Your wife replies, "What about the children?" You reply, "I've arranged with the neighbor girl to watch them." So, it's all arranged for a nice date with your wife!

Too often we forget to make special time for that most important person in our lives—our spouse. Once a married couple has children, they naturally adopt roles of father and mother. They may even begin to refer to each other as "Dad" or "Mom" so that the child picks up on those words. But, any happily married couple must never forget that they were husband and wife before they became mom and dad.

Couples need to have time just for themselves. Time to talk openly, speak affectionately and discuss matters out of earshot of the children. It is commendable to want to spend most of our time rearing our children; however, if we do not push the refresh button for the marriage, we may find ourselves growing apart as husband and wife.

A date does not have to be expensive. It does need to be something that both will enjoy. Perhaps a coffee at your favorite café or dessert at your favorite restaurant? Maybe an evening at a movie theater with popcorn and soft drinks (or bottled water if you prefer), snuggled close to each other? Maybe driving to the mountains or beach and watching the sunset? The key to it all is sharing time together as a husband and wife so that you can have intimacy. By intimacy I mean sharing and caring for each other.

God tells us in Ecclesiastes 9:7-9 to "go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works... Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life."

Paul wrote that a husband needs to love his wife and to nourish and cherish her (Ephesians 5:25-29). Husbands and wives need time together to accomplish these important facets of their marriages.

What are the benefits?

• Time away from the parental routine.

• Time to be together as husband and wife.

• Time to enjoy life together.

• Time to talk about the marriage and family.

• Time to share feelings.

• Time to rekindle loving feelings toward each other.

• Time to exercise our creativity in arranging the date.

Wives have been known to also exercise their creativity by arranging the babysitter and ordering tickets to a play or by making reservations at a restaurant and then inviting their husbands to take them on a date.

So, the key is time together to enrich our marriages. The investment will pay huge dividends in a secure and happy marriage and family!