Author: Pat Bell

Years ago, a friend from a small group Bible study showed me this verse: The phrase "take delight in you with gladness" haunted me. I wondered over and over how the Lord God takes delight in me with gladness. Recently, a face-to-face … Read more

A fellow Sunday School teacher says that she gets more out of Sunday School than the children do. This devotional is about one of those experiences. Recently, while teaching Sunday School, I watched a second-grade student working on her … Read more

One morning in March as I stepped out my front door, I was greeted with "Dr-eee!" — the territorial call of a red-winged blackbird. That first "Dr-eee" was echoed by at least three more. On our wetlands, the song of a red-winged … Read more

A few weeks ago, the leader of our Bible study group took us through an experience of Lectio Divina (Latin for "divine reading") using the Scripture passage where Jesus speaks of Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10:3-15. *Lectio … Read more

Last New Year's Day, I received by email a New Year's poem written by Frances Ridley Havergal 140 years ago. With research, I found that it may be sung to the tune used for the hymn, "The Church's one foundation". Another year is dawning, … Read more

Each year during Advent, I marvel at the angels' part in announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds in a field. This year, I am paying special attention to the words "glory" and "glorifying" in Luke's Christmas passage, because they were … Read more

When we met on a sunny fall morning recently, my friend, Nina, offered me a wonderful idea as food for thought. Nina pointed out that because most of the leaves were off the trees that day, when roadside trees cast shadows on the country … Read more

Maybe you've had this experience: you open your Bible, begin to read a familiar story, and then, suddenly, your attention is taken by something you have not seen before. It is fresh and invigorating, and calls you to a new understanding … Read more

Recently on quiet summer mornings as I walked our country valley road, I was aware of sounds made by creatures and machines that I could not see. I heard engine noises from jets and propeller-driven aircraft. Truck and car tires hummed, … Read more

Perhaps you are like me. I have a good imagination and can let it wander with ease into conjuring up worst-case scenarios and doom-and-gloom pictures. I was well aware that Jesus told us not to worry. When I noticed that my thoughts … Read more