Tomorrow

King Solomon, exercising the wisdom God blessed him with, rightly advises us not to become caught up in "tomorrow" for we "do not know what a day may bring forth" or even if we will live to see tomorrow.

In the New Testament Jesus commands us, "...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34).  God does not want us to lose our focus - HIM - by allowing the activities and agendas of tomorrow to creep into today.  James gives us a loving reminder that our life here is but a vapor and that we, being only human, will never know for certain what tomorrow will actually bring.  "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil" (James 4:13-16).

As Christians, we need to focus on how we can serve God TODAY.  Not tomorrow, not next week or next month, but what can we do for Him today.  I do not believe it is wrong to plan for tomorrow, but we need to keep ourselves in check and make sure our future here on earth doesn't consume us so that we lose focus of our eternal future.

God has blessed you with today.  How are you going to use this blessing to serve and glorify Him?

A Month of Cleaning!

Alrighty folks!  This Friday I will be six months pregnant.  I've already noticed that getting down on my hands and knees - or more accurately getting up from being on my hands and knees - is becoming more and more difficult.  What does this have to do with cleaning?  A LOT!  It's difficult to clean baseboards, floors, floor cabinets, etc. without being on your hands and knees.  At least I have yet to find a trick to avoid doing so.  All that being said, I've decided to clean our house this month, while I can still get up and down on my own.

Here are some of my goals I plan to accomplish throughout my month of cleaning:
- Learn about and use natural cleaners.
- Learn about and make my own homemade cleaners.
- Cut back on waste - i.e. no paper towels.
- Re-organize my cabinets - more practical and efficient storage.
- Share what I learn with you!

Since my hubby is home on Saturdays and Sundays I've decided to do my cleaning Monday-Friday.

Here's the cleaning schedule I came up with:

Download and Print my Cleaning Calendar Here or Here.

As you can see, the first three weeks focus on specific areas:
- Week 1:  Floors
- Week 2:  Kitchen
- Week 3:  Bathrooms

The rest of the month I'll be cleaning fixtures and spaces throughout the house.


Becky over at Clean Mama is also doing a blog series on cleaning this month:  31 Days to a Clean House.  Be sure to follow her along, too!  She has a ton of amazing tips and tricks for cleaning your home - and free printables to help you stay on track!

Cheerful Cleaning!

...to be homemakers...

Before I begin this study I want to make it clear that I am not in any way condemning any of you who may be or know a woman who works outside the home.  I have worked outside the home as a married woman myself (more on that later). I realize there are some cases in which it may not be avoidable.  I am just going to share what God's Word says on the matter, my personal opinions on the matter and what my husband and I have agreed to do in our home.  Now, let's see what we can learn from God's Word.

As with all of my previous studies in this series, I am going to begin with sharing what I learned when I did a Greek word study of the word "homemaker."  I feel that looking into the original Greek is very important because it gives us much needed insight to the original meaning of the text.  Having a better understanding of the text allows me to make accurate applications as I strive to live my life for Christ.

The Greek word used here is oikourgus.  This word, according to Strong's, Thayer's and Vine's, means:
1) caring for the house, working at home
     a)  the watcher or keeper of the house
     b)  keeping at home and taking care of household affairs
     c)  being domestic

It's obvious to me that God desires for women, especially those who are married and have children - as they have already been mentioned in this section of scripture (Titus 2:4) - to be at home and attend to the domestic needs of the home.  What He desires for women who are single is made clear in 1 Corinthians 7:34 "There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband."  God desires for unmarried women to focus their lives in service to Him.  A woman who is married has another person she must consider, her husband.  Pleasing and serving him is second only to her service to God.

Before my husband and I married I had graduated from college with a bachelor's degree, worked most of the way through college, and was a substitute teacher at my elementary school.  I had been out in the workforce since my freshman year of college and was used to being very busy.  I also feel it's needful to mention that these years were not my best years spiritually, but rather some of my weakest.  Being around worldly people who do not exercise godly principals can be very draining, discouraging and damaging to a young woman's faith (no, it doesn't have to be if she has made her faith her own and stands firm on God's word, but I hadn't reached that point yet).  

After we married I was fairly content being at home and taking care of the home.  He was working a few hours of overtime a week, we were settling into an apartment together, and spending a lot of time just hanging out and learning more about each other.  Once we bought a house and moved into town things changed.  He began working 16-20 hours of over time a week and once we were settled in, I was running out of things to do and missing the interaction I had with our previous neighbors (who all happened to be young couples who were members of our congregation).  My husband and I decided I could have a part-time job, as long as I stayed on top of my duties at home.  This worked for a while, until work wore me out so much that Ryan was getting my "leftovers."  Once we realized this was going on and how detrimental it had been to our marriage I quit my job and began working for a couple we worshiped with.  I was working about half the hours and the environment was much less stressful.  This, too, worked for a while.  Then things came up and I left that job, too.  

