August 31st

"'Why did you bring me forth from the womb? Would that I had died before any eye had seen me,'" Job 10:18

if you think i am good at complaining,

it's because i learned from the best.

those ancestors whose photos have

faded over the years until they look

like the dirt of Sinai they carried on

their sandals and clothes for decades.

it's from listening to the stories 

that the disciples forgot to redact

from the good news books 

they were so quick to self-publish,

with those clueless comments 

when they couldn't understand 

those simple, everyday stories you told,

or those knuckleheaded challenges

they threw in your face when you

let slip that your journey was going

to end with you crossing over into

a different sort of promised land.

so,

when i whine (and i will)

when i grumble (too many times)

when i murmur under my breath

thinking you can't read my lips,

be as patient, as forgiving,

as willing to stick with me 

like you were with all those 

whose words i am just repeating

(even though i think they are brand new).

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 30th

"'If he would take his rod away from me, and not let dread of him terrify me, then I would speak without fear of him, for I know I am not what I am thought to be.'" Job 9:34-35

it was not out of faith
i began to follow you

but out of pure fear, that

all those terrible things 

dumped on me by folks

who crafted you out of the 

monsters of their own ids

and the preachers who were

simply echoing what they heard

sitting on those same hard pews

which became warmer with every word.

they still show up in the moments

when i wake up to stare into 

the shadowed future i cannot see,

those ghosts of worship past,

walking, watching, whispering.

but then,

i glance over into into the corner

and notice that rod which a young

carpenter recrafted into a yoke

so we could journey together, 

i see you sitting in the corner

draped in the warm shawl of grace

knitted by your gentle Spirit, just

waiting for me to listen to your

deepest hopes for me.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 29th

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

we joyfully testify how
you have not withheld anything,
not a single thing (!) from us,

but then turn around and show

we are truly Scrooge's children

when someone knocks on our door.

we keep 'liking' all the social

media stuff about how God

wants us to care for each

and every person we encounter,

but then put disclaimers like,

unless they are lazy,

or they drive a better car

than we think they deserve,

or they might be addicts 

(or worse) who would not be

good stewards of the meager

funds, dusty can from the 

back of our kitchen cabinets,

or the frayed clothes that we

would be too embarrassed

to be seen wearing in public.

Is it irony?

Is it hubris?

Is it our ingrained assumption

that you make the same 

judgments of folks we do?

Or that we just remain clueless

as to who you really are, 

even after all this time?

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 28th

"But I will hope continually, and will praise you yet more and more." Psalm 71:4

we pat ourselves on the back
imagining we are heirs of Isaiah

and Hannah and Micah and Mary

and all the other cool people when

we speak truth to power 

(at least on social media) or

call out the knuckleheads 

running for office (at least in texts)

and flaunt yard signs facing our neighbors

who belong to a different party.

but

maybe right now, you need

prophets of hope to those

living in despondency,

prophets of grace who see

each person as your child,

prophets of inclusion who 

work to welcome all people,

prophets of kindness sweeping

away the bitter words of cruelty,

prophets of joy to fill souls 

aching from unbearable worry,

prophets of faith speaking to all

who want to dare that God 

has not forsaken anyone, anywhere,

prophets who really are the heirs

of Jeremiah and Miriam

of Habakkuk and Lydia and

all the other cool people.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 27th

"When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?'" John 6:60

on a scale of 1 to 10

with 10 being how much

we can love our selves,

loving you is (we hope) 7.5,

loving our neighbors 5.6

(on really good days), but

loving our enemies . . . 

does a negative number count?

and while we might manage

a $10 weekly pledge on a

pretty regular basis, and if

we make it big in life, we 

can probably stretch to a tithe,

are you serious or just delirious

about giving away everything?

but then, as we grow older,

if we pay attention to all the

broken promises, the hollow words

of everyone around us, maybe 

we can finally grasp the truth

that your words, your uncomfortable

and challenging and (yes) dangerous

words

are those which give us the life we

need.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 26th

"O Lord, all my longing is known to you; 

   my sighing is not hidden from you." Psalm 38:9

convinced they know me

so well, they easily accept

those answers of how fine

i am doing, or that life is 

simply going along swimmingly.

but i have become so adept

at keeping secret what is

lodged in my heart, i am 

so cautious in letting anyone

get near my soul, for fear 

they would hear the rattling

of the skeletons which are

not bones and the whispers

of ghosts which abide in me.

yet,

like an oyster farmer who knows

that there is a pearl of grace

deep within my crusty shell,

like a teacher who realizes

that the smiling child who never

says anything in class has 

stories which will melt one's heart,

you calmly, patiently, persistently

wait, until we are ready to open up.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 21st

"Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
   because of my enemies;
  make your way straight before me.
For there is no truth in their mouths;
   their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
   they flatter with their tongues." Psalm 5:8-9

i admit it, God of my life,

they are like those Sirens

of old, standing on their porches,

their platforms, their religion,

calling out to me as i continue

this pilgrimage through life.

they know that their honeyed

whispers tickle my soul and

make me want to hear more of

such sweet nothings,

they desire only to swallow

my weary heart and then

spit out my life stripped 

bare of love, of grace, of trust

onto the piles of the bones

of the rest of their victims.

so, lash me to you with 

those swaddling cloths of hope,

press your hands tight

around my ears so i will not

hear a single tempting note

and guide me to your 

safe haven of peace.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 20th

"who executes justice for the oppressed;
   who gives food to the hungry. 

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. 

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

    the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers; 

   he upholds the orphan and the widow,

   but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin." Psalm 146:7-9

certain that compassion 

is only found in the stories

of folks set way in the past,

may we see it in the little kids

who surround the new classmate

when the bullies approach.

convinced justice is simply

a volume of dusty history

shelved in the wrong section,

may we open our eyes to its

fresh iteration in the tiny houses

for the homeless popping up everywhere.

convinced that the only way

our kids and grandkids will

know about love is taking them

to the park to some outdoor plays,

may we watch the older woman

kneeling by the wheelchair, 

holding her best friend's hand

as they watch fireworks for 

what may be the last time ever.

when we think you have put up

the 'closed' sign and shuttered the doors,

remind us that you use action verbs,

not those in the past tense.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 19th

"Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord;
    give praise, O servants of the Lord,
you that stand in the house of the Lord,
    in the courts of the house of our God." Psalm 135:1-2

you nervous parents as

leg jiggling kids get on the bus,

you teachers lining the walks

to cheer them a welcome,

join hands in a circle of joy.

you lifelong farmers and

weekend gardeners, you

lawn care workers and 

farmers markets shoppers,

dance jigs in the rain after

weeks of drought conditions.

you who sit by the beds of

strangers in hospital rooms

who don't know who you

are but are in your care,

you first responders and

street pastors who rush 

to gather up the fallen, 

the forgotten, the damaged,

and the delusional, 

sing soft dirges of hope 

in the small hours of night.

everyone, everywhere, 

wherever God is and 

however God is found,

sing from your hearts!

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

August 18th

"He raises the poor from the dust, 

   and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
   with the princes of his people."  Psalm 113:7-8

we spent the day

picking up the tux,

getting our hair done,

grabbing a quick bite

at the fast food joint,

and as we walk into

the gilded ballroom, we

smile wide in delight 

at our being invited 

to such a special occasion,

until we notice

the cleaner we ignored,

the stylist we didn't tip,

the fellow who cleaned

up our mess at the burger joint

being seated at the head table,

while you come up with

an armful of towels, 

handing them to us, saying,

'get busy. there's a lot 

of dirty dishes in the kitchen.'

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 17th

canticle 107.1

join us in thanking our God

for that deep, rich soil of love
in which we are planted
join us, believers and bumblers,
insiders and outsiders,
faithful and foolish, who God
gathers into families, groups,
communities from everywhere.

some go through each day
from the time they struggle
to get up and get going
to finally lying down at night,
living and working and walking
with pain they can never describe
and if they could, no one would believe.
yet, they can whisper words
of gentle gratitude to God
who has massaged their pain,
rubbed their shoulders and backs,
wrapped them in balm’s shawl.

some live in quiet moments
of loneliness, ignored at the wayside
as friends gather across a room,
as colleagues go out for lunch,
as neighbors host a picnic,
watching, listening, hoping for
that simple invitation of inclusion
which never seems to come.
yet, they can whisper grace as God
pulls up the chair on the
other side of the table, cup
cradled in hopeful hands, ready
to listen to the heart’s silence.

some cringe every time a
celebrity, a comedian, a politician
uses words which are like bricks
thrown through the windows
of their too-often replaced souls.
some keep to the edges of crowds
at sporting events, or concerts, or
simply walking through stores so
people won’t notice and stare
because they are seen as different
for whatever reason others have.
yet, they can whisper thanks
for the One who is always
accepts them, always affirms them,
never rejects them, because they
mirror God’s weaknesses, God’s
foolishness, God’s imperfections.

may the rest of us pay attention
to what God is doing in our midst
which we all too often ignore,
so that we are reminded there
are no weeds in that deep, rich
soil of love in God’s garden.

© 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 16th

"For I know my transgressions, 

   and my sin is ever before me." Psalm 51:3

i wish someone had

told me that, in this long

journey to obedience, that

the Big Seven would prove

to be the least of my worries.

for feeding on bitterness

is far more life-threatening

than mere gluttony,

wishing that someone would

just disappear from existence

outdistances any envy,

wanting to become 

an influencer in the lives

of others delights more than

sexual thought or hope,

knowing that i am smarter

than any fifth-grader or

game show contestant

offers the deepest satisfaction,

sitting back and watching while

others dare to challenge the powers 

of evil and hate and then telling them

where they messed up is restful,

continuing to do cannonballs

into the deep and delicious pool

filled with snark and disingenuous

denials of hurting anyone's feelings

is a daily delight,

and simply parading my extravagant

lifestyle (compared to most of the

rest of the world) without any modesty

are what continue to pull me

further and further from grace's arms.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 15th

"Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, 'What do you want?' or, 'Why are you speaking with her?'" John 4:27

they finally seemed to catch on,
even foot-in-the-mouth Pete

and the jockeying-for-power

boys of old Zebedee, as they

just stood there and watched

while Jesus did his thing and

turned the world of this outsider,

as well as his insider buds upside down.

but then, 

we came along, with our list

of guidelines and polity books,

our requirements on being able

to get a ticket in line to even

try to get close to Jesus, 

our never-ending squabbles over

the best way to water a newbie

and the oh-so-proper approach

to sanitizing that final party they had.

and the wheels on 

the Good News bus came off

and it has been sitting 

by side of the road

ever since, waiting for us to let

Jesus get back in the driver's seat.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 14th

"But he had to go through Samaria." John 4:4

perhaps it is walking up 

the sidewalk to the porch

of the neighbor whose 

political views abhor us,

maybe it is noticing that

tattooed and pierced and

rainbow-haired kid in 

the library and asking 

if they need any help 

with the homework before them,

it could be finally 

shutting down those devices

and soul seducing social media sites

to simply sit in silence 

in order to hear the life-giving

rhythm of creation's heartbeat,

but we all have some Samaria

we have to pass through

in order to sit at a well

and share a cup of living water

with someone who risks

the same journey for us.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 13th

"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

when my soul has 

been ripped apart by sorrow,

may i use the pieces

to create a quilt which

will wrap another in hope.

when i find only emptiness

deep within me because of

all the doubts and questions

which have become my diet,

may i use the silence to compose

gentle songs of thanksgiving.

when i can barely get out of bed,

when i need a device to help

me make a journey i know by heart,

when i can no longer seem 

to come up with the words 

of love and grace i could offer,

when my body seems to have taken

a sharp turn in a direction 

which fills me with fears,

may i use the difficulty before me

to discover the new life which

you are waiting for me to live.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 12th

"For there is no truth in their mouths;
   their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
   they flatter with their tongues." Psalm 5:9

they leave little tidbits,
tiny morsels which sound

so enticing, so enchanting

that we keep picking them up

nibbling on them as we follow

the trail of words which flow

from their hate-hardened hearts

thinking that at some point

they will begin to speak those

promises, that truth, that hope

for which we are searching,

until we come to the end 

at the edge of the abyss

of yawning nothingness as

they whisper that the treasure

is waiting for us at the very bottom

where X marks the spot and

as we tumble in after each other

they take a shovel to cover us

with all those tiny morsels 

of greed, fear, and bitterness

which we didn't have time to enjoy.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 11th

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. 

    Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!" Psalm 130:1-2

from the memories of cradling

shattered bodies at a concert 

others seem to have forgotten

to the keening of a community

standing in the rubble of a 

bombed out mosque and school.

in the rocking chair on the 

pediatric oncology wing where

a grandmother cradles her toddler

so the parents can have respite

as well as widower who lies next

to the empty spot on the bed

where his lover of decades slept.

at the curbside in the shadowed alley

where a junkie trembles for another hit

and at the rehab where someone 

tries to get clean for the seventh time,

out of our depths, we cry to you,

and long to hear you whisper,

'why are you shouting?

i am right here beside you.'

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 10th

"So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, 

    beholding your power and glory." Psalm 63:2

bathed in the kaleidoscope 

of colors pouring in through

those mosaiced windows, may

we also see your beauty in the

chalk art drawn in the church

parking lot by the kids who feel

they are not welcome in your house.

marveling at the sheer magnificence

of muscles, sinews, arms, legs, 

eyes, ears all running and swimming

and riding and breaking in events 

which leave us breathless in our 

chairs, which we leave only for a snack,

may we see you, in all your foolishness,

your weakness, your mud-caked feet

and callused, unwashed hands as you

continue to walk among us, even as

we trying to ignore you.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

August 9th

"His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'" John 2:5

hanging with the crowd

we have always wanted

to be a part of, as they plan

some sort of foolishness, 

may we hear that parent

who always reminded us,

'remember who you are.'

as we sit with our finger

poised over the 'send' button

for that oh-so-delicious snark

rejoinder which will put those 

folks in their rightful place,

may the echo of the phrase

'do unto others' resound in us.

struggling to b faithful in times

filled with so much bitterness

may we always seek to be

the ones filled to overflowing

with grace, hope, peace, and love.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 8th

"Do not fret because of the wicked;
   do not be envious of wrongdoers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
   and wither like the green herb." Psalm 37:1-2

we stand at the edge

of the garden as we shake

our heads wondering why

nothing is appearing in 

some of the sections, while

in others, the growth is so slow

you would think we 

we trying to grow molasses,

so surely

it must be that the knuckleheads

slipped in at night and planted

that new variety of anger with

augmented root systems, or

reset the timers on the irrigation

system so it never comes on

because 

we just needed to throw out

those beans of grace, hope,

kindness, peace, love, and 

justice and just wait for them

to grow like in the fairy tales,

right?

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

August 7th

"'And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.'" Acts 3:17

however we parrot the anger,

the bitterness, the demeaning

words which we hear from 

those who claim to have our 

best interests at heart,

wherever we blame a certain

party, or community, or people

for all the problems around us,

when we share posts and memes

which echo our world views but

which have no truth behind them,

have mercy on us,

Holy One of all people,

for we cannot claim that

we did not know any better, 

while proudly boasting that

you are the One we follow,

whose words we believe,

whose life we seek to mirror,

whose love, grace, hope, 

justice and peace are the pillars

which we fall off of all too often.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 6th

The Lord said to Gideon, ‘The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, “My own hand has delivered me.” Judges 7:2

that bootstrap we think we used

to pull ourselves up to where we are

was the neighbor who hired us 

to mow the lawn and babysit the kids,

was the teacher who let us 

retake that test we needed to pass,

was the supervisor who took a chance

on the untrained person sitting across

the desk in a botched job interview.

that self-made person we see

in the mirror every day and brag about

came about through the sacrifices

of the grandmother who worked in factories,

the uncle who drove a tractor, 

that older sister who tutored us in math,

the parents who gave up their own dreams.

that success we enjoy which

so many others applaud and envy

is because of those who stayed

in the background silently nudging us

even though we left them behind

without a simple word of thanks.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 5th

"For God alone my soul waits in silence, 

    for my hope is from him." Psalm 62:5

when i lose my balance

on the beam of aching age,

as my grip on the high bars

of professional achievement slips

and i do a face plant in front

of the boss and all my colleagues,

where i grow dizzy from spinning

around on that hobby horse of worry

that pommels me over and over,

if i step out of bounds or fail

a double tumble walking

the floors of the hospital while

a loved one is in surgery,

still, 

you wait for me on top

of your podium of hope,

where you wrap me in 

a great big bear hug, telling me,

'you nailed every event

in the olympics of life.'

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 4th

"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

   I will sing and make melody.
   Awake, my soul!" Psalm 108:1

so weary from worries,

fears, doubts, and the

way life grinds us down,

we have trouble remembering

those songs of wonder and

of joy and of hope you 

taught us long ago, when

we sat on your lap, and so

we can only seem to sing

those minor key pieces which

a broken world composes, so

teach us those daily exercises

of grace and love which help

our hearts become more balanced

and our souls grounded in you

once again, as our voices 

are awakened to new life.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 3rd

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed the."  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) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 2nd

"For my soul is full of troubles, 

    and my life draws near to Sheol." Psalm 88:3

weariness seems to be 

my constant companion these days.

social media seems to be

more like anti-social mudslinging

with folks posting kind memes

about how we cannot know

what another person is enduring

and then, a few scrolls down, 

someone is being shredded because

they said something 

these very same so-called carers

didn't like or took offense at

or just didn't fit into their philosophy

and i find myself clinging to the sides

of that pit that is made more and more

slippery by the flash flood of snark

running down my page.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

August 1st

   "I hear 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

our muscles are knotted so tight

that simply taking a breath 

causes us to whimper in pain

until you lean over and gently

begin to massage our shoulders

while talking of the exercises

we might try on our own, using

the bands of cloth left over

from that night in Bethlehem as aids.

we hear the thunder of angry voices

all around us, crashing down and

trying to drown out the whispers

of grace and love, until in the silence

after the voices run out of steam,

come those gentle melodies 

you first taught to the songbirds

to share with us, until we learned

them by heart.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman