Abbie's Birth Story

7:37—a time that is probable to meaning nothing to you, but means the world to us. It’s the time that changed our lives forever.

Before I begin our story with details of labor & delivery, I have to start out by explaining the “fun” of pre-labor. And by fun, I mean THE dismal gloom of uncertainty. Once I hit week 37 of being pregnant, I was told, “She’s going to come out any day now!” (Really they were saying that to make me feel better… and because I was the size of Russia.) I googled, I texted all my mama friends, I believe I did it all. That’s right people, it was time to self-induce. Mama couldn’t take it anymore. No lie, my feet grew from a size 7 ½ pre-pregnancy to a size 8 ½ by the end of my pregnancy. I. was. swollen. I had bags under my eyes so bad it looked like black holes. My belly was so big if I leaned forward at all, I’d just topple over. So, yes, it was time. I was in complete desperation-mode. Josh, being the LOVING husband that he is, so graciously squeezed my pressure points on my ankles. I begged him to. This baby was COMIN’ OUT. I ran up and down the stairs in our apartment building sideways. I made “labor cookies.” (Seriously. My mom and I went to the grocery store and bought all the ingredients… and they were DAAAAAANG good!!) I bounced on a yoga ball all day for the last 4 weeks of pregnancy. We drove 40 minutes just for Pizza Hutt so I could have the spicy seasonings on my pizza. I used lots of hot sauce on my Taco Bell tacos. I ordered spicy chicken (#7 at Wendy’s in case you’re interested).  None. Of. This. Worked.

Now, when I said “desperation-mode,” I meant it. That’s right people, we bought castor oil. I always told myself I would never take this. The side effects seem a little….not so fun. But like I said, desperate.  Mom and I got home (Josh was at the library and had no idea) and it was go-time! Couple teaspoons of this mixed in OJ and I was ready to have me a baby girl!....so I thought. I read from people how quick it made them go into labor, and I read from others how it’s basically a death sentence to take. Once again, desperate. What’d I have to lose? My bowels? (sorry, bad joke.) People, I’m not lying here. I took this junk at 9 PM, went to bed (notice I said bed and not sleep) and within 3 hours I was in EXCRUTIATING pain. I didn’t get one second of sleep. 4 AM rolls around and thankfully Josh was awake at this point. How could he not be awake? I was walking around our apartment for six hours. I seriously felt like I was about to die. He dialed the hospital’s number for me…THIS WAS IT Y’ALL…ABIGAIL WILL BE HERE TODAY!!!..They answered the phone, asked me what it felt like. I calmly described it feeling like someone was taking a bag full of knives and stabbing them into my back and pelvis. Her response: “Excuse me?” “Yes,” I replied. “Knives. Someone is throwing knives at me. I’m in a lot of pain.” She suggested I take a warm bath to ease the pain. Silly nurse, I didn’t want to ease the pain. I wanted my baby! She told me to call back when my contractions got closer together. At this point they were already 5 minutes apart. At 9:00 AM, my mom, Josh, and I scurried our way to the hospital. We did a quick pose in front of the hospital for keepsake. After waddling my way up to Labor & Delivery, I get put in a room to be checked. A midwife came to check on me just to reassure me I was “probably not in active labor.” I was doing everything I could to hold back my tears because 1. I wanted to meet our sweet baby girl, and 2. My pain was miserable. On a scale of 1-10, I was a 15. The midwife told me that I needed to just go home and wait until my body goes into labor on its own. She basically told me being induced was not an option. Was she nuts?! I was already 6 days past my due date. Girl, it was TIME. Once she told me that, the waterworks came a’ rollin down my swollen face. I had 5 different doctors in the 8 appointments I’ve had here sense we moved here. Every single doctor told me a different thing. She was very sympathetic and decided if I hadn’t had Abbie by Thursday (in 4 more days), she would induce me and deliver me. I said, done deal. Now we go home and wait….and eat more labor cookies for the heck of it. The pain subsided and mom & I walked around the mall for 6 hours. Six. Hours. People. I had to buy new shoes because my feet were in so much pain! I know what you’re thinking, “Why didn’t you just go home and rest, stupid?” I tell ya why. Abigail wasn’t coming out of me from sitting down. I was walking this baby out of me. Night time rolls along and the pain is back in action and much worse. As in…a 25 on a scale of 1-10. My mom insisted I called the doctor. I really didn’t want to because I was positive I was just going to get turned down again. But, we all know mom’s know best! So, it’s 9AM and mom and I made our way back to the hospital. We drove there blind-folded because I’d been there so much. Just kidding. But seriously, been there so many times! Little does Josh know, mama is about to go into labor! I didn’t want to tell him and then get sent home again, so I waited. My original doctor happened to be on the rotation for the day, thank God! (I seriously prayed that she was the one to deliver me) She came in the room and said I was only at 2 centimeters. Two centimeters? Are you kidding me? I was 2 for the past week and a half! Then she informs me I’m still not in active labor. COME AGAIN?! She then gave me the option of going home to “wait it out” or staying there to be induced. You better BELIEVE my booty stayed right there in that hospital bed until Abigail Wrae Pool was born. Now….the fun part!

