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The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life
Learn to see God's remarkable works in the everyday ordinary of your life. 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. Named "the father of today's spiritual memoir movement" by Christianity Today , 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 love them well. 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. 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.
128 pages, Paperback
Published October 3, 2017
268 people are currently reading
1667 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Buechner
92 books1,229 followersFrederick Buechner is a highly influential writer and theologian who has won awards for his poetry, short stories, novels and theological writings. His work pioneered the genre of spiritual memoir, laying the groundwork for writers such as Anne Lamott, Rob Bell and Lauren Winner.
His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.
After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.
In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.
After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.
In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
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December 18, 2018
Holy, shimmering, honest, earthy, beautiful and true. I believe that this is one of my favorite books ever. What a gift!
November 7, 2017
A brand new Frederick Buechner book that isn't just a hodgepodge of previously published materials? Yes please.
The Remarkable Ordinary
was born from material of Buechner's, unearthed from a 1987 Norton lecture, and 1990 lecture from Laity Lodge, edited by John Sloan. Here Buechner reflects on the sacredness of ordinary life, calling us to stop, look and listen to life. While this book was not prepared for publication by Buechner himself, these are very much his words and sensibility.
The chapters are arranged in three sections. In part one, Buechner invites us to "stop, look and listen for God." In chapter 1, the title chapter—The Remarkable Ordinary, Buechner invites us to see the sacred within our ordinary life. Travelling through the arts, Buechner stopswith the haiku of Matsuo Basho, listens to time with music and sees through the lens of J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield (Catcher & the Rye) and Franny and Zooey. In chapter 2, Buechner turns to sacred writ, exploring how the Bible calls us to pay attention, to see God and our neighbor through the attentive eyes of love:
And later:
In Part 2, Buechner describes how to listen to God through the stories we tell. In chapter 3, he describes an Episcopalian conference on "story" he didn't want to speak at, but agreed anyway to come and share his story. His co-speaker was Maya Angelou. While the details of their personal narratives are different, when Angelou got up to speak, she said, "I have the same story to tell as Fredrick Buechner"(53). Buechner reflects:
And this gives us the justification for each us to tell our own story and to find ourselves in the stories of others. In chapter four, The Subterranean Grace of God or Why Stories Matter, he reflects further on the meaning in our story:
The "subterranean Grace of God" that shows up in our lives are exemplified as we spy the whiskey priest in Graham Green's The Power and the Glory, or in Buechner's own Leo Bebb novels (62, 64-67).
In Part 3, Buechner reflects deeper on his own story, traversing familiar ground to those familiar with his autobiographical works, his father's suicide and learning to face the pain, vocation and the journey toward wholeness, the presence of peace, and hope.
What makes Buechner such a good writer, is how honestly he is able to cross-examine his own spiritual experience, without resorting to trite platitudes and Christian cliché. His call to us to attend to the remarkable ordinary, rests on the conviction that God and his subterranean grace haunt our lives—the mundane, the significant, the quotidian and the grotesque—and we will see and hear a Presence it if only we can stop, wait and listen. Art and literature, and telling one's story help us to pause and take notice. "So, art is saying Stop. It helps us to stop by putting a frame around something and makes us see it in a way we would never have seen it under the normal circumstances of living, as so much of us do, on sort of automatic pilot, going through the world without really seeing much of anything" (23). This is what Buecher's novels and memoirs accomplish. They frame reality, so if for a moment, we can see.
Having read a good number of them, I wouldn't say this is my favorite of Buechner's books. But it very good and had all the elements and insight I've come to appreciate from the nonagenarian Presbyterian. It is a short book and well worth your time. I give it four stars. - ★★★★
Notice of material connection: I received a copy of this book from HandleBar Media in exchange for my honest review.
The chapters are arranged in three sections. In part one, Buechner invites us to "stop, look and listen for God." In chapter 1, the title chapter—The Remarkable Ordinary, Buechner invites us to see the sacred within our ordinary life. Travelling through the arts, Buechner stopswith the haiku of Matsuo Basho, listens to time with music and sees through the lens of J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield (Catcher & the Rye) and Franny and Zooey. In chapter 2, Buechner turns to sacred writ, exploring how the Bible calls us to pay attention, to see God and our neighbor through the attentive eyes of love:
Jesus says the greatest commandment is loving God and loving our neighbors. I don't know what it means to love God—really, I'm all that good at it—but one of the things it means is, just as in the case of loving anybody else, you stop and watch and wait. Listen for God, stop and watch and wait for him. To love God means to pay attention, be mindful, be open to the possibility that God is with you in ways that, unless you have your eyes open, you may never glimpse. He speaks words that, unless you have ears open, you may never hear. Draw near to him as best you can. (36-37).
