June 30th

"In God, whose word I praise,
   in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?" Psalm 56:4

my once smooth skin
now is a patchwork
of wrinkles and age spots
and under a doctor's care.
my muscles no longer
impress anyone but flap
loose under my arms.
my luxuriant hair is
fading, thinning, disappearing,
oops, completely gone.
my once sharp as a
tack mind seems to be
duller and duller at times.
yet
i continue to trust
that you love me more
today than yesterday
and will be in love
even more tomorrow.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 29th

"He will send from heaven and save me,
   he will put to shame those who trample on me.
God will send forth his steadfast love
   and his faithfulness." Psalm 57:3

when i want to hide under
the covers because it is just
so scary out there, send
those little birds who will sing
glad songs of hope.
when i need to go through
more physical therapy
because the knuckleheads
just refuse to stop pummeling
me with the bitter words, send
those gentle hands which
will ease the tight muscles
of my soul.
when it seems that i am
the only one who sees that
little glimmer of hope
there in the eye of the old
folks who everyone discounts
simply because, well because
they are old, may i not turn
away but learn from those
faithful, not-so-ancient-as-we-think
lives.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 28th

"The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands," Acts 17:24

the multi-campus
congregation,
the high tech
sanctuaries,
the capital campaign
to build the
office complex
for expanded staff.
remind us where
we will find you—
in the hearts
of those who
refuse to build walls;
in the hands
of servers in
shelters and kitchens;
in the feet
of marchers for
human rights;
in the voices
of advocates
for justice;
in the lives
of those who see
you
in every person
they meet.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 27th

Praise the LORD!
   I will give thanks to the
   LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the 
   upright, in the congregation. Psalm 111:1

running
with the little kids
chasing fireflies in
summer's meadows;
sitting
with the seniors
monitoring their
bingo cards like hawks;
packing
sack lunches for
the volunteers
building affordable homes;
spraying
teenagers at the carwash
to raise funds for
an immigrant family's
move:
i praise you, with
all the young and old hearts,
the whole and broken hearts,
the wondering and wandering
hearts.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 26th

Jesus stood still and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you?" They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:32-34

open our eyes
so we will discover
you in the dreamers
and the dissenters.
open our ears
so we might listen
to the stories of all
who have found their words.
open our arms
that we might draw
into an embrace of grace
everyone who has been
shamed by the world.
touch our apathy
as well as our boasting,
touch our fears as well
as our fickle foolishness,
touch faithfulness as well
as our stubborn refusal to follow,
so
you might lead us
into the grace of your
Beloved Community.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 25th

“When Moses went into the tent of the covenant on the next day, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted. It put forth buds, produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.” Numbers 17:8

don’t despair,
God still works—
not where sycophants kiss power
but in communities told repeatedly
that nothing good will bloom there,
not in behind flickering screens
but in hearts shattered by grief,
not in corridors of power
but in neighborhoods weary of worry.
don’t despair,
God still works—
where teachers never give up,
in friends who always show up,
in children who always hope,
in strangers sharing kindness.
don’t despair,
God still works—
in the steady noise of fear,
division, hate, and cruelty,
God touches those dry branches
which the world is ready
to use as kindling,
and grace, love, justice,
peace, inclusion, and joy
begin to bud.
don’t despair,
God still works.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 24th

"Hoping against hope," Romans 4:18a

though the poll numbers
about being able to restore
creation to better days are poor,
we hope we will be wise enough
to keep working at it.
though the expectations as
to whether we are able
to accept others for who
they ae seem to be diminishing,
we hope we will never stop
standing with those who are
bullied and shamed by the world.
though we know we cannot
bank on the wealthiest of the wealthy
to be willing to share from
their abundance, still we
will not give up hoping that
everyone, one day, will never
have to go without the very
necessities of life.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 23rd

“Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” Romans 4:4-5

we think faith
is a timecard
we use each day
to make sure God knows
how diligent, how hard working,
how compassionate and just,
how many hours we are accumulating
as we move through life
until that final paycheck
that gets us God’s good grace.
but it is that simple,
even foolish in the eyes of the world,
childlike trust we have, even
before we got out of bed,
before we had breakfast,
before we had planned our day,
before we did a single thing,
which is how God’s good grace
has gotten us.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 22nd

“Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith.” Romans 3;27

like precious plants we nourish,
we bring our framed diplomas,
our trophies polished and gleaming,
our report cards
and perfect attendance records,

a memorized acceptance speech—
but when we stand before you,
they slip away like dust
to be carried away on a breeze
for all we can bring are empty pockets.
because faith is not a medal
but an open door
to your Beloved Community,
where your mercy arrives
before any of our successes
and your welcome before
all that we think is most dear.
and so, we are invited
to walk beside you,
no taller than anyone else,
no wiser than a kid
just learning to read,
but full of gratitude.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 21st

“The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.” Acts 15:12

in the joy of a child telling
Grandpa about seeing her
favorite player score a goal
in the match she attended.
in the stranger who prepays
for the groceries for the
family behind him, who
are counting their money
while looking at what they
could put back if needed.
in the young person visiting
his grandmother in the
memory unit, and then begins
singing a French ballad
for her neighbor who has
no family to visit her.
in people we never notice
because of being glued
to our mindless devices,
in voices we never hear
because we have the
speakerphone turned on,
we miss so many of your
signs and wonders, O God.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 20th

"Then the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we are.’ There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.’" Numbers 13:31, 33

there’s a trillionaire
who sells tickets to
billionaires so they can
travel to be among space
which is made up of
the same dust from creation
which we are (at no charge to us).
there are strutting, bulked up,
more inked than newspapers
folks performing in cages,
and then having the gall
to mock grace personified.
then there are those
delivering groceries to the hungry,
advocating for kids in the system,
marching proudly with neighbors,
bringing people out of captivity,
lifting up the forgotten and
never forgetting the rejected.
and you whisper:
‘blessed are the grasshoppers
for they are stronger than
all the knuckleheads
the world adores.’

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 19th

Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Matthew 18:21

because we cannot see you
as anything than an accountant
working from a spreadsheet
with debits and credits accruing
for each name in the system,
or like a team of professors trying
to come up with the ultimate
math formula which cannot
be solved by the next genius,
we have overcomplicated
the simple act of forgiving
(which is good, because it
lets us off the hook when
it comes to this question)
but for you, forgiveness
is a number so simple
it has no end, which seems
completely irrational to us.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 18th

“What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” Matthew 18:12-13

duh!
it isn’t rocket science,
after all, is it?
of course, the forgotten:
the addict who has failed
rehab more times than
the family can count,
the hacker, the con,
the folks who hold cardboard
signs on every street corner
should be brought back
and welcomed back into
your Beloved Community—
but since we are too busy
rejoicing over the latest
snark that sticks it to all
those with whom we just
cannot stand to do anything,
we will let you take care of it.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 17th

"Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Romans 2:4

sitting in the bar
at the No Regrets Inn
we sip at that well-aged
25-year-old bitterness
which we enjoy every day,
and thinking you are
of the same mind as us,
we send a bottle down
to you with our compliments
but
you wave it away, saying,
'thanks, but i think i will
stick with this,' holding
up a glass of crystal clear
grace on the rocks.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 16th

“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my help and my God.” Psalm 42:11

we let our souls run barefoot
through shadowy valleys of fear,
instead of splashing in mercy’s pools.
nights may seem interminable in
those hearts weighed down by silence,
yet, God still hears the songs
buried deep within us.
for hope is not a denial of grief—
it is the candle we carry in such moments,
and should tears become our daily bread,
love is still nearer than breath,
more reliable than each morning’s sun.
so, let us sing lullabies of patience,
of faith, of listening

to our sad sack souls
for the One who carved canyons
still lays out paths to joy.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 15th

“He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

stop worrying about size,
we don’t need to XXXL
our faith in any way—
we just need to take
those particles so tiny
we are afraid we will lose
them in our pockets and
sprinkle them on the world.
stop thinking about volume,
our faith doesn’t need to boom
like thunder bouncing off mountains
and frightening everyone away—
it just needs to be a lullaby
sung to a world which is
too anxious to fall asleep.
stop trying all those tips
from seminars and books
to bulk up your faith—
sit down and listen to a
first grader learning to read,
caress the aged hands covered
with paper thin skin which
has held more grace than grudges.
stop believing that we
are the ones to move mountains.
God will do the heavy lifting—
we are called to be seed planters.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 14th

