May 31st

“An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest” Luke 9:46

oh, the arguments!
as if we are on the ladder
to success in a Fortune 500 company.
and as we crank up the rhetoric
or play stab-in-the-back games
Jesus comes into the board room,
dusty feet and grace-stained robe,
carrying a child, and whispers,
in a voice which sounds like
a loaf of bread being broken:
‘greatness has no name
on the door, it simply waits
as long as it takes,
sitting on the floor,
ready to give a horse ride,
read a story, play jacks.’
so
just step away from the ladder
come sit on the floor
see if you can tell
God
from the rest of the little ones.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 30th

“For all the gods of the nations are idols,
   but the Lord made the heavens." Psalm 96:5

those gods we idolize –
power, wealth, comfort –
they are so glamorous,
as brilliant as a new phone
but as empty as a wind blown bag.
yet, we run after them,
our altars built from calendars,
our sacrifice of family for fame,
bowing down to the great Get More.
yet, as the ancients remind us,
God made all that is around us.
All of it.
not with smoke and mirrors
not using CGI universes
or animals from AI’s imagination.
just waves lapping on beaches,
tiny birds whose wings flap
50 to 80 times a minute,
cats whose purrs still stump scientists.
it’s not a gimmick on God’s part,
just wonder,
holy wonder.
so, toss aside those other gods
and just look up
and see what the clouds
remind you of today.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Ascension Day

“God has gone up
with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of
a trumpet;” Psalm 47:5

so you simply slip away,
not with a holy fanfare
or 76 trombones played by angels.
after all, it is not farewell,
but grace slipped into
the pockets of our hearts.
you are not escaping,
but filling our emptiness
with promise and possibilities.
so, let us not lose ourselves
staring into space
but look around to see you
still rising –
in neighbors, in us, in me.
there in the least likely places,
where justice is on the move,
where grace is baking cookies,
where kindness plays with kids,
where peace refuses to stop ringing
even in its bell gets cracked,
where love is always louder
than all the voices of hate.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Eve of the Ascension

“so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,” Ephesians 1:18

Jesus,
preparing to rise to wonder,
you will not leave us sightless
but you gift us with heart-eyes
opening wide to that hope
you have planted in the soil
of our souls through all these days.
not glory’s hope or that
of gold-paved sidewalks,
but hope which tastes like sweet butter
spread on just-out-of-the-oven bread;
hope which is that 5-second-rule
grace spilled on a kitchen floor,
hope in the silence between soul-friends.
light that candle of hope
and place it in our hearts
turning them into lighthouses
which steer neighbors and strangers
from the dangerous waters of fear
and into that safe harbor
where we can shelter in your love.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 28th

 “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. Luke 12:29

quit studying the menu.
don’t try to turn prayers
into a list for the store.
without looking in the fridge,
the birds sing a song
and lilies turn out gorgeous
without looking in the mirror.
we aren’t born to count crumbs
or bottle anxiety like sour wine.
we are made up of quarks
and clothed in wonder woven
from the threads of love and hope.
each day
we are invited to eat
where there is more than enough
as we sit down and unfold
napkins crafted from mercy.
so, take a breath
sit in stillness
and remember that
the God who never
forgets your name
is passing the cup of grace
to you.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 27th

“Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today.” Deuteronomy 8:11

watch, comes the whisper
from God’s heart.
watch
lest life’s largesse blinds you,
lest that full pantry clouds
the memory of empty stomachs.
in the comfort of privilege
it is easy to forget the wilderness,
to brush off that dusty grace
which held you as your souls
murmured while thunder shook
mountains.
remember that hunger
which inspired you to pray,
the chronic

 thirst
that carved trust in your
throat like a psalm.
take care when you 
spend so much time
remembering the lean years
that you forget
the Giver
when your hands
can’t hold everything
you now have.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 26th

“Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.” Psalm 97:11

through the slats of the shade
we’ve pulled over our hearts
your light tiptoes in,
so, it might warm the seeds of justice
you have placed gently in
the gardened souls
of all who choose to do right
even as the world seems to bend
more and more towards evil.
joy is not a trumpet
blaring out some sort
of triumphal anthem,
as much as it is candles,
formed from the wax
of cold hearts you have
melted with your love,
and carried into bleak alleys
and quiet corners where
compassion refuses to sit idle.
so, keeper of mornings,
scatter the seed of sunrises
into our weary lives, so
that even as dusk awaits,
we will remember to let
grace glow.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 25th

“If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.” Deuteronomy 15:7

when a sister in need
approaches you,
don’t cross the street.
if a brother is hungry,
it’s not a reason to tighten
your grip on grace.
these siblings are God,
pressing a finger against
that doorbell of your
slammed shut tight heart.
so, offer them
not just a handout
but some of your day,
not just a meal
but a table conversation,
not just a sliver of hope
but that bit or bob of you
that remembers not to hoard.
for if you take that
risk of unclenching your grip
you just might find
that your emptiness is fuller
than you ever imagined.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 24th

”We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.” Romans 15:1-2

strength doesn’t rely on muscles,
but on mercy for the vulnerable.
strength isn’t about how much we can lift
but who we can help rise.
strength isn’t about flexing and posturing,
it is about kneeling
and washing the feet of prisoners,
it is about those quiet acts
of patience in unseen moments,
it is about showing up for the forgotten
not showing off for the crowds.
strength isn’t about how wide
our shoulders might be,
but whether we will carry
the burdens of the weary,
gently holding the fragile and frail
and making sure they get home.
so give us your strength, God,
which makes us weak enough
to be more like you.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 23rd

“For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

it has nothing to do
with pastries or programs,
it is not about what
Aunt Martha brings to the potluck
or who brews the best coffee –
it is the tangy taste of grace
lingering on our tongues.
because the Beloved Community
is not found in recipes or doctrines,
but in our common humanity,
relationships built on trust,
peace which whispers in silence,
joy bursting into our cloistered hearts
when we thought it could never happen
again.
after all, it’s at that table designed
by an imaginative mind,
crafted by a master carpenter,
the grain in the wood almost breathing.
a table where everyone –
that’s right – everyone – finds a place.
so sit down, pass the bread,
fill your neighbor’s glass with hope,
for where life is served,
Love is the party-giver.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 22nd

“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Romans 14:8

rising with the dust motes
in the morning sun or
curling up in the shadows,
we belong to you, Tender Heart,
not because we deserve it
but because of the grace
woven into the seams of our souls.
so may we live
not so much for ourselves
but for those around us,
and never more for them
than we do for you.
and when we come
to the end of life,
may death be like a leaf
on an autumn tree,
finally letting go,
trusting that the Spirit
which first breathed life into us
will carry us home
to you.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 21st

“The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!” Psalm 99:1

no middle of the night
social media stuff,
no need for spin,
no lies feeding lies,
just whispers of grace.
not sitting resolutely behind
a desk, your sharpie in your hand,
but the Word cooking
breakfast on the beach.
not walking roughshod
over the vulnerable,
but with feet covered
from the dust of death
and the ashes of our dreams.
you utter your hopes
and all creation quivers –
not in terror
but in delight.
so as we continue
to believe we run the show,
shake us out of our
arrogance, our apathy,
our blind worship of idols
who walk with clay feet.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 20th

 “who executes justice for the oppressed;

who gives food to the hungry.” Psalm 146:7

rolling up your sleeves,
you slip into the shadows
where hope flickers like
a match in the wind.
and there,
you hand out loaves of dignity
wrapped in napkins of grace,
those in the locked cells
of grudges or failing systems
hear you walking down the hall
the keys jingling in justice-worn hands.
the single mom counting out
nickels and dimes for food,
the back spasmed worker
looking for a second job,
even those forgotten by the forgotten,
none slip through the heart
because that is what you do,
day in, day out, always
listening to silenced voices,
lifting burdens from weary souls,
setting tables for your children,
hoping we might just take the hint,
meeting you at the pantry
not at the celebrity gala,
welcoming the stranger
not the privileged.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 19th

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6

each morning, may we stop
by your diner, Baker of our lives,
where we are served words
full of grace, like bread fresh
out of the oven, crusted with compassion,
smelling of your yeasty justice
and we can taste hope on our tongues.
then let us go out
into this world where so many
speak to conquer, to hurt,
to shame, to mock, to cut to the quick,
our mouths becoming your table—
where the stranger is welcomed,
the forgotten are fed,
enemies are given the best booth,
and love is the daily special,
nourishing hungers no one
ever sees.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 18th

