Pastor Al Paulauski, From Your Pal Pastor Al

Pastor Al Paulauski

From Your Pal February 2008

Why dating your spouse is good for the whole family

Before I even get started I have to come clean. When it comes to the whole romance thing and making sure that you are dating your wife on a regular basis, I am guilty as charged. I, like most people find myself dealing with the busyness of life. Whether it's raising the kids, work schedules, or something else, these things constantly take away from the time that I need to spend with my spouse.
Since we are coming up on the day when most of us MAKE SURE we take our spouses out on a date, I thought I would address this issue of dating your spouse, because if you're like me, dating my spouse needs to become more of a regular occurrence. It needs to become more than just Valentines Day, Anniversaries, or Birthdays. Why? Because it really is good for the whole family! Just recently I read an article on how dating your spouse is good for you and your whole family, and I want to share with you a few things that I learned.
1. Dating your spouse keeps you growing romantically. This might sound a bit obvious to some, but the fact is that there is a significant drop in satisfaction with a couple's romance and sex lives when children arrive on the scene. However, couples with the most positive families make intimacy and romance a priority.

2. Dating your spouse keeps you growing spiritually as a couple. Very rarely in my years in ministry have I encountered a couple, who prayed together, experiencing serious difficulties. Praying together restores balance and priorities in marriage because it recognizes that God loves both partners equally. Plus, bringing a disagreement before the Ultimate Justice removes it somehow from human bitterness. Try it sometime.

3. Dating your spouse keeps the lines of communication open. Some couples have a hard time talking about "sensitive issues" like money, vacations, childbearing and the like. Having a regular date night gives you at least one opportunity each week to begin dialoging about these subjects.

A strong marriage definitely takes a great deal of work…however, when you look at the vitality it brings to your entire family, the results are well worth it.
And if your marriage is too "child focused" to accommodate a regular date night, you may have to change your focus. Marriages that are totally "child focused" don't work well…and, most of the time, they don't last.
Our children want and need us to invest time and effort into our marriages. Sure - they might complain about "date nights" or those "extended times" when we take our spouse on a weekend away together. But you know what? In their hearts, they know that we need time alone. And a good marriage will bring much security to a child!

February Highlights

Kroger Gift Cards
Gift cards will again be available for purchase Sunday, February 10th after the morning service. They are now sold in INCREMENTS OF $5 ONLY and then can be recharged each and every time you visit Kroger's. This also makes it easier when you purchase them as they are only $5 a piece. Why buy a gift card? Because Kroger will donate 5% of our total purchase (after reloads) to us, which we in turn, give to Speed The Light.

Parent's Sunday School Class
Starting Sunday, February 10th @ 9:00 a.m. we will be starting our next parents' Sunday school class. It will be taking place down in the bullpen area. This year, unlike years past, we will be spending more time looking at youth culture. What are the important issues students are talking about, dealing with, and so on? This would be a great opportunity for any of you to invite another parent who may not be a Christ follower to get some good information. We will be starting this Sunday school class with a six week discussion on a very popular item among students - "MySpace." We will be looking at why it's so popular, how you can handle it, and more. This class is open to all parents of teens (pre-teens as well) or any parent that would like to find out more about this topic. Please sign up in the foyer as soon as possible.

February "Main Event": Girls All-Nighter/Sleepover

February 29th-March 1st will be the next girls' all-nighter. Details are still in the making but it will definitely include fun and a sleepover. The event will probably cost about $15 per girl plus money for 1-2 meals. This event is the perfect event for any of our teenage girls to invite a non-believer to. If you have any questions, please see Lana.

Sex and Relationships Series
On Wednesday, February 27th we will be starting our bi-annual sex and relationship series on Wednesday nights. As many parents know, our culture tells us one thing about sex and God's word tells us another. While the world is screaming at them what to believe, the church is often too quiet. But for four weeks we are going to tackle this issue head on. If you would like some more information about this upcoming series see Pastor Al.

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