“The LORD bless you and
     keep you;
the LORD make his face
     to shine upon you, and be
     gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his
     countenance upon you,
     and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

we bless others and keep them
as part of the fabric of life, when
we do not build fences shutting them out,
but cup our hands gently
around their fragile hopes.
we can turn toward the laughter
of children who glimpse joy in shadows,
toward the grace found in
checkout lines, at workstations,
and in all those everyday places
where people wonder if they are seen.
we can raise people out of fear
with a peace that is deeper than quiet,
out of loneliness by holding
neighbors and strangers alike,
out of grief by becoming
a glimpse of God’s love.
and as we do, we slip
blessing upon blessing beneath
the doors of weary hearts.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 13th

"And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. " Matthew 17:2

you take our anguish
and transfigure it
into hope others need,
you gather up the pieces
of our shattered hearts
and transfigure them into
the healing for communities,
you mingle our tears with yours
and transfigure them into that
roaring river of justice which
can give new life to the forgotten,
you lift our grudges from
off our wearied bodies and
transfigure them into grace
which can shine a light
in the shadows in which
we have chosen to live.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 12th

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

these folks who want us
to let them guide us through life—
they are like the people
in movies and TV shows
who stand at arrival gates
holding signs with someone’s
name written on them and
people blindly follow them.
for that is what these folks
want us to do, to follow blindly—
simply because they offer
the trendiest seminar,
the latest book of the day,
the top ten of whatever
list we carry around in
our buckets, until we realize
we are left with emptier pails.
but the Spirit?
the Spirit simply wants
to be that friend who has already
gone through the grief,
known the job loss,
dealt with broken relationships,
lain awake for night after night
and will show us the way out
however long a journey it might be.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 11th

“Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back” Ecclesiastes 11:1

for those shores flooded
with the flotsam of fear,
for those riverbanks which
overflow with injustice,
for those communities who wonder
if the dam will break from
the rising anger,
may we continue to keep scattering
grace like twigs little kids toss
into water running down the street.
we don’t know where it lands,
nor whose thirst it might slake,
or what souls it might nourish
long after it disappears
from our sight.
but God says to trust what is given—
healing words,
hands which refuse to let go,
an open door to a stranger.
for every act of kindness
we release upon troubled waters
becomes a part of that river
God is sending toward hope.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 10th

"The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools." Ecclesiastes 9:17

these days it’s not with seltzer bottles
or cramming bodies into tiny cars
or seeing who has the most
slips on banana peels.
no, our pratfall of clowns
is obsessed with social media,
with cage fights on hallowed grounds,
with whom can take the greatest
offense at honest questions.
and there seems to be no end
to those who are jockeying
for the point position
in the flock of fools
which take to the air each day.
so when we are tempted
to run away and join this circus,
may we hear the songs children
make up in the backyards,
may we stop to hear the memories
of folks who have seen so many
traveling sideshows come
and go throughout their lives
they have lost count,
and pay attention to those
who teach us how to weave
unraveled hopes back together.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 9th

"They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel." Matthew 15:30c-31

we aren’t asked to tell
folks to throw away their
walking sticks or wheelchairs.
we are called to make sure
children who lose breakfast or lunch
on summer break are fed.
that neighbors or friends
who have no transportation
get to doctor visits and clinics.
that kids who are in the ‘system’
have trained advocates who
will be their voices
that all who are transitioning
are known by their chosen name
especially ‘beloved.’
after all,
you do not expect us
to be miracle workers
but simply those who share
grace, compassion, justice,
and hope—
which is why we praise you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 8th

“And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." Matthew 15:23b

we want you—
to tell the forgotten to stop
standing on the corner
with their pathetic signs.
to shush those stuck
in hopelessness voicing
their silly expectations that
we privileged will do more
than offer prayers
before heading out
to our safe, safe lives.
to place a restraining order
on compassion which keeps
stalking us, hoping we will
fall in love with it so deeply
that we cannot keep from
caring for the most vulnerable,
never realizing that when
we want to send the hurting,
the broken, the fearful,
the lonely, the grieving away,
forgetting that it is actually you
we want to get rid of.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 7th

