September 30th

“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3

why is it that
even with those lenses
as thick as the bottom
of soda bottles, i still manage
to notice the tiniest shaving
stuck in my neighbor’s life,
yet
never notice those
railroad ties i drag
with me each day?
i guess
it is just easier
to point fingers
then to offer a hand,
to shout accusations
than whisper a prayer
for forgiveness,
to easily diagnose
someone else while
seeking more opinions about me.
reach out with those
callused, carpenter’s fingers
to open my eyes
so i may see with
your grace.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 29th

“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
    my steps had nearly slipped.” Psalm 73:2

i felt pretty spry, light on my feet,
as i strolled through life,
those hymns of trust
humming in my heart.
but then,
i started to wobble just a bit
as the pins and needles of jealousy
showed up in my legs,
so sly, so smooth until
i realized how easy it was
for me to lose my balance,
teetering on those cracks
in my faith, suddenly finding
my arms windmilling, reaching
for grace, afraid i might topple
into the bitterness of doubt.
but you are here, at my side,
sometimes like a cane
sometimes like a handrail,
sometimes like a walker,
always steady as mercy,
quiet as breath,
ready to catch me
every time.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 28th

“When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.” Luke 5:11

on the still lake,
the boat gently rocking
from a voice which causes
ripples never felt before.
hearts wearied by work,
souls callused by worry,
are suddenly restored, not
by green pastures, but
by the courage to simply
let go and open up
to new possibilities, new life.
a voice, a Shepherd’s voice
drifts across the waters,
and we dare to go,
following through the shadows
to where a table waits.
and surely,
goodness and mercy
are the footprints we leave
in the sand, for others
to find the way after us.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 27th

“’For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” Matthew 6:21

it is in that hand
we offer to another,
not in that lockbox in the closet
with the keys hidden safely
(and we hope we don’t forget
where).
it is in the stories told
around a shared meal,
which evoke laughter
as well as a few tears,
not in vaults available only
on certain days.
it is in that hope which
leans close to embrace
us in grace which does not
cost us anything but faith—
that is where our treasure
breathes
lingers
rests
lives
serves.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 26th

“’When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.’” Matthew 6:7

prayers are not rungs
in a ladder to allow us
to get closer to you.
we do not need to string
syllables together like garlands
on an old-fashioned Christmas tree
so you might pay more attention.
in those slow treads
down hospital corridors,
in the gently falling tears
on the face of a sick child,
in the gentle conversation
at tables in a shelter,
in that soft pause between
breaths that we take,
in that worn-out whisper,
‘i need help’
we find you listening closely
to each breath
to each word
to each tear
to each step
as you cradle us
in your grace.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 25th

“’So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.’” Matthew 6:2

we can blow our own horns
(after all, everyone else seems to),
and in our hubris, we may not notice
how strident the notes sound or
the folks who quickly turn away.
but with open hands,
with nothing to gain
(especially applause from others),
we can share that tune
we did not compose—
a hymn for the hungry,
a love song for the lonely,
a great chorus of grace
which does not seek the spotlight,
which does not care about reviews,
but simply invites us to live
in the silence between the notes,
where God carries the melody
smiling at the music
we never knew was in us.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 24th

"But I say to you: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’” Matthew 5:44

in those places
where echoes dwell,
you ask us to whisper grace.
in the weary eyes
of the folks who wound us,
you hope we will see
a sibling who has forgotten
that, they too, are beloved.
you ask us, brother Jesus,
to carry the names of all
who make our souls ache,
as if they are delicate flowers
into the silence of prayer,
to let compassion be a balm
on the burn scars from bitterness,
and maybe, just maybe,
as our hearts crack open,
your way of being different
loving differently
accepting in a different way,
making a difference
begins to change us all.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 23rd

“’Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.’”
Matthew 5:37

they are like the spam
which shows up in email
or those annoying robocalls
which interrupt our lives—
these words which we
so casually use as if they
were promises that scatter
like leaves in autumn’s wind.
but you remind us to speak
simply and plainly, because
truth really doesn’t need
a lot of glitter sprinkled on it,
just a gift from the heart.
so,
may ‘yes’
be a door open wide
to those who need shelter,
may ‘no’
be a boundary which
respects privacy and
each person’s dignity
and may both
be woven together
in the shawl of grace.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 22nd

“We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ.” 1 Corinthians 4:10a

we think we need to collect
wisdom, polishing it to put
in a glass-fronted case,
but you hand us a DIY book
on how to live prodigiously
foolish,
scattering our clunky love
like seeds on rocky soil,
stumbling into grace
as we trip over our own feet
trying to chase after the world,
thinking the questions are
far more important than answers.
and when others shake their heads
at our lack of common sense,
you remind us that the weakness
of compassion is stronger than hate,
that you craft stain glass windows
in the cracks of our hearts
to tell the stories of abundant love.
so may we rejoice
to join your league of fools,
making known your mercy,
your peace, your hope to all.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 21st

”And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’” Luke 3:10

what then, we wonder as
we pull our coats tighter,
we push our wallets
deeper in our pockets,
double the security
on our safe little lives, but
that fellow standing in the water,
dripping with grace, gives a slight smile,
pointing to the little kids
shivering in winter’s thin wind,
to the widow who still
puts her husband’s pjs under his pillow,
to the immigrants struggling
to learn a new language.
just be kind, the ordinary,
everyday sort of kindness
which is the foundation
of everyday, ordinary humanity.
for it is not with arguments
or boots on the ground,
but with warm mittens,
loaves of bread and
bowls of soup,
hands wide open to let
another person’s hopes
rest there, which builds
God’s Beloved Community.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 20th

“Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.” 1 Corinthians 4:1

not the creative types who imagine
nor those skilled at drawing blueprints,
no, we are the drivers of heavy equipment,
smoothers of sidewalk cement,
carriers of shingles to the rooftops,
installers of drywall, and sweepers
of steps for families moving into their first home.
like a weary mother carrying
a candle in the dark when power is out,
we hold mysteries too fragile
to be entrusted to safe deposit boxes.
and when someone asks us
what our calling might be,
let us simply say, we are not
CEOs,
or heads of state,
but simply servers
our hands open,
our hearts giving,
opening the door wide
for whoever needs us.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 19th

“’You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.’” Matthew 5:13

grief is a bitter dish,
a mixture of the dust of loss
and those tears which overflow
every measuring spoon we try.
so
remind us that when you
mention we are salt, it is not
to preserve our sorrow,
but so we might taste
the flavor of your hope
in the sting of sudden weeping,
we might have the silence
of our empty hearts seasoned
with your compassion,
in the ache which dulls our senses
we might still taste the sweet
promise of your Light,
and we will always know
that even if we are
still only salt,
we are yours,
sprinkled on the world
as we bear witness to love.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 18th

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:” Matthew 5:1-2

when we think the poor
should be left alone because
they are guaranteed heaven,
have mercy.
when we think those trapped
in the quicksand of grief
can get out on their own,
have mercy.
when we think the humble
deserve the dirt thrown in their face
because they are weak,
have mercy.
when we think those who seek justice
for the forgotten and despised
are just a bunch of bleeding hearts,
have mercy.
when we think those who are generous
to anyone who stands on street corners
are suckers pure and simple,
have mercy.
when we think those who refuse
to trade their faith for hate and fear
are blind to the reality of the world,
have mercy.
when we think those who challenge
the politics of power and might
are doddering old fools,
have mercy.
when we think the wisest course
of action in life is to forsake you
and swear allegiance to evil,
have mercy on us, Lord,
have mercy.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 17th

“O LORD, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill?” Psalm 15:1

those who stumble yet get up,
those who never win a ribbon,
those whose grief is a flickering candle,
those whose tears water seeds of hope—
they are the ones who abide with you.
those who open doors
not the ones who guard inner sanctums.
those who use the thread of justice
to mend the torn fabric of others’ lives.
those whose hands tremble in fear
yet reach out to the excluded,
the unheard, the unseen.
those who are so exhausted from
trying to heal the brokenness of the world,
yet refuse to stay in bed each day.
those who, when the truth-tellers
and the grace-givers are threatened,
pitch their tents next to them,
refusing to leave them on their own.
they are the ones who know the way
to your compassionate heart.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 16th

“From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17

whenever outsiders are welcomed
by those who set aside
their ingrained fears and suspicions,
another family moves into
the Beloved Community.
whenever we refuse to let
anger control the conversation,
cruelty to plant its flag in our hearts,
hopelessness place a seed in our souls,
the Beloved Community becomes
even more appealing to doubters.
whenever we give our favorite clothes
to those out of favor with the privileged,
whenever we realize the folks
living at the shelter deserve to eat
as well and healthily as we do,
whenever we treat the forgotten
as if they are long-lost family,
we discover that we are closer
to the Beloved Community
that we ever imagined.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 15th

“Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
    your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages.” Psalm 135:13

there, in the mist of dawns
so far back we cannot count
when language was simply
grunts and guttural sounds,
your name was spoken,
and people longed for your touch.
in the hidden places where
the fearful were tortured for believing
and in grand cathedrals with words
whose eloquence resound to today,
your name was spoken,
and people longed for your touch.
now, when anger and cruelty
seek to drag us back into that miasma
where language is simply
guttural sounds and grunts,
we still speak your name,
hoping you listen.
we still long for your touch,
yearning for you to reach out.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 14th

“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

covered with the detritus of life,
palms callused from unskilled labor,
we ignore you, but when
we fall into the cracks of life,
you are the one who pulls us out,
when we wander down alleys
where no one knows us,
you come calling our names.
not out of any pity, but pure delight,
taking us out to dinner,
not to sit in the corner reserved
for the forgotten, but
at the table where the party
has already started,
where our scarred lives
are considered to be holy.
and there, where
the poor become honored,
the empty become family,
the broken become beloved
we sit, gobsmacked,
that we are in their midst.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 13th

“You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
   you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
   you ride on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers,
   fire and flame your ministers.” Psalm 104:2b-4

Designer of dawns,
flinging stars like paint splatters
across the still skies of night,
you craft a refuge with space enough
for every question or silence,
a mercy wide enough
for every whispered hope.
you could use the mountains
to build your house, but
choose those wild waters we fear,
showing us that even chaos
can become the manger for holiness.
you ride the clouds in wonder,
whispering parables of hope on the wind,
your compassion flames up
in the dry tinder of cruelty,
as you draw closer to us,
gliding on the breath
loaned to us by the Spirit,
your Word ready to carve rivers
in the deserts of our hearts.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 12th

“Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” Philippians 3:7

so many shiny things
i wanted to accumulate
and display over the years,
those tangible proofs that
i matter, i am special—
but diplomas yellow in the frames,
trophies seem to garner more dust
than oohs and ahs from visitors,
and resumes all too often
end up in the round file.
but then, i am asked
to polish the halls of power
not walk them,
to carry food and tents
and supplies to rough sleepers,
to keep searching for the forgotten
so that, together, we might
stumble over grace,
and rather than losing
what i once believed
to be beyond price,
i am found.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 11th

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
   wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
   she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” Matthew 2:18

Rachel is there
in every street where tears
pool in cratered houses,
where the broken bodies
of children are carried in the arms
of parents who refuse to be comforted,
where voices, the dust of grief
turning them hoarse, drift across
the rubble of former communities.
and God?
God who once tiptoed into a barn
and slept in a manger of straw,
who knew firsthand
the fear, the flight, the exile
simply because of where
he was born, sits with Rachel
and all the mothers of Gaza,
sobbing, keening, weeping,
wailing until justice is done.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 10th

“be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Philippians 2:2b

may we not walk in lockstep
with the cruel and uncaring,
but take time to play hopscotch
with the little kids down the street.
may we not give our hearts
to the influencers of arrogance,
but share in that love
which walks with those
who shuffle in old age,
which holds hands unsteady
from too much sorrow, and
which gives away the animal
balloons which joy makes.
let us join our voices with
those who dare not audition
for any of those ‘got talent’ shows,
but whose hearts know
the cracked harmony of life,
because they dare to listen
to the Spirit of compassion
and not the polished chords
of the cantatas of polarization.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 9th

“Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,” Philippians 1:27a

only—
live not in tiktoks or x-posts
but in the weariness
of single parents,
the songs of earth awaking,
learning from the pauses
in grief.
worthy—
not earning applause
or polishing resumes,
but sharing broken bread
with those hungering for crumbs
or offering a cup of grace
to all parched by despair.
of the gospel—
that upside-down community,
one moment, coming like a tornado
to pull the roofs of our fears
and the next, a caravan of strangers
arriving to stay as long as needed.
of Christ—
who stands on corners
needing our help,
who wipes our tears
when everyone turns away,
who invites us to see God
in the faces of everyday people
the world says have no value.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 8th

"O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
   in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.” Psalm 5:3

i groan so much in the morning
about having to head off
to a job which pays well
but which, well, bores me to tears
and so do not have time
for the unemployed hoping for help.
while tapping my plastic money
on the machine, i mutter to myself
about how much groceries cost
(though my pantry runneth over), yet
ignore the mother explaining
why she cannot buy her child’s
favorite cereal.
i spend so much time
putting the case to myself
about what a burden privilege
can be,
that i turn a deaf ear
to your pleading, O God,
for just a few minutes
of genuine compassion.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 7th

“But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” Acts 4:19-20

when the privileged
boast of another stock
market record being set
and tell the have-nots
to pull themselves up,
when the arrogant hold
all the gavels and tell
the oppressed to keep
silent in kangaroo courts,
when the world tries
to gag our voices with
all their fears and worries,
help us to remember
that wind which burst open
locked doors and shuttered windows
and sent us out into the streets
to speak of justice,
that bread broken into
enough pieces to heal
a shattered world,
that empty tomb which echoes
the resurrection songs of angels,
and that fire which burnt our lips
so we could cry out
with that love
which refuses to stay silent.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 6th

“when I think of you on my bed,
   and meditate on you
   in the watches of the night;” Psalm 63:6

even with all the lights
up and down the streets,
may i notice you, walking
in the shadows, caring for
the rough sleepers,
the lonely weepers,
the unnoticed street sweepers.
as the noise of the world murmurs
and all those thoughts i try
to control just won’t behave,
may i hear the gentle echoes
of the laughter of children,
the kind word i heard
a stranger offer to another,
the gentle grace which was whispered
into the weariness of my soul.
and as i stretch to find
a comfortable position to rest,
may i remember that you
hold all of us, all of us,
in your heart, so we have no need
to cling to all which would
keep us from sleeping in your peace.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 5th

“He drew me up from the desolate pit,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.” Psalm 40:2

so many rocks grief
has slipped into my pockets,
so much mud caked
on my shoes from thinking
i could slog through life alone,
and as i slowly begin to sink
into that quicksand of despair
which has filled my path,
i feel your hand beneath me,
gently lifting me, not to place
me on some seat of power—
but on good, old, ordinary dirt,
that earth hard packed from
so many stumblers before me,
that has held trembling feet
and knocking knees, as we learn
to take just one hesitant, fearful
step
onto that ground you make holy
simply because you refuse
to leave our side.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 4th

“So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:12b

i find it all too easy
to pull out that splintered mirror
i carry in my little bag of tricks,
so i can show another
all the cracks in their soul,
or to mark their growth
(and especially lack of)
on that door frame of my
hardened heart.
but you come along,
with your mending hands,
your healing whisper,
your mercy instead of retribution,
to remind us that rather
than passing a verdict
on any other person,
we should let go of that gavel
and hold our neighbor’s hand
in grace.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 3rd

“For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
    but the LORD made the heavens.” Psalm 96:5

each of them, all of them—
the god of business
encouraging accumulating more,
the god of the mirrors whispering
appearance is all that matters,
the god of our devices filling us
with noise, and our souls with emptiness,
the god of achievement who mounts
diplomas on our walls
and prints letters after our names—
all of them, all of them
seek to seduce us away from the One
whose glory is found in grace,
whose strength is weakness,
whose power is humility,
whose love embraces the forgotten,
who has been, who is now, and who,
long after we find new idols
to go running after,
will be our God.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 2nd

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” James 2:14

if we offer only prayers
and not practical, workable
solutions to problems which
destroy lives,
what good is it?

if we claim to follow Jesus
but offer loyalty to those
who call other children of God
animals,
what good is it?

if we believe in forgiveness
but cannot, just flat out refuse,
to give away those grudges
we carry for more years
than we can count,
what good is it?

if we say we have faith
but cannot bring ourselves
to believe, much less trust,
that God’s grace, hope, justice,
peace, inclusion, mercy
are far better than anything
we can come up with,
what good is it?

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

September 1st

“For I was envious of the arrogant;
    I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Psalm 73:3

they drive those shiny cars
which become pied pipers
for the empty yearning in our hearts.
they have mansions, apartments
in many cities, and act as if
a yacht is simply another rowboat,
and it is no wonder that
our souls turn a shade of green.
so whisper to us of the reality
that things made from metal rust,
that barnacles attach to everything,
that they have no real homes,
just tons of property as if life
is a game of Monopoly.
and turn our gaze toward you,
toward that Beloved Community
of justice, welcome, and compassion
where envy finds no soil
in which to plant its seeds
and grace grows wild and free.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman