Keeping House

Keeping House is a wide-ranging and witty exploration of the spiritual gifts that are gained when we take the time to care for hearth and home. With a fresh perspective, mother, wife, and teacher Margaret Kim Peterson examines the activities and attitudes of keeping house and making a home. Debunking the commonly held notion that keeping house is a waste of time or at best a hobby, Peterson uncovers the broader cultural and theological factors that make housekeeping an interesting and worthwhile discipline. She reveals how the seemingly ordinary tasks of folding laundry, buying groceries, cooking, making beds, and offering hospitality can be seen as spiritual practices that embody and express concrete and positive ways of living out Christian faith in relationship to others at home, in the church and in the world.

Acknowledgments vii

Preface ix

Chapter 1 What's Christian About Housework? 1

Chapter 2 A Place to Live 22

Chapter 3 Sheltering a Household 42

Chapter 4 Clothes to Wear 62

Chapter 5 Clothing a Household 82

Chapter 6 Food to Eat 103

Chapter 7 Feeding a Household 125

Chapter 8 The Well-Kept House 146

Notes 167

The Author 175

Margaret Kim Peterson is theologian in residence at First Presbyterian Church, Norristown, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and though now a long-time resident of the East Coast, she returns to the Midwest whenever possible. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Duke University, she now teaches theology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. She is married to Dwight N. Peterson, who also teaches at Eastern University. Together they are the parents of a son, Mark. Praise for Keeping House

"Addressing such topics as laundry, cleaning, shopping, and cooking, Peterson offers persuasive biblical interpretations and incisive theological and culutural commentary."
—Publishers Weekly

"Keeping House is ground-breaking and breath-taking—the former because there is nothing quite like a 'theology of housekeeping' that is both theologically sophisticated and experientially based. It is breath-taking because of the depth and profundity of Margaret Kim Peterson's insights . . . . My skepticism of the topic gave way, within two pages, to admiration. Every pastor needs to preach the theology of this book and every housekeeper will find daily gold."
—Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park University; and author, The Real Mary and The Jesus Creed

"Mom taught us how to keep house; Margaret Kim Peterson tells us why. Without glorifying menial tasks or patronizing those who do them, Peterson sets housework in a biblical and theological framework that reveals the eternal significance of feeding, clothing, and sheltering others."
—LaVonne Neff, author, 2007: A Book of Grace-Filled Days

"For many years I have appreciated Margaret's insights and reflections about theology and life. In this book she brings her heart and mind to bear on the subject of housekeeping. The result is a practical and loving look at a routine and demanding practice that can lead—believe it or not—to contemplation of God."
—Adele Calhoun, pastor of spiritual formation, Christ Church of Oak Brook, Oak Brook, Illinois; and author, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook