Jen Russum

Flowers Fade Friday: Pause

Flowers Fade Friday: Pause

Long story short. God has called Gideon to defeat the pagan Midianites. When God first commands Gideon to go into battle, he takes 32,000 soldiers with him. But God wants glory for the victory. He wants the defeat of the Midianites to be impressive and miraculous, so that everyone will know it happened only by the strength and hand of the Lord. All good things happen only by the hand of the Lord, but God wanted to make it very obvious in this instance. So through a series of circumstances, God sends all but 300 of the 32,000 soldiers home. Gideon and his minuscule army will defeat an enemy camp because God is on their side. But just to give Gideon confidence of His plan, God sends Gideon down to spy on the enemy camp before the battle. He promises to give Gideon assurance of victory by what he hears there... And assurance is exactly what Gideon receives when he overhears one Midianite soldier tell another about a dream he had. In the dream, a cake of barley tumbles into the camp and turns a tent upside down and flattens it. The comrade gives an interpretation of the dream in Gideon's hearing. The dream means that Gideon will overturn all the camp, because it has been given to him by the hand of God. And then what Gideon does next is peculiar... He doesn't go straight to battle. He pauses. And he worships. Gideon pauses right there, as he is eavesdropping on enemy territory... and he worships God. He doesn't run back to his troops and hastily attack because of what God has promised. He stops first and worships the One who will bring victory about. But if I were Gideon, would I pause? Do I pause throughout my day? Throughout my plans, even when they are blessed and ordained by the Lord? Do I pause to thank God as I carry out His plans and calling on my life? Do I pause to praise the one who upholds all things by His hand? Do I stop for a second before I run toward to next big thing? Before I eagerly move forward to use God's gifts for His glory? Gideon's battle was ordained by the Lord. God had called him to the task. But Gideon's pause was appropriate. Before running back to retrieve his own men and attack the enemy, he stopped to acknowledge the Lord's hand in it all. To thank Him for His goodness. I want to be a woman who is willing to pause. Who delights to stop for a moment here and there to praise the Lord who fills my day with tasks and relationships and responsibilities. The Lord's plans for my life are good. And it is good that I am eager to use my gifts and my resources for the Kingdom of God. But in doing so, I hope I don't forget to pause and praise the King. ... Read more

Flowers Fade Friday: Beautiful Things

Flowers Fade Friday: Beautiful Things

Sometimes life can seem so mundane, right? Another dinner to cook. Another load of laundry. Sometimes it seems like life should be more exciting. If only I could redecorate my house and try every craft and recipe I’ve pinned on Pinterest... If only all my dinner parties could look like the styled photo shoots on Style Me Pretty. Even in the spiritual realm, things seem pretty simple sometimes. Here’s my tithe, Lord. My measly 10%. These few hundred dollars I give to you. How cool would it be to give thousands? Or to fund some big church project? Here I am, Lord. Another week at Bible study. Another morning spent in prayer and I only got distracted once… or maybe twice. But these things, if done for God’s glory, are not mundane. They are beautiful. There was a lady in the Bible who did a very simple thing. It is a little weird by our social standards, but it was simple nonetheless. A woman came to Jesus. And she bowed herself before him. And she took perfume that she had saved, and maybe even saved up to buy… and she broke it over his head. To worship him. While it IS a big deal that she got to worship Jesus face to face, the fact that she anointed him with some perfume is not that big of a deal. It’s like giving a few hundred dollars to the church. Other disciples of Jesus did far more spectacular things. They raised the dead and healed the sick and spread the Gospel and started the church and some of them were even martyred in Jesus’ name. And yet Jesus called this woman’s act, this act of anointing him with perfume, BEAUTIFUL. While some of the men sitting there critiqued this woman for “wasting” the perfume, Jesus defended her by saying “She has done a beautiful thing to me.” And then he said something else, something surprising and important… “And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world,  what she has done will be told in memory of her.” {Mark 14:9} And Jesus was right. Her story was recorded in the Bible. And even today we celebrate the humble, nameless woman who poured her perfume on Jesus. And this is how it is with all the mundane tasks that seem to fill our day. The hymn sung quietly as you unload the dishwasher. When you pause from sending emails to snuggle your child for a minute or give your husband a kiss. When you return to those emails and try to get back to people in a timely manner. When your Pinterest recipe fails miserably, and you laugh and throw a freezer pizza in the oven to feed your family. All these small things, done in God’s name for His glory, are acts of worship. As we live in obedience, loving others well and being good stewards of the homes and closets and pantries God has given us, we bring glory to the Lord. When we serve our church and look for ways to be generous, we are worshiping God. And someday in heaven, we will toast the woman who poured her perfume on Jesus. And we will sit around and tell of other mundane acts that will be seen as glorious in the heavenly realm… stories of bathrooms cleaned and casseroles prepared for the awesome name of Christ. So instead of wishing for a more glamorous, perfect life, instead of coveting more creativity or money or time… worship God with what He has given you today. Because even the smallest acts, a fresh bouquet of flowers given to a neighbor or worship music echoing through the house as you clean, can be beautiful things that bring honor to God. *Linking up with Casey Leigh* ... Read more

The hometown.

The hometown.

I met a friend for lunch a few weeks ago, and she asked me an interesting question, "Do you have to like your hometown?" She and her husband are both Phoenix natives {which is rare... only 25% of Arizona residents were born and raised in the state. How is that for a little trivia?}, and they desperately want to move to a cooler climate... Portland, perhaps. And here I am, curled up on the couch in my hometown, just thinking about what it means to be born and raised here. Or anywhere... There is a certain coolness in the air in Seattle, even on a warm August day. I arrived home to my parents' house a few hours ago and it feels damp... even inside. Then again, it might just be the contrast to the desert air I've grown so accustomed to... And I do love it here. I spent the last 24 hours down in Seattle with friends. I ran around Greenlake during the afternoon and rejoiced with the locals who always make the most of a perfectly sunny, seventy degree day. I even felt myself believing the illusion that Seattle is always like that. Basking under gentle, sunny skies. It's not. The rain, the clouds... they are very, very real, almost all year long. I spent the night with my best friend. We sat out on the porch for dinner. And now during an unexpected lull in my day, I am sitting in my parents' house alone. Wearing sweats. Staring at mostly cloudy skies and green trees out the window. Do I like it here? There is something about being in your hometown that makes you feel nostalgic and comfortable. I know the streets and even the cracks in the sidewalk that I've memorized on countless runs through the neighborhood. I know the smell of the air and how long I will probably sit in traffic on I-5 at any given hour of the day. I know that when I venture to Target later this afternoon, I will probably see someone from high school. And I delight in knowing that my mom is going to do my laundry for me this week {thanks, mom}. But Micah and I are adventurers. Seattle is not really home anymore. And neither is Phoenix for that matter. We will probably move again in a few years, and maybe again after that. Sometimes I am jealous of the people who call Seattle home. The ones who went to the University of Washington and then got married and settled down in an old Craftsman home on a narrow Seattle street. And sometimes I'm jealous of my best friends in Texas, the ones who stayed in Fort Worth after college and bought houses and had babies and get to meet up for dinner on a regular basis. But other times, most of the time, in fact, I delight in being an adventurer. In knowing that I pulled out of my parents' driveway on a cloudy August day when I was 18 and never looked back. That I drove down to Texas and started a new life. And that two days after my honeymoon, Micah and I drove down to Arizona to embark on the next adventure. And that now we live in a state of content and patient eagerness to know where we will move next. We love the desert for now, but we are also excited to see where our next stop will be. And isn't that how life is? That strange paradox of looking back on the past with fondness, enjoying the present, and eagerly awaiting the next adventure? All the while knowing that this world is not our home. That the greatest adventure lies ahead in heaven, and yet we are meant to live abundantly where we are now. Just some thoughts on the hometown on this cloudy day. I don't have all the answers. But I know I have been blessed by the Lord in each city He's led me to in my three decades on this earth. And now I am off to Target, hoping to avoid any awkward high school reunions... ... Read more