”See, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule with justice. Isaiah 32:1

in the politician who sets aside pride
to serve with kind humility,
in the privileged who are willing
to reveal their ordinary, fumbling selves,
in all who have authority but
choose to shelter the vulnerable
from the bitter storms of life
and speak truth like fresh spring air,
in those who sit exalted on benches
yet act to cradle the weary
in arms of merciful justice,
your beloved community is glimpsed
as hope twinkles in
in the summer night like fireflies
and children hear the soft
footsteps of grace
walking through their
neighborhoods.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 17th

”As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

remember, in the morning,
bleary-eyed, mumbling, wishing
the kettle would boil sooner
that the robe of mercy is a gift,
those almost frayed socks are kindness,
that you are not perfect, which is okay.
because God doesn’t need the perfect
but the ones willing to be foolish,
who wear compassion when cruelty is chic,
who put on humility’s scuffed shoes,
not the polished boots of pride,
who pull on denims and work shirts
handed down from a carpenter.
and then, maybe today,
you will be merciful to someone
who doesn’t deserve it,
you will share grace with that
arrogant so-and-so who hasn’t earned it.
so, finish the cup,
slip into kindness,
stick some extra grace
into your backpack,
step humbly into the world
to live with all the other
children of God.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 16th

“Thus says the LORD:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15

in the communities reduced to rubble
in the hospitals without supplies
at the crossings where names are forgotten,
Ramah’s voice cries out.
not only every mother, but
every father, every sibling,
every heart which has shattered
and every soul cradling hope
is named Rachel.
yet,
there in the ashes is the God
who gathers tears into scarred hands
which, even now, are drafting
the plans for restoration,
which even now are drawing
weeping children into love’s embrace,
whispering that someday from grief
will rise grace like a phoenix.
so may we weep
not as those who have no hope
but as those who,
because of God,
never lose hope.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 15th

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3b

and just like that,
in case we miss it
the first time (or more), you whisper,
‘my love for you never fades.’
it won’t turn away, even when we do,
it won’t walk away, when we doubt.
it will just be
as patient as we need, and more,
weaving grace like a shawl around us
in every moment of our lives.
you see our worst, and still love,
you watch us chase after fools
and wait faithfully until we come back.
for you, it is not a burden or obligation,
simply that love which delights you.
so
today, tomorrow, whenever,
may we rest in holy wonder
that even before we ever think
of loving you,
you love us.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 14th

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:27-28

honestly, Lord?
it is hard.
the kid who shovels
snowy sidewalks, or
the co-worker who lets us
take the credit for a project –
they are easy to love
but those whose words
leave bruises on our souls
or the bitter voices which
turn our hearts to acid?
them’s the toughies.
but in your topsy-turvy,
out-of-the box beloved community,
you long for us to open our fists,
tenderize our spines,
let grace seep out of us like sunlight
through stained glass windows.
honestly, Lord, it is hard,
so keep finding a way
to teach us your illogical love
until it finds a way to slip in
through the cracks of the walls
we build out of our grudges
and turns our hurts holy.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 13th

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” Colossians 1:19

like a baker, you kneaded
the yeast of grace into Jesus,
and like a potter, you gently curved
him into the vessel to hold our lives
in him, we were blessed to see
love with skin on and the full feast
of creation, not just the scraps.
you tucked all of you into him –
into fingers that dared to touch lepers,
into lips that valued women and children,
into feet that walked with those
who had been forgotten by the privileged,
into hands that fed those starving for hope.
and still
into us, those cracked and stained
cups which spill more than they carry,
you hope we might dare to hold
just a thimbleful of you in us
and offer it to the thirsty, so
they might discover you,
your love, your grace, your peace,
your justice, your hope, your joy,
all of you –
in them, for them, with them.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 7th

“For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,” 1st John 5:3

it’s not a thick volume with
thousands of regulations
nor a suitcase crammed full
of guilt wrinkled and frayed.
it’s adding a pinch of salt
to the stew simmering on the stove,
it’s turning off the light
letting our loved one doze on the couch,
it’s weeding the neighbor’s yard
while they are away at graduation.
it is not so much a boulder on our back
as it is a butterfly in our soul.
it is not so much an order
but more like a whisper,
come sit a spell, let’s take a walk,
listening to the same silly joke
the little kid tells every time
we see them in the yard.
you see,
love just doesn’t weigh
as much as we tell
ourselves that it does.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 6th

