Frugal Friday- My Simple Yet Creative Engagement

Today I wanted to keep up with Crystal's at Biblical Womanhood Frugal Friday momentum by sharing how me and my FHD and I have had to tap into our creativity to maximize our courtship/engagement for the glory of God without maximizing our spending.

First I must thank everyone for all the well wishes, they have certainly been a blessing to me. Being that I have been following Frugal Friday's for about a year now, I have learned so much form the different ones who post. In saying that, I knew that there was not way I could get engaged and forget it all.

Have I been caught up in the whirlwind of romance, YEP, but I found that there are some pretty frugal ways to entertain. For me, my engagement has been a family affair. So the small romantic dinners are usually loud, boisterous family outings. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Since he is an ex-athlete with the appetite to match, I have to cook for him. If we do go out, we share a meal or I will just eat off the kids menu or we will split an appetizer. Mainly, I share with my kids, because hey they never finish their food anyway.

Also, my FDH and I stand firm on our belief in an emotionally, and biblically pure courtship/engagement. Meaning, there is no alone time without adult chaperone's, ABSOLUTELY no touching of any kind, and no situations that will cause us to be tempted of the flesh. So what do we do? We find creative ways to always be together in a public setting. By doing so it allows us to always remember that our engagement is advertisement for Christ and it keeps us fighting the temptations that the enemy brings our way.Explaining this to some of my friends can be rather challenging, and my neighbors think I am absolutely nuts, but the difference between this and what I was used to in worldly dating is so much more beautiful. I love the fact that we can think of ways to be around each other and remain in God's will. They are memories that we will be able to share with our grandchildren.

One of the main things we do is to sit and talk outside on my balcony. I went to Fred's Discount Store and bought a cute little black folding table with chairs and I decorated it with a nice table runner and plant. When time allows we sit outside and talk. I have introduced him to the power of herbal teas. So I'll brew up some hot water and make herbal tea and we'll sit outside and just talk. This kind of proved to be a challenge this winter, but we dressed in layers, wrapped up separately in quilts and drank tea. I also cook for him and we sit outside and eat dinner or breakfast and drink tea.

This helps us fight the cost of always eating out since we don't visit each others apartments alone. Occasionally I have invited friends out, or cooked dinner and took it over friends so that we can hang out as a group and still take advantage of one on one time.

I believe whole heartily that trying to maintain an emotionally and physically pure relationship brings out the creativity in a couple. Plus it allows us to do what all couples should do before entering into something as important as marriage. We TALK!!! All the time, we just sit and talk. Best of all, it doesn't cost us a dime, and with all the money we save during our engagement, we can spend on our honeymoon!