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true pure & lovely



Love is not just a feeling, but an action, that we do daily to grow and persevere in our relationships. But showing love every day or in new ways, can get harder to do as time goes on simply due to the natural busy-ness of life and the world's strong pull to distract us from what is truly important.

So this year, instead of just celebrating love on Valentine's day, why not use the first FOURTEEN days of February to show the hubs some love? 

Men need to be romanced too! So if you want to join in the romance, below will be listed 14 different ways to show your love to your husband, one for each day. I highly recommend you also join me on Instagram, where I will remind you each day in my stories of what the particular love task is that day.

If you're interested in staying accountable and sharing your ideas and experience, follow along with the rest of us wives doing the challenge!

14 Ways to Love the Hubs - Valentine Two Week Challenge


Day 1 - Bringing the Bacon 

"I love how you get up early to go to work to provide for our family..."

Today's love task is to tell your husband how much you appreciate his hard work and how he provides for your family. Find an element in particular to encourage him, especially if he's currently at a job that is very demanding, draining or maybe not what he envisioned. If he's studying to further his employment opportunities, then praise him for how hard he's hitting the books.

Remind him how his work is pleasing to God too!

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands." -Psalm 90:17 

Day 2 - Fatherhood

"I love how you play with our kids, you come up with the funnest games..."

Being a father is such an important role, and there are so many forces trying to bring fathers down. Uplift your husband by reminding him what he does that makes him a good father. If you don't have children yet, tell him what quality he has that you know will make him a good father for your future kids.

Remind him that you thank God for giving you a partner not just in marriage but someone who will venture through parenthood with you. 

Day 3 - Opposites Attract

"I love how you're better at managing finances than I..."

In what ways is your husband a complement to you? No marriage has two people who are completely equal in strengths and weaknesses, in fact they tend to work best when each partner supports one another in the areas they are strong while the other is not. My husband loves deep cleaning, but my strength is in organization. He loves white meat, I love dark meat. 

Today remind him how he 'completes' you as a couple by having a strength that you don't have. Every man loves feeling like a hero!

Day 4 - Quirky

Everyone has a quirk. Something that they may not share with everyone, like my husband, who has some quirks I alone know of. What quirk does your husband have that you find endearing, funny or downright adorable? Tell him that, it's important to feel accepted for who we are, especially in a safe space like marriage.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

Day 5 - Memory Lane

"Remember that day my car broke down in the rain and you rescued me?..."

Find a photo album, a scrapbook, or pull out the iPad and share some memories together. Try to go back further in time to moments that might have been forgotten. Try to highlight the moments you fell in love, yet again, with your husband, or simply a very fond memory that highlights his wonderful character.

Day 6 - Talent Show

As wives, we are our husband's primary cheerleader, or at least we should be! What is a talent your husband has that maybe hasn't gotten a lot of attention lately? Maybe it's a hobby he hasn't been able to do in a while, like playing guitar or working on a car. Encourage him to keep it up!

“Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned." -Song of Solomon 8:7

Day 7 - Small Favour

We're at the halfway point. So far we've only done "words of affirmation", mainly because men truly thrive off praise. Today's love task is the first one that is communicated primarily through an action. Ask your husband what small action you could do for them today that is a bit out of the regular. Maybe a shoulder massage, playing a game, watching a movie of their choice, or giving them the evening to pamper themselves. 

Day 8 - Man's Feast

"The quickest way to a man's heart, is through his stomach!"

Treat your husband to a surprise dinner at his favourite food joint. If you want to choose a restaurant, be sure to make reservations and childcare arrangements if you feel it should be an evening just for you two. OR make your husband's favourite home-cooked meal OR order in. Whatever suits your budget, family and husband's taste, so long as he gets food he truly enjoys!

Day 9 - Hobby

What is a hobby your husband really enjoys? Do one of them with him. Whether it's watching a sports game, going fishing, or hitting up a tool store. Whatever is the manliest hobby he has that you've never or rarely participated in, the more you're showing him you love him!

