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14 INEXPENSIVE DATE IDEAS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

By Nicholas Sowell Leave a Comment

Photo: Daniel Cubillas (dcubillas) | Stock.xchng

Photo: Daniel Cubillas (dcubillas) | Stock.xchng

You can do something more meaningful that giving chocolates on your Valentine’s Day this year. What are some inexpensive ways to have fun and enjoy this season, and at the same time respect and help our environment, God’s creation? Even with these challenges you don’t have to be dateless or bored. It is possible to give your wallet and atmosphere a rest, and here are a few ideas for you and a friend or significant other to enjoy.

RECOUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND BE GENEROUS

Food Kitchen

Volunteer at a food kitchen and help in aiding and feeding the homeless and others in need. Not only will you feel great for helping those less fortunate, you’ll be able to see your companion’s true heart in the process.

Adopt a Beach, Lake or River

If you live near a body of water, it is likely that others have left “souvenirs,” namely trash and debris, behind. Adopt your favorite spot and grab a trash bag and a pair of gloves and clean up one afternoon. You never known what oddities or treasures you might find.

REFUEL YOUR FAITH

Your Bible or Mine?

Attend a Bible study together. Never underestimate the power of fellowship, not to mention the closer the two of you grow in Christ, the closer you will grow together!

Church

Attend a local service with your date. To make a day out of it, head to a pre-church class or prayer meeting, then a service and lunch. For an even more daring date, visit a church that’s not your denomination, and experience that of other Christians, then discuss.

REVISIT CHILDHOOD AND BE A KID AGAIN

Story Time/Movie Time

Explore the children’s section at a bookstore or the local library and reread your childhood favorites. Follow it up with a trip to the dollar theater and talk about your favorite movies.

Go to the park, feed the birds, and share childhood memories.

Go to the park and enjoy the life surrounding it. You could even bring some bread or bird seed for your feathered friends. Take the time while enjoying the surroundings to get to know each other even better. Share childhood memories while being a kid at heart and swinging on the swings or tire.

RECOMMIT IN A ROMANTIC SETTING

Music To Your Ears

Check your local paper’s entertainment section for free concerts in a park, mall, church, or civic center. Free concerts are going on all the time and make for a great time of enjoying a live performance of your significant other’s favorite genre.

Farmers’ Market Matchmaker

Visit your local farmers’ market and pick up fresh bread, artisan cheese, or fresh vegetables at a fraction of the cost of your supermarket, and make your own picnic dinner ahead of time instead of dining out.

RECREATE YOUR ARTSY SIDE

The Creative Dollar

Visit your local thrift/consignment store. Set aside $5 for yourself and $5 for your date, then roam through the store separately and buy the things you think your date will most enjoy.

Picture Playoff

Take a day and use your digital camera or the camera on your phone. See who can produce the most artistic and beautiful pictures of random locations, objects or people that you visit together.

RECLAIM YOUR ROOTS WITH THE NATURAL WORLD

Volunteer at a local animal shelter.

Many animal shelters allow people to volunteer to do things such as helping give baths or taking the animals for walks. This way, you get exercise, the animals get to enjoy life outside of their cages, and you might just make a fuzzy friend out of it.

Visit your local botanical gardens or nature center.

Many places offer beautiful botanical gardens or breathtaking nature centers or wildlife reserves. You’ll be enjoying God’s creation while taking in the sights and smells these treasures have to offer.

RELEASE YOUR ADVENTUROUS SIDE

Geocaching on bicycles.

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played all over the world. All you need is a sense of adventure and a GPS system, which is available on many new smart phones. Any city has locations you can search for treasures in. Try it with your bikes and save gas, and the environment, in the process. For more information visit www.geocaching.com

Take a bus trip.

You’d be surprised what attractions your town or city has to offer that you probably don’t see if you drive all the time. Try taking public transportation for an afternoon. Pick a place to go have coffee or go to a free art exhibit by way of bus. Getting to and fro might not be as time consuming as you think.

14 INEXPENSIVE DATE IDEAS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY - New Identity Magazine

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Filed Under: Culture & Creativity, Live Tagged With: Issue 5

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Happy Spring! Enjoy the new issue! #linkinbio Happy Spring! Enjoy the new issue! #linkinbio
Our striving to be like Jesus or do his work on ou Our striving to be like Jesus or do his work on our own is in vain. We can never hope to achieve the same level that Jesus was on while we are still here on Earth. We’re like little kids, struggling just to walk. But that’s why Jesus gave us an example of redeemed followers in the form of the Apostles, who were his close group of students here on Earth. He chose a group of broken, sinful men, and ultimately shaped them into the group responsible for continuing his ministry here on Earth. ⁠
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✍🏽: Tim VanDeWalker in "Running By Example" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's th "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." –Desmond Tutu
The Bible tells us to live in the world, but not t The Bible tells us to live in the world, but not to become like it. The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Rom. 12:2a). Some have interpreted this as an instruction to reject anything that isn’t explicitly Christian. But I don’t think that’s what this verse is getting at. I think it means much more.⁠
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✍🏽: Lindsey Beharry in "Choosing Wisely" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
If you desire to serve, seek to form groups withou If you desire to serve, seek to form groups without age distinction. Maybe you want to form a group in your church. Avoid just inviting members from your age group. Seek out people older and younger than you to invite to meet together. Find that person who sits alone and talk to her or him. Instead of a focus on building groups that have the same characteristics to “relate” with one another, you center your discussion in the work of Christ. He will bring the group together. ⁠
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✍🏽: Russell Almand in "Community and Age Diversity" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"If we put our faith in temporal things, they will "If we put our faith in temporal things, they will inevitably let us down. They were never meant to be enough for us. Not alone. When Barnum finally does hit bottom, he recognizes that his heart has been led astray, fooled into thinking that fame or fortune could satisfy him."⁠
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "The Greatest Showman" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"Porn. We are only now beginning to realize the ex "Porn. We are only now beginning to realize the extent of its effects on the brain, relationships, and society at a time when sexually explicit content is just a click away. Christians have recognized pornography’s negative impact for decades, yet it is still often considered a “male” problem within the Church. This can leave women who struggle with porn addiction feeling isolated and alone. The organization SheRecovery (formerly Dirty Girls Ministries) aims to change that and has become a resource for women with porn addiction. You can read more about their ministry at the link in our bio. ⁠
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✍🏽: Lisa Gagnon in "Dirty Girls Ministries" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"The presence of my sin reminds me of my great nee "The presence of my sin reminds me of my great need for grace, and good works are the outpouring of a grateful heart; being a good child is not a means of earning the favor of God."⁠
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✍🏽: Sally Blotzer in "Forgiving Failure" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"As Christians, we identify ourselves not only by "As Christians, we identify ourselves not only by how we handle our daily lives, much like those around us, but also by an added component: our faith. How we pray and worship and spend time with our fellow followers provides additional meaning to our lives."⁠
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✍🏽: Matthew Hamilton in "Does Your Form Determine Your Function?" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Lum3n from Pexels⁠
Often I picture Jesus telling us to love others an Often I picture Jesus telling us to love others and not to judge. I forget that when he said, “Come follow me,” he wasn’t just inviting us to a strict set of rules but to a real and exciting life whether you turn out to be a pastor, a doctor, designer or simply “Dad.” Sometimes I forget one of his main messages was that he came to give us a better life than we could ever dream of—life to the fullest. Jesus wasn’t locking us down to a vocation or job title. It’s as if he was saying, “Real, vibrant life is available to you now. Following me, loving me and living like me is your real calling…the rest is just there to aid you in following, loving and living.”⁠
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✍🏽: Wendy Van Eyck in "Living For A Purpose" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
Like Morpheus, I want to “show you how deep the Like Morpheus, I want to “show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” There is yet another parallel between the Christian story and The Matrix, simultaneously the most foundational and the most captivating. It’s that something which is missing, something which is not quite right with the world. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know that it’s there. At the outset of the first film, Neo is searching for it. Trinity asserts that “it’s the question that drives us.” Morpheus claims that “you can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.” The question is: What if I’ve only ever scratched the surface of all that life has to offer? What if there is a deeper, truer current of reality, ever-present behind all of my life’s experiences, to which I might awaken at any moment?⁠
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✍🏽: @slimkeman in "Tumbling Down The Rabbit Hole" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"I’ve always been intrigued by Augustine because "I’ve always been intrigued by Augustine because we all struggle with temptations to sin. And we all struggle to live in a way that honors God. Like Augustine we all feel the tug of our past sins that say, 'Don’t you want to enjoy us?' And Augustine’s story relates to Galatians 5:16-26 where Paul tells us about how the Christian life is like a walk. In a way, walking is a metaphor for the Christian life." ⁠
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✍🏽: @the_christopherscott in "In Step With the Spirit" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"The Holy Spirit empowers us for Christ-like livin "The Holy Spirit empowers us for Christ-like living, and for serving others." Where in your life or in what ways has the Spirit enabled you this week? We'd love to hear, tell us in the comments below!⁠
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✍🏽: @the_christopherscott  in "In Step With the Spirit" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
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