doubt – BeanSpired Editions

A planner lies open on a granite countertop. The month shown is February 2023.

God, Tough Times

When God’s Timing Seems Terrible

January 27, 2023February 1, 2023 Megan Bean

In the face of loss, where and how can we find the providence of a loving, sovereign God?

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, 2022February 1, 2023 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, 2022February 1, 2023 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.

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, 2022February 1, 2023 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 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, 2021February 1, 2023 Megan Bean

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

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.

God, Gospel, Tough Times

Only Goodness and Mercy

February 19, 2021January 31, 2023 Megan Bean

Yes, trouble may chase us. Pain may nag us. Sorrow might ambush us again and again. Guilt and shame may nip at our heels. But the only things that can keep up with us, day in and day out, all the days of our lives, are the goodness and faithful love of God. And like the Good Shepherd He is, He will send them after us relentlessly. No, scratch that – He’ll come after us Himself, bringing them with Him. Because that’s who He is.

God, Tough Times

Crossing the Abyss

March 21, 2020June 2, 2022 Megan Bean

Even in the midst of heart-stopping terror, He offers the heart-healing, life-giving good news of His presence, love, and care.

Disability & Rare Disease, God, Tough Times

A Question of Identity

December 9, 2018June 2, 2022 Megan Bean

Sudden hard times demand answers to some very important questions: What kind of God do you follow? What gives your life meaning? Where will you look for comfort and help that actually deliver?