Day 10 - Prayer

Something my mother started doing when I was a young adult off to University and my brother was a teenager off to high-school, she would pray over us before we left the home. It definitely shows love and care, and what a perfect way to set your husband off to a good start of the day by a quick prayer over him? Maybe it could become a daily thing!

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" - Colossians 1:9-10

Day 11 - Coffee Date

MAKE time for a coffee date, even if it means you just go through the drive though. Pick a Starbucks a little further away so you can have more time to chat and catch up on the drive to and from.

Preferably, go to your favourite coffee shop and spend a good hour there and be aware of your husband's mood and needs. If he needs to vent have a ready ear. Maybe prepare a topic of conversation that perks his interest! Romance isn't always spontaneous, sometimes it's good to have a plan. Main rule: stay off the cellphones!

Day 12 - Dreams & Goals

Do you keep track of the goals you have? What are some of your family dreams? As the leader in the home, be sure to ask your husband for his input, his visions and ideas for your future as a couple and family. Let him lead and assure you are there to support him. Make a dream board, or get a journal where you can write them down, sort of like resolutions!

Day 13 - Role Reversal

What are the chores your husband usually does? Do one of these for him today as a special treat. Whether it's taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, or checking on the kid's homework. Show him that you recognize him as a husband and not someone who has a to-do list to accomplish to feel worthy of love.

Day 14 - Your Vows

Get your husband alone, whether at the park, in your room, or at the restaurant you've already planned to go to for Valentine's Day. Bring a copy of each other's vows and read your vows to him. Then, talk. Or don't talk. Hug. Kiss. Cry. Whatever naturally happens after you've re-read your vows, just go with the flow and be in the moment. Take this moment to celebrate your relationship, the trials you've overcome, the joy that has been added, and all that God still has planned for you.

“With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." - Ephesians 4: 2-3


I don't know about you, but this will certainly be a challenge, to put in the time and effort to do all of these everyday, but I'm very excited to do it! Will you be joining me in loving on our husband's for 14 days? And forever after? Let me know below or join in on Instagram where I will be reminding you each day what the challenge of the day is, and give some more insight and romantic tips! Follow the hashtag #lovelywives14 to stay connected!
January 30, 2019 No comments


Who hasn't heard of the Marie Kondo technique by now? Her Netflix show "Tidying with Marie Kondo" has been such a huge success. In part because of the simplified way to approach de-cluttering your home, the philosophy of 'bringing joy' to your life, and Marie Kondo's adorable demeanor. 

Decluttering and better organization definitely helps clean things up. But today we're going to look at the more day-to-day cleaning habits we can incorporate to keep the dirt, grim and piles down and manageable. 

Here we go! 10 habits to maintain a tidy home.

Habit # 1 : Create & Follow a Cleaning Schedule


If there is one thing that will automatically help, is to write things down. Get either a weekly kind of notepad, or a whiteboard, and make some time to sit down and plan out what your home needs to get done on a weekly basis.

It's important to make this schedule entirely personalized to suit your lifestyle and working situation. You know which chores are best to do on which days. At the moment I'm a full time mom with a young baby, so the schedule I wrote up is only chores for me. However you can totally have your husband's or children's chores too.

The key is to make sure it's a schedule YOU can follow fairly easily and keep it simple. Don't overload it, leave room for the day-to-day items on your to-do list. Here is what mine looks like:


KITCHEN/DINING


Habit #2: Load Dishes Twice a Day

One of the saving graces of our kitchen is that we have a dishwasher. Both my husband and I have NO passion for washing dishes by hand (although if I had a beautiful large white sink in front of a window with a stunning tall tap, I wouldn't mind it half as much) so the dishwasher is a valuable commodity.

So every day, to keep clutter down (and also because we have limited kitchen supplies) I load the dishwasher throughout the day, usually once in the afternoon and again after dinner. It usually takes two days for it to get full, then the dishwasher does it's duty. Since we also have a small kitchen and sink, doing this keeps the sink and counters clear, which in turn makes it easier to wipe counters as well.


