We’ve been reading to C since he was only a few weeks old. We read before naps and before bed and he loves it! We have dozens of books (many of them from thrift stores!) and go through almost all of them at least once or twice a day. So if you need some ideas for new books for your little ones, here are a few good ones!

Cohen’s Top 10:

#10: “The Belly Button Book” by Sandra Boynton

- we have the oversize version of this book and it seems to keep Cohen’s attention better than the small one.

#9:”The Night, Night Book” by Marianne Richmond

-another bedtime favorite.

#8: “Who’s Hiding In the House” by Paul Calver

-this is a lift-the-flap book which C can’t get enough of these days.

#7: “Fireman” by Lizzie McClure

-this one has thicker foamy-type pages that C loves to play with. It’s kind of a boring story but for some reason he can’t get enough.

#6: “Moo, Baa, La La La!” by Sandra Boynton

- all of Sandra’s books are awesome for little ones and this one is fun because it teaches the animals sounds.

#5: “Hop on Pop” by Dr. Seuss

-we actually read this book a TON when Cohen was between 3-6 months and he loved it! We don’t read it as much now cuz he likes to turn the pages himself and this one is not a board book and tears easily.

#4: “Night Night Little Pookie” by Sandra Boynton

-the perfect, sweet, short little night time book.

#3: “Stuff and Nonsense” by David Pelham

- 3 of the pages have pop ups that you have to be careful with, but the rest just have different textures and C loves feeling all of them.

#2: “Dear Zoo” by Rod Campbell

-this book has flaps to lift and open on every page and he LOVES interacting with the books like this, and has for months!

#1: “I Love You Through and Through” by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

-if you get bored of your books, try singing the words instead of saying them. I always sing this book and he knows the song so well that I can use it to calm him down even when I don’t have the book right there.

What books do your little ones like best?  I’d love to hear your favorites!!

Yesterday I went to the mall with Cohen. We wandered around looking for a pair of mint jeans – this season’s must have. Forever 21 had one pair left for only $18.80 but they were too big. The only other store than had my size was Aritzia and they were $220.00!!! I tried them on anyways and of course they fit perfectly, hugged in all the right places, and made me look so cool. I mean who wouldn’t want the perfect, soft, comfy pair of mint jeans?!?

source

But as I thought more about it, my conscience kicked in and we left the store empty handed.  In fact I didn’t actually buy anything and left with more money than I came with because I returned an item as well (a maxi dress that was also so cute and trendy, but too much $ and not the right fit).

This summer I trying to give up on trends. Don’t get me wrong, I think trends are good. They’re fun! I’ve usually got nothing against trends. But lately I’ve been thinking so much about what I’m spending my money on, and feeling super convicted to be a better steward of the resources God has placed in my hands. It’s not my money in the first place! It’s His. So when a pair of mint jeans costs $220, I have to ask myself if it’s a good choice and honestly, for me it’s not.

Yesterday I tweeted this:

“Don’t worry about what to wear and what to eat. Rather clothe yourself in Christ and ask for your daily bread. He truly is more than enough!”

So how do I plan to keep myself from getting sucked into spending too much money on the latest trends?

1. Avoid the mall unless I’m going for a purpose, like to buy something I actually need and have budgeted for.

2. Make a budget. I’ve done it in the past and its time to do it again. I think budgeting is important whether you’re tight on cash or not. It’s always good to know where the money is going and decide before you spend.

3. Avoid Pinterest. Haha. Not altogether, but I definitely don’t need to be adding to the”my style” board anymore. It just makes me want to shop and spend and trend.

4. Buy basics. When I do shop it really should be for the basics.  A great pair of dark denim jeans, a smart looking blazer, a simple white v neck tee – these are the kinds of things I’ll actually wear beyond this season.

So this is what I’m giving up on. I’m giving up on being trendy, keeping up with all the stylish ones, and wearing mint green jeans just cuz everyone else is doing it.  Unless of course I can find them for $19.99!

My Blog Book Tour continues over at Along for the Ride! Hop on over and check out the review and enter to win a free copy of Dream Big!

Today is the first day of my blog book tour and there are two places to go for reviews and giveaways! First is the lovely Hayley of Tiny Twig and my dear bloggy friend Katy from Katy Loves. Both of these women have been such an encouragement and inspiration to me and I'm honored to have them review Dream Big!

Also, I'm continuing my little photo contest so if you have a copy of Dream Big, snap a pic of yourself with it using instagram, hipstamatic or just your regular ole camera, and send it to heather[at]heatherboersma[dot]com.  Everyone who sends a photo will be entered to win a free large ad space for July and August (if you’re a blogger) or a free copy of the book (winners choice).

Here's a sneak peak of one of the photos that was sent in for the contest (thanks Melina!)...there are some awesome ones!  Can't wait to see yours.

Tip #8: Keep the First Things First

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

In the pursuit of our big dreams it is so easy to become bogged down in to do lists, day to day tasks and immediate concerns. Even on our most focused days, we often mix up our priorities simply because some things just “must” get done. Plans for dinner, laundry to be folded, errands to run, tasks to complete and by the end of the day we wonder where the time went.

But if we truly want to see God’s big dream for our life unfold we need to keep the first things first.

When was the last time you sat down with the Lord and basked in His incredible love for you? When did you last take a moment to ask Him what He thinks about you?

Psalm 139: 17-18 says “How precious to me are your thoughts,God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

God’s thoughts about you literally outnumber the grains of sand! That’s incredible. And yet often we miss His thoughts completely because we are too consumed with checking off items on our to do list. And it’s sad because we often claim all the things we’re doing are for God and His glory, yet we haven’t even given Him a chance to weigh in on them.

God is after your heart! He so desperately loves us and longs to lavish his affection on us and we miss it. We miss Him.

I’ll be the first to admit that sitting still is not in my gift mix! I’m a go-getter through and through and taking time to be still and know He is God often feels like a waste of time. That sounds terrible, I know. But despite that feeling the truth is, so much more can and will be accomplished in and through our lives if we would just keep the first thing first!

If our goal and desire truly is to serve God and follow His plan for our lives, then seeking Him first is the ONLY way. How else are we to know what our next steps should be? More importantly, if we don’t spend time seeking the heart of God, then what we are doing for Him (our service) may not be for the right reasons. God wants to fill us with his love FIRST so that our actions will be out of the overflow, and done IN LOVE.

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.“ - 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (The Message)

We are bankrupt without love. Our big plans are nothing without love. We cannot be filled with love without going to the source of love. As we seek God first, the fulfillment of our dreams will follow.  Let’s keep the first things first!

No, not the one on the right – the one on the left!

Cohen, you have officially be rockin my world for 19 months (since the day I found out I was preggers).

Thanks for changing my life for the better, little man. I can’t imagine living another day without you in it.  I love you more than words can express and you have truly made me a better version of myself.

You are the best mothers day present I could ever ask for. xoxo

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.”

-Isaiah 43:18-19

May we have the courage to let go of the past.

Learning from it, but not leaning on it.

Dealing with it, yet not dwelling on it.

May we have vision to perceive the new things God is doing.

And may we trust that even when all we see is wilderness, a powerful stream is cutting through dry ground to bring refreshing, hope and new life!

Don’t give up – spring is just around the corner.

It’s been just over 2 months since Dream Big: 30 Days to a Life Beyond All You could Ask or Imagine was released into the world.  It’s been such a blessing to watch the boxes of books, in my living room and the back of my car, empty.  It’s been slow and steady and I’m praying over each and every book as it leaves our home – praying that God would enliven the words and use them for the glory of His kingdom.

Thank you to every single one of you who’ve purchased a book and shown your support. To see you quoting the book on twitter, posting pics on instagram, and sharing the love on facebook has been a HUGE encouragement to me.  It’s so good to know that I’m not dreaming this dream alone and have the support of some seriously amazing friends and family. So THANK YOU!!!

This month I’m excited to being doing a blog book tour! I’ve sent copies of Dream Big to some of my favorite bloggers who’ve generously agreed to review it, and do giveaways on as well. So if you’re curious what this book is all about I encourage you to check out their reviews and maybe you’ll even win a free copy!

Another thing I’d love to do this month is post photos of you with your copies of Dream Big. So if you have a copy, snap a pic of yourself with it using instagram, hipstamatic or just your regular ole camera, and send it my way in an email.  Everyone who sends a photo will be entered to win a free large ad space for July and August (if you’re a blogger) or a free copy of the book if you’re not (your choice!). If you know anyone who is graduating from high school or university this spring, Dream Big really is the perfect grad gift!

If you haven’t yet seen the book trailer, here it is! This really is my heart in 3 minutes.

And finally, here are the book tour dates:

• May 16 – Katy Loves and The Tiny Twig
• May 17 – Along for the Ride
• May 18 – Behind the Scenes
• May 21 - NS Pottery
• May 23 – The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart
• May 25 - Finding Beauty in the Ordinary
• May 28 – Keeping up with the Cantelmos
• May 30 – Royal Daughter Designs
• May 31 – Small Bird Studios

Thanks again for all your love and support!

xoxoxo

My baby boy turned 10 months on April 24th. Oh how true the saying, “the moments are long but the years are fast”. It really does feel like just yesterday I was holding my little bundle for the first time…gazing into those baby blues and feeling like those moments would last forever.

Cohen Loves

-Eating. The kids is pretty pumped about solid food and finger food. He eats pieces of chicken, cheese, banana, avo, pretty much anything we put on his tray, he’s shoveling into his sweet little mouth. (shades of his daddy…)

-Playing. He smiles and laughs SO easily and loves playing with his mama and dada.

-Crawling. He started crawling a few weeks ago and is now motoring all over the place. He loves chasing Bailey and grabbing her tail, especially when she’s totally not expecting it.

-Standing. He pulls himself up on everything (couch, stroller, ottoman, high chair, etc.) He particularly loves standing at the window and watching Bailey in the yard, or watch for daddy.

-Walking. No, not on his own yet! Don’t rush the poor boy.  But if you hold his wee hands, he walks around like a boss. I’m sure he’ll be taking his first steps on his own far too soon.

- Sleeping. He’s now sleeping through the night (7pm – 6am)! This has been AMAZING.

Cohen Hates

-Diaper changes. Why the heck are you laying me on my back mom. This is not bedtime – its play time! Get a clue.

- Getting dressed for bed. (see above comment)

- Being lifted out of the bath. He screams bloody murder EVERY time. Maybe its the cold. Maybe it’s the impending bedtime…who knows.

- Waiting for food.  When his bum cheeks hit the chair there better be a spoonful of food hitting his lips.  If not – oooo, he’s gonna tell you ALL about it. Lots of loud yelling.

We Love

- That he’s saying Mama and Dada to us! He now looks right at you and says it. So sweet.

- His contagious smile.

- Making him giggle.  It doesn’t take much and the belly laughs start rolling.

- His soft lil belly. Love burying my face into his fleshy tummy.

we all have our secrets. the parts of ourselves that very few people, if anybody, know about. some of us keep them for decades, never telling a single soul, and others confide in their spouse or close friends. many of us have a secret right now – one that we can’t bear to bring into the light of day for fear of what might happen. if i tell, i will be judged. or if i share this, someone i love will be hurt and maybe even walk away from me.

i’ve carried secrets like this. for years i carried some secrets completely on my own, never telling a single soul. i was so afraid of what people would think of me, that i stayed isolated, trapped, and alone. but what i found was that when i revealed my secrets to close friends and family, they didn’t judge or abandon me, but rather embraced and supported me. it was in telling my truth freely that i found true freedom.

part of my truth is that i used to struggle daily with a battle against lust. i struggled with keeping my thoughts and private actions pure. i struggled with what i watched and read. and i struggled to stay physically pure in my dating relationships. and though its something i’ve been free from for about five years, that freedom only came after telling my secret to others.

as much as i tried to get free on my own – just me and God – it never worked. i’d make a new commitment to him and promise to only watch and do and think about things that were pure and lovely, excellent and praiseworthy. but before i knew it i’d be sucked back into watching that same crap and thinking those same selfish thoughts and acting on them both alone and in my dating relationship. it was an endless, discouraging, frustrating cycle and i saw NO WAY OUT. i began to lose hope. i was filled with shame.

until i began to reach out. first it was to a friend at camp who compassionately offered to hold me accountable in my journey for purity. every month she called or emailed and asked me how i was doing, if i’d given in, and how she could pray for me. having this consistent accountability was the #1 thing that helped me break the negative patterns and habits i’d formed.

and then as i limped along towards freedom, i began to share my struggle with a few other close friends. i was shocked to discover that others shared the same struggle and had also been feeling isolated, alone and full of guilt and shame. but because i took the step to tell my truth, they felt the freedom to tell theirs too. and telling the truth to each other was another step towards freedom.

now i tell my story whenever God leads me to. its not always told in the same way or with all the nitty gritty details, but whenever i share, others come out of the woodwork who have also be secretly struggling. and as they do, they take a step towards finding their own freedom.

what about you? have you been hiding for fear of what man or even God will think of you? do you struggle with a secret so big you feel no one could ever love or accept you if they knew? do you wonder if its really possible to EVER find freedom from this pattern of thinking an behaving?

please know you are not alone. in fact, if you are struggling with lust, or any other secret sin, please send me an email or leave a comment (anonymously if you’re more comfortable) and i would love to talk to you and pray for you. take a step. just one foot in front of the other can bring you that much closer to true and lasting freedom.

God didn’t come and live and die for us to remain trapped, stuck and alone. He came to set us free.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1)

it’s time to come out from the shadows and into the light of truth. tell your truth and the truth will set you free. and who the Son sets free is free indeed.

Lately Cohen has a fascination with sun spots.  As the afternoon wears on and late-day sun streams through front windows, he is drawn to geometric patches of light pooled on the floor. Like moth to bulb, he quickly crawls to the triangle of light, hoping to somehow catch it.

If only we could capture the bright spots. Find a way to package them up and save them for grey days to come.

But we can. Of course we can.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

We always have access to the light. The light of the world lives in us and whoever follows him will NEVER walk in darkness. This is His promise to us.  Even on our darkest days, in our blackest moments, He is our bright spot.

This week I’ve had a few dark days. I’ve been thinking a lot about my role as a wife and mother and how to balance that with my ministry role of speaking and writing. To be honest, I really over did it by taking Cohen to Alberta for the weekend. God’s grace got us through those three days, but the sacrifice on the other side was 2 weeks of sickness. Cohen had the flu, then I got the flu, then he got a cold and now I have a cold.  Two weeks later we’re still paying the price of those three days of travel and lack of rest.

It’s hard for me to accept that I can’t do everything. I’ve never wanted to pursue speaking and writing more than I do now, and never had as many opportunities and open doors.  However, many of those doors I simply cannot walk through right now without the cost being too great on my family life. All of this could be discouraging, if not for the light within. God truth is that light.

He has a plan to prosper.

He has a hope and future.

His grace is sufficient.

He works all things together for good.

He makes things grow.

He opens doors that no man can shut.

In which dark area of your life do you need God’s sun to shine? Allow His truth to light it up. Keep looking for the bright spot.