transformation – BeanSpired Editions

Gleaning Growth From Struggle

September 26, 2025 Megan Bean

In life as in school, we grow when we handle challenges well. Here are nine insights for making the most of your own struggles.

Pink tulip-shaped flowers adorn the bare branches of a shrub reaching upward toward a blue sky.

Gospel, Life

Resurrected for Life

March 28, 2024September 16, 2024 Megan Bean

Here are four ways our resurrection later offers us hope and meaning now.

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.

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?

An assortment of cleaning supplies are arranged on the ground in front of a metal barn wall. The supplies include colorful buckets, a scrub brush, dish soap, and a broom.

Donkey Devos, Holidays & Seasons

Spring Cleaning for the Soul

March 24, 2021September 30, 2024 Megan Bean

Like barns (not to mention houses), our souls can benefit from some “spring cleaning” to clear away spiritual muck and prepare us for service.

The sun sets in a dim, hazy sky above a marsh. In the foreground, plants stand silhouetted against water that reflects the sun's light. Farther away, across the water, the land looks dark against the sunset.

God, Tough Times

When Suffering Makes No Sense

January 27, 2021September 30, 2024 Megan Bean

Suffering when you can see the point is hard. Suffering when you can’t see the point is harder.

God

In the Hands of the Crafter

June 30, 2019October 29, 2024 Megan Bean

God loves crafting, too. We are His materials, and He has one Subject in mind: the image of Christ.

God, Life

Under Construction

July 28, 2018October 31, 2024 Megan Bean

Maybe you aren’t feeling much like a masterpiece right now. But that’s okay. Because, as most homeowners start to realize once their project begins, a renovation-in-progress looks very different from the end product.

God, Life

Coming As We Are

January 23, 2016October 31, 2024 Megan Bean

The hair salon is probably the only public place where people go in looking their worst, and come out looking their best. Time spent with God is like that.