Back to DatingThings You Need on Your Date: a little time to talk through this guide, a playful spirit to play the inserted game, an openness to God moving your heart, and a smile.

Let’s re|create date night! We all need reminding sometimes why we should date. Remember what it was like to date your spouse before you got married? Great excitement, anticipation, and romance!

Solomon writes about dating in his Song of Songs when he picks up his wife before they were married for a date:

Listen! My beloved!Look! Here he comes,Leaping across the mountains,bounding over the hills.My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.Look! There he stands behind our wall,Gazing through the windows,peering through the lattice.My beloved spoke and said to me,“Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. (Song 2:8-10)

Talk about your first date! What do you remember? Do you wish we dated more?

The University of Virginia releases a study every year as part of the National Marriage Project. They recently identified 5 key components of date nights and quality couple time that lead to increased marital satisfaction. 1. Guard dates from escalated conversation. Save hot-button topics for other times. 2. Dating is a perfect time to try something new. Instead of another movie, go roller skating, skeet shooting, rock climbing, or take a cooking class. 3. Dating rediscovers passion and sparks sexual intimacy. 4. Dating shows commitment to the marriage. It is a signal to children, family, and friends that says, “We take our marriage seriously.” 5. Dating gives couples extended periods to de-stress.

Toward the end of the Song we see Solomon with his wife later in years. They seem to have discovered the secret of a lifelong romance:

Come, my beloved,Let us go forth to the field;Let us lodge in the villages.Let us get up early to the vineyards;Let us see if the vine has budded, Whether the grape blossoms are open,And the pomegranates are in bloom.There I will give you my love. (Song 7:11-12)

They are out on a date! Why is it that dating and romance for us sometimes gets stale?

Besides age, sin, kids, being too busy, and strife, there are really two big factors that keep us from dating and romancing regularly: Forgetfulness and Laziness!

Do you agree? Have you seen this in your marriage?

1. Forgetfulness

Romance suffers when we forget the preciousness of our spouses. Mates take each other for granted too often, and we lose sight of how special we are too each other. Romance requires intention, care, and focus. It requires that each person keep in active memory what gave birth to the marriage. It requires that each per-son continue to remember the special traits in their spouse that fueled attraction at the initial stages of their relationship.

Spend time together and date! Husbands, a little planning and initiative goes a long way. God calls a man’s bride “the wife of your youth” (Mal. 2:14). In Ecclesiastes 9:9 God calls us to “enjoy the wife of your youth.”

Right now take time to apologize for being forgetful in your relationship. Tell your spouse 2 special traits in their life that reminds you to cherish them.

2. Laziness

Most people don’t fall in love. Falling indicates an accident. Most relationships begin by someone persistent-ly pursuing. In marriage we must continue to pursue!

Many people recite vows to “love, honor, and cherish” a spouse, and then they proceed with their marriage without a good knowledge of how to keep them. Love must be shown. Honor must be expressed. Cherish is an attitude that must be displayed. Passionate marriages exist by design and intent. Romance is a discipline.

We too often get caught up in routine matters related to family and general living, and we fail to carve out the time and space necessary to do the loving, honoring, and cherishing necessary to keep romance alive. A sexu-al moment tends to take care of itself by instinct and intuition. But what happens in all those many hours and minutes that are not associated with sexual intimacy requires effort. Choose to make the effort to show your spouse frequently how much you love, honor, and cherish him or her. “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” (1 Tim. 4:7)

How can we be more disciplined in our dating and romance? Do we need to schedule a weekly date?

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4 3

7 9

58

Has any of your friends ever seen

you picking your nose?

TRUTH

Pray together @ the HFBC cross

tower before the date is over.

DARE

If you had to dress like a cartoon

character, who would it be?

TRUTH

Place some food on a plate on

the floor. Do 3 push-ups over the

plate and eat a bite each time.

DARE

Have you ever had

a crush on a teacher?

TRUTH

Prove that you can

cry on demand.

DARE

What, according to you, is the worst

thing about being a guy or girl?

TRUTH

Give your spouse at least an 8

second kiss on the lips right now!

DARE

Share with

your sp

ouse one way

they can

flirt with

you.

TRUTH

Perform

an “o

ld school” d

ance on

the way to th

e restr

oom.

DARE

How long have

you go

ne without

brushing your te

eth or showerin

g?

TRUTH

Make

a promise

to yo

ur spouse to

“play ar

ound” this w

eekend!

DAREW

hat’s one th

ing we ca

n do this

week to im

prove the way

we live?

TRUTH

Let your sp

ouse text a

nything to

any contac

t on yo

ur phone.

DARE

I knew

you were th

e one when...

TRUTH

Stick fo

od up your n

ose and

make an animal n

oise

DARE

Graduate

GRADUATE

School

COLLEGEHig

h

School

PRESCHOOL

Choose a category. Open and close the Cootie Catcher the number of letters that spell the category. Open up and down and side to side as you count the right amount picked.

Choose a number; open and close the Cootie Catcher the right number of times.

When you’ve stopped counting, look inside and choose again.

Whatever you choose open the panel, and choose a Truth to discuss or a Dare to do!

Step 1: Trim the paper fortune-teller to asquare but keep thesedirections handy.

Step 2: With the textside facing down, foldup all four corners ofthe Cootie Catcher.

Step 3: Does it look like this? If not, go back to step one and start over. We’re beginning to doubt your future career prospects in the origami field.

Step 4: Flip the paperover and fold up allfour corners again.

Step 5: Does yourCootie Catcher look like this? No? Shame on you, my six-year-oldniece could do better.Go back to Step 1 andstart over.

Step 6: Fold in half asshown. Remind yourself that this process is, indeed,top secret.

Step 7: Place yourfingers under the fourpaper flaps and workthe device back andforth to form creases.Commence amusingyour spouse.

Top Secret Cootie Catcher Assembly Instructions