July 31st

"O LORD, God of my salvation,
  when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
  incline your ear to my cry.” Psalm 88:1-2

it is when dusk dispels
the last bits of sun that
those words of contempt,
of ignorance, even of hate
begin to play like an
endless loop in our hearts.
it is when the shadows
of grief once more stretch
themselves across our souls
like an afghan that our granny
made for us when we were young.
it is when night slams
the doors of life against
grace and hope which want
to come and have a
slumber party with us—
those are the moments
when you drop everything
to run and gather us
in your lap, to listen
for as long as we need,
on however many nights
like these we endure.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 30th

   "I heard a voice I had not known:
'I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
   your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
   I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah'" Psalm 81:6-7

the expectations of others,
baskets heavy with worry,
the struggle of believing
we must go alone—
so many yokes on our shoulders.
but the One who loosened Pharoah’s grip
still puts salve on wrists rubbed raw
by fear and hearts scabbed by grief,
and gently whispers, ‘put them down.’
not so we will feel ashamed
for crying out like a frightened child
but so we might remember that
every honest prayer echoes
in the corridors of grace
for in the rattling windows of storms
and in dawn’s early hush,
God responds—
not by pulling us out but by
walking beside us in the wilderness,
until our shoulders know the touch of freedom.
so start today—
take one deep breath,
set down one burden,
sing one song,
trust the One who has
always been enough,
then rinse and repeat
tomorrow.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 29th

“While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.” Acts 1:10

we’re good at standing—
in line for the latest tech,
tickets to the newest epic,
or for a cold beer at the game.
but standing up to cruelty,
confronting politicians about
their silent complicity to hate,
or standing in front of the vulnerable
the knuckleheads mock?
you will find us in our easy chairs.
we are so good at gazing—
at our devices for hours,
looking past those in need,
turning the elderly invisible
but noticing the forgotten,
paying attention to the stranger
asking for just a bit of kindness,
seeing creation crumbling?
we are resting our eyes.
we are so ready to get
to those pearly gates and claim
our mansions and our harps,
we never notice the hell
which poverty, apathy, fear,
loneliness, grief, and suffering
have established for those around us.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 28th

“For your obedience is known to all; therefore, I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil.” Romans 16:19

they tutor us in outrage,
they make us apprentices of fear,
those loud, angry voices insisting
that wickedness deserves all our attention—
yet, the good news never claims
we become fluent in evil but
invites us to learn the language of grace,
to choose gentleness over cruelty,
hope instead of fear,
peace before enmity.
so may we become adept
at love’s stubborn vocabulary,
those who know the names of mercy,
who glimpse resurrection blooming
in the cracked dirt of another day.
for in a world with
far too many prophets of despair,
may we be those
whose wisdom is shaped by goodness,
whose hearts remain untrained in hate,
and whose lives become
the quiet, persistent proof
that love has the final word.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 27th

"So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.'" Matthew 27:24

when they bring us in
and seat us in the
interrogation room, and
begin to question us
why we allow children
to go hungry each night
while our garbage bins
reek of thrown out food,
why we refuse to demand
those who want to open
up homeless shelters in winter
be given the same incentives
as the developers building
million-dollar gated communities,
or why we simply choose
to remain silent instead
of confronting bullies, we
simply wring our hands
under the table protesting
our innocence, while
you weep behind the
one-way window into our
souls.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 26th

"'Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.'" Joshua 24:15

we could listen quietly
sitting on our tongues
to make sure they do not
just get up and into
someone else's face.
we could sweep our fears
off the front porch of our hearts
and put out the welcome mat
so others know that they
can find a home in us.
we could walk Grace and Hope
down the street, letting all
the little kids (and the big ones)
run up to hug them and
get wet sloppy kisses to bring
healing to their wounded souls.
we could pause and turn
to see those that scare us
so much face to face, only
to discover we are looking
into the mirror.
or
we could choose
to keep living just
as we are right now.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 25th

“It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to put confidence in mortals.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9

it is a shell game for
all those thimbleriggers in power,
as they place a distraction under
one of the social media posts
in the night, uploading them
so rapidly we never notice
they have snatched it away
and we are left with
another empty feeling.
the barnums of the world
know the truth of one being
born every minute, as we
cause their coins, sneakers,
perfumes, cameras, and
sketchy scriptures to fly off
the virtual shelves, while
stuffing their bank accounts.
and all the while you simply
offer a hand which
ill never let us go and
a heart which will never
stop loving us.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 24th

"This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you." Romans 15:22

we sit around hard tables
in chairs getting more uncomfortable
that we rush out of the place
never noticing you and the folks
with the towels, mops, bins
waiting to clean up the mess
we manage to leave behind.
we sit in our easy chairs
looking through those yearbooks
which carry the memories of all
those good old days, which were good
because we didn't have to make
any of the hard life-changing decisions
and so do not see you standing
on the sidewalk, pack on your back,
walking stick in your hand, and a
gleam in your eye, as you hope
to lead the way to even better days
than we could ever begin to imagine
as we sit wrapped in the past.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 23rd

“Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in their hearts;
there is no fear of God
    before their eyes." Psalm 36:1

they look at us,
a hunger in their eyes
for our adulation and
chants of their name,
of wanting to see us
waving our hands in worship
and a bending of our knees
in abject loyalty to them,
or a recognition that their
words overflowing with
hollow promises fill that
void in our shriveled lives
and their winks, nods, and
finger pointing our way
show a deep affinity with us,
a relationship which is abiding
beyond all words.
but
when we look deeply
into their eyes, all we glimpse
is that deadness of souls which
have shriveled because of
the contempt and distrust they
truly have for every single person
who is not them.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 22nd

"And there, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written." Joshua 8:32

sorry, Josh, but
we need to borrow the stone
which warns about having
any other Gods, to put under
the chair of our political choice,
and that one about honoring
our parents and their generation
we will place in their way so they
can stumble all over the place
proving we are right that folks
who are of a certain age are useless,
and those ones about not
telling falsehoods, or killing, no
cheating on those we swear to love,
and not being jealous of what others own,
well, gosh, they have just gone
out of style as far as we are concerned.
and just like that, your hopeful reminders
are ground into gravel we can walk
over on our way to foolishness
beyond imagination.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 21st

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” Romans 14:10

do you ever shake your head,
drop it into your hands, and
mutter to yourself,
“how long? how long?”
for no matter who you send,
no matter who shares your words,
nor how often you repeat yourself,
we remain stubbornly insistent
that not only do we
get to judge others, and not you,
but we get to set the standards
as to who, how, and why
others around us are judged.
maybe that is why you are willing
to patiently wait, until we step
into your living room at the end of time,
just to see the look on our faces
when we see all those losers,
those deplorables, those prats,
curled up next to you on the couch,
eating the cookies you just
took out of the oven.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 20th

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10

not waiting for a committee report
or a vote of confidence,
love crosses every street
we have been told to avoid,
stepping onto those porches
and knocking on the doors
we teach ourselves to fear.
despite every voice demanding
we choose sides and not neighbors,
you whisper a different approach—
offering a heart before hearing a word,
healing wounds instead of arguing,
seeing your sibling in God, not a label.
when love is that quiet courage
to refuse harming simply to harm,
to put more chairs at the table,
to tear down walls to build wells,
then the law is fulfilled.
for when every barrier is removed,
every act of mercy replaces meanness,
then newcomers and old-timers
remember they all live
in the same neighborhood
found in God’s heart.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 19th

"So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat;" Joshua 6:20

if only it was
as easy shouting
to bring down the walls
of division and discord.
if only all it took
was the world singing
to give peace a chance.
if only it was as simple
as marching in the
light of God to end
all hatred and oppression.
if only we had to pick up
our trumpets to turn
our communities into havens
of hospitality towards all,
of healing for the broken,
of kindness offered to
the forgotten and the vulnerable.
if only . . .

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 18th

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1

but before we bow,
may we remember
that every seat of power
is on loan for but a moment
and rests on the foundation of dust.
for authority does not mean holiness
and power is not the same as love.
the Word who named the stars
knelt to wash the feet
of the vulnerable we ignore,
and chose to carry a cross
while never wielding a weapon.
thus, when laws brush past mercy,
when the smallest voice is silenced,
we will bend our knees
only to the God
whose justice lifts the forgotten,
whose peace confounds tyrants,
whose kingdom is based not
on any military strength
but a welcome to all, to all.
so may we always honor the good,
stand up to all that is cruel
and follow the Christ—
the One whose authority
is grounded in grace and love.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 17th

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18

if we depend
on blustering politicians,
we should expect more
dangerous choices;
if we depend
on bile-filled voices,
we can expect
an increase in
hate and anger;
if we depend
only on ourselves,
the odds are we'll
screw it up;
but
if we depend on
you,
we just might learn
how to live
with each other.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 16th

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

when we have a mind
that folks need to earn
justice rather than
the privileged sharing
it freely with the forgotten
or
think kindness should on be
a random sort of thing
we do when someone needs
a door held open in the rain
but building affordable housing
doesn't seem to come
to pop into our heads
or
we believe that all is right
in the world when the rich
get breaks which bring more wealth,
when the power brokers
are never asked what is going on,
and when the celebrities
are granted permission for
all the knuckleheadness in the world,
obviously, we have a
far more skewed idea than you
as to what is good.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 15th

“Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.” Psalm 33:22

there are mornings
when we wake before the alarm,
our hearts already weary
of the day’s headlines even
before we learn of them
and we want simply to
pull the duvet of apathy
back over our heads.
or if we should have
to venture out, we long
to clothe ourselves in
small, skeptical, mocking lives
and wander around the world
boxed in by despair’s heaviness.
yet, you would have us
not let fear, misery, anger
control our hope or our hearts,
so help us to listen,
to get up,
to speak out,
to act as those whose lives
are so filled with your
love which never gives up
on us or anyone else,
that we become
the resistance movement
to the chaos around us.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 14th

"Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'" Matthew 25:24-25

afraid they might spend it
on addicts, the homeless,
and all the other losers
who hang out on our streets,
we keep your grace in
safe deposit boxes, throwing
away the keys.
we bury your hope ten feet
below the ground and then
pour two-foot-thick slabs
of concrete over the dirt.
we put all our justice
into bearer bonds which
won't mature for at least
another 50 years which by then
will make it someone else's problem.
we put put a lot of memes
and platitudes and posts
about how we can't look
at another person and know
what they are going through,
while turning our backs on
those standing on street corners.
all the while waiting for you
to pat us on the head
like good little girls and boys.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 13th

"So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace." Romans 11:5

in the din of the angry,
shouting, chanting voices
breaking all decibel records,
there is a little girl
singing of gentleness.
in the crowds of folks
who are pushing and pulling
at grace as if it was
a ball in a rugby scrum,
there is a referee reminding
folks that it is just a game, after all.
in the alley way, where
loneliness sits huddled in
a sagging cardboard box,
as tears from heaven
rat-a-tat over its head, a
homeless fellow walks by
offering a sip of hope, and
then walks on, saying,
'keep the bottle.'

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 12th

“They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Mark 1:22

if only
i might be knocked
off my feet by your stories
about you coming to find
the lost (even me).
if only
i might be gobsmacked
by your simple assurance
that you welcome us
just as we are (even me).
if only
i might be stunned
by your insistence that
our worth is not based
on what we achieve,
but by God’s grace (even for me).
if only
i could be astounded
by that good news
which seems so comfortable,
so convenient, so ordinary,
that we yawn every time
we hear it (especially me).

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 11th

“Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.” Matthew 24:46

when we roll up our sleeves,
our hands fragrant from
the bread we share,
cradling the tears of
those the world forgot,
and planting hope in all
the exhausted places,
we are merely blessings
as you taught us.
you don’t care if we
set the alarm for the
right time, but that we
were too busy caring
for the lonely,
the overlooked kids,
the weary souls just
at the edge of our lives.
so may we stop glancing
at the sky, and open our doors,
for you weave every act
of kindness into a welcome mat
as you arrive disguised
in all who show up needing
grace.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 10th

"But what does it say?
‘The word is near you,
on your lips and in your
heart’
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);" Romans 10:8

like little kids taking
a vow to keep a secret
and miming locking
our lips with a key, we
seem reluctant to sing
of grace to those who
have forgotten the tune
as well as the words.
like a dog which builds
a 'fort' of pillows and blankets
to hide behind when the
fireworks are going off,
we think justice needs
to be protected at all costs
from those who would
sneak in and pry it from
our privileged grasp.
like those who are deaf
to the familiar words
their loved ones tell them
because they just
do not care any more,
we refuse to listen
to the joyous shouts
of those who discover
how easy it is to show
mercy to others, rather
than carry grudges
throughout each day.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 9th

"What shall I return to the Lord
     for all his bounty to me?" Psalm 116:12

when, at the last,
i stand before you—
may i have no love left
because i shared it
without any conditions,
no grace in my pockets
because i handed it out
to those i met along the way,
no hope tucked away in my soul
because i set it free to run
and throw its arms around
those forgotten by the world,
no justice left in my hands
because i used it to build
better communities for all
judged unfairly by the privileged,
no peace because there were
people who needed it to bring
an end to ancient hostilities,
no ego because i met those
who set aside their dreams
to care for the most vulnerable
of all your children rather
than serve themselves.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 8th

"but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
   in those who hope in his steadfast love." Psalm 147:11

remind us, Tender Heart,
to look past that ancient bugaboo
that we are supposed
to stand before you,
shaking in our shoes,
knees knocking a rhythm,
terror's tremors reducing us
to seeming puddles of nothingness,
but
to see you holding out
your hands to gather all
our panicky, prickly fears
so you can rub them
to dust in your hands
and then blow them away
like dandelion puffs in grass
where the Spirit will transform
them into hope which will
shower us like cooling rain
on the hottest day imaginable.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 7th

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

not all our yesterdays
which try to pull
us back into foolishness,
nor our tomorrows
which crouch outside
with fear and worry;
not the doubts
we keep bumping
our heads on,
nor the slippery peels
of our banality;
not our towering
arrogance which
pushes you aside,
nor our unabashed
allegiance to voices
of animosity
will ever convince
you
to stop loving
us.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 6th

 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. Romans 8:26

we always find
the words
to order off
desires' menu;
to finely craft
phrases to describe
our fears;
to pound out paragraphs
about the slights
we are forced to endure;
but
that ache
scraping the bottom
of our heart;
the hollowness
of our soul;
the emptiness
gnawing at the edges
of our faith?
only the Spirit
can discern them
and craft a
bridge of sighs
to you.

© Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 5th

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." Mark 1:14-15

there—
where mercy is planted
and hands swaddle loneliness,
where chairs are added to tables
and the weary feast on hope,
where gentle words are spoken
and silence is the only prayer,
where love never gives up
and grace is shared freely.
there—
in that nurse who sits by the bed
and the neighbor carrying firewood,
in the shattered soul choosing forgiveness
and children who share lunch,
in people who refuse to hate
and in streets where justice is sought.
there—
in the ordinary and the forgotten,
in the vulnerable and the overlooked,
in the rejected and despised,
your Beloved Community
shines through the dusty windows
of a world which no longer believes.
there—
just out of the corner
of our eyes

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 4th

"I see him, but not now;
   I behold him, 

   but not near -- " Numbers 24:17a

help us to see you,
not in those well-known
and well-heeled superstars
on the pitch,
but in those who
sweep up the litter
after the match
whose names are lost;
not in those who
gather around arenas
and national lawns
to idolize those who
are so full of themselves,
but in those who
are dropping off food
to the homeless
and the forgotten;
not in the privileged
at the resorts and spas
on the beach,
but in those
who make the beds,
empty the bins
and clean the toilets.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 3rd

“it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” Romans 8:16

we don’t hear her
in the loudest voices,
for the Spirit uses the cracks
in our fretful hearts to slip through
to sit with the forgotten,
walk with those full of questions,
whispering to the frightened:
‘Beloved, you have always been
God’s own.’
and all those protecting walls
turn into open doors to strangers,
our clenched hands awaken
to that buried memory of being blessings,
our sore, sore feet find the courage
to keep following Love,
just one more time.
for in a world which would
stick a label on everyone,
the Spirit knows that name
given to us long, long ago:
children of God’s heart.
and so, may that witness
be what we carry into
every broken
every beautiful
every given day.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 2nd

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

therefore,
may we stop
sending others
to some sort of imaginary
extended time out corner;
beating ourselves up
until our souls turn
every shade of yellow,
purple, and green;
tattooing XXL scarlet

 ‘A’s on our hearts;
shutting ourselves into
guilt’s crowded closet
and throwing away the key;
firing everyone from
being our own worst critic
because we have been
honing that skill
all of our lives;
now

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

July 1st

“How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?” Numbers 23:8

how easy it is
to reach into our pockets
and grab a handful of snark
to throw up against the screen
when we see THAT politician,
person, outsider, whoever
who just ruins our moments.
how simple it seems
to pick up some of
the hate, the prejudice,
the cruelty which has fallen
on the ground from the mouths
of all the haters, the bitter hearts,
those pettifoggers who cannot see,
hear, or accept that any good comes
from someone they cannot stand.
and how difficult, apparently,
for us to see each and every person
as made in your image,
a beloved sibling of ours.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman