Anyone who is married and has been married for any length of time, knows it takes work, dedication and a lot of times, creativity to keep that love going and growing. This is why I love these couple spotlights because there are so many different things to learn and incorporate into my own marriage (and I’m sure, yours too), as one size does not fit all.
Meet Stephon & Pamela King, who are going on 15 years of marriage this September. They are a blended family (both with kids from previous relationships) with four kids: daughter (23), son (21), daughter (20), daughter (16), as well as one godson (7), a niece(15) and a grandbaby (18months), whom they also consider their children. They are passionate about teaching others how to create a strong marriage by motivating people all over to still date their spouse.
How did you meet and when did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together?
Pamela:We meet in Atlanta June 13, 1997. I was attempting to park my car and the hubby was the security guard who threatened to tow my car. Well as they say….the rest is history.
I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him when he left to attend Orange Crush in 1998. I missed him so much & I knew I did not want him attending another one of those events that would allow some other girl to grin in his face.
Stephon: I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, when she showed me that she loved me if I had “stuff” or I didn’t. She stuck with me through my bad times in 1997 and was right there to see me through it.
Click the pages below for more on Stephon and Pamela:
What motivated you to create the “Still Dating My Spouse” (SDMS) movement?
We were part of a ning group and the group folded. However, we understood the importance of this ministry. We continued the mission of helping couples to implement regular date nights.
What is the mission that you are hoping to create?
“To date your spouse is to know your spouse” Our mission is to encourage couples to implement regular date nights that fit into their lifestyle.
What are some of the challenges that you’ve dealt with in dating each other and how have you overcome them?
As with any couple, we have faced the challenges of time, money, and family. We have made it our mission to date weekly regardless of what is thrown at us. So as to time, we don’t specify a certain time to date. It may be beneficial this week to date on a Tuesday morning at 4am or Saturday afternoon at 3pm. So regardless, we will have a date night/day/afternoon. We NEVER allow money to stop us from dating. What a lot of couples fail to realize is that dating your spouse is not synonymous with money.
Click the pages below for more on Stephon and Pamela:
What advice do you have for couples who are struggling to make dating a priority?
I ask them if their marriage is top priority. If the answer is yes, then make the time to date your spouse. If you must start off scheduling a date night, then so be it. Your date night schedule will not look like another couple’s date night schedule, so schedule the dates that fit into your own lifestyle.
What are three things that couples can implement into their own marriages to make sure they continue to date their spouse?
- Flexibility: Be flexible in the time and days that you date. Don’t get so hung up on a time/day of the week that you miss the opportunity to date your spouse.
- Creativity: Think outside of the box! Keep dating interesting and exciting for you and your spouse.
- Determination: A car needs regular maintenance to operate correctly. In the same manner, a marriage needs regular maintenance (date nights/quality time) to operate correctly. So be determined to have regular date nights with your spouse.
How can people stay connected and learn how to incorporate daily dates into their own marriage and lifestyle?
You can connect with us through all of our social media platforms by visiting our website at www.StillDatingMySpouse.com, as well as connecting on Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you Stephon and Pamela for taking time out to chat with us and for proving that you can incorporate regular dates into our own marriages.
BMWK: How often do you date your spouse? If not often, what are some things you can do to change that after hearing advice from Stephon and Pamela?