And later:
To love your neighbor is to see your neighbor. To see somebody, really see somebody the way Rembrandt saw the old lady, not just the face that comes to you the way dry leaves blow at you down the path like other dry leaves, but in a way that you realize the face is something the likes of which you have never seen before and will never see again. To love somebody we must see the person's face, and once in a while we do. Usually its because something jolts us into seeing it. (39)
In Part 2, Buechner describes how to listen to God through the stories we tell. In chapter 3, he describes an Episcopalian conference on "story" he didn't want to speak at, but agreed anyway to come and share his story. His co-speaker was Maya Angelou. While the details of their personal narratives are different, when Angelou got up to speak, she said, "I have the same story to tell as Fredrick Buechner"(53). Buechner reflects:
And I think what she meant is that at a certain level we do, all of us, with all our differences, we do have the same story. When it comes to the business of how you become a human being, how do you manage to believe, how do you have faith in a world that gives 14,000 reasons every week not to believe, how do you survive—especially surviving our own childhoods as Maya survived hers and we've all survived ours—at that level we all have the same story, and therefore anyone's story can illuminate our own. (53).
And this gives us the justification for each us to tell our own story and to find ourselves in the stories of others. In chapter four, The Subterranean Grace of God or Why Stories Matter, he reflects further on the meaning in our story:
I think that a part of what to tell one's own story in the religious sense means is to affirm that there is a plot to one's life. It's not just incident following incident without any particular direction or purpose, but things are happening in order to take you somewhere. Just the way a story begins and has a middle and an end. Things are somehow wrapped up at the end, and everything in some fashion can be seen to have led to this inevitable conclusion and to have had its own place, however circumstantial and odd and out-of-the-way some of those things that happened may have been. They had their purpose in the overall shape and texture and reality of one's story. (59-60)
The "subterranean Grace of God" that shows up in our lives are exemplified as we spy the whiskey priest in Graham Green's The Power and the Glory, or in Buechner's own Leo Bebb novels (62, 64-67).
In Part 3, Buechner reflects deeper on his own story, traversing familiar ground to those familiar with his autobiographical works, his father's suicide and learning to face the pain, vocation and the journey toward wholeness, the presence of peace, and hope.
What makes Buechner such a good writer, is how honestly he is able to cross-examine his own spiritual experience, without resorting to trite platitudes and Christian cliché. His call to us to attend to the remarkable ordinary, rests on the conviction that God and his subterranean grace haunt our lives—the mundane, the significant, the quotidian and the grotesque—and we will see and hear a Presence it if only we can stop, wait and listen. Art and literature, and telling one's story help us to pause and take notice. "So, art is saying Stop. It helps us to stop by putting a frame around something and makes us see it in a way we would never have seen it under the normal circumstances of living, as so much of us do, on sort of automatic pilot, going through the world without really seeing much of anything" (23). This is what Buecher's novels and memoirs accomplish. They frame reality, so if for a moment, we can see.
Having read a good number of them, I wouldn't say this is my favorite of Buechner's books. But it very good and had all the elements and insight I've come to appreciate from the nonagenarian Presbyterian. It is a short book and well worth your time. I give it four stars. - ★★★★
Notice of material connection: I received a copy of this book from HandleBar Media in exchange for my honest review.
May 26, 2024
Buechner is characteristically insightful, disarmingly honest, and unpretentious. I underlined and starred so many nuggets about life and vocation.
February 16, 2024
This book has a very conversational style, which might’ve gotten old if it was long, but considering that this book was only 130 pages, I’d sit down for another chat.
“To play it safe, to stay home where the candles are lit and the meal is prepared, was to somehow have your life diminished. To go out into the world, even if the world scares the hell out of you, and bores you to death, and intimidates you, and confuses you — that is the only life.”
“To play it safe, to stay home where the candles are lit and the meal is prepared, was to somehow have your life diminished. To go out into the world, even if the world scares the hell out of you, and bores you to death, and intimidates you, and confuses you — that is the only life.”
September 13, 2023
Almost a combination of Anne Lamott and C. S. Lewis, Buechner writes in a conversational, personal way, that is easily relatable. I could offer critique, but I’ll leave it with this lovely quote instead:
“Joy is knowing, even for a moment, that underneath everything are the everlasting arms.”
“Joy is knowing, even for a moment, that underneath everything are the everlasting arms.”
October 18, 2017
Author: Frederick Buechner
Title: The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life
Publisher: Zondervan
Year of Publication: 2017
Writing of Frederick Buechner, Maya Angelou elevates his writings to an incredible standard:
While only a simpleton would discredit this author’s incredible legacy, reading his nonfiction novel left me collectively scratching my head. Prior to this read, my only exposure to his writings was when I was required to read Godric in college. His The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life strikes some interesting chords; however, it seems very disjointed.
Truly, Buechner encourages readers to find that life is something to behold, especially if it appears to be ordinary. Note, for example, his take on the collective arts – if literature, music, and paintings are saying anything, they are reminding us to stop and pay attention. Each of these modalities are attempting to frame life in a moment and are asking to be noticed. Art makes us see life in a way we would never have seen it under the normal circumstances of living—too many of us are jetting through life on automatic pilot without really seeing anything of the world around us.
Although there is disjointedness in his thoughts, all spiritual seekers can learn from this instruction about time. We should pay attention to the quality of time, whether it brings an accord of sadness or joy, empty or fullness. His distinction and amplification of the difference between two Greek words for time, kairos and chronos, was exceptional. Kairos speaks to the supreme moment where chronos refers to sequential time. In the busyness of life, we are collectively swept away in chronos while missing kairos.
I love the way Buechner reminds us that God could be all around us in the ordinary, just waiting to expose us to something remarkable. He relates a story of feeding a neighbor’s sheep, where in that moment, he beheld the snow and dust falling on the straw and finally understood what the manger was all about. A veritable “God-moment” in the midst of something as ordinary as keeping a promise to feed a neighbor’s animals.
Along this same narrative the part of this work that spoke the most to me was Buechner’s development of what he calls the subterranean presence of grace. The idea that God is always at work, just below the surface. In this way, we can always look at the evening news and instead of lamenting the wars fought between nations rather ask collectively, “What about the wars we fight with others?” We need to find where God is at work and join him there, very similar to the thesis presented in Experiencing God by Henry & Richard Blackaby and Claude King.
The Remarkable Ordinary will cause you to refocus your attention to see even the trite and trivial as worthy of God’s touch. Buechner advises us all that playing it safe by staying home where candles are lit and a meal is prepared diminishes one’s life. Rather, we should go out into the world, even if the world scares the hell out of you, bores you to death, intimidates, or confuses you—that is the only life.
Are you tired of seeing life as merely ordinary? Leaf through this treatise by Buechner, perhaps you will discover it is far from ordinary.
Title: The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life
Publisher: Zondervan
Year of Publication: 2017
Writing of Frederick Buechner, Maya Angelou elevates his writings to an incredible standard:
“If Frederick Buechner subordinated his nature and chose to write on naughts and nothings, he would still exalt his readers. When he is in representative harmony and writes of the accessibility of God to humanity and of humanity’s agreement with its potential divinity, we, the readers, are lifted up, buoyed up, and promised wholeness.”
While only a simpleton would discredit this author’s incredible legacy, reading his nonfiction novel left me collectively scratching my head. Prior to this read, my only exposure to his writings was when I was required to read Godric in college. His The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life strikes some interesting chords; however, it seems very disjointed.
Truly, Buechner encourages readers to find that life is something to behold, especially if it appears to be ordinary. Note, for example, his take on the collective arts – if literature, music, and paintings are saying anything, they are reminding us to stop and pay attention. Each of these modalities are attempting to frame life in a moment and are asking to be noticed. Art makes us see life in a way we would never have seen it under the normal circumstances of living—too many of us are jetting through life on automatic pilot without really seeing anything of the world around us.
Although there is disjointedness in his thoughts, all spiritual seekers can learn from this instruction about time. We should pay attention to the quality of time, whether it brings an accord of sadness or joy, empty or fullness. His distinction and amplification of the difference between two Greek words for time, kairos and chronos, was exceptional. Kairos speaks to the supreme moment where chronos refers to sequential time. In the busyness of life, we are collectively swept away in chronos while missing kairos.
I love the way Buechner reminds us that God could be all around us in the ordinary, just waiting to expose us to something remarkable. He relates a story of feeding a neighbor’s sheep, where in that moment, he beheld the snow and dust falling on the straw and finally understood what the manger was all about. A veritable “God-moment” in the midst of something as ordinary as keeping a promise to feed a neighbor’s animals.
Along this same narrative the part of this work that spoke the most to me was Buechner’s development of what he calls the subterranean presence of grace. The idea that God is always at work, just below the surface. In this way, we can always look at the evening news and instead of lamenting the wars fought between nations rather ask collectively, “What about the wars we fight with others?” We need to find where God is at work and join him there, very similar to the thesis presented in Experiencing God by Henry & Richard Blackaby and Claude King.
The Remarkable Ordinary will cause you to refocus your attention to see even the trite and trivial as worthy of God’s touch. Buechner advises us all that playing it safe by staying home where candles are lit and a meal is prepared diminishes one’s life. Rather, we should go out into the world, even if the world scares the hell out of you, bores you to death, intimidates, or confuses you—that is the only life.
Are you tired of seeing life as merely ordinary? Leaf through this treatise by Buechner, perhaps you will discover it is far from ordinary.
March 20, 2019
In Buechner’s usual style, the book quietly explodes with truth. He is an artist!
October 18, 2021
One of my favorite quotes comes from John Muir Laws. He says, “Fall in love with your life by paying attention.” This whole book was this quote. Pay attention to the music of your life, the music of others, the ordinary, mighty acts you are about to do because they become the psalms of your life.
April 3, 2025
I thought that the Remarkable Ordinary might take the place as my favorite book, but I have since decided that no, it does not. However: I loved it, recommend it, and have already started rereading it. Don't let the subtitle defer you. This is not a cheesy "stop and smell the roses" or a John Mark Comer, in his odd and annoying style "our world is too fast. get off your phone" type book but rather a masterpiece of words about the human condition.
September 25, 2024
Love Burchner and his writing. This one felt like a hodge lodge of others recounting his life and didn’t hit in the same caliber it usually does. Good reminders about taking notice of God and being aware of the world around us. Very simple message hence the name remarkable ordinary lol
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April 22, 2023My first time reading Buechner and it was a breath of fresh air
October 9, 2022
This book was so good. So good and so needed. I think I love Frederick Buechner.
September 20, 2025
That’s right everybody - I’m back! I’ve had baby number two and he tried in vain to stop me from reading but nothing can stop this literate powerhouse.
What a glorious way to be reintroduced to the power of reading - ol Fred here is a holy and glimmering man. His writing is at once wry and inspirational and I’m already hungry to read him again. I wept many times during the reading of this book.
What a glorious way to be reintroduced to the power of reading - ol Fred here is a holy and glimmering man. His writing is at once wry and inspirational and I’m already hungry to read him again. I wept many times during the reading of this book.
September 12, 2017
I write a decent amount of book reviews for my blog. Reviewing Buechner is different. How does one begin to review a master? Still, I was given an advanced digital copy of his forthcoming book The Remarkable Ordinary from Netgalley so I need to keep up my end of the bargain and write something.
I’m actually sitting on a plane right now somewhere between Houston and Salt Lake City. I just put down my Kindle (which I later realized I left on the plane) and I have to say that I had the same experience with this book that I’ve had with most of the books that I’ve read by Buechner. That is, I simultaneously smiled and had tears in my eyes. The other day I was listening to a conversation between Krista Tippett and the late John O’Donohue. It was a remarkable conversation. Towards the end of the conversation Tippett said something fascinating about Celtic music. She remarked that “it seems to express the greatest joy and also the deepest sorrow, almost indistinguishable from each other, and yet both with a kind of healing force.”[1] That’s a great description of Buechner’s writing! Great joy and great sorrow mingled together with healing in it.
Buechner has the great ability to cause you to listen to your life. This, of course, is one of his overarching themes and the title to one of his books. He does this by telling his story in such a way that you find your own story somewhere beneath the surface. In one chapter he talks about his relational connection with Maya Angelou. One time they both spoke at the same event and after Buechner finished his speech, the person introducing Maya said, “Ms. Angelou will now get up and tell you her story, and it will be a very different story from the one that you have just heard from Frederick Buechner.” Buechner writes that as the man said that Maya Angelou was shaking her head no. She got up and said, “I have exactly the same story to tell as Frederick Buechner.” Pondering this Buechner writes that “that’s the only reason I have, the only justification, to tell you my story. Who gives a hoot about my story? But you can give a hoot about it because it’s in many ways your story.” Mission accomplished. (For the record, I give a hoot about Beuchner’s story.)