By this time I was actually missing being able to just be at home and take care of the things here.  I had grown spiritually and my desire was to be the woman God desired me to be, rather than the woman the world expected me to be.  I've now been a homemaker for about six months and have never been happier.  I have ample time to attend to the basic needs (cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.) and am able to enjoy other things like my blog, decorating, organizing, etc.  I also have more time to devote to strengthening my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father, a blessing I truly treasure!  Being a homemaker also allows me the opportunity to spend time with my sisters in Christ, most of which are also homemakers, during the day, without taking time away from my husband.  I'm also able to do other forms of service for others that I would not have time to do if I was out in the workforce.  I feel truly blessed to be able to be a keeper at home.

Now, many of you may be thinking, "how do you do it financially?"  My husband works in a factory and brings home a little over $600 a week when he works 18-20 hours of overtime.  His overtime has been cut recently, so as you can imagine he's bringing home a lot less these days.  Even with the overtime, he doesn't make a lot when you take into consideration a mortgage payment, auto insurance, utilities, etc.  Basically, we don't have a lot, but we have what we need.  We have made the choice to do without most of our wants so that I am able to stay home.  This has taught us to really appreciate the things we do have, and to genuinely enjoy the simple things in life.  We eat almost all of our meals at home and at the table.  Our dates consist of going for walks, reading God's Word, attending Gospel Meetings, Bible studies with others, and working in the yard together.  We are very happy with the life we have chosen for ourselves, as we are confident it's a life that is also pleasing to God.  We are happier now than we have ever been before!

If you're a homemaker, then I encourage you to thank God for the wonderful blessing He has created for you and is enabling you to enjoy.  If you're not a homemaker, then I lovingly ask you to consider the quality of your relationship with God, your husband, your children and your brothers and sisters in Christ as well as your level of contentment with the physical possessions of this life. (1 Timothy 6:6)

May we all grow closer and closer to God with each new day He blesses us with.

  
Linked @ Titus 2 Tuesday @ Cornerstone Confessions

My Blog Planning Sheets

When I first began blogging I didn't use any planning tools.  As time passed I saw posts from other bloggers where they shared their planning tools (calendars, post planning, etc).  The first blog planner I used was designed by the wonderful Beckie at Inferrantly Creative.  Her free printable blog planner can be found here.  I started out printing the pages on an "as needed" basis, instead of making the cool planner Beckie created.  Since then I have developed my own planning pages.

Here are the three pages I designed with inspiration from Beckie and beautiful backgrounds from Mel Stampz:

Monthly Calendar

Monthly Blog Post Planner

I don't blog a lot, so a weekly blog post planner wasn't the best for me.

Monthly Think On It Planner

I still haven't developed a cool planning folder/notebook like Beckie, (She's way more resourceful and creative than I am!).  I keep all my blog planning pages in a file folder on my desk.  This works perfectly well for me right now. 

Happy Blogging!

Recent Obcession With Chevron Paper

Ever since I found amazing printable papers from Mel Stampz I have been using them everywhere!

Here are some of my projects!

(Made to be placed in 8x10 frame and used with dry erase marker.)

(Made to be placed in 8x10 frame and used with dry erase marker.)

(Made to be placed in 5x7 frame and used with dry erase marker.)

 (Made to be placed in 5x7 frame and used with dry erase marker.)

Please feel free to save and print these for personal use!

If you'd like them customized, please let me know and I would be happy to make something special just for you!

Happy Homemaking!

- For personal use only.  Please do not copy/re-create for sale.

Linking @:

Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Tutorials & Tips Link Party @ Home Stories A to Z  
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party @ Delightful Order 
36th Avenue Party Time @ The 36th Avenue

Keeping up with Housework

When I became Mrs. Pugh, I also became a homemaker.  According to Titus 2:4,5 as a young woman/wife I am to love my husband, be discreet, chaste, a homemaker, good, obedient to my own husband, "that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

In order to help myself grow as a woman of God, stay on top of housework and ensure that my husband has a warm, welcoming, and relaxing environment to come home to I created this "Keeping@Home" chart.  This chart help me keep track of what I've done, how recently tasks have been completed, and motivates me to keep our home. (Who doesn't enjoy the feeling of checking off a task, even if it's as simple as checking the mail!)