Introducing 40 Days of Buechner
An exciting FREE offer!
Are you looking for something to read this Lent?
Are you curious to learn how to listen to your life and what God is doing in it?
Would you value some gentle companionship along the way?
If you answered yes to any or all of these, allow me to introduce 40 days of Buechner (pronounced BEEK-ner)
Think of this as a book club that guards your solitude; a slower, more contemplative way to read this Lent.
How it works…
Every day of Lent (except Sundays because they aren’t included in the 40 days of Lent), I will be sending out daily emails sharing extracts from Frederick Buechner’s book The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life. In these emails I’ll also share a prompt to help you reflect. Mostly these prompts will be questions but occasionally there might be a simple practice or even a piece of art.
Through this offering I seek to provide gentle accompaniment and the lightest of guidance. The focus is on helping you to listen for how your soul is being stirred by the text and to notice any places of intersection between Buechner’s themes and your own life.
There will be a weekly opportunity to share what has stood out or shimmered for you but no group participation is required. It’s fine if you simply want to receive the emails.
If this sounds good, I’d love you to join me. You can subscribe here. If you want more information, keep reading for a bit of a Q and A or email me at jennifer.goodyer@gmail.com.
40 days of Buechner: A Lenten Book Club that Guards your Solitude
Why this book?
I’ll be explaining this more in my first email (on Shrove Tuesday, 4th March) but the short answer is: because it is packed with wisdom and thought provoking story-telling. I read this book towards the end of 2024 and have read it twice since. I still feel I haven’t spend as much time with its goodness as I would like. It’s a wonderful introduction to Buechner’s writing all of which offers encouragement and guidance to those who long to find meaning in their life, who have a hunch (or are open to the possibility) that every moment is sacred or that the ordinary is holy, who are wrestling Christian faith (or any faith, really) and/or who want to engage deeply with the human path.
Here’s what the blurb from the back cover says:
“Your remarkable life is happening right here, right now. You may not be able to see it--your life may seem predictable and your work insignificant until you look at your life as Frederick Buechner does.
Based on a series of mostly unpublished lectures, Frederick Buechner reveals how to stop, look, and listen to your life. He reflects on how both art and faith teach us how to pay attention to the remarkableness right in front of us, to watch for the greatness in the ordinary, and to use our imaginations to see the greatness in others, and to love them truly and well.
As you learn to pay attention to your life and what God is doing in it, you will uncover the plot of your life's story and the sacred opportunity to connect with the Divine in each moment.
Pay attention, says Buechner. Listen to the call of a bird or the rush of the wind, to the people who flow in and out of your life. The ordinary points you to the extraordinary God who created and loves all of creation, including you. Pay attention to these things as if your life depends upon it. Because, of course, it does.”
Do I need to buy the book?
You don’t need to but I would recommend buying or borrowing the book so you can read the extracts in context if you wish. I won’t be sharing the entire book during the 40 days and you may wish to read the book as a whole either before we begin or after we finish our 40 day journey. It’s only 120 pages long (which possibly explains why I’ve been able to read it three times in two months!)
Is this really free?
Yes! I’m glad to offer this for free, especially since I’ll mainly be sharing Buechner’s writing. If at any time you’d like to thank me for sending these extracts and reflection prompts you can “buy me a coffee” by clicking below (any amount, however small, is welcome and appreciated). I’ll occasionally pop the link in my daily emails too.
Yay. I'm glad I clicked on this Jen. Just what the Dr ordered for my weary soul. Thank you xx
Love this! What a gift!