BeanSpired Editions

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

Coming Unburied

February 25, 2022June 2, 2022 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, 2022June 2, 2022 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, 2021June 1, 2022 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, 2021June 1, 2022 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

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?

The face of a dark brown donkey stares into the camera. He wears a forest-green halter with gold-colored hardware. His face, neck, and shoulder fill most of the picture. Beyond him to the left is a metal barn wall. A light gray donkey photobombs in the lower left corner of the image.

Donkey Devos, Life

Back to the Present

September 29, 2021June 2, 2022 Megan Bean

Our walk with God requires a similar presence of mind. In order to stick with Him through a world of temptations and uncertainty, we need to keep our focus on Him and where He is guiding us.

A gray donkey wearing a red halter looks over its shoulder at the camera. A person in a power wheelchair sits in front of the donkey, at the back of the photo.

Donkey Devos, Gospel, Life

A Turn for the Better

August 26, 2021June 2, 2022 Megan Bean

By the grace of God repentance is possible. So how do we start?

A slab of cement on the ground, with tufts of grass around the edges, has several hoofprints stamped into it.

Gospel

Good News Afoot

July 23, 2021June 1, 2022 Megan Bean

Keep your Gospel shoes on. Because you have some walking to do. And you want all your footprints to spell Jesus.

A furry brown and black donkey eats pelleted feed out of a bright blue pan on the ground.

Donkey Devos, God, Life

What It Takes to ‘Taste and See’

June 21, 2021June 2, 2022 Megan Bean

A life following Jesus isn't an easy life. But it's the best possible life we could ever live. And it takes us to the best place we could ever be: the heart of God, the very definition of goodness. You’d think we’d rush to taste that goodness. What kind of healthy human doesn’t want to experience inner peace, to be truly and faithfully loved, to live with a sense that they and their lives matter? Yet we hold back....afraid the sweetness holds poison. Convinced the fruit we’ve been told is scrumptious will turn out sour or bland. Suspicious that the goodness is all taste and no nourishment for our famished souls.

Donkey Devos, Relationships

Why We Need Good Friends

May 19, 2021June 1, 2022 Megan Bean

It sounds obvious, yet sometimes we seem to forget. We get caught up in work, routines, and family duties and relegate friendship to luxury status. Or we get plunged into pain or struggle and try to soldier on alone. We think we have to do it, that our burdens are ours alone to carry, that no one can ever understand, that no one should ever have to share our struggle.