If you’re familiar with Buechner’s work you’ve probably heard him tell some of these stories before. There are several times throughout the book where he’ll basically say, I’ve written about this before but…here we go anyway. There’s a freshness their telling, though. This is not like reading the same story twice (though I suppose there can in many ways be a freshness to that in a different way). He tells his story in a new way, like the man nearing the end of his life. There is a hopeful rawness to it all. Abraham Heschel once said, "In our own lives the voice of God speaks slowly, a syllable at a time. Reaching the peak of years, dispelling some of our intimate illusions and learning how to spell the meaning of life-experiences backwards, some of us discover how the scattered syllables form a single phrase."[2] You get the feeling in this book that Beuchner has found that phrase and is is spelling it out for us one beautiful letter at a time. He is also providing the hope that we, through our own journeys, will find our phrases too if we simply pay attention to the Remarkable Ordinary.
I can’t recommend this small book strongly enough.
[1] https://onbeing.org/programs/john-odo...
[2] Abraham Joshua Heschel, God In Search of Man, p. 174
I’m actually sitting on a plane right now somewhere between Houston and Salt Lake City. I just put down my Kindle (which I later realized I left on the plane) and I have to say that I had the same experience with this book that I’ve had with most of the books that I’ve read by Buechner. That is, I simultaneously smiled and had tears in my eyes. The other day I was listening to a conversation between Krista Tippett and the late John O’Donohue. It was a remarkable conversation. Towards the end of the conversation Tippett said something fascinating about Celtic music. She remarked that “it seems to express the greatest joy and also the deepest sorrow, almost indistinguishable from each other, and yet both with a kind of healing force.”[1] That’s a great description of Buechner’s writing! Great joy and great sorrow mingled together with healing in it.
Buechner has the great ability to cause you to listen to your life. This, of course, is one of his overarching themes and the title to one of his books. He does this by telling his story in such a way that you find your own story somewhere beneath the surface. In one chapter he talks about his relational connection with Maya Angelou. One time they both spoke at the same event and after Buechner finished his speech, the person introducing Maya said, “Ms. Angelou will now get up and tell you her story, and it will be a very different story from the one that you have just heard from Frederick Buechner.” Buechner writes that as the man said that Maya Angelou was shaking her head no. She got up and said, “I have exactly the same story to tell as Frederick Buechner.” Pondering this Buechner writes that “that’s the only reason I have, the only justification, to tell you my story. Who gives a hoot about my story? But you can give a hoot about it because it’s in many ways your story.” Mission accomplished. (For the record, I give a hoot about Beuchner’s story.)
If you’re familiar with Buechner’s work you’ve probably heard him tell some of these stories before. There are several times throughout the book where he’ll basically say, I’ve written about this before but…here we go anyway. There’s a freshness their telling, though. This is not like reading the same story twice (though I suppose there can in many ways be a freshness to that in a different way). He tells his story in a new way, like the man nearing the end of his life. There is a hopeful rawness to it all. Abraham Heschel once said, "In our own lives the voice of God speaks slowly, a syllable at a time. Reaching the peak of years, dispelling some of our intimate illusions and learning how to spell the meaning of life-experiences backwards, some of us discover how the scattered syllables form a single phrase."[2] You get the feeling in this book that Beuchner has found that phrase and is is spelling it out for us one beautiful letter at a time. He is also providing the hope that we, through our own journeys, will find our phrases too if we simply pay attention to the Remarkable Ordinary.
I can’t recommend this small book strongly enough.
[1] https://onbeing.org/programs/john-odo...
[2] Abraham Joshua Heschel, God In Search of Man, p. 174
June 18, 2021
My first time to read him and I loved this book so much. Beautiful thoughts, effortless prose, conversational style like talking to a friend at a coffee shop and a comforting counselor all at the same time. Always thankful to find an author that feels like home and that makes me think.
February 9, 2021
“Knowing that even though you see only through a glass darkly, even though lots of things happen - wars and peacemaking, hunger and homelessness - joy is knowing, even for a moment, that underneath everything are the everlasting arms.”
I could have chosen many other quotes from this book to start this review. There were just that many.
I was attracted to this book, not by its renowned author, but by its fascinating topic. Going in, I knew very little about the massive influence of Frederick Buechner, a Christian minister and novelist known for his touching memoirs and masterful ability to craft a sentence. If I had, I would have started with one of his earlier works, not a published book of unfinished lectures.
That said, this is a charming little book on how wonderful life truly is and how God's handiwork can be seen in even the most mundane of moments. I greatly enjoyed the first chapters that showed how art is used to draw our attention to aspects of life we are programmed to block out. I especially loved his discussion of music and how it draws our attention to the quality of time, rather than its quantity:
"Music in a way, is saying keep time in another way – keep it, keep in touch with it, keep your hands on it somehow. Keep in touch with the sadness of your own time, with the joy of time, with the marvelousness of time, with the terror of time, with the emptiness of time, with the fullness of time."
Marvelous stuff.
As my first foray into Buechner's work, this wasn't a terrible choice. Being written in the latter years of his life, it did assume some familiarity with his previous novels and memoirs but he did provide accommodations for new readers unfamiliar with his life story. I can truly understand and even appreciate the appeal of his honest and down-to-earth writing style. He doesn't see himself as a "moral exemplar" or even a "saint" but attempts to show how God can be shown through human weakness. He looks at life not really as a theologian with every doctrine clearly defined and described but as an artist looking to experience the goodness of God.
In saying that, while I recognise this isn't meant to be a sermon or theological piece, I do feel that he delved too much into a vague, abstract notion of Christianity. Not everything he noted set right with me, although I do realise that I would need to read more of his work to get a grasp of what he was trying to get at. These are personal musings and observations about God's influence on his world, not an attempt to nail down specific theological tenants. Understanding this may help us to appreciate it more, but as it stands some parts did appear a little wishy-washy. His occasional use of course language was also a little jarring and may be a detractor for some audiences.
Also, while I thought the first chapter fit perfectly with the book's title, I felt some of the chapters were a little meandering. They were still filled with interesting insights and stories but it was difficult at times to understand their relevance to things as a whole. Maybe I need to think about them more, and it is quite possible I missed something. Still, I can't fault it here as it appears that these writings are an unpublished assortment.
I am intrigued to dive into the books that define Frederick Beuchner. He does have a remarkable command of the English language and there are many quotes that I will continue to think upon in the future. If you are looking for something experiential, I think this is definitely worth checking out.
I could have chosen many other quotes from this book to start this review. There were just that many.
I was attracted to this book, not by its renowned author, but by its fascinating topic. Going in, I knew very little about the massive influence of Frederick Buechner, a Christian minister and novelist known for his touching memoirs and masterful ability to craft a sentence. If I had, I would have started with one of his earlier works, not a published book of unfinished lectures.
That said, this is a charming little book on how wonderful life truly is and how God's handiwork can be seen in even the most mundane of moments. I greatly enjoyed the first chapters that showed how art is used to draw our attention to aspects of life we are programmed to block out. I especially loved his discussion of music and how it draws our attention to the quality of time, rather than its quantity:
"Music in a way, is saying keep time in another way – keep it, keep in touch with it, keep your hands on it somehow. Keep in touch with the sadness of your own time, with the joy of time, with the marvelousness of time, with the terror of time, with the emptiness of time, with the fullness of time."
Marvelous stuff.
As my first foray into Buechner's work, this wasn't a terrible choice. Being written in the latter years of his life, it did assume some familiarity with his previous novels and memoirs but he did provide accommodations for new readers unfamiliar with his life story. I can truly understand and even appreciate the appeal of his honest and down-to-earth writing style. He doesn't see himself as a "moral exemplar" or even a "saint" but attempts to show how God can be shown through human weakness. He looks at life not really as a theologian with every doctrine clearly defined and described but as an artist looking to experience the goodness of God.
In saying that, while I recognise this isn't meant to be a sermon or theological piece, I do feel that he delved too much into a vague, abstract notion of Christianity. Not everything he noted set right with me, although I do realise that I would need to read more of his work to get a grasp of what he was trying to get at. These are personal musings and observations about God's influence on his world, not an attempt to nail down specific theological tenants. Understanding this may help us to appreciate it more, but as it stands some parts did appear a little wishy-washy. His occasional use of course language was also a little jarring and may be a detractor for some audiences.
Also, while I thought the first chapter fit perfectly with the book's title, I felt some of the chapters were a little meandering. They were still filled with interesting insights and stories but it was difficult at times to understand their relevance to things as a whole. Maybe I need to think about them more, and it is quite possible I missed something. Still, I can't fault it here as it appears that these writings are an unpublished assortment.
I am intrigued to dive into the books that define Frederick Beuchner. He does have a remarkable command of the English language and there are many quotes that I will continue to think upon in the future. If you are looking for something experiential, I think this is definitely worth checking out.
March 2, 2024
5 stars for making today my first cry of the month
parts I want to share with Jaima and Sarah when they get back from the worship night on campus:
- "Don't miss those moments when God speaks to you, as he did in a funny way to me through the bird in song this morning, as he does to all of us, in all sorts of ways, and all of the time" 35
- "Jesus sees that all of us labor and are heavy laden and are in need of rest or are in need of him or in need of peace. So we are to see each other like that, as Jesus sees us, framed as if each one of our faces is seen by him. And the frame he sees us in, if you have to give it a word, is the frame of love. He sees us because he loves us; he loves us because he sees us" 41
- "though he refused the crown that was offered to him by Satan, he nonetheless is crowned again and again in the hearts of people who believe in him... Jesus is crowned again and again in the hearts of those who believe in him amidst confession and tears and great laughter" 83 (quoting George Arthur Buttrick)
- "When I went to Union [Seminary], I was so motivated because I was at that point so on fire with, I can only say, Christ. I was to the point where when I would see his name on a page, it was like seeing the face of somebody you loved, and my heart would beat faster. I had to find out more about him" 86
parts I want to share with Jaima and Sarah when they get back from the worship night on campus:
- "Don't miss those moments when God speaks to you, as he did in a funny way to me through the bird in song this morning, as he does to all of us, in all sorts of ways, and all of the time" 35
- "Jesus sees that all of us labor and are heavy laden and are in need of rest or are in need of him or in need of peace. So we are to see each other like that, as Jesus sees us, framed as if each one of our faces is seen by him. And the frame he sees us in, if you have to give it a word, is the frame of love. He sees us because he loves us; he loves us because he sees us" 41
- "though he refused the crown that was offered to him by Satan, he nonetheless is crowned again and again in the hearts of people who believe in him... Jesus is crowned again and again in the hearts of those who believe in him amidst confession and tears and great laughter" 83 (quoting George Arthur Buttrick)
- "When I went to Union [Seminary], I was so motivated because I was at that point so on fire with, I can only say, Christ. I was to the point where when I would see his name on a page, it was like seeing the face of somebody you loved, and my heart would beat faster. I had to find out more about him" 86
September 28, 2020
For years I've read quotes and references to Frederick Buechner. And I know people who name him as their favorite author. But I had never read a book by Buechner until picking up The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life. After reading this book I understand why people admire and appreciate Buechner. The combination of his very approachable and conversational style and his focus on the most important things in life as the subject of his writing makes for compelling reading. I especially appreciated Part 1 (Chapters 1 and 2) where he asks the reader to stop, look, and listen. I like the quote in his introduction, "So I'm writing, I suppose, hoping to get another few steps in that direction, toward turning off the eternal chatter, the endless dialogue that goes on inside most of us. . . . to stop those words and just to exist somehow in the fullness and unspeakableness of the present and to let whatever is down in the holy place drift up." That is a compelling reason to follow the author's advice to stop, look, and listen! And I appreciated the reference to a letter by Emily Dickinson who said, "You know, there is only one commandment I have never broken - and that is the commandment, 'Consider the lilies of the field.'" Good stuff.
I'm eager to read read more Buechner and A Crazy, Holy Grace - The Healing Power of Pain and Memory is next on my list.
I'm eager to read read more Buechner and A Crazy, Holy Grace - The Healing Power of Pain and Memory is next on my list.
October 25, 2025
I so appreciate how genuinely and conversationally Frederick Buechner wrote about his faith, and how it intersected with and influenced his experience of being human.
“I wish God would talk sometimes so I could hear him. I wish, as Woody Allen wonderfully jokes, that sometimes he’d clear his throat. But just enough whispers in the wings, the strange coincidences, the miraculous happenstance, the right saint coming by at the right time, to me means that the stillness of God is the stillness he has to preserve, because if he were to speak, it’d blow everything sky high.
Shakespeare can’t enter Hamlet, Rembrandt can’t enter a canvas, except in the terms of the canvas or the play. But Shakespeare can enter the play by writing it, by putting himself into character, and in this way Rembrandt also can enter his canvases by way of using his brush and his imagination. So too the way God can deal with the world is elusively, whispers in the wings, subtly, suggestively, never coercing, just waving like the trees in time. I try to listen for that.”
