Jen Russum

The Blog Roll…

July 17, 2012

Do you ever wonder if bloggers even read blogs besides their own? I mean the big ol' bloggers who have thousands of followers... whose blogs do they actually take the time to stop and read? I know, for me, I have had to cut back quite a bit on the blogs I read over the past year because blogging itself has become too time consuming and I do have a few other responsibilities in my life such as loving my husband, managing my home, and, oh yeah, writing that dissertation... When you first get into blogging, it seems there is a new, amazing blog around every cyber corner. Just begging to be read. The cute author. Her awesome content. Her stunning pictures. But after a while, it gets to be too much. You simply cannot keep up with every blog out there... even though there are so many great ones. Over the past year, blogs have come and gone from my blog roll, but below are the ladies that I'm pretty sure are there to stay. I love them and their blogs and I'll tell you why... WOMEN WHO ENCOURAGE MY FAITH... These two ladies encourage my heart and remind me why I blog. For God's glory. Not my own. Unfortunately, Darby doesn't post much these days because she always makes her three adorable children a priority over blogging, which I greatly respect, but when she does post, I can't get enough. Naptime Diaries Fly Through Our Window BLOG FRIENDS I AM BLESSED TO KNOW IN PERSON... These are my first two "blog friends." Both contacted me out of the blue to see where I live, since they are also Arizona residents. It turns out Heather lives way too far away from me {a whole TWO hours} so I don't get to see her as often as I would like. On the other hand, Jordan and I found out that we are practically next door neighbors! Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but only slight. Coffee dates are totally doable for us. There are two things I love about both these girls. One is that they are grounded, realistic, funny Christian women. Okay, I know that's like four things in one, but you get what I'm saying. They are seriously the kind of girls I would choose as girlfriends, even if our blogs didn't exist. They love Jesus and have a great outlook on life. The second thing is that both these girls are fabulous writers. Honestly, some bloggers have that special spark in their writing and some don't. These girls have it. Finding Beauty in the Ordinary Jordy Liz I'M TOTALLY ON THE BANDWAGON... Half of America is obsessed with these women. I totally get it. I mean I'm not at girl crush status and I'm not going to ask Sydney where she got her clothes on every single Instagram she posts... but I don't mind seeing bits and pieces of their lives each day. I think it's because they are both so different from me that it's fun to watch their lives and stories unfold. Sydney is sassy and Casey is sweet and I need a little more of each in my life, I think. The Daybook Casey Leigh THE ONLY FASHION BLOGGER I FOLLOW... I'm not that big on blogs that are purely about fashion, but I feel like I need one in my life to keep me balanced. Kendi is that one. I like her clothes, I like her writing, and maybe someday I can go visit her shop in Texas. Kendi Everyday MY FAVORITE FOOD BLOG... This is a sweet mom in Seattle who just might be a friend of a friend of a friend or something. All I know is one of my friends posted her creamy chicken taquitos recipe on Facebook over a year ago. I tried them, loved them and have been hooked on her blog ever since. This is not your typical food blog. You won't find fancy food pictures here or even daily posts, but when Jessie does put up new recipes they are bound to be fabulous. I'm pretty sure almost all our favorite family meals are from her blog! Bites A DESIGN BLOG THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL HOPELESS... You all know that I am not the artsy/crafty type. The letters DIY typically intimidate me. But everyone needs one solid design blog to follow and this is mine. It's a good mix of art, faith, and real life. I especially like that Emily lives in one of those standard new construction developments and she has done so many fabulous things to her house to make it look custom instead of cookie cutter. I love her style and her blog. Jones Design Company TWO GIRLS I HOPE TO MEET IN PERSON SOMEDAY... I just really love these two ladies. They are fun, funny, and I feel like we would be great friends. Maybe if I get myself a cute little baby {or baby bump... in Lindsay's case} they will let me hang out with them :) Hello Hue Wild and Precious So there it is. These are the blogs I read faithfully. There are a few other blogs I check in on from time to time, and I also try to visit the blogs of my readers and followers as much as I can. But these are my main ladies... whether they know it or not. Check them out if you haven't yet. You won't regret it. ... Read more

Lovely Little Things {Anniversary Edition}

July 16, 2012

At one point on our honeymoon, when Micah and I were enjoying each other's company under the lovely Hawaiian sunshine, we made a little promise to each other. We had already made all the big important promises about a week ago. You know... the whole "in sickness and health and until death do us part" promises. But while we were soaking up those last few days of our honeymoon, we decided to tack on one more promise for good measure. And that promise was this: That we will make a valiant effort to get away for our anniversary each year and celebrate another year of marriage with just the two of us. We made this promise knowing that it might get complicated some years... that kids, health concerns or financial restraints might limit us... so we added the clause that it didn't have to be a big, fancy trip. It might just mean borrowing a friend's cabin or beach house for a weekend or sneaking out of the house and staying at a hotel in town for a night... anything that carved out time for us away from home. Because marriage is hard work. At least a good marriage is. So every year Micah and I have made a commitment to do three things to celebrate another year of God's goodness in our lives and to prepare our hearts for the year ahead. Rule #1: Get away. Anywhere. As long as it's away from home and the stress of cleaning, cooking and keeping the AC up during the day to lower our electric bill... Rule #2: Reflect on the past year. Talk about the challenges and reminisce on the best moments, thanking God for His grace. Rule #3: Set goals for the upcoming year. One of ours for this year is to find older Godly mentors in Phoenix. After you follow the three rules, it's all celebration and relaxation from there on out. So this weekend we checked into one of the Scottsdale resorts, taking advantage of their affordable summer rates. We talked about the serious stuff on Friday night and Saturday morning and then it was just fun, fun, fun the rest of the weekend. The highlights include: -- riding our beach cruisers to a very late brunch on Saturday morning --laying out by the pool for a couple hours despite the weather rebelling on us with a late afternoon storm {I will say though that it was much easier to read my magazines under cloudy skies as opposed to the usual 110-get-in-the-pool-every-90-seconds-before-you-die-of-heat-stroke weather that we usually have here.} --going out to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse and eating so much meat I thought I might explode {sorry to my vegan readers!}, although we still somehow managed to annihilate the complimentary dessert they brought to us... --watching HGTV to my heart's content --sleeping nine hours both nights thanks to those precious blackout curtains --having someone made else make my bed and clean my room {hallelujah!} 1) The ring Micah got me from Amy Cornwell 2) Our day 3) I made Zebra brownies for our anniversary dessert, but they became Micah's after-work snack instead. 4) Every year we open up a card from the corresponding table number at our wedding. Table #2 was where most of my bridesmaids sat and this card was hilarious!!! 1/2) Checking in! 3) They gave us warm chocolate chip cookies on arrival. 4) There is nothing I love more than a king size bed in a hotel room. 5/6) We dropped off our luggage and headed out for dessert thanks to a gift card from a dear friend. Yes, we had three desserts. What of it??? 1) The beautiful wooden ceiling in our room 2) Hanging out on Saturday morning 3) Breakfast 4) Lounging with my Real Simple 5/6) Enjoying the pool until those storm clouds chased us away 1) Ready for steak! 2) Yes, we tried EVERY cut of meat they served. We don't mess around. 3/4) Free dessert... it was this strawberry cream stuff that we took a chance on and it was absolutely amazing!!! *Linking up with The Anderson Crew, Hello Hue, and Life Rearranged* ... Read more

Flowers Fade Friday: Alone.

July 13, 2012

It is not good for man to be alone {Genesis 2:8}. God said it. He knows everything... And I am realizing more and more lately that He is right. I mean, I know He is right in theory, but my heart is starting to believe it too. A few things you should know about me... 1) I am an extrovert by nature, and I typically feel most alive when I'm around other people. 2) I have lots of friends, but I live far away from my closest girlfriends. 3) At most times in my life, I have been crazy busy. Like leading three Bible studies at once busy. Or have-something-scheduled-every-night-of-the-week busy. But ever since I got married and moved to Arizona, my life has been drastically different. I honestly am not busy. I know you guys think I'm crazy busy because I go to school and work and exercise and keep my house clean and am really involved in church, but when I compare this season of my life to former years, it is rather quiet. I have a lot to do, but so much of it is done when I am alone. At home. At a coffee shop. Silently thinking and praying as I run at the gym. My life, other than my classes, is not all busy and scheduled like it used to be. I don't dash from place to place after work. I am not constantly surrounded by people. I am by myself for a good portion of every day, especially during these summer months. And in some ways this has been a huge blessing. After years of piling too much on my plate, trying to find my identity in my friendships and not the Lord, and idolizing busyness, this season of rest has been good. I savor my quiet times with God in the morning, the nearly silent rhythms of managing my home and writing for school {with the exception of a tapping keyboard and the hum of the washing machine}, and just the overall stillness of my life. I like that I have free days on my calendar and spend most of my weeknights at home instead of in meetings and group gatherings. But at the same time, I can see my new enjoyment of alone time quickly becoming an idol as well. I see myself getting all too comfortable with quiet. Because when it's suddenly loud or hurried or busy or the room is full of people or someone asks me to neglect a basket of clothes that need to be folded in order to meet them for coffee... my sinful little heart clings to the quiet. Even though I'm still a people person through and through. After the coffee date interruption, I come back refreshed and thankful I put a friend above folding {I mean, really? How silly am I?}. I am reminded that God knows best. And He wants us to be in community. Not that keeping my house clean is wrong. Not that this season of quiet He has given me is not a blessing, because it IS. But I think I have taken my quiet season too far. He gave me a gift and I turned it into a god. It's time to get loud. Maybe not as loud and busy and scheduled as my past life... but loud with people and service and interruptions for His glory. Impromptu coffee dates and helping my neighbor and pursuing my husband with intention and striving for a deeper friendship with the one God has given me til death do us part. Loud with laughter and tears and bearing one another's burdens and rejoicing with one another in times of celebration {Romans 12:15}. Loud with sharing the Gospel and living on mission for Christ in this desert He has brought us to. Loud with pursuing new friendships instead of just pining for the friends I've left in other states. And while I will always cherish the highly anticipated weekly or monthly calls with those best friends far away, I need to get loud with pursuing friendships here. Seeking out women to love and share life with. It is not good for me to be alone. Not too much anyway. God always knows best. *Linking up with Casey Leigh* ... Read more