Habit #3: Change up Towels

Nothing brings down your willingness to clean your kitchen than gross icky towels and dish rags. So change them up every other day and wash once a week. I usually wash them with my towels since I like to use the hot water feature to really get stains out and kill bacteria.

Habit #4: Put Things Away After Use

I'm still trying to teach my husband this. When you make a peanut and jelly butter sandwich, don't leave obvious evidence behind. If you open a can, put the can opener back right after. It's simple and effective, whatever you use while cooking and prepping, put it back as soon as possible. This helps keep your counters free and clear and without every condiment and spice all over the place.

BATHROOM


Habit #5: Practical Proximity

Whatever you use most, keep it in places easiest to reach. This makes it so much easier to implement Habit #4 in your bathroom as well. After you put deodorant on, straighten your hair, or put primer on, make sure it's quick and easy to put away. Organizing baskets/makeup bags are key. I'm going to be honest, I do let myself slip on Habit #4 in the bathroom most days, but because I have a place for everything and it's super accessible, it takes me less than 5 minutes to make the bathroom look great!

Habit #6: Check for EEs - Expired and Empty

If you're like me, you're a bit hardcore budget-minded and so you stretch your products out as much as you can. Or, maybe you're the opposite and you find yourself buying new products regularly. Or maybe you buy in bulk a little too often...Either way, it can be hard to keep track of what has expired or is practically empty. Toss and be sure to add the item to grocery list if it's a product you love.

LAUNDRY


Habit #7: Keep Laundry Sorted

We all know we should wash darks with darks and lights with lights. But what if we had our laundry sorted before laundry day? How? Easy. And no, it doesn't involve the Sorting Hat. Get laundry hampers for different kinds of clothing. Or get the kind that already have separate sections, like this one we have. Throughout the week, toss your dirty darks into the designated darks hamper, and lights into the lights, and towels in the towel one, etc, and presto! You just saved 15 minutes of laundry sorting!

LIVINGROOM


Habit #8: Tidy Toys Daily

If you have super young children like me, they don't understand the concept of cleaning up yet. But if not, they should be doing this before their bedtime routing begins, maybe even before dinner depending on how things work in your home.

I like to do this right after my baby goes to sleep. A tip is to use baskets, they are THE BEST for organizing and putting toys away. Also, be mindful of how many toys are out and which ones rarely come out of the baskets. This will tell you A) maybe there are too many toys being brought over from their bedroom, and B) which toys are no longer getting played with.

Having a comfortable room, besides your bedroom, that feels like an "adult" room is a concept I took from "Bringing Up Bebe". It was an eye-opening moment of learning, and I love it!

Habit #9: Remove Migrating Objects

The living room is a bit of a catch-all location. A cup of water, a used tissue, a sock, maybe even a laundry basket. After you tidy the toys up, you can easily see what is there that doesn't belong. Promptly return them to their home or throw it out.

Habit #10: Clean Entrance Often

And the last habit is to keep the main entrance to your home free of gravel, shoes and bags. I vacuum every other day in the winter season, and honestly could probably do it daily to keep sand and gravel from trailing into the home and making the doorway/mudroom gross to walk on. It's also really easy to allow jackets and bags and shoes to pile up, so just before you vacuum, sweep or mop, make sure that all gets cleared up.


Do What You Can When You Can


You don't have to keep up with all of these habits ALL the time, or even integrate them into your lifestyle ALL at once. So don't beat yourself up if a room or two, or even your whole house, slips into a grimy state once in a while. A solid day or two of hardcore cleaning will bring it back to that comfortable standard again. But, we do want to try to avoid too many of these heavy cleaning days that can kind of suck (if you're like me and don't like to do them often...).

The idea is to create these habits overtime so that they become second nature, require a lot less thinking and overall help you save time and effort to keeping a clean and tidy home.


Hopefully something in this post was helpful to some of you! Which of these habits do you already do at home? How does your family help? Did any of these jump out as something you want to try to implement in your home? Let me know in the comments down below!

January 25, 2019 No comments
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A young mama with a desire to share and talk about motherhood, faith, homemaking and what God's word has to say. She enjoys art, photography, family, and food.


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