Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

20 {More} Budget Friendly Date Ideas

I love going on dates with my husband, whether they are little mini-dates we catch here and there or a full day together. I love that feeling of just reconnecting with him and being able to give him my full attention without interruption. I think it’s so important to take time out of our busy lives to solely focus on each other. It keeps our marriage alive.

Romance doesn’t have to be expensive to be great! Here is a list of free or nearly free ideas to make your dating a pure pleasure:

  • Grab your skates and head to the roller-skating rink. What, not everyone has skates like I do? Believe me, my littles remind me every year that my skates are as old as dirt. As long as you don’t mind being the oldest people there who aren’t chaperoning their children, it’s a great way to have fun and let loose with each other.
  • Celebrate the first snow fall with a day of sledding together. At the end of the day, head inside for hot cocoa and a hot shower.
  • Jump in the car and just drive with no destination in mind. Turn the music up, sing together, hold hands and enjoy the ride. Make a love song “mix tape” to enjoy during your drive. This one is one of my favs!
  • Grab your camera and head out. Stop at scenic locations and start taking pictures of each other. Be goofy and creative. Dare each other to put those wacky pictures on Facebook! The loser has to give a massage!
  • Grab a tent, sleeping bag and head into the woods for a night of camping. Leave all the distractions behind. Spend the evening cuddling together under the stars talking for hours. If you don’t have a tent, you can get one for as cheap as $25 at Walmart. Sleeping bags can be as cheap as $10. 
  • Dance lessons are fun and romantic. You’re moving, bodies are touching, and you might be working up a little bit of sultry sweat. 
  • Head to an indoor or outdoor ice-skating rink — it’s the perfect excuse to hold hands!
  • Go shooting together, something we love to do. I mean, hello, seeing your guy handle a gun is pretty hot. Just remember, safety first! 
  • Stay in one night, turn off the TV, shut down your computer, and ignore your phones. Stay in the moment with each other and share your favorite memories from the past.
  • Pray together, taking turns thanking God for each other.
  • Plan your dream vacation with each other — it might be the incentive you need to start putting your loose change in the piggy bank.
  • Have your children play waiter and waitress and serve a romantic dinner, then tell them the story of how you fell in love.
  • Volunteer together. I think watching my husband serve and seeing his heart is pretty amazing and makes me fall in love with him all over again.
  • Spend the day together in the great outdoors. Go for a hike together, enjoying a day of great conversation while getting exercise at the same time.
  • Go bowling and have fun laughing together! If you’re like us, that laughing will come from you accidentally stepping on the slippy lane, falling and splitting your pants. Not my most graceful moment.
  • Make a playlist {aka…mix tape} of your favorite slow songs. Cook your favorite meal together. Light the candles. Have a romantic dinner together! Once dinner is over, leave the dishes until the next day! Spend the rest of the evening slow dancing together!
  • Search out some local music! 
  • Go House Shopping.  Even if you aren’t in the market for a new house, just go browse anyway. There is just something fun about the home-browsing process.
  • Go for a moonlight walk. There is something very romantic about walking around at night, especially under the moonlight. Tell your spouse all the things you love about them and walk slowly.
  • Fill the bed of the truck up with pillows + blankets, head out in a field and hop in the back to count your lucky stars. Don’t forget to take some yummy nibbles along. Have you ever saw a shooting star? It’s super romantic and you’ll be entertained for hours trying to recognize the stars and looking for them.

To All Married Women ♥

1. don’t give up. with God in your marriage, all things are possible. {1 Corinthians 13:7}

2. respect your husband. it’s important and something he’ll be grateful for. {Ephesians 5:33}

3. forgive. we are all sinners and none of us are perfect. {Ephesians 4:32}

4. talk + talk + talk + talk. communication is a necessity in marriage. {Proverbs 15:2}

5. don’t speak badly of your husband in front of others. ever. you would expect the same in return. {Ephesians 4:32}

6. never go to bed angry. {Ephesians 4:31}

7. don’t focus on his faults. everyone has faults, including you.

8. passion doesn’t have to fade. simply don’t allow it to. {Proverbs 5:18-19}

9. be nice. {Galations 5:22-23}

10. keep God in your marriage and honor Him. this is SUPER important. {Colossians 3:17}

11. pray for your marriage and your spouse. pray hard and pray daily. pray alone and pray with your spouse.

12. guard your heart. you don’t realize how quickly and easily someone else can get to your heart. {Proverbs 4:23}

13. say i’m sorry. something that isn’t easy but it’s needed. {Colossians 3:13}

14. even if you feel your marriage is broken, there is always hope. give it to God! with God all things are possible! {Matthew 19:26}

15. go to church together. i have to say, i adore sitting in a pew with my husband, holding hands and listening to the sermon together. {Hebrews 10:24-25}

16. kiss him, dance with him on a whim and hold his hand in front of your kids. show them your romance. what a perfect place for them to learn about love.

17. laughter and fun are important. one of the things that drew me to my husband was how easily he could make me laugh. 17 years later we are still laughing.

