Hi, I am so happy you are here! Welcome to my blog. My purpose in creating “The Hopeful Runner” blog is to glorify God through the passions I believe He has placed in my heart, running and writing. In turn, my hope is that I will help you by sharing what I am learning or going through on my journey through life and running through my writing. The name, The Hopeful Runner, came to me while I was on a few of my training runs. While I was praying to God, I was reminded of the powerful hope we receive when we give our life to Jesus. And that hope that Jesus offers is my why in everything. It is the engine that keeps me going when I feel like I can’t anymore. And that’s one of the reasons I love running. Because I feel like it is beautiful way to understand the Christian faith in really all aspects of our health: physical, mental, and spiritual.
From my blog posts I hope you are encouraged to place your hope in Jesus or continue to keep pursuing Him. I also pray you feel connected by our passion of running. You can expect to read a variety of different blog posts on the subjects of Christianity and running. I will be doing a combination of single posts and series. Two blog series I want to start with are: “My Running Journey” and another series simply called “What I Am Learning.” Both of these series will be ongoing as I hope to become a better athlete in the sport of road running and every single day we are learning something new whether it’s about ourselves, God, or the world we live in.
I want to note that I do not have all of the answers and I am far from perfect. My views and what I will be sharing are based on biblical truths and my personal experience. My purpose in sharing my insight and what I am walking through is for you to know that we are all going through the highs and lows of life. I hope after reading my posts you find comfort that there is someone else walking through things just like you.
I can’t wait to bring you along on my journey. What I have learned this far in both my walk with the Lord and my running journey is that it is not all rainbow’s and butterflies. And Jesus tells us that in the gospel of John. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT. Just because we put our faith in Jesus and follow Him doesn’t mean we will not face hardships in this life. A big blessing we get as believers is that we get to go through the hardships with Him. And that He promises that His peace will exceed our understanding. “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 NLT. With all that being said, I am excited for this journey and to share with you what I am going through knowing that both mountain tops and valleys will be in my future.
-Shara