25 Dates With God by Cheryl McKay

25 Dates With God - Volume Three: Falling in Love With Jesus is an Inspirational Devotional Book. Cheryl McKay has just released volume three. All three books in this series are available here.

Fall Head Over Heels in Love with Jesus! Imagine it. The Creator of the universe longs for time with you. The Lover of your soul is asking you out on a series of dates. He patiently awaits your response. The Almighty calls: "Come away with Me, My beloved." With every date of your heavenly adventure, you will fall deeper in love with Jesus, the One who stretched out His arms and died for you. He is calling for a deeper love relationship with you. Are you ready to answer the call? Will you accept Jesus’ invitation into a greater love story?

Journey through 25 more dates, including indoor hideaways for fall and winter. Curl up with the One who loves you beyond imagining.

Going on Dates with God

By Cheryl McKay

In the early 1990s, I first read Dialogue with God by the Virklers. It really changed my whole relationship with God. It brought my prayer life to a new level. In 2009, I fictionalized that dialoguing experience in my script and novel Never the Bride, where I allowed God to show up as a character in the story, to personify some of those prayer experiences when I was still single. (And not to mention annoyed by the long wait God allowed me to go through before He would write my love story.) My character in the story is single and waiting (and just as annoyed as I was). She goes on a date with God one night to a restaurant and dances with Him. You know in the realm of a romantic comedy, it has its zany moments. To everyone else in the scene, it looks like she’s dancing alone. That one scene inspired me to consider the concept of going on dates with God in my real life.

One thing I took away from my long waiting season was that God wanted to be first and He wanted to be my #1 date. I enjoyed time together whether it was for one evening or even a weekend retreat. I loved my prayer walks that often got incorporated into dates. I would keep paper and a pen in my purse, just in case I felt like God wanted to say something during my dates. (I can’t tell you how many times I had to sit on someone else’s curb, in front of their house, to suddenly dialogue with God, hoping they didn’t come outside and ask me what I was doing.) These dates were nice—and yes, sometimes even romantic at times—with the Lover of my Soul. My Savior. My Friend. It helped me with some of my loneliness while not married.

But I will admit: One of the challenges after marriage, honestly, has been finding the time to get away and alone with God. I imagine it’s even more challenging for those with children. So, God inspired me to make a concerted effort to carve time out with Him, in a more purposed and scheduled way, after marriage. He inspired dates that were really fun or creative, some artistic, and some downright silly and childlike. When I started to do this, the idea for my three-part book series 25 Dates With God was born. (One of those childlike dates is my favorite, titled,  “To Be a Kid Again,” in Volume 2.)

Another favorite date in Volume 3 is actually inspired by Communion with God’s offering, “A stroll along the Sea of Galilee.” It’s an MP3 of soaking music and guided prayer and journaling time where we are led to envision ourselves on a walk with Jesus at the Sea of Galilee. It was an exercise Mark Virkler walked us through at a conference many years ago. But the added soaking music they provide is a lovely addition. I was looking for ideas for more indoor dates during colder climates or rainy days. So for Volume 3, Falling in Love with Jesus, I asked God to help me come up with more indoor dates. This Sea of Galilee date with Jesus was perfect for that.  

I found that I really enjoyed these purposed times with God alone. A time I could get away from the computer, other people, often out in nature. The experiences reminded me of the song, I Only Have Eyes for You. Even though God blessed me with an incredible husband after my long wait, God still wants that first place in my heart. He still wants to dance with me, go on dates, speak to me, and have quality time. Investing this time only strengthens my marriage.

I hope to be going on dates with God for the rest of my life. I also hope to inspire many others to make these dates—purposed times with God alone—a priority too. I hope some church groups will consider going through them together, where everyone goes on dates with God alone during the week, then gets together to share their experiences and their dialoguing with God from the dates. There are also some dates that may be fun to do as a group, provided the groups leave some time for each person to have some quiet, reflective time. I also encourage adults to take the kids in their lives on a date to introduce them to the idea God wants to spend time with them in this way.  

As we are into this holiday season, I want to encourage everyone to carve out time for at least one date with God, as this is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. (You can even go out with Him to celebrate His birthday! Ask Him how He’d like to celebrate.) 

I’m so thankful that so many decades ago I was introduced to the idea of journaling and dialoguing with God through the Virklers book, or I don’t know that I ever would have been led into the type of communicative relationship that I often have with God. Especially when I take time away from all else and go on a date with Him.

Finally, I want to leave you with this passage from Scripture that serves as my inspiration. Just trust that when you take time away with Him, God will show up to commune with you.

1 Peter 1:8-9

“Though you have not seen Him,

you love Him;

and even though you do not see Him now,

you believe in Him and are

filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

for you are receiving the end result

of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.”

See more of Cheryl's works here.