Text Josh. Yep, I texted. Just to rattle his boots a bit. “Doc says we’ll have our baby girl by midnight!” He was in class and had no idea we were even at the hospital. I’m mean, huh!? J My doctor said I would get IV at 11 and Pitocin an hour later. So by the time Josh got to the hospital, I was already starting to feel good. As a sidenote—Josh wasn’t being rude to finish his class and THEN come to the hospital, I told him to finish up because let’s be real, who really wants to come watch an IV prick me in the wrist? NOT ME! I couldn’t even look!  Ok, I’m about to get pretty graphic, people.

I came in the hospital at “about 2 centimeters.” Doc checked me after Pitocin started and I was at 4 cm. So as contractions get stronger, OBVIOUSLY I’m going to play Family Feud on the Ipad. I needed to take my mind off of the pain. Eventually, we made it to the Fast Money Round (that’s my favorite part!) and I just couldn’t take the pain anymore. Y’all. I thought I was about to roll over and just die. (If you’re reading this and are pregnant…it’s not really THAT bad………….) Family Feud was put on hold, darn you, Pitocin! An hour goes by and I’m at 5 cm. So progress, terrific! Apparently you’re supposed to be a centimeter bigger every hour. Finally the Pitocin kicked in and I was feelin freeeeeeeeee! I can do this. I’m tougher than some contractions. I’m just sitting on the hospital bed like a beached whale while my nurse is talking to me and all of a sudden SOMETHING popped. “WOAH GROSS….something just…popped. And I’m soaking wet…” My water popped on its own! Wahooooo!! I didn’t want them to have to do it. Well, and hour later doc comes in and says she’s gonna check me and “hopefully you’re at 7 centimeters. Let’s check!” Here I am thinking she’s actually hoping for that….so she checks and says “Um…you’re at 10 centimeters! I’m shocked, honestly I didn’t even think you’d be at 7 centimeters yet.” I SHOWED THEM!

Now for the scariest moment of my life: “Alright guys, 7 o’clock I’ll be back and it’s time to push.” Wait…WHAT? I thought by midnight…

Now my eyes were glued to the clock. The more I looked at the clock, the more my stomach dropped. Oh wait, that was just the baby…but seriously, my heart sank. Our lives were about to be so different. But I couldn’t WAIT! This baby has been in me long enough, let’s come on out baby girl…seriously.

6:50… “Josh, we have ten minutes.” INHALE. EXHALE. INHALE. EXHALE. REPEAT. It still gives me chills thinking about it. Seven o’clock rolls around and the doctors haven’t come in yet. Good, more time to breathe and try to not freak out. As anxious as I was for Abbie to come into the world, I was COMPLETELY nervous about the process in order to get her here. The moment I saw blue scrubs at the door in the corner of my eye (I told you, my eyes were glued to the clock.), my heart skipped a beat…or two. They didn’t really even say, “It’s GO time!” It was, “Josh, grab her leg!” So mom was required (and I mean required) to stay north at all times.

On a side note: I have to be honest with you, I had two main concerns: 1. I REALLY hope I don’t poop on the table. Sorry. I told you it was gonna get a little graphic. 2. I NEEDED to get a recovery room immediately. I say that because when I went to the hospital for a non-stress test a week prior, I was told people have been poppin babies out left and right lately. Well, those are my words. Really they said it’s “been preeeeetty busy this weekend.” Apparently there was only one recovery room open and then a shared room. Shared Room: n. a place to recover with another mother while husbands/partners are at home. The husbands aren’t allowed to stay overnight, even if you were to deliver your little bamina/o at 3am due to liability. I was NOT getting this room. I WILL fight for it. Hunger Games style.

Okay, back to the story. In between each contraction I would push. Lucky me though, I couldn’t feel the contractions, we just saw it on the monitor thank goodness! This is the point where I turned into a monster. A real monster. I didn’t quite grasp the full concept of how to breathe AND push at the same time. The nurse demonstrated what I should be doing, while I on the other hand demonstrated what not to be doing. My face, as red as a tomato, blew up so big it looked like I was about to give birth out of my mouth. “No. you’re doing it wrong. Watch me.” says the not-so-humored nurse. Finally, I caught on. My very first push you could see her head. Josh turned to me teary-eyed and said, “I can see her! She’s RIGHT here!!” This is making me tear up right now. I wish I could relive this moment over and over and over. Anyway, the nurse says to keep on keepin’ on. So I push, and I push, and I push…my doctor walks in a few minutes into it and sat on the table Indian-style, sorta like a Buddha. Except she’s really tall and thin. All I keep hearing is, “yes, yes, yes!! Keep going!” If you coulda seen the look on my face…I was about to blow up from pushing. The pushing wasn’t painful at all, it was her darn head! You’ll see why in a few moments…So really quickly, I have to tell you that one of my many fears of delivering a baby is dying while giving birth. Seriously. So once I’m about 10 minutes into it, all of a sudden an oxygen mask gets put around my face! I cannot tell you how scared I was at this moment. I really thought I was about to die. So my eyes start filling up with tears, silly me….they were just trying to help me breathe a little easier. I continue to push…..and then I stop. Seriously, acid reflux in the middle of delivery. I was interrupted 3 times because of this. Yucky! Continue to push…and I’m itching EVERYWHERE. I looked like I had ticks. Apparently epidurals (don’t even get me started about my epidural.) can make some people itchy. I was that lucky “some people.” Next thing ya know, I hear “give it one more push!” and then “Congratulations! She is SO beautiful!!” 7:37. The moment that changed our lives. 22 minutes of pushing, and it was the best time of my life. Seeing Josh hold her was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen. It's what I'd been waiting for so bad. The love a father has for his daughter is so precious to me, and it's nothing compared to what our Father in Heaven has for Abbie. 

This is sad, but the first thing I asked was if I...you know...went potty on the bed. I DIDN'T!! Second thing they said was that I won the battle!! I ended up delivering before the other two women so THEY got the shared room..suckas!! Actually, I did feel really bad for them because I'd hate to  be there without my husband! But I was ONE happy camper!!

 

Now I’m a blubbering mess. This baby was created in the image of God, handcrafted by our Creator. I just wanted to stare at her! I felt so attached to her already. I couldn’t believe she is what we’ve been dreaming of and trying to picture for the past 41 (long) weeks. I had three specific prayers, and I know this might sound silly…but I prayed for her to have dimples, a head full of hair, and eyes like her daddy. All three were given. It’s the little things that bring so much joy! I love that about our God! He knows the desires of our heart, whether they’re small like this, or big. Our sweet baby girl is healthy and so gorgeous.

I could keep this story going for as long as she lives, but I’ll stop here. There’s so much to write about her! Her eyes twinkle. Her toes spread apart. Her cry makes me giggle. Sometimes it makes me cry. Her button-nose is so cute. Her smile is contagious. Her hands and feet are so soft. And her little bum…I could just squeeze it! But most importantly, she’s healthy. And for that, we are SO thankful. She’s one of the three greatest gifts I’ve ever received: redemption, marriage, and the birth of our baby girl.

7:37. A new creation blessed the Earth. Now I understand how my mom sees me—her little girl that she’d do anything for. 

FALSE LABOR DAY

 

labor cookies....told ya!

nothing like bouncing on a yoga ball to deliver a baby!

before!

me and mom waiting! 

7:00...heart skipping beats. and lots of them.

I love that cry!

Swollen lips and eyes. So beautiful still!!

CONE HEAD. explains the pain, huh?

7 lb. 7 oz. born at 7:37. 20 3/4 inches of pure love.

taking laps around the hallway

I love you, sweet girl.

My treasure

3 generations!

Family <3  

Treasuring God's Word

The past four days I have been going through Psalm 119 piece by piece. Two days ago I read verses 9-16 and have just sat and meditated on what it means. It's taken two days to post because I wasn't sure exactly what to say about it. It's a pretty heavy piece of Scripture if you ask me!

"How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping Your word.

I have sought You with all my heart;

don't let me wander from Your commands.

I have treasured Your word in my heart

so that I may not sin against You.

Lord, may You be praised;

teach me Your statutes,

With my lips I proclaim

all the judgments from Your mouth.

I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees

as much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts 

and think about Your ways,

I will delight in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word." 

Bare with me as I try convincing you of how GOOD this is.

After reading this over and over, I asked a few people how to stay pure. Of course two people answered right away saying "Psalm 119:9." Know-it-alls!! :) I got a few other answers back such as keeping yourself unstained from the world (James 1:27), we are holy because God is holy so we are made pure by the blood of Jesus, or fixing your eyes on Him daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to change you. All really good answers, right?! I was just curious what other people thought. Anyway, really just look at verse 9. You keep your way pure by keeping His word. Sounds simple right? NO. Man do I wish it were that easy!  

This passage seemed to resonate with me very much, but I wasn't sure exactly why yet. So, what better thing to do than....GOOGLE!? I googled commentaries on Psalm 119:9-16 and I looked over a few, but this one just really caught my eye. John Piper. Now, if you know me, you know that his sermons fly over my head quicker than...anything quick. He's one of Josh's main men on theological "stuff." Josh could listen to him speak or read his books all day every day...I however...couldn't. He is a GREAT man. He's just too deep of a thinker for this local college gal. 

Piper says this: 

The Ultimate Goal of Life

There are two ways to state the ultimate goal of life, one positively and one

negatively. Positively we could say: the ultimate goal of life is to glorify God by

enjoying him forever. Or negatively, we could say: the ultimate goal of life is not to

sin. They both mean the same thing because sinning is falling short of glorifying

God by embracing other things as more enjoyable.

So if we could learn how to glorify God by enjoying him, we would know how not to

sin. And if we could learn how not to sin, we would know how to glorify God by

enjoying him.

Verse 11 tells us one of the keys to not sinning. It says, speaking to God, "Thy

word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee." The way not to

sin is to treasure the word of God in your heart. Which means that the way to

succeed in the ultimate goal of life -- to live for the glory of God by enjoying him

forever -- is to treasure the word of God in your heart.

Two Things that Keep us from Sinning

It's not just one thing, but two things that keep us from sinning and move us to

glorify and enjoy God. It is not just having the word stored. Nor is it is just valuing

the word. It is both. Both are crucial. We value the word and therefore we have it

stored in our hearts. And the two together give us the power to stand against the

temptations to sin. It is a (1) superior treasure, (2) present and active, that

conquers sin.

So I believe that the Bible teaches us to memorize scripture the way an ant

gathers food in summer: because it is so valuable and will be needed in the winter

months. "[The ant] prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provision in

the harvest" (Proverbs 6:8). Memorizing scripture is not a discipline for its own

sake. It is because the scriptures are a treasure and will be needed before the day

is done to help you escape a sinful attitude and live a life that glorifies God.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My thoughts: Read Psalm 119:9-16 at least three times. Take your time. Verse 11 is what is so

convicting to me. "I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You." 

I can't truthfully say I treasure the word ENOUGH. I'm a sinner--I am a BAD steward of my time. 

I am NOT disciplined enough. I do NOT seek Him enough. I tell you what I (or WE) CAN do though.

We can read this passage and take pure delight in IT. The psalmist says exactly what to do: 

keep His word (vs. 9)

seek Him (vs. 10)

treasure the word (vs 11.)

ask for Him to teach you (vs. 12)

proclaim (vs. 13)

rejoice (vs 14)

meditate and think (vs. 15)

delight and not forget (vs 16).

My prayer is for you (and especially me) to read this passage with full intentions of knowing Him better.

May you be open to receive His word with humility and set aside your life for a moment and 

seek Him, asking Him to teach you His statutes. Keep His word. Treasure His word. Proclaim His name.

Rejoice in Him. Meditate and think about Him. Delight and not forget His word. May we daily enter

in His word with full regards to know Him. 

Love! 

Piper's notes: http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper97/1-5-97.htm

Last week of pregnancy!

Happy Sunday!!

I haven't posted in three weeks...so you'd think I'd have lots to say! Actually I do, but I my brain doesn't know how to put all of my thoughts together into one cohesive thought. So, I'll let you in on a few unrelated things happening over here with the Pool's! 

First of all...my due date is one week from tomorrow! Holy smokes! 7 days! Although, she could come late. BOOOO!!! As we sit here waiting for sweet Abigail to make her grand appearance, we can't help but think of the blessing she already is to us. 

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth."
Psalm 139:13-15

How sweet it is to know we have a God who cares so much about His children, that He forms us with delight...with such sweet consideration. We are made in HIS image. How beautiful! 

Ya'll I am tired. My legs are lifeless. My eyes are baggy. My wallet is lighter than a feather because of how much food I need. Yeah....I said it, "need." My back is aching. My wedding rings don't fit. Oh the joys of motherhood!! Aside from all this complaining, I really do LOVE being pregnant! I haven't had it too bad. My first trimester was like one of those nightmares you wake up to and hope it wasn't real life. Just kidding. Not that bad. :) Just the typical "morning sickness." Or what I like to call three-months-of-throwing-up-twice-a-day-sickness. Anyway, we've heard nothing but great news during the past ten (lonnnnnnnnng!) months. Now, we just await her arrival! 

I swear I've done everything in the book to help induce labor. Primrose Oil pills, raspberry red leaf tea, walking uphill, tropical fruits (pineapple and kiwi), squats, bouncing on a yoga ball, going up and down stairs....I could keep going. I'll stop BORING you with my foolish acts of motherhood though. I do have to say, going through it with my best friend has been one of the coolest experiences ever. It's so funny how different our pregnancies have been. It just goes to show you how elaborate and complex God is. With our due dates just two days apart, we have been able to communicate in detail (sometimes TMI...) about what's going on in our bodies. Before you go assuming though, I'd like to reassure you us getting pregnant was not a "planned thing." First of all, that's just weird. Secondly, just....no. Weird. 

It's been so neat to be able to pray for each other's family--for Mike and Casy to be good stewards of their time and raise Aria by the Word. For Mike and Casy to go through parenthood joyfully. For them to experience the love of Christ through and through. For them to teach (but more importantly show) Aria how to genuinely love their Father in Heaven. For them to be parents who speak life into Aria. For the fruits of the Spirit to be so evident in their life--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. For Aria to know Jesus as her Redeemer and Friend. For her to see His goodness in every aspect of life.

There's a million things I could pray for them as they enter parenthood and it's just so sweet to be side by side through it all...even though we're 1,500 miles apart. :( What a blessing it is though to know them and go through this together! If you're reading this, Josh & I love you guys very, VERY much and are so excited for you!! This pregnancy has brought us closer than ever and I treasure it so very, VERY much. 

So...as the last week ahead of us, what will we be doing? Seriously praying she comes THIS WEEK. My body can't handle it anymore! Don't worry, not complaining anymore...I just am physically out of it. And I won't spend another penny on maternity clothes. Mainly because the day after I purchase it, it's most likely to not fit. :) Typical. Maybe it's my fault though. I really love coke floats. Ask Josh....

We're thankful to have such loving friends and especially family to support us through this whole time! I can't say that I'm NOT nervous about going into labor. I'm actually a slight bit terrified. Needles...blood...doctors...blood...blood...ew....not my thing ya know what I'm sayin? It's sad that my 9 year old sister had to distract me while I got blood drawn at an appointment. We'll see how it goes though, right?! I'm going in with no expectations. I've heard enough HORROR stories of friends' deliveries. Please...save them for AFTER I deliver. Then I'm all ears :). The doctor did ask me if I have any questions or concerns (as she does at every appointment). One thing I begged of her: five epidurals. She laughed as if I was kidding....silly, silly Doc. 

My next appointment is on Friday and we'll check again to see if my body is preparing the way it should! It's exciting...but I don't want to be too thrilled about it. Last appointment was a bit of a let down. Mom always knows how to make me feel better though. She sent me a text that said: "Well, Abbie loves you. She just wants to stay as close to you for as long as she can." So sweet of mom. But, I'd like Abbie on the outside of me now. It's time to play!! :)

Tomorrow: 39 weeks. Holy Cow. Bittersweet.

So excited to meet her! I hope she has every ounce of Josh in her. I hope she has his eye lashes, eyes, smile, you name it. She'll be one pretty little thing. 

Forgiveness & Grace

Bare with me...for some reason the background color changed on this blog and I cannot figure out how to fix it! Anyway....bloggin'time!

As Josh & I (and soon to be Abigail!!) embark on a new adventure here at Gordon-Conwell, we have many things to do, but most importantly find a church. Since being here, we've "tried" 3 churches. No, we're not "church-shopping." We are however looking for a body of fellow believers who will support us and encourage us, sharpening us as we pursue ministry together. Aside from what the church can do for us, we want need a place where we can "do" for them. Our hearts are to serve. For just as Christ did, we're looking not to be served, but to serve. (Mark 10:45) 

With that said, we visited a local church this morning! Yay! And this week, we actually made it to church without getting in an accident! (Long story short, we were on our way to visit a church two weekends ago and a what-I'd-call-typical-Massachusetts-driver smashed right into the back of our sweet Scion, Betsy...He was probably too focused on his Dunkin D's than the road!) Anyway, we made it to Garden City Church (Assembly's of God) this morning in the drizzling rain...in our sporty rental car! The church itself is being held in an  elementary school cafeteria right now. No worries, the worship & scripture is still the same! So, we walk into the school dripping wet (I know you're saying to yourself, "Wouldn't you be smarter than a fifth grader and bring an umbrella?" but what you don't know is that I AM smarter than a fifth grader and I DID bring my own 'brella! ...The button is jammed...we found that out after going outside.) So, here we are, the "new" people, walking with an umbrella folded up above our heads...unopened. I'm sure the people who saw us put us on their mental prayer list!  

Honestly, I'd never been to a church that met inside a school, but I was open to it! The Bible was being taught straight forward, so we had no concerns. Before his sermon, he opened up with a word of prayer. As the pastor began to teach, Josh & I were completely drawn in. He taught on a passage that we've both read (and probably you too!) many, many times--as follows: 

Scripture: 

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Matthew 18:21-35

While the pastor (eeek!...I forgot his name) spoke on this, I began to feel really convicted. This passage isn't just on forgiveness--it's on GRACE. What exactly is grace? Grace is the unmerited favor freely given to us that we don't deserve. FREELY given people. Nothing we do can ever earn this favor. Maybe you have heard grace as this:

 God's Riches At Christ's Expense

His point is not to lose sight of what's been given to you. If you can truly say that Christ died for YOU (not just the sinners around you), forgiving YOUR sins on the cross, then you should be able to extend that forgiveness to others. How do you respond to grace? Let it shape who you are. 

Think about when you've been in "trying times." How did you respond? Did you act out hoping for something bad to happen to the person who hurt you? Or did you forgive them because YOU have been forgiven? 

2 Peter1:5-9: "For this  very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." 

So pray for his work on the cross to be a reality for you. Be thankful for this unmerited favor. Desire His call for you to forgive. 

Remember, nothing you say or do will ever earn you grace. It's done. Receive it and be thankful...Now extend it to those around you!

Convicting right? Good stuff right there. I loved this sermon. I went in with a desire to hear God's Word preached, and I left with a deeper vision of the Gospel. 

Happy Sunday, ya'll! 

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Guess what time it is??! FALL. 

What's that mean, you ask? I'll tell you. The leaves are changing and the candles are lit. My house smells SO GEWD.(Side note: bought a Pumpkin Harvest Pie candle at Marshalls for only $6!!) 

Now, I'm not much of a pumpkin person, in fact, I've never eaten pumpkin...but I have GOT to share a little suhn' suhn' with you. 

Today, (dreadfully) I went...dare I say it...GROCERY SHOPPING. EW! I tell you what--I LOVE Pinterest because of all of the recipes--SUCH life savers--but once I have to put the recipe into action and get my pregnant butt off the couch to go GET the ingredients, the recipe doesn't sound so appealing anymore...

So, I'm browsing through the store and that cute little Pillsbury Dough Boy caught my eye. What a great tactic the marketing team came up with...they really know how to pull a customer in. They get fools like me!  ANYWAY, so I picked up a box of Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread. 

Before I give away the recipe, you MUST know that this recipe is BANGIN. Like I said, I don't ever eat pumpkin, but I added a little piece of heaven to this bread, and now it's Holy Bread in my book! 

Prepare your taste buds.

Ingredients:

1 cup of water
3 TBS oil
2 eggs
Two handfuls of semi-sweet chocolate chips (not included on recipe box)
1 handful of Reeses Peanut Butter chips (not included on recipe box) 
1 Box of Kleenex (not included on recipe box) 

1. Heat oven to 375. Generously grease the bottom of 8x4 or 9x5 pan.
2. Combine mix, water, oil and eggs in large bowl. Stir continuously until mix is blended. Pour into greased pan(s).
3. Bake as directed or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Ladies, you should know this trick by now! Let sit cool for 20 minutes. Loosen edges with knife or metal spatula; remove from pan.
4. Grab a Kleenex and wipe your tears of joy. This. Bread. Is. AWESOME. 