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;” Job 42:5

at first, it was the preacher’s rumors,
the hymn words i read
sitting next to my mom,
those hand-me-down stories
around summer camp evenings.
i learned to trace your name
in the dust of the faith of others,
filled the pockets of my soul
with answers stolen from friends.
but now:
after loneliness was my only friend,
after my doubts outnumbered stars,
after grief sat in the shadowed corner—
now my eyes are wide open.
not in easy certainty but
in that soft presence,
not in answers from whirlwinds
but in your whispering my name.
finally i can release
what i think i know,
my heart open to that
mystery woven from grace.
and while hearing about you
yesterday
was all i needed (and
maybe wanted)
today,
in the silence after the storm,
i see you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 6th

“O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1

before the sunbeam creeps
across my pillow
before the kettle whistles,
before fear places today’s
lesson before me,
my soul wanders toward you,
not because i am strong
but because i am thirsty.
those deserts i carry—
worries in my wallet,
grief lurking behind my smile,
hope rubbed raw by waiting
cannot satisfy themselves
so i come searching
as i wait for that mercy
falling like showers
onto a parched desert.
you are the water
for my prayer seeds,
that well deeper than emptiness,
the dawn rising while
i am still discovering
how to trust light
and so, before it reaches out
for anything else, my heart
stretches out for you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 5th

“Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2

carrying baskets so full of words
their handles creak, we come with
paragraphs of piety, promises on
the verge of breaking, excuses,
and prayers we have redacted—
yet in the silence which greets us
our syllables flitter away like butterflies.
you have no need for our noise,
you won’t be turned by tumbling words,
for you live in those still places
between one heartbeat and the next.
so, show us how to release
our tight grasp of flowery words,
model for us the holy art of listening,
so that as words become fewer
wonder will become greater,
and prayers are not performances
but those small candles of trust
we set gently before you.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 4th

“Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well.” Ecclesiastes 3:16

now, more than ever
justice goes to those
with the deepest pockets
which leaves out those
with holes in theirs.
now, more than ever
people seem willing to take
all the grace, hope, compassion
which belongs to them and melt
these gifts down to make
golden statues of the wicked
that they can worship.
so maybe
this should be the verse
held up at sporting events,
to remind us of where we are
and who we are called to be.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 3rd

“yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.” Galatians 2:16

we have so much trouble
believing that we are made
right with God if it is not
we who are making all
the effort, doing all the
heavy lifting.
yet
it might be even simpler
than we think . . .
it might have more
to do with Jesus’ faith
in us that
we can change
we can be more loving,
we can seek justice
for the forgotten,
simply by trusting
in that faith.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 2nd

“So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” Ecclesiastes 2:17

tired—
tired of counting
of achieving
of proving
of gathering life’s wind
into our closed hands.
and we carry all we
have chased here
beneath the sun and
these weary days feel like
sand slipping through our fingers.
and that Old Preacher reminds us
that striving will not save us
that success cannot hold us
that all our work leaves us hollow.
yet, here in this truth which aches
is where God meets us--
not in bronze or stone statues
but in the breath which enlivens us,
not in our portfolios and accounts,
but in the soft embrace of mercy.
and when it seems everything
we are told is of value dissipates
Love still abides—
constant as the rising sun
gentle as our loved ones’ breath,
waiting for us to relax
and simply welcome
such grace.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

June 1st

“Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness.” Ecclesiastes 2:13

as dusk gathers, we take the lamp
fueled by wisdom.
despite its wavering flame
casting soft light upon our path,
it cannot push back the night,
it cannot make a deal with time
or shut our hearts against grief.
still, it burns—
which might be enough
to show the way under us,
the companion in the shadows,
mercy there where the road bends.
if we are wise,
we know we cannot keep
night from catching us,
but we can learn to walk,
eyes open and hopeful,
hands unclenched in trust,
souls searching for wonder,
as we journey through the shadows.
and the One who named
both night and day,
waits for us in each—
in the shining awareness of knowing
as well as in that
tender mystery of all
we cannot understand

yet

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman