Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home

"Jen Pollock Michel takes us through the Scriptures as she explores the stories of God’s people displaced, wandering, and longing for home. She captures the tension in all of our hearts: we are longing for something more, something permanent, and something better. We are longing for home—a place. Jen gently encourages us, reminding us that though we are longing, God has given us a home to tend to, people to love and care for, and a table for feasting and sharing. Ultimately, she points us to the only one who can fulfill our every longing—Jesus. Our home is in and with Christ, and one day we will be with him forevermore. Until then, Jen helps us learn to keep place."

"With her signature depth and grace, Jen Pollock Michel casts a vision of home as both a human desire and a heavenly promise. She calls us to build imperfect dwellings alongside our loved ones in this life precisely because we are destined for a perfect dwelling in the life to come. Women and men alike will find joy in her vision of keeping house. This is a book that invites you in and lets you stay awhile, and I’m grateful for it."

"It is one thing to write truth, and another to write it beautifully. With the skilled and hypnotic prose I have come to eagerly expect of her, Jen Michel invites us to consider the sacred space of home and the sacred duty of its keeping. We are seekers of home by design, and our homesickness is no accident. Exploring the rhythms of plenty and loss, worship and work, routine and rest, Michel exhorts us, male and female, to be faithful homemakers until such time as we inhabit our true and final dwelling place. In a time when transience and individuality mark the lives of many, she offers here a worthy meditation for the people of God."

"Jen Pollock Michel has a unique gift of making theology come alive. She weaves a rich knowledge of Scripture with her own compelling story, offering us a fresh perspective of a God who is the maker and keeper of place, the creator who cultivates the space where we find ourselves and the eternal home we long for. Her perspective is original, fresh, and unexpected."

"Michel (Teach Us to Want), contributor for Christianity Today and Today in the Word, mixes theology and real-life scenarios to create a homey place of reflection. . . . Readers will appreciate Michel’s section on doing work at home, which explores the ins and outs of daily life and how every bit of work helps to create a welcoming, comforting environment. Her examples are all engrossing and rich with parallels between biblical characters and today’s hectic lifestyles."

"This well-researched title offers profound insights and makes connections most laypeople wouldn’t. The author’s extensive knowledge of Scripture is evident, and she strikes a readable balance of personal and historical anecdotes, biblical references, and thoughtful reflection."