day for Chelsea. My kids have watched way too much TV in their short lives. Chelsea and I had a good conversation recently about how watching too much TV makes your brain turn to mush, but playing and drawing and building and pretending and going to school make your brain strong. She ate it up! We’re two weeks into our new TV policy, and so far so good.
A couple of years ago, Kevin and I promised each other we would sit down and talk for at least 15 minutes as soon as the kids go to bed. We stuck to our “talking time” for a while, and then we drifted away from it. Well, we’re back at it. We’ve put it in its proper place, and I’m so glad we have.
Marriages are crumbling and falling apart all around us, in our church and in our community. Kevin and I have had our share of tests and trials as well. Now is the perfect time to be intentional about strengthening our marriage.
Okay, now I want to hear from you! Do you have a set Family Night and/or Date Night? How often do you have them, and what things do you like to do? How has it improved your marriage and family?
