The First Time for Everything Date

Words to Grow On

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
2 TIMOTHY 1:7

You don't have to have money to keep romance alive in a marriage. But you do have to be thoughtful.
GARY CHAPMAN

Set the Scene

God created us with a capacity to enjoy a wide variety of experiences. Too often, though, we limit ourselves by "sticking to what we know." We hang out in the places where we feel most comfortable— with the people who make us feel comfortable. We talk about the things we know. We wear a groove in our comfort zone that over time becomes a rut.

If that sounds familiar to you, then this is where you reverse the trend and pull out of that rut. On this date, nothing will feel familiar or comfortable because everything you do will be a first for you.

Make it Happen

The best way to approach this date is to consider your natural instincts—and then do the opposite. Here are some things you'll need to think about.

1 Change your venue. Find a nearby town or an area of the city that neither of you has ever stepped foot in. Start your date there. <

2 Expand your palate. What's the most eclectic (yet affordable) restaurant in the area? What's the strangest thing on its menu? Start your don't eat anything that's crossed your palate before.

3 Explore a new form of entertainment. Ever been to a jazz club? A Roller Derby match? Open mic night at a comedy club? A high school play? A patch of ground just beyond the airport runway where you can sit and watch planes take off and land?

4 Keep the conversation fresh. If most of your date-night conversations involve your jobs or the kids, this is the night to declare those topics off-limits. Anything you've never discussed before is fair game.

5 Add a new spice to your lovemaking. Married couples can continue the first-time-for-everything theme in your physical intimacy. Is there a room in your house you haven't "initiated"? Is there a sexual position you haven't tried? If you're both comfortable with an idea and have never tried it before, this is the time.

Finish Strong

Before you end your First Time for Everything Date, spend a few minutes talking about the experience and what you'll take away from it. Use the following questions as needed to guide your discussion: What was the best part of the date? Was your conversation better, or just different, because you avoided your regular conversation topics? Would you want to do a First Time for Everything Date again sometime, or was this one time enough?

Mind Your Language

If your date's primary love language is Receiving Gifts, this would be a great date to surprise the person you love the most with something truly unique. It doesn't have to be expensive or even necessarily useful. Just make sure it's something different from any other gift they have ever received.

Take It to God

Before your date, spend some time in prayer together. Thank God for the variety of people mercies, which are new every morning. In the spirit of this date theme, ask Him to show you areas of your life in which you're in danger of falling into a rut; give you the creativity and courage to try new things to escape or avoid a rut; help you keep your relationship fresh and exciting; help you maintain an adventurous spirit in your Christian walk.

Dig Deep

The Christian life is all about newness and freshness. The Bible tells us "that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person" (2 Corinthians 5:17). The last thing a new person needs is to get stuck in an old rut. If you want to be inspired to live more adventurously, check out the following passages:

Psalm 92:12–14
Lamentations 3:22–23
Luke 5:36–39
Colossians 3:10

Devotional reading from The Love Languages Devotional Bible page 334