Jen Russum

Digging Deep: My Story {Part II}

Digging Deep: My Story {Part II}

{via} They say age 25 is when your brain is finally developed and your rational decision making is fully functioning at last. I think that holds true for me, and more importantly, that's the year my heart started functioning properly as well. Year 25 was a tough one. But it was good. It all started when I moved back to Washington state after living in Texas for six years. Micah and I had been dating long distance for awhile, and he {rightly} convinced me that we should live near each other first if we planned to get married. I was hesitant at first. I had a good life in Texas. I owned a house, had an awesome teaching and coaching job, lived near all my best friends, had a decent salary, and was involved in the church I had attended since college. Life was good. But as soon as Micah asked me to move Washington, I knew deep down it was the right thing to do. So I moved home. Literally. I moved into my parent's basement. I lived in my hometown. I ran into old classmates at Target. I started substitute teaching at my old high school. It was humbling in every way. The Jen who insisted on going to school out of state and prided herself on being adventurous was living in her parent's house without any plans or direction. {Actually, I had all sorts of plans of my own about getting married and moving across the country with Micah for grad school the following year, but God slowly revealed to me that my timeline was not His timeline, so I watched my "plans" fizzle away over the course of the year.} Micah and I worked on our relationship, and it was tough. It turns out that living in the same town and seeing each other every day is much more difficult and refining than just talking on the phone and going to fancy dates at Christmas time. As my relationship with Micah grew deeper, the ugliness of my heart started to unfold. My tendency to hide my sin and shortcomings in order to present a pretty package was revealed and I slowly started to understand that I desperately needed a Savior. I wasn't the "good girl" I thought I was and my ability to articulate the Gospel wasn't enough. I was a mess. I was weak. I was lost. I needed Jesus to intervene in my life and my heart... Read the rest of the Digging Deep series here... ... Read more

The story of my closet…

The story of my closet…

Two years ago ago my closet looked like this... So many clothes. I used to pride myself on having this many clothes. I loved fashion. I loved bargain hunting. I love being well dressed. In reality, I still love those things, but enough is enough. Both for spiritual reasons as well as practical ones, I cannot own so many clothes ever again. I have always been good about cleaning out my closet and getting rid of clothing I never wear, but at same time I was always accumulating more and more and more. I would add clothes to my closet with no rhyme or reason, testing out a new trend or buying something just because it was good deal. Thankfully, I think I'm past that stage in my life. I have a new goal: a small, well curated closet where everything looks good and fits right. Where all the items match my overall style and can be mixed together easily. In the picture above you can see the short sleeve/tank top section of my closet on the upper rack. On the far left you can see the very start of my long sleeve section and then my short sleeve section goes on for days to the right. So many tees and tanks crammed in there. This is my short sleeve and tank section of my closet today... Drastic difference, huh?  Everything goes together. Everything feels like me. I always have something to wear because I'm comfortable and confident in any of the shirts you see in that picture. The collection may be small but it's a good one. So what does that mean for the rest of my closet? As you might know, I've already sold a bunch of it over the past year, and I've also been to the Goodwill more times than I can count. But now I'm on the final stretch... We are having a garage sale next weekend and my goal is to have my closet {and our whole house} down to its minimal best by that time. I am going to do one last big sale on Instagram this weekend. You can find my shop on @thecuratedcloset. The sale will be auction style and will start on Saturday morning {tomorrow!} and end at 3pm PST on Sunday afternoon. There will LOTS of stuff, my friends. Good stuff. But just not stuff that I need in my own closet. Hope to see you at the sale! P.S. Pants. I haven't really looked at most of my pants in the past year. Last night I finally pulled them all out and tried them on. There was literally dust on them since most of my pants have never left their hangers since we moved into our house last summer. Between pregnancy, my changing body shape, and the fact that it's summer six months out of the year here, I just don't wear pants very often. So this former rainy Washington dweller has pants galore for you {mostly sizes 6/8, 28/29}. Get ready! ... Read more

Digging Deep: My Story {Part I}

Digging Deep: My Story {Part I}

{via} I didn't always love to read my Bible. I suppose I read it more than most my kids my age while growing up, but I wouldn't say I read Scripture regularly and I wouldn't say I typically obeyed it either. I was blessed to grow up with a basic understanding of God's Word. My mom took us to church when we were children and I attended a private Christian school until the 4th grade. I could explain the Gopsel, and I knew some key Bible verses by memory. When I got to high school, my life reflected Christ less and less, but I was still known as a Christian among my peers. I was a student leader for Young Life and many of my girlfriends looked up to me for my faith and "wisdom" regarding the Bible. I went to Campaigners {Young Life Bible Study} weekly and I read my Bible on occasion before bed. In retrospect, I'm sure this lukewarm interest in Scripture was God's gracious calling on my life. He had already given me gifts related to teaching His Word that were lying latent, waiting to bloom forth by His power later on. When I went off to college, I remember scoffing in an Old Testament class during my freshman year. I was amazed my peers had no understanding of key OT events such as the flood or Abraham's promise. I aced every test in that class with a cloud of smugness hovering over my head. It wasn't until years later as I watched my childhood best friend become a believer that I realized my own arrogance. She told me one day that she wanted to start reading Genesis to familiarize herself with all the stories since she hadn't grown up in the church. Thankfully God was doing some mighty work in my heart by that point and her desire filled me with gladness while also reminding me to be thankful for a childhood in which I was introduced to the Bible. But although I grew up reading the Bible from time to time, it didn't really have a hold on my heart. I understood the Gospel in my head but it didn't really have much impact on my life. In fact, my attitude toward the Bible reflected my attitude toward God in general. I knew I read my Bible more than most other kids my age, so that must be good enough. And I think I saw the Gospel in the same way. Although I could give you all the lines about being a sinner saved by Christ, deep down I didn't function as someone in need of a Savior. Instead, I compared myself to my friends, made sure my behavior was slightly better than theirs, and lived in a false reality where I exchanged the Gospel for my "good girl" status. Thankfully, God used His word to wreck my delusion and draw me close to Him... ... Read more