Thanksgiving Church Service

This year, I had the best Thanksgiving ever! My parents left to Spokane to visit my uncle and I was invited to my friends' house for what turned out to be an awesome meal and an evening of fun. Not only did I get to hang out with some very special people but, I was also able to meet some cool guys from Seattle who were visiting our church. The best thing about this day was that we ended it with a Christ centered discussion and an awesome prayer! Enjoy the photographs.

~ Filipp C.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Remember that Thanksgiving is not just about family, friends, food, laughter, and fun. Some may say it's about counting our blessings and being thankful and they are absolutely correct. However, we must not forget the one we ought to be thankful to. May all our thanksgiving be ultimately directed to our Lord God who is eternally worthy of receiving all praise, worship, and thanks, in season and out of season.

Photograph is of Panther, my former kitten.

~ Filipp C.

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Day 5-4-3-2-1

I'm loosing perspective

Life is spinning out of control

Disoriented and adrift

I can't find my anchor

A little insignificant twig

In the bellowing current of fate

Recklessly I hurtle forward

Unable to change the scene

My soul is screaming for help

But no one seems to hear

My life is in a frenzied tumult

But no one seems to notice

Overwhelming emotions

Like a raging flood

Drown me in despair

Suffocating all sense of security

And yet I choose to say

Put your hope in God, my soul

For I will yet praise him

My Savior and my God

~ Filipp C. / David: Psalm 42

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Day 6

I am thankful for all the opportunities God gives me to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Throughout the past month I have been talking with a certain coworker about God and Christianity. Just an hour ago, while working with this same coworker, I opened an email from my friend Dima Pitsul. The email was entitled "I think my new favorite Christian artist" and had several links to songs with lyrics written by an artist called Lacrae. I opened the first link to a song called "Truth" and was immediately shocked by how the lyrics of the song addressed the exact questions that the coworker and I had been discussing earlier. I told the coworker to check out the song while I went on the deck of the ship we are guarding. Throughout the whole time that I was on board the ship, I was praying in the Spirit so that God would use this evangelization oriented rap song to plant a seed in the heart of this man.

My friend, if you are a believer, do not waste your opportunities to witness. Jesus said "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” The Bible calls us to be Fanatics for Christ, people that lead a radically different life. If the world sees you as normal, if it sees you as one of it's own, than something is seriously wrong. Something needs to be changed!

There are songs with cool beats and melodies but all to often, they are full of empty words. Even though rap is by far not my favorite music genre, these songs are different, the words are full of truth, the words are alive! Check out the links: Don't Waste Your Life, Rebel, Fanatic, I'm praying for you, Truth. My favorite is posted above. Enjoy!

~ Filipp C.

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Day 7

While listening to a presentation on genetic testing, I learned that currently there are 32 million more males in China than females under the age of 2o. This disproportion can be mainly attributed to China's one child per family policy and the fact that many families are resorting to abortion and infanticide in order to insure that their one child is a male. This made feel really sad for both the girls who are being discriminated against and the guys who are being forced to compete for the heart's of the few females that are surviving this gendercide. This made me all the more thankful to God for placing me in a land of less competition and more females. So all you single guys out there, if you think the competition is tough, be thankful that you aren't living in China :p

If you are interested in learning more about China's gendercide, click on this link. Enjoy the natural light portrait of my cousin Oleg from California.

~ Filipp C.

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Day 8

As I was thinking about my life today, I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of gratitude. I am no better than any other sinful human being on this planet yet, God has blessed me so much! From my academic accomplishments to my current job, His hand has been evident in every aspect of my life. Just today I got an interview for a position on a progressive care unit. Immediately, I ask myself - how am I any better than the hundreds of other nurses seeking a similar position? I am not, but God in his loving kindness is so gracious to me that He just keeps pouring forth his blessings, one after another! Truly, he deserves to be glorified and praised not just on Thanksgiving but also on every day of the year. Regardless of whether we are receiving blessing upon blessing or finding ourselves in the place of Job, may God forever be praised!

~ Filipp C.

Crazy

"Crazy" won't even begin to describe my current life. Between attending church, taking Sulamita Bible College portraits, driving an hour to work, working a 12 hour night shift in maritime security, driving an hour back, spending a 6 hour shift fulfilling the clinical portion of my nursing studies in a locked down psychiatric facility, and finally returning home, I had effectively been without sleep for over 33 hours. It wasn't surprising that I was starting to talk to American patient's in Russian. These poor people were probably thinking I am just as much in need of a mental evaluation as them. Now, after getting seven hours of sleep, I am back to working on finishing my assignments, at a time that most of you guys are soundly asleep in your cozy beds enjoying a pleasant dream or two.

I found the above photograph in my files from this summer. Although I cannot disclose much detail about my current security assignments due to the classified nature of the information, I don't have any restrictions on posting a personal photograph so this might give you a clue as to what I do. The M4 seen in the photograph is my partner's, I don't carry my own gun because I am against taking someone's life when I wasn't the one who gave it to him or her in the first place. However, having said this, I would not hesitate to implement any method or degree of non-lethal force that is necessary to prevent an individual from harming himself or others.

~ Filipp C.

You Are My Coffee

You are my coffee

You keep me awake

Tossing and turning

Till three in the morning

A yawn after yawn

My sleep is quite gone

The sun is now rising

And it isn’t surprising

You stole my dreams

And kidnapped my heart

You are the coffee

With which I won’t part

~ Filipp C.

Modeling

My Profoto studio lighting equipment has finally arrived! I decided to test it last evening and ended up spending almost the entire night snapping away with my camera. Now as morning approaches, I can confidently say that I do not regret even a penny of the money I invested in this set up. Each piece of the equipment is a pleasure to work with in terms of it's functionality, ease-of-use, quality, etc.

My brother Vadim volunteered to be a model and together we were able to create some interesting shots. Some of these photographs reminded me of my book cover for Anatomy and Physiology. Who knows, maybe one day they will also grace the cover of some textbook ;P

~ Filipp C.

Last Kiss

Sitting at Starbucks, I just witnessed a touching scene. An elderly couple was sitting in front of me, drinking coffee. As they were getting ready to leave I heard the man say "You are still as pretty as the first time I saw you." The lady laughed shyly and looked down. As they stepped outside, they gave each other a warm hug and the man tenderly kissed her. I couldn't help but smile. The music and the smells that were drifting through the coffee shop seemed to match this moment perfectly. Silently I prayed that one day, I too would be able to say these same exact words to that special women - "You are still as pretty as the first time I saw you."

~ Filipp C.

Full Moon

Last night I attended our youth choir practice and although I really enjoyed the two-and-a-half hours we spent singing, I was quite disappointed to see so many young people that could have cared less about being there and having the privilege of singