Wednesday, October 31, 2018

beggars night


they stand on our souls’ porches,
clothed in poverty, fear,
hunger, homelessness; will
we trick them with empty words
or treat them to life, hope, and grace?

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Monday, October 29, 2018

it's monday


it’s Monday . . .
shall we slip into fear’s shadows
   or walk side-by-side with faith;
shall we utter bitter rhetoric,
   or whisper of hope;
shall we tighten our fists in anger,
   or open our hands to grasp
   those of the broken?
it’s Monday . . .

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Sunday, October 28, 2018

if


if we speak words of welcome,
not rejection;
if we offer love, not hate;
if we live in faith, not fear;
if we clothe ourselves in hope,
not hubris,
we can begin to heal
your broken heart, weeping God.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Saturday, October 27, 2018

dulled


when dreich seeps into
our souls, you draw us up on
your lap, singing of
hope, wonder, and laughter
‘til we doze off in your arms

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Friday, October 26, 2018

flawed


in a time when grace
is seen as weakness, may it
become my strongest
character flaw, rather than
hiding it behind my fears.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Thursday, October 25, 2018

rise and shine


convinced dread’s dust bunnies
are waiting to nip at our ankles,
we lie in bed quivering, then
you run Spirit’s vacuum
over every inch of the room,
reminding us, “I’ve told you
not to be afraid, ever!”

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

game on


in this hidden object game
we call life, all the foolish answers
are so obvious they can’t be missed,
while grace, hope, peace, welcome
seem to take a long, long time to
spot.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

dusty


like a dog on the back seat,
first sticking its head out
one window, then the other,
you try to show us how
to delight in the wonders around us,
but we are too focused on our devices
and roll up the windows to stop
your annoying joy.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Monday, October 22, 2018

pick-me-up


in the bleariness
of Monday, may your Spirit
energize us more
than those foamy lattes
or gulps of 5-hour caffeine.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Friday, October 19, 2018

seasons


whether we are drifting
like the leaves towards autumn,
or seeing spring’s new growth
bursting around us, we are
surrounded by the wonder
of your amazing creation.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman



Thursday, October 18, 2018

fb


remind us that the
gospel isn’t a fake account
hacking into our
lives, but the very grace, hope,
and peace we are longing for.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Wednesday, October 17, 2018

purrbaby


curled up next to us.
the Spirit purrs gently ‘til
we wake up to grace.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

voice

where once i longed
to be a social butterfly, now
make me an advocate
for those society never notices.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman  

Monday, October 15, 2018

more like you


i give thanks, O God,
that you are more compassionate
then i will ever be (especially)
toward those who don’t deserve
it, (like me)

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Sunday, October 14, 2018

turning to the headlines


we turn on the news and,
once again, it is troubles,
fears, dangers, worries, anger;
so let us be the hope
   others want to find this morning;
let us be the voice of grace
   strangers long to hear;
let us be the love
   that embraces the forgotten

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Saturday, October 13, 2018

crofter

at the bazaar, you set
up the table of hand-crafted grace,
each price tag reading 'no charge'
(c) 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Friday, October 12, 2018

golden


when we are convinced
the gospel is a shaggy
dog story, your grace
comes loping across the fields
of folly to retrieve us.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman
  

Thursday, October 11, 2018

tbt


on throwback Thursday,
may we return to those days
when civility was not the exception,
and to those places where folks
were welcomed, not excluded.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

labels


we slap labels on
people all through the day, and
you come through each night,
peeling them off, hoping we
might see folks for who they are.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman
  

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

shattered


in shattering moments when
dreams and hopes die,
remind us that there is
a resurrection waiting, so
give us the patience to wait,
and the courage to keep living.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Monday, October 08, 2018

tzaddik


O God, instead of
tantrum-laced leaders,
may we listen to tzaddiks
who can lead us
into your hopes for
justice and grace.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Saturday, October 06, 2018

this day


on this day
i will not listen to the voices
of hubris, triumph, and ridicule;
but pause to hear
the tears of hungry children,
the broken souls of the ignored,
the anger of the kept down,
and the whispers of hope
swirling and swirling until they become
a whirlwind of justice scattering
those with hearts hard as nails
who stand in its path.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman
  
  

Friday, October 05, 2018

pilgrim


help us to make those

pilgrimages to places

and folks that scare us,

so that we can receive the

grace we would not offer them.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Thursday, October 04, 2018

baker


it’s not the flavor

of salt we’ve lost these days, but

the yeast of kindness.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Wednesday, October 03, 2018

humpty


on the day many

have trouble getting over

life’s humps, may i share

more hope than harm,

more grace than gripes,

more joy than judgment.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman


Tuesday, October 02, 2018

let it go


keep reminding us,

Lord, that if the past looks great,

it’s because we know

how it turned out, unlike those

moments we haven’t lived yet.



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman

Monday, October 01, 2018

moanday, moanday


another moanday,

Lord, until i see the kids

splashing in puddles,

and wonder if they would mind

a kid at heart jumping in



© 2018 Thom M. Shuman