18. have a gentle submissive spirit. voluntary submission is something asked of us directly by God. {Ephesians 5:22}

19. don’t be selfish. life isn’t all about you. {Philippians 2:4}

20. your marriage is a testimony! you never know how many people might be drawn closer to Christ because they were watching your marriage walk.

Cultivate Kindness In Your Home

Kindness, so powerful yet so underused.

Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. How would you describe kindness in your own words? Friendly, generous, warm-hearted, soft spoken; these are all words I would associate with being kind. Now are those words you would also associate with your home?

Kindness is honestly one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. As Christians, kindness is something He expects from us. It allows Christ’s love to shine through us. He doesn’t want us to be unkind, we are to be different.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32

With your spouse…

I think kindness could be boiled down to 3 little words…love in action. When you are operating from a true heart of kindness, you will be extra careful how you treat your spouse. You would never want to be unnecessarily harsh or hurt their feelings. We need to be sensitive to their feelings and tender with our words. Even if you need to say hard things, we need to remember to speak the truth in love.

Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man 
Proverbs 3:3–4 

I think if we asked our husbands what they wanted, they would all agree on one thing…a girlfriend. Now, before you fly off the handle I certainly don’t mean another woman entering your relationship. What I mean is, think back to those first months of dating. When the only label you had was “girlfriend”. You complimented him, asked him if he needed anything and pursued him. You wanted to make sure he always felt appreciated. You wanted to let him know, through your actions, how much he meant to you.

Then you got married. And had babies.

Now you are sleep deprived, the bills seem never ending, the house needs cleaned, dishes need done and does. the. laundry. never. end.? The last thing on your mind is being your husband’s girlfriend. But, why is that? Why is it that it’s soooo easy for us to give our all to everyone around us and only give our husbands the left-overs?

I want to be a wife who never stops pursuing my husband’s heart. I want to be a wife who makes sure, day in and day out that my husband knows he is appreciated, wanted and respected. I want to be a wife who has a smokin’ hot marriage. How can i get that?

Kindness.


Not simply kindness, but kindness without conditions. What does that mean? Smiling at him when I sure don’t feel like it. Serving him and not expecting it in return. Giving him the best of me, not the leftovers. Keeping my mouth shut and biting my tongue. Remaining neutral when he needs a sounding board.  I’m sure you can think of many other ways.  We need to remember that kindness isn’t about us.  In fact, kindness isn’t kindness if you’re expecting a reward for it.

A thriving marriage requires kindness. It requires putting your own feelings, tiredness, sassy-mouth and selfishness aside. It means intentionally showing thoughtfulness, compassion and sympathy to your husband. These are the moments that will build more trust in your marriage. The moments you can use to grow your love.

With your littles…

As parents, kindness is so so super important. Kindness is basically love in action. And one of the greatest expressions of genuine love is showing kindness to our children. It’s easy to think that because we are the parents, because we are so much more mature and have sacrificed so much for them, we can treat them however we want. But love reminds us that our sacrifices certainly don’t give us a license to be uncaring or harsh.

Your littles are more sensitive to you than anyone else on earth. When you treat them unkindly, resist them or ignore them they will likely struggle inside and not respond well to you. But when you create an environment of tender love and kindness, they become more open to sharing their heart with you and listening to the words you say and the lessons you share.

Love leads you to look for opportunities to show kindness to your littles. This doesn’t mean doing everything for them. It doesn’t mean buying them everything under the sun. It just means loving them, isn’t that easy? When they talk, listen. When they cry, hug them. When they laugh, laugh with them. When they have a bad day, cook them their fav meal. When they make a mistake, love them. When you’re shopping, buy them a treat. Let them pick a show to watch, a game to play or a song to listen to.

Kindness is also finding a balance between loving them well and teaching them to love others. Part of them becoming an effective adult is learning as a child to have a servants heart (aka…kindness in action). That’s a heart they should see reflected in us as parents. If they watch us being kind to others, they will reflect that as adults. Acts of kindness don’t have to be huge, expensive, flashy ordeals. smile at someone, hold the door for them, give them the 30 cents they are searching for to pay for their McDonald’s order, help them carry their bags to the car, hug them when you can see they need one, take time to talk to them and pray with them and for them.


With others…

We need to learn to be gentle, sensitive and tenderhearted. When we start being tenderhearted, it’s easy to be kind. Having a heart that is easily touched and sensitive doesn’t mean your weak, although that’s what the world would say. If we are sensitive to those around us, we start seeing their needs instead of our own. Have a loving, tenderhearted, compassionate attitude and let it shine for everyone to see.

You can change lives with your actions. You can change lives by your words. You can change lives with your kindness. You can change lives by allowing Christ’s love to shine through you. You might be the one voice in their life at the moment that they need to hear. Your encouragement might be the one thing that keeps them going. Maybe you are the one who is to help them see Jesus.

Your actions, words, prayers and love matter. Your kindness matters. In your home and outside of it. It matters to those who receive it and it matters to Him. You might not be able to help everyone, but you can help someone.