“I wish God would talk sometimes so I could hear him. I wish, as Woody Allen wonderfully jokes, that sometimes he’d clear his throat. But just enough whispers in the wings, the strange coincidences, the miraculous happenstance, the right saint coming by at the right time, to me means that the stillness of God is the stillness he has to preserve, because if he were to speak, it’d blow everything sky high.
Shakespeare can’t enter Hamlet, Rembrandt can’t enter a canvas, except in the terms of the canvas or the play. But Shakespeare can enter the play by writing it, by putting himself into character, and in this way Rembrandt also can enter his canvases by way of using his brush and his imagination. So too the way God can deal with the world is elusively, whispers in the wings, subtly, suggestively, never coercing, just waving like the trees in time. I try to listen for that.”
March 3, 2018
This was my first Buechner read, and I really enjoyed it. It's the first contemplative-style writing I've read in awhile, and it helped me to stop, listen, and be more "in the moment," which I so appreciated. Buechner points out how art puts a frame around a moment - whether captured in a painting, a poem, or literature - and thereby allows us to examine that moment in a way that's very different than how we normally live our lives. We easily skip over the "ordinary." But looking at Van Gogh's haystack painting, for example, slows down time and helps us to see that moment as remarkable. By slowing down and being attentive in our own life, we can experience what is remarkable in it. I look forward to reading more of Buechner now!
July 22, 2025
Not at all what I was expecting. I don’t know what it is I was expecting but it was not this. And yet, in such a wonderful way.
Buechner is thoughtful and genuine and real. No fluff. Says it how it is. Even if it isn’t pretty (a lot of times, it isn’t pretty).
Told through the lens of his own life and his personal experiences and encounters with God, Buechner beautifully touches on how to live life fully aware of God and His presence. How in everything, from art to music to dinners to death, we can see Jesus. If we are willing to stop, look, and listen.
Buechner is thoughtful and genuine and real. No fluff. Says it how it is. Even if it isn’t pretty (a lot of times, it isn’t pretty).
Told through the lens of his own life and his personal experiences and encounters with God, Buechner beautifully touches on how to live life fully aware of God and His presence. How in everything, from art to music to dinners to death, we can see Jesus. If we are willing to stop, look, and listen.
February 14, 2024
A deeply enjoyable book, buechner delves into the journey of being present as a Christian in God's creation. In a masterful yet conversational tone, the reader is invited to consider the process of intentionally going through life. With anecdotes, ponderings, and a good hint of spiritual autobiography, you most likely won't agree with everything he says, but I firmly believe you will still come away with something that might just change the way you view your fellow man.
April 25, 2022
I have loved and enjoyed and treasured the writing of Frederick Buechner for better part of thirty years. What I experience each time I encounter his words is something akin to a homecoming; an experience of being welcomed by a friend to enter not just a friendly place and time, but one that is familiar and pleasant in ways a homecoming should be but often isn’t apart from our imaginations. This book is a treasure and immediately sharpens a hunger to read more from this thoughtful and thought provoking author. There is within the brief essays so much truth, humor, and transparency that I’m left feeling not only that I know the writer better, but that I somehow am better known as well.
February 15, 2023
I love the tone of the writing: contemplative, curious, earthy, vulnerable, insightful, sometimes very strange. I don’t know what to make of the parts that were strange to me (the Leo Bebb piece especially!), but his way of looking at faces, and moments, and life resonates deeply with me. A book I want to read again—and I don’t often say that.
May 5, 2018
I always enjoy reading Buechner - his insights, his turn of phrase and his willingness to share his own struggles, frailties and weaknesses allow the reader to connect with him at a heart level.
March 24, 2019
Easy to read. I find myself challenged to slow down and really appreciate the beauty of life in the small things and to remember that God is in all things, ordinary though they may seem.
May 2, 2021
This was the first book I've read by this author, but will look for more. This one felt like a personal therapy session full of much truth and grace.
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September 24, 2021Some good thoughts in here. I might need to read it again when I'm in a more contemplative mood because my mind kept wandering.
January 5, 2025
A relaxed book (it’s based on a series of lectures), and yet insights and revelations come regularly. Several quotes sparked some journaling, which made this a lovely book to begin the new year with.
July 5, 2020
I wasn’t crazy about this book. There were some helpful reminders in here, such as not getting so caught up in where you are going or what’s next that you miss what God might be doing right where you are. But overall it felt a little too much like sappy, vague spirituality.
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