Helpful Hint: Heat in microwave for 10 seconds and eat with pleasure! 

So good, it's worth bloggin' about! 

Movin' to Mass!

Welcome to Massachusetts...

Home of the Patriots, inflation of taxes, and most importantly...Dunkin Donuts! 

Recently we moved alllllll the way up the east coast from Florida... Just an itty bitty town called Niceville. Yes, everyone there is nice. Now, we live in a beautiful town in South Hamilton! Yes, everyone here loves ham. Just kidding! 

Here's a few difference in the two towns:

• In Florida, there are Walmart's everywhere. In Massachusetts, there are Dunkin Donuts..EVERYWHERE. I'm talkin 3 within two-tenths of a mile! This is no exaggeration people!
• In Florida, we have one season. It's called HOT. H-0-T- HOT! In Massachusetts, we have all 4 seasons. (The leaves are starting to change!!)
• In Florida,  everything is off of the main road. In Massachusetts, you have to take the highway and get off of an exit to get ANYWHERE.
• In Florida, people wave to say "thanks!" for letting them switch lanes. In Massachusetts, people...well...let's just say they don't express their gratitude...
• In Florida, there are churches on every corner. In Massachusetts, well...there aren't. 

Anyway, life is g-double o-d, good here. The transition was pretty rough for Josh & I on different levels. Josh was blessed with a phenomenal scholarship to come to school here, but in turn, he has meeting after meeting after meeting....after meeting for it. So, our time together is limited. (I do have to brag though...He sure does do a good job putting me before schooling though!) Because he's a full-time student, there's hardly any time to fit work (eww! did I say WORK?!) into the schedule. Let's be real here. We all know what our fabulous economics teachers (and my witty dad) always said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch!."  So, tick-tock. Time to find us a job...

I on the other hand had a harder time adjusting due to loneliness. Boooo! It was a big...no HUGE adjustment. Josh is busy in school Monday-Friday (or in a meeting! ;)) and Lord KNOWS i'm not going to go drive around with these crazies on the highway to get any place! But, thanks to my sweet parents, I received a GPS in the mail today!!

Good news though! Josh & I met a couple who we just love. God completely set us up before even meeting. Our good friend, Daniel went to school with Zach in Washington. Zach & Carie (and their sweet new addition, baby Benaiah!!) left WA because they were called to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. As we get to know them, we keep finding more and more connections that the Lord has planted in order to bring us together. It would have been a much harder transition if it weren't for this sweet family of three! I don't think we'd like them if they didn't have such a beautiful baby...just kidding! 

Also, Josh & I have been talking about finances and trusting and believing that God WILL provide (as He always does, and always has). We had emailed the Dean of Students to apply for a position as the RLCs (Residency Life Coordinators) for our building. She interviewed us and explained how we were an answer to prayer because the RLCs from before had just resigned and they were really praying hard, believing God would bring a couple to do this job. Little things like this make it so reassuring that we are not only welcome here, but called here. The Lord has provided in a variety of ways---so we have NOTHING to complain about! Sometimes we just have concerns...and God ALWAYS calms us during those times. 

So, now that we are the RLCs, we have responsibilities! It's our "job" (privilege, really) to bring community into this building. About 70% of our building are from another culture (Kenya, Korea, Japan, China). I met with two other sweet girls tonight, who just moved here as well, to start up a Bible Study for our building. We're very excited and hoping for diversity within the group! 
Here's our flyer! 

I could keep rambling on and onnnnnnn about life so far...but I won't bore you to sleep! Or have I already?! 

I do want this blog to not just be about "life" in the Pool household. I want to share what God is teaching me, my husband, and us as a couple.  Within the 4 weeks that we have been here, He's taught us to value one another--to really love each other... to put each other's needs above our own...to love each other the way Christ loves the Church. 

Scripture: 

(I know we've all heard this, and can probably quote it...but look at the MEANING of it. Really dissect what Paul is trying to convey.)

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends..." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4 

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:10 

Parting note: No matter your circumstances, no matter your hardship, no matter your busy life-schedule...love through it all. Put others above yourself. Treat each other with genuine respect. Love is NOT rude. Love does NOT boast. Love never ends. 

Blessings to you!