diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index ca71dcb..c4e733d 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ group :development do
   gem "rcov", :platforms => :mri_18
   gem "simplecov", :platforms => :mri_19
   gem "test-construct"
+  gem "capture-output", "~> 1.0.0"
   if RUBY_VERSION >= '1.9.2'
     gem "rubocop"
   end
diff --git a/lib/homesick.rb b/lib/homesick.rb
index 0616354..71abde8 100644
--- a/lib/homesick.rb
+++ b/lib/homesick.rb
@@ -90,9 +90,9 @@ class Homesick < Thor
 
   end
 
-  desc 'commit CASTLE', "Commit the specified castle's changes"
-  def commit(name = DEFAULT_CASTLE_NAME)
-    commit_castle name
+  desc 'commit CASTLE MESSAGE', "Commit the specified castle's changes"
+  def commit(name = DEFAULT_CASTLE_NAME, message = nil)
+    commit_castle name, message
 
   end
 
@@ -289,10 +289,10 @@ class Homesick < Thor
     end
   end
 
-  def commit_castle(castle)
+  def commit_castle(castle, message)
     check_castle_existance(castle, 'commit')
     inside repos_dir.join(castle) do
-      git_commit_all
+      git_commit_all :message => message
     end
   end
 
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ class Homesick < Thor
         home_path = home_dir.join(relative_dir).join(path)
 
         yield(absolute_path, home_path)
-      end
+     end
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/lib/homesick/actions.rb b/lib/homesick/actions.rb
index fe5719f..b079325 100644
--- a/lib/homesick/actions.rb
+++ b/lib/homesick/actions.rb
@@ -64,7 +64,11 @@ class Homesick
 
     def git_commit_all(config = {})
       say_status 'git commit all', '', :green unless options[:quiet]
-      system 'git commit -v -a' unless options[:pretend]
+      if config[:message]
+        system "git commit -a -m '#{config[:message]}'" unless options[:pretend]
+      else
+        system 'git commit -v -a' unless options[:pretend]
+      end
     end
 
     def git_add(file, config = {})
diff --git a/spec/homesick_spec.rb b/spec/homesick_spec.rb
index d05d735..852ffee 100644
--- a/spec/homesick_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/homesick_spec.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
 require 'spec_helper'
+require 'capture-output'
 
 describe 'homesick' do
   let(:home) { create_construct }
@@ -341,9 +342,19 @@ describe 'homesick' do
   end
 
   describe 'status' do
+    it 'should say "nothing to commit" when there are no changes' do
+      given_castle('castle_repo')
+      text = Capture.stdout { homesick.status('castle_repo') }
+      text.should =~ /nothing to commit \(create\/copy files and use "git add" to track\)$/
+    end
 
-    xit 'needs testing'
-
+    it 'should say "Changes to be committed" when there are changes' do
+      given_castle('castle_repo')
+      some_rc_file = home.file '.some_rc_file'
+      homesick.track(some_rc_file.to_s, 'castle_repo')
+      text = Capture.stdout { homesick.status('castle_repo') }
+      text.should =~ /Changes to be committed:.*new file:\s*home\/.some_rc_file/m
+    end
   end
 
   describe 'diff' do
@@ -372,12 +383,6 @@ describe 'homesick' do
 
   end
 
-  describe 'commit' do
-
-    xit 'needs testing'
-
-  end
-
   describe 'push' do
 
     xit 'needs testing'
@@ -448,6 +453,16 @@ describe 'homesick' do
       end
     end
 
+    describe 'commit' do
+      it 'should have a commit message when the commit succeeds' do
+        given_castle('castle_repo')
+        some_rc_file = home.file '.a_random_rc_file'
+        homesick.track(some_rc_file.to_s, 'castle_repo')
+        text = Capture.stdout { homesick.commit('castle_repo', 'Test message') }
+        text.should =~ /^\[master \(root-commit\) \w+\] Test message/
+      end
+    end
+
     describe 'subdir_file' do
 
       it 'should add the nested files parent to the subdir_file' do
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index d231ec8..22fd155 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ require 'homesick'
 require 'rspec'
 require 'rspec/autorun'
 require 'construct'
+require 'tempfile'
 
 RSpec.configure do |config|
   config.include Construct::Helpers
@@ -21,6 +22,8 @@ RSpec.configure do |config|
     castles.directory(path) do |castle|
       Dir.chdir(castle) do
         system 'git init >/dev/null 2>&1'
+        system 'git config user.email "test@test.com"'
+        system 'git config user.name "Test Name"'
         system "git remote add origin git://github.com/technicalpickles/#{name}.git >/dev/null 2>&1"
         if subdirs
           subdir_file = castle.join(Homesick::SUBDIR_FILENAME)