“Come and see what God has done:
   He is awesome in his deeds among mortals.” Psalm 66:5

come,
with eyes wide open,
ears attuned,
souls stirring.
come and see,
not booming distant fireworks
but the quiet voice of a mother,
not breaking news
but bread slathered with jam,
not arrogant celebrities
but neighbors mopping up after floods.
come and see what God has done,
the welcome mat with everyone’s
name and picture on it,
gently massaged aches
by unseen yet always near hands,
sorrow rewritten as soft lullabies.
come and see
but stay long enough
to see joy renovate the
homes where weariness once lived,
and hear grace tell stories
which sparkle like fireflies.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 5th

"The LORD loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful;
he rescues them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 97:10

on a bookmark, in a hymn,
it seems so simple:
love God, hate evil.
but on Monday,
when evil stalks us in cynicism,
or chills our hearts with indifference,
we realize it never wears a nametag
or feels no need to identify itself.
O God,
of course, we want to love you,
to not jump on cruelty’s bandwagon
or follow the pied pipers of anger,
or remain silent when injustice
sits down next to us wherever we are.
so, like a mother staring out the window
as kids head off to school, watch over us.
let us not become so weary
we forget to share simple grace
with those with complicated needs.
wrap us in the shawl of hope
which warms us with the promise
that even as the shadows of fear
spread across our times,
your light never dims,
your love never gives up.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 4th

"Be hospitable to one another without complaining." 1st Peter 4:9

easy peasy – opening the door
with a smile plastered on our face
practiced words sliding out of our mouths.
but, cracking open the heart
without our questions slipping out,
without holding the spreadsheet
reflecting moments wasted,
meals missed, angry conversations.
yet
hospitality is not about
perfection, but about presence.
It is not about table arrangements
but the souls of those sitting around the table.
when we offer ourselves, no string attached,
when we move over to make room,
when we let the forgotten
be the guests of honor –
that’s the gift, that’s the heart,
that’s the grace we offer
every time we hold open the door
welcoming in everyone we can,
hoping that no one notices
the stray crumb of grumbling
we didn’t sweep up before
everyone arrived.

(c) 2025 Thom M. human

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 3rd

“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.” 1st John 3:16

i know love,
from the soft breath of my mother
while she read to me,
to the way friends do not
hold back in caring for me,
and in the life which is shared
with me by my soul mate.
i know how i want to keep
it locked away in my heart
like a miser putting funds
in a massive safe.
so may i dare not only
to speak the words,
but to spend love
extravagantly, even unwisely,
on those i am told
are not to be valued,
to turn towards them
so i can see their needs,
to lay down what many might
say is the most important
thing i will ever have,
but is simply a small piece
of who i am.
after all,
i know love because
you did not keep yours safe
but gave it away
for all your siblings.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 2nd

"Why should I fear in times of trouble,
   when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of the abundance of their riches?" Psalm 49:5-6

they want us to be afraid,

don't they, God?

as they stack their crypto currency,

as tariffs draw closer like storm clouds,

as they polish their arrogance

so it will gleam in the bright lights

of their narcissism.

they want us to be afraid,

don't they, God?

so remind us,

that a sunbeam comes

free of charge, and blue skies

come direct from your palette.

remind us that you are

the meadow in which 

we can run barefoot,

you are the windbreak

when fears rush toward us,

you are the gardener 

who rakes up their words

like autumn leaves, so

we can run and jump 

on the pile, crunching them

into dry dust clinging to our clothes

which we will wash off

in your living waters.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

May 1st

"Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you." 1 John 2:24a

when we think

abide

means sitting in our

easy chairs of apathy, 

letting grace gather dust

out of disuse,

putting compassion

back in the box 

and on the shelf 

in the closet,

agreeing on that 

antiquated notion that

justice is a luxury for

the few, the privileged,

tip us out of our 

chairs, waking us from

our drowsy disinterest,

and leading us out 

into a world desperate

for those who actually

give a damn about 

others.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman