He is Risen! Alleluia!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope

through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

who are being protected by the power of God through faith

for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,

so that the genuineness of your faith -

being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire -

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

{1 Peter 1:3-9}

After a challenging Lenten season which included carrying my own cross, I am so thankful for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus! This beautiful scripture from 1 Peter really touched my heart. There can be no resurrection without suffering...it is the way to salvation...and when we believe in Jesus, our Messiah, we can experience that "indescribable and glorious joy." Oh, how I long to experience that joy more fully each day. How I pray for each of us to experience the gift of His joy...

Wishing you and yours a blessed Easter season -

Alleluia!

{psalm 1 series}

Stop back later day to join me in praying a novena! You can sign up to receive {in endless song} blog posts via e-mail (see the sidebar), subscribe via bloglovin', or follow me on twitter or instagram.

7 Quick Takes {No. 4}

Happy Friday! Linking up as usual at Conversion Diary - thank you for hosting, Jen!

{1}

We had our first significant snow of the season this week in NYC! Very exciting. There's nothing quite like the beauty of snow falling silently and peacefully from the sky. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this picture from that morning:

{snow mug for a snowy morning!}

{2}

I always find the first big snowfall of the year to be particularly special.

So special, it deserves two takes, I think! :)

{bundled for the snow!!}

{snowflakes that stay on your nose & eyelashes...and mittens!}

{3}

Do you watch Downton Abbey? My husband and I were late to hop aboard the DA train, but we couldn't stop watching all three seasons once we got started earlier this year! This week the Downton Abbey Tea Truck (yes, there is such a thing!) was making its way around New York City. 

{via}

My friend Mary and I went to visit the truck where they were passing out free tea and cookies (yum!), and showing a trailer and interviews about season four. Everyone working there was in full costume, as you can see in this picture (you may have seen it on my Twitter feed). What fun! Looking forward to the show starting back up again soon...

{so fun! and a little extra funny because my friend's name is Mary, too!}

{4}

Did you see that I started a new series on the blog this week? 

I invite you to join me! I think it's beautiful to see the ways the same scripture can touch different people at different places in life. Hoping this series will be a good place for sharing that!

{our first picture - March 2008}

I also started sharing our love story here on the blog. It has been so much fun to write!
Next week I hope to write about our engagement, and I will also do a post about our wedding day.

{5}

I wanted to share a picture of my finished Advent wreath, after showing the start of it in this post.
I was waiting for some greenery from our Christmas tree to add the evergreen element. I'll share our Christmas tree with you at some point soon!

{6}
Yesterday I went here:

{Magnolia Bakery - Upper West Side, NYC}

and I ate this:

{Y U M!}

This peppermint ice box cake is so good. And I mean SO good (yes, it calls for all-caps!). My favorite holiday treat in the city. If you're ever in NYC at Christmastime, make sure you have a slice. It's large enough to share. 

{7}

Michael has been away at a conference all week long, and I have been missing him big time! He is on his way back now though, and I am looking forward to some quality time together this weekend. I am so grateful for the gift my husband is in my life.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

P.S. Congratulate Caitlin on her new arrival! So exciting!! 

saying yes {psalm 1:1, 2, 3 series}

I am very excited to begin my first series on the blog, which I introduced yesterday in this post.  Today in the Catholic Church we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  In this post, I'll be reflecting on the gospel from today's Mass readings:

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."  

Then the angel departed from her. {Luke 1:26-38}

What a beautiful passage. I love this one, and also Mary's Magnificat, which follows soon after in Luke's Gospel (1:46-55). As I reflect upon these words, a few lines stand out to me:

"Do not be afraid..." 

Oh, how often do I need to hear these four words! The Lord must have known, because this phrase is found all throughout scripture, and every time I read it, it is good to hear. Not because I am a particularly fearful person, but because I tend to worry. But I guess worrying is a kind of fear, now that I think about it. I like to be in control. Yet God is so patient with me, as time and time again He reminds me that He is in control (thank heavens!) and that He has a perfect plan for my life. For this I am truly grateful. His plans have been better than any I could have imagined for myself. So when I hear the angel say to Mary, "Do not be afraid," I am reminded to trust. I am reminded to cast aside my fears and my worries and to have faith. 

"For nothing will be impossible for God."

At this point in my life, I have heard this line of scripture many times. I have heard it so many times in fact, it is almost easy to almost pass by it without pausing to reflect on the weight of this statement. Nothing will be impossible for God. Nothing will be impossible. Nothing. 

What a beautiful truth. An amazing, beautiful truth! 

"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

In response to the angel Gabriel's message - his big deal, scary, crazy, unbelievable message - Mary says, "Yes." Mary says, "Your will be done, Lord." What an example Mary is for me. It is my prayer that I might be able to say this with Mary...to say yes, as Mary said yes to God. She puts her life totally into His hands, trusting him fully. She does not yet know everything that is to come along with her answer, just as I often don't know what will come when I am discerning a decision in my life. She does not let what other people might think or say affect her decision. To have faith like Mary...to follow where the Lord asks us to go, and to go boldly...that is my desire. 

Would you pray with me? 

Dear Lord...

Thank you for your living word, and for the example of Mary.

I pray that you would increase our faith in you. 

I ask you to give us the grace to say, "yes," with Mary.

Help us to trust in your plan for our lives,

and to know and believe that nothing is impossible with you.

May it be done to us according to your word,

today and every day of our lives, Lord.

Amen.

My hope is that the posts in this series may inspire you to meditate on the same word of God and share your personal response. I invite you to respond with your own thoughts in the comments section below, or even on your own blog if you have one and want to write a post (then post a link to your blog response in the comments section!).

Thanks in advance for participating - I hope to hear from you!

psalm 1:1, 2, 3 {a series}

"Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;

but their delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law they meditate day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season,

and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper."

{Psalm 1:1, 2, 3}

This weekend I happened upon these beautiful verses of Psalm 1 and felt inspired to start a series where I will write reflections on different passages of scripture. Let me just say...I am not a theologian, nor will I try to be in these posts. Rather, this series will be my reflections...my heart-thoughts - on where God's living word is touching my life, and how it relates to where I am on the journey today.

My hope is that these posts may inspire you to meditate on the same word of God and share your personal response. I would invite you to respond with your own thoughts in the comments section below, or even on your own blog if you have one and want to write a post (then post a link to your blog response in the comments section!).

I am looking forward to starting this series tomorrow, as the Catholic Church will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. I'll be reflecting on the gospel passage, which is Luke 1:26-38.

Hope to see you here again soon, and hope you're having a great weekend!