BeanSpired Editions

The green heart-shaped leaves of an Eastern Redbud tree fill most of the photo. The closest are mere inches from the camera. Some leaves are in sunlight, others in full or partial shade. A few bits of blue sky show though the canopy of leaves. The leafy branches cast shadows on the grass below.

A Love That’s Easily Pleased

July 29, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

When we truly, deeply love someone, we’re easily pleased with their gifts. They could give us a rock and we’d treasure it—because it’s from them. If their heart’s in it, our heart responds. I wondered: How pleased am I with what God gives me? What does that say about our relationship? And how does He respond to what I offer Him?

A white plastic basket sits on the ground in the aisle a barn. The basket has two rectangular compartments and a handle running along the divider between them. Its compartments are filled with various brightly-colored brushes and tools used to groom horses. The floor of the barn aisle is covered with rather dirty rubber mats. Shade and morning sunlight streak the ground. Under a board fence in the background are the plants and dirt of a paddock.

Donkey Devos, God, Life

Waiting for Perfection

June 13, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

If God wants our sanctification so badly, why doesn't He just skim off our old selves and slip on the new in an instant? Why make us endure the wait?

A single set of footprints cross the damp sand of a beach, parallel to the line of the water. The sand is strewn with seashells and sticks. To the left, gray-blue seawater is rippling onto the beach.

Life, Relationships, Tough Times

When Obedience Comes First

May 20, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

Sometimes action has to precede emotion. Sometimes we have to trust the power of obedience to shape us, instead of trying to get ourselves in shape to obey.

The fallen, pale pink blossoms of a Japanese Flowering Cherry tree litter the sun-dappled ground under the tree.

God, Holidays & Seasons, Tough Times

When Good Things End

April 28, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

Trusting God’s purposes is hard enough when bad things invade our lives. But what about when good things leave? When instead of facing an enemy, we face simply...emptiness?

A brilliant sunrise fills the sky over the dark treetops of a forest. Clouds ranging from gold to orange to dark pink and purple spread across a pale blue sky. The horizon where the sun is about to come up is almost white.

Donkey Devos, God

Not Like Us

March 31, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

He might be above and beyond us in just about every way. But He also draws close to us in all His holy otherness.

Old fallen maple leaves cover the ground, almost completely obscuring the grass. The leaves are dry and brown, with pale undersides.

God, Life

Coming Unburied

February 25, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

What do you do with the stuff that can't and won't stay buried, yet is still undeniably not what you wanted in your life?

A furry gray donkey with a white nose and belly and a dark stripe down its shoulder stands in a snowy pasture. It turns its head toward the camera and pricks its ears. The pasture in which it stands is long and narrow, with wire mesh fences, and slopes downhill toward a forest. The forest consists of pine and bare deciduous trees. Through their branches the sky shows a bright cloudless blue. Some trees off-screen to the right streak the snow with shadows.

Donkey Devos, God, Holidays & Seasons, Tough Times

Finding God When Things Look Bleak

January 25, 2022September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

We may not always be sure what to make of what God sends us. But we can always trust and know the One who sends it.

A gray and gold sunset fills the sky over a marshy landscape. The sun itself is about to dip below a horizon of distant trees. In the foreground, a weathered wooden boardwalk makes an L-bend to the right.

Relationships

Building a Faithful Future

December 22, 2021September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

How can we foster genuine, enduring faith in the young people within our spheres of influence?

A large-print Bible sits on a wooden table with a cloth runner. The Bible is open to Psalms 22-24 (CSB). On top of it sit a pencil and greeting card. The card's cover displays simple, colorful drawings of flowers.

Relationships, Tough Times

Sharing Faith

November 24, 2021September 26, 2024 Megan Bean

God is our ultimate Source of faith. But often He provides it through other people.

Four sunflowers of varying sizes open in the golden sunlight. The two nearest appear to be inches from the camera. The bright yellow flowers stand out against the green plants of the surrounding field.

Gospel

Redeemed in Full

October 27, 2021September 27, 2024 Megan Bean

Have you ever questioned whether you're redeemable? Have you nourished hope for an abundant, meaningful life, only to see it decimated by your own sin or failure? Have you looked at the remains and felt sure that, even if something new were to sprout, nothing could ever bloom?