When Busyness Distracts 

“Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom.”—Song of Solomon 2:15 (NASB) 

Do you ever feel like there is never enough time to get things done? Between work, home, or children the busyness of daily responsibilities oftentimes takes priority over our marriages. You may even find arguments are happening more frequently between you and your spouse or it may seem you’re two ships that pass in the night. And it happens so subtly. 

Our marriages are like vineyards that need constant care and boundaries to keep the foxes from coming in and wreaking havoc. If we don’t take the time to care for our vineyards, the foxes will come and eat the fruit of our labor. You may not even have realized that these cute, fuzzy critters (those things that keep us busy) are the enemy. Sometimes they appear to be harmless, but the fact is they’re not. Later, we realize the damage they caused. 

The truth is, our busy lives keep us from tending to our vineyard, and we fall into a false sense of security that the foxes will not invade our land. This can be dangerous because it puts our marriages in an unprotected state. Consider this: What duties can you put aside or give up in order to safeguard your vineyard? 

This month, the Married Couples Ministry would like to challenge you to tend to your vineyard. Here are this month’s date night ideas to help you reprioritize and focus on tending and growing your marriage!

Date Night Ideas for September

Challenge 1: Coffee Q&A
Try this fun way to spend the evening at your favorite coffee shop: Grab your favorite cup of java and find a comfortable spot to sit. Take 3×5 cards with questions on them and take turns answering them. Here are some ideas for questions you can ask one another to answer: What is your favorite joke? What does your spouse do well that he/she may not even realize? What is your favorite childhood memory? What is your favorite memory of each other? This may require some prep work, but it will be worth it!

Challenge 2: Bike the Boulevard
How about taking a bike ride down your favorite beach boulevard and enjoying the day together? If you don’t have bikes, not to worry! There are rental stores that let you rent bikes for hourly increments at a time. After you’re done, find a cute little restaurant or café to have lunch and cool down. And since you burned up calories biking the afternoon away, don’t forget to treat yourselves to ice cream for dessert. 

Challenge 3: $20 Date Night Challenge
Do you love a good challenge? This $20 date night challenge is exactly what it sounds like! This will take a lot of creativity, coupons, bogos, and restraint, but we know you can plan an awesome date night for only $20. Just think how impressed and accomplished you’ll feel knowing you were able to stay within the $20 limit and still have a great time!

Did you take advantage of one of these ideas? We want to hear from you! Share your dates on social media by using the hashtag #SoFloDateNight and tagging @CCFLCouples. You can also e-mail MarriedCouples@CalvaryFTL.org about your date night story! 

Do you want to hear about upcoming events and news from Calvary Couples? Make sure you opt in to receive text messages from us! We want to stay connected with you, so you don’t miss any opportunities for you and your spouse! To sign up, simply text “MARRIAGE” to 91868.