Studying to be Quiet: One Hundred Days of Keeping

by Laurie Bestvater

"I realize the impossible enormity of Charlotte Mason's claim. But there it 'God the Holy Spirit is Himself the Supreme Educator, dealing with each of us severally in the things we call sacred and those we call secular.' God. Always speaking. All subjects. It reminds me of the old children’s 'How do you know when there has been an elephant in your fridge?' 'You see his footprints in the butter, silly.' Theologian Henri Nouwen writes that while very few of us ever hear an audible voice of God or experience, like the saints, an angelic presence, or can ever point to something as life-changing as Mason’s Great Recognition, 'God will let himself be suspected.' Wouldn’t we then, want to try to keep track of those suspicions?" Find here a smidge of Wordsworth, some wonky liturgical math, and a glimpse of one notebook keeper's keeping in an invigorating, “as you go” primer of Mason’s world-reading method and a practical meditation on “that one of the mysteries we call education.”

Genres: Education

284 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2019

Reviews

[ladydusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to catch exactly what this book is and how it's set up and the purposes of the project -even after I read the opening essay.

The practice was helpful, the quotes she shared were challenging and built a sense of the quiet purpose of the whole.

I can see the whole more clearly now that I have finished the book and it will be one I can return to again and again. There are a number of things I want to add to my own Commonplace as well.

It was a useful discipline - I only had to ever make up one day a few times in my personal reading (and rereading) of Calvin's Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life.

2023
Still quite worthy to contemplate.

[Lmichelleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began this book as I was also beginning my own 100 day journey of notebook keeping (in my case, a notebook about listening). What a treat to follow along with Laurie for her own 100 day journey into "quiet." This practice of focusing on a certain aspect of keeping (however imperfectly) for 100 days is one I hope to revisit again. Maybe even once a year!

Laurie helped set up the challenge well, and then bravely led the way in sharing her own 100 days. A good slow, quiet kind of read that was motivating in my own keeping.

[Jean Bowen]

I love Bestvater's book "The Living Pages." A life changing book for me and I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in journaling or Charlotte Mason. But I'm still a little bit confused by this book even after reading the preface. I was expecting more of a how-to introduction filled with inspiring anecdotes (there were a few) that would prompt me forward into 100 days of keeping (Which I gather is a 100 days of notebook keeping.) instead, I find myself googling for more information and examples. I am undoubtedly complicating this.

[Lesley Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Laurie’s book The Living Page so the bar was set high for me expecting the same type of book. Would have loved more examples of the types of notebooks worth keeping rather than just a sentence or two. The beginning and endings had good bits but the middle section of all the things she commonplaced I could have done without.