August 3rd

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:5

the narcissists really believe the lies
they tell so often, that the shadowy
substance of fear, of doubt, of worry
is exactly what people are longing
to have fill their lives.
the power brokers of cruelty and hate
think that all they have to do
is slowly turn the dial on love
dimmer and dimmer until
it disappears completely from
our lives and no one will care.
but then,
your little dot of grace
appears just at the edge
of the horizon, slowly
glowing brighter and brighter,
slowly growing closer and closer
as you wrap us in your
heart and we are held in your
hope forever.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 2nd

“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2nd Corinthians 9:7

i remember watching my mom
sit at the kitchen table
on Saturday night, going through
the bills, the grocery ads, the
letter from school about books
needed for the coming year,
looking at the pile of jeans
she would find a way to patch
once again to make them presentable,
writing out menus for the week
which would make the food last.
and then,
she would count out
coins for each of us to have
the next day for Sunday School,
and put some paper currency
into the envelope with your name
written on it, and place it
safely inside her Bible.
then with a gentle smile,
she would go to bed and sleep
the deep rest of one who
had discovered the truth
that one’s heart is never
emptied by giving.

(c) 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 1st

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them." Matthew 28:16

in the alleys and streets,
cleaning up the mess tossed
aside by midnight revelers.
on the playgrounds helping
the children of immigrants
learn the ins and outs
of the games their neighbors
have played for years.
walking through the hallways
of the retirement communities
checking to make sure each
resident is doing well in times
of extreme heat or winter's blast.
on the march down to concrete
palaces where the politicians
make decisions which affect
the people they never notice
while being driven to power,
we realize we are on the mountains
where you have called us to serve.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

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