The text is set in contemplative phrases that gently rise and fall with a haunting soprano solo over the second half. As we practiced, the leader asked us to sing more quietly.

"Don't push it. Let the text set the dynamics," she directed. "These words are so well-known that we take them for granted."

We followed her instruction, and as the words floated up on the music in our lovely sanctuary, my arms became covered in goose bumps. It was truly what I like to think of as a God moment.

But as I revelled in the beauty of the music and the meaning of the text, I asked myself if these words are as well-known today as they were when I, as a Christian child, was asked to memorize a Bible verse or more each week. My mind wandered back to the year when, in the 1990s, I studied the Bible as literature at McMaster University. Before the professor could teach his course, he had to give a crash course in who the main characters of the Bible were. Otherwise, his course would be void of the rich symbolism that permeates our western literature. A large percentage of the class couldn't differentiate between Noah and Moses.

It is a sad paradox that in this information age, when we have the accessibility and freedom to know the Word, we don't take the time to study it. Though there are more translations in more languages than there ever were, many of us don't take even a few minutes a week to read, not to mention memorize something as basic as John 3:16. While we sit for hours at a computer for work or play, many of us forget to click on an online version of the Bible. When we choose gifts for our grandchildren, do we shy away from purchasing a Christian story book? When a young person is struggling with a problem, do we remind them that prayer is also a way into their problem? We forget or never learn that regardless of our human state, God sacrificed the most precious thing He had for our sake — His Son.

So I ask myself: Will my grandchildren be like my classmates who don't know who John was, let alone what he wrote?

Who will they turn to when they are left to face challenges without knowing that "God so loved the world" that He gave His only begotten Son for their sake?

Should they have to face war or famine like my mother did, would they be able to count on His mercy the way she did in order to survive?

Will the story of Jesus be taken for granted in the hearts of their children?

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in this time of contemplation and ultimate joy in the celebration of Your Son's resurrection, help us to find the opportunity to share Your story and Your love with young people. Help us to give them the comfort of knowing that our God loves them. Help us to teach them the Word so that they and their children will not take the gospel for granted. We ask this in Jesus' precious name. Amen.

Over the past eighteen months, I have gone through a number of changes. Some were good and some not, but all, both good and bad, brought a certain amount of stress and took their share of my mental energy. In such times, we often get caught in one of the whirlpools on the river of life, and feel confused and frustrated, and although I hate to admit it, we also forget that God is not only with us, but in us.

One of the changes that I'm working on is to seek out and follow through on writing opportunities. In doing so, I sign up for writing workshops that are designed to stimulate and encourage a writer to keep writing. It can be very difficult to do so on one's own. Through the workshop, I expected to be motivated, but I didn't expect to hear God's voice when my teacher read The Summer Day from The House of Light by the Canadian poet Mary Oliver. She read the poem and gave the class five minutes to write an answer that would be read aloud with no correction or rewriting. In the poem, the narrator asks, "Who made the grasshopper?" I would like to share my answer for those of you who, like me, get distracted and forget.

You ask who made me. The easy answer is in the image of Blake's Little Lamb or Tiger. But my soul says it is not so simple, for if we are made in His image, His perfection includes the blind, the lame and even the Leviathan; Not just the Leviathan from the sea but also the one from within — the one who roars when confronted by sin, the one who whines when disciplined by the consequences of her choice and the one who finally acquiesces to her lot and listens to the still, small voice in her heart. The voice says, "in the beginning was the word and the word is in you to use to the best of your ability. Remember, you are fearfully and wonderfully made."

My secular audience sat in silence while I read my answer. Since I'm visually impaired, I couldn't see the expression of my fellow writers. I can say that I did hear some sniffles. Frankly, I was surprised myself at the words that came back to me from the page. It was like finding a life-saving ring after losing it in a lake.

Prayer: Blessed Father, thank You for making us in Your image. The psalmist writes that You numbered our parts and wrote them in Your book before You knit us together in our mother's womb. Remind us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that You know our darkness before we even know what light and dark really are. Help us to know Your word and to listen when You speak. We ask these things in Your holy name, and we praise You for Your faithfulness. Amen.