emilypope - Running thoughts!

Hello everyone! Quick update before I get to the point of this blog!

My squad met up in Tirana, Albania to get on a bus to drive to Turkey. It took us about 20 hours or so to get to Istanbul, Turkey! We drove basically the whole time through Greece to get there. Once we got to Istanbul, we got to our hostel around 6am, slept for a few hours, and then had the next day to rest and explore. That night we met up with our mentor and coaches who came out from the States for debrief and training. We were there for about 9 days, meeting with each other, doing team debriefs, doing teachings (one that I got to teach!), and then getting our new teams! My new team is Sophie, Emma, Kelsey (from my last team), and Sarah! Then Riley is the Squad Leader with us and I am still the Team Leader! We are in Canakkale, on the coast of the Dardanelles Strait leading to the Aegean Sea! We have a pretty chill ministry and are having fun just getting to explore our new home!

So as you can see, this blog is titled Running Thoughts - that’s because they are things I have been thinking about and because they come to mind while I’m running….

Emily? Running? Yes. The World Race is a transformative experience and apparently now I run? Towards the end of my time in Albania I was getting this desire to workout and move my body more so I said once I got settled in Turkey I would start running. Then at debrief, I got my new team and then Riley and Sarah started talking about wanting to run. The Lord is just constantly providing what I need and even what I want - such a good Father. He was so kind to give me not only close friends on this team but also the accountability I would need to do the things I said I wanted to do. So we’ve been getting up early each day to spend time with the Lord and then hit the streets! We run between 2-5 miles each day - we start at the river right by the church we live in and follow it all the way to the water, run around there, and then head back. Sometimes we run out, grab coffee or walk around the shops, and then head back. It’s such a sweet time with the girls, with God, and in His Creation. Sarah and Riley are such a gift to me - their friendship, accountability, and encouragement. We did 5 miles non-stop one day and even though I literally thought I would not be able to do it, they kept encouraging me and pushing me. It’s been so fun and so good!

On said 5 mile run, I was listening to a song called Mary & Joseph by Chris Renzema. Here’s some of the lyrics:

Well, Mary, Mary
Did you ever think you'd carry
The weight of the world
And the hands that formed it
Hardly more than a child yourself
You'll need a little help

Well, Joseph, Joseph
Those cards, don't you fold them
This hand that you've been dealt
And the hand you're holding
It's more than you bargained for
But don't go walking out that door

It’s a really powerful song and pretty eye opening. I think sometimes we just brush past the fact that Joseph stayed with Mary even when he found out she was pregnant. OR we acknowledge the fact that he stayed with her and how difficult that must have been and how honoring. BUT, on this run, it kind of just hit me - this realization that these were biblical times, in Nazareth in these times, marriages were arranged. So it’s not even that Joseph was madly in love with Mary and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, not matter what. His family more than likely chose for him, or Mary’s family picked him - marriages in these times weren’t necessarily on the basis of love, but on obligation, familial issues, and money even. So although we don’t know the exact situation of Mary and Joseph and their feelings towards each other, it’s highly likely this was arranged and not a marriage out of love. This realization just hit me while I was listening to this song, just how much Joseph cared for this woman he probably didn’t know that well and how much he feared God and wanted to live according to his plan. Like that’s crazy!!! I can’t say if I were in his shoes, if I would give up all respect, all reputation, and all desires to commit to Mary and this child that wasn’t even his. WILD. So much respect for Joseph. What an example he is to us - to give up all of our worldly desires and status to submit to the Lord’s will.

Another thought…

I read this quote the other day from Robert Murray M’Cheyne, an old Scottish minister and evangelist. It says, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” I never really knew truly what intercession was until the Race. I knew what praying for people meant but not intercession. So any time I would read in the Bible about Jesus being our intercessor, I would just kind of move on, not understanding the magnitude of it. Had I read this quote even a year ago, I would’ve been like, ‘okay yeah, Jesus is always with us, I know that,’ but now, after understanding intercession and having a new perspective, this quote SHOOK me. In Hebrews, it says Jesus continues or lives forever to make intercession for us (7:23-25). THIS IS CRAZY! Jesus is forever sitting at the right hand of God, praying and interceding for us to GOD THE FATHER. So it IS as if Jesus is sitting in the room next to you praying for you - because He is! So fear who?! Why am I walking in fear? How can I be afraid or anxious about anything when the Savior of the world is praying for me?! Talking to God about and for me! He is constantly fighting for me, praying for me, leading me, protecting me, LOVING ME!

(More verses on this - John 14:16-17, Romans 8:34, 1 John 2:1-2, John 17:20-21, Hebrews 9:24, John 17:9)

Jesus is just constantly revealing Himself and new things to me & it’s just so fun. I love learning about Him and His character!

So there you go, there’s my shorter blog…. (you know who you are)

Love you all so much!
I will be in Turkey until April 21(ish) and then head to Nepal! Only 4 months left on the field! What! Please be in prayer for me, my team, our ministry, and that the Lord will give me guidance and vision for my future.

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Running thoughts!

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