Jen Russum

Flowers Fade Friday: The Wise and the Weak

Flowers Fade Friday: The Wise and the Weak

It's crazy to think I've been on this PhD endeavor for almost three years now. And I am seriously counting down the weeks until this semester is over... my lack of blogging lately is one sign that this school term is killing me. Or at least it's wearing me out and taking all my time. However, I am also learning more than I've probably learned in the past year altogether, and I'm hoping all this hard work now will make my dissertation much, much easier to write. Nonetheless, I am tired and slightly overwhelmed and reminding myself that I only have 10 weeks until this semester is over. Not only do I feel a bit worn down by the academic aspect of what I do, but I've also felt a bit discouraged lately by the whole spiritual aspect of graduate school as well. There are times at school, when I listen to godless rhetorics and read about feminist methodologies, where I just feel lost. What do you say or do when so many people so firmly believe that which is not true? What do you say when no one around you sees the world as you do? They see political problems and policies that will fix all wrongs. I see sin and a Savior who will fix all wrongs in the kingdom come. They see empowerment as the answer. I see surrendering to the loving and good God of the Universe as our only hope. They see striving for change and building knowledge as the most noble endeavors. I see my faith in Christ and my love for Him and others as the only real pursuits worth my time. And yet... I am called to be in grad school. Without a doubt, I know I am supposed to be in academia. The university often feels like a dark and oppressive institution where very few people believe in Christ, and yet it impacts generation after generation of students who go out and shape and influence our world, for better or worse. So what do I do when I am sure of my calling, yet I flounder for the words to share my faith or speak out against the lies I hear at school every day? And if I do speak out, how do I do so with equal parts of truth and grace? And this is where I Corinthians 1 has been ministering to my heart this week. God knows. He has always known that He would send His children into dark places where knowledge is privileged over love. Where the wise of the world would try to shame or silence those with faith. He knows. And He is with me... God will give me the words when I need to speak truth and He will tell me when to be silent as well. He will protect my mind and heart from believing lies. He will give me opportunities to love unbelievers with the love of Christ. And in the end, God's wisdom will reign supreme and His love and justice will blot out the lies that circulate through my school and throughout the whole world. I rest and I labor in that truth and hope. ... Read more

The Bribe.

The Bribe.

I don’t talk about my teaching much, but today, I must. Because I was bribed. And it must be documented. For those of you who don’t know, I teach undergraduate writing classes at ASU. It sounds like a drag, but it isn't  For the most part, I’ve been blessed with the most amazing students during my three years teaching here. I can count the number of “problem” students I've had on one hand. Most of my students are hard workers, decent writers and responsible human beings. I seriously can’t complain, especially since ASU is considered a “party school.” My students are a zillion times better than I thought they would be based on rumors I had heard about ASU. But today we hit an all-time low… or high… depending on how you feel about the hilarity that is college students trying to bribe their teachers with candy. Two nights ago I was reading through my students’ drafts for conferences I was holding with them the following morning. I got to one draft to sadly discover it was only one and a half pages long even though I had asked my students to write at least 3-4 pages. I very nicely, but firmly, wrote a comment on the paper about it being incomplete and about how I can’t give good feedback if my students don’t actually write a full draft. Then I gave this student half credit on the draft. Most professors would have given a zero, but I was feeling gracious. When this student’s group came to meet with me at a table in the library lobby the following morning, the slacker student, before even sitting down at a chair, firmly placed an AIRHEAD in the middle of the table. The student did not say what it was for… but in the back of my mind I was like “Am I being bribed or appeased with candy right now?! This is amazing… but you should have brought me a Blizzard or anything better than candy from your middle school concession stand.” A few minutes later the student mumbled some kind of apology about not finishing the draft. I said I was disappointed but we would do our best as a group to give feedback on the mere (pathetic?) page and half that had been written so far. Meanwhile, that awkward Airhead was still sitting on the table between us. When the conferences were over, all three students got up to leave, but the Airhead remained. It was a bribe to be sure. I picked it up and looked at it. I considered throwing it away. Then I considered eating it as a pre-lunch snack. I also pondered that maybe this slacker student actually hates me and had poisoned the candy. Then, finally, I returned to the idea of eating it and opened the wrapper. I don’t think I’ve had an Airhead in 15 years and I wanted to remember what they taste like… poison or not. I was sorely disappointed and thankful that my middle school days are over. The slacker should have brought chocolate… And I did NOT change the grade, of course. But I did eat an extra sixty calories of sugar as my mid-morning snack. ... Read more

The Problem with Brits {or my thoughts on Downton}

The Problem with Brits {or my thoughts on Downton}

*Warning: this is a semi-spoiler alert. I won’t name specific characters, but if you haven’t made it through Season 3 of Downton Abbey and you plan to in the future and want to be surprised, you should probably stop reading right about… NOW. -So Season 3 ended with yet another death. Ugh. -Can I just say I knew it was going to happen? The first second they showed that aerial shot of the car driving down the lane, I knew something was wrong. The scenery was hauntingly beautiful, and whenever it gets “hauntingly” anything around Downton, you know someone is probably about to bite the dust. -But on this specific scene, I just knew. Long before it showed how carelessly he was driving. Long before it showed the truck coming from the opposite direction. Because if they were going to give us a happy ending to Season Three, there never would have been a car scene. There would have been a hospital scene where the family rushes in to admire the newborn and the babe is held up victoriously as the long awaited heir of the Abbey. That, my friends, is how it should have happened. But then they had to show that stupid car and the melancholy dirt road and they dashed our dreams of ever being happy watching Downton Abbey again. -So what’s up with British actors anyway? Where is their longevity? Their steadfastness? Their commitment? Where are the Jennifer Anistons and the Kelsey Grammers of the UK? Who wants out of a popular, award-winning show after three seasons? Get with the program, people. Ten seasons or bust… at the very least. -Speaking of steadfastness, were Jessica and Dan so overwhelmed with the filming of Downton that they had to get out? The seasons are SIX episodes long! Did this give them no other time on the side to pursue other projects? I realize they are long episodes, but I have to imagine that it is less demanding to film six 1-2 hour episodes than twenty-five {or more} 42 minute episodes of an American season of television. I mean in the history of Downton Abbey, Dan appeared in 25 episodes {over THREE seasons!} and Jessica appeared in only 20. Sounds like an overwhelming amount of work. Good thing you got out when you did. -I was pretty mad about the ending. So mad, in fact, that when those annoying PBS people came on screen and started to ask for my money, I couldn't even get myself up off the couch to turn off the TV. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because after about five minutes of the annoying fundraising pitch, sweet little Angela Lansbury’s face popped up on the screen and cheered me up instantly. How can you be mad or sad when Angela is smiling at you? Answer: you can’t. This lady rocks. Think about… Murder She Wrote. Mrs. Potts on Beauty and the Beast. Bedknobs and Broomsticks. PBS knew I would need encouragement and they provided it in perfect form. Angela Lansbury for life. -Then I tweeted something about Angela cheering me up and she retweeted me!  I mean it’s technically her PR account, and I doubt she actually did it herself, but it was her official Twitter account nonetheless. This is what I wrote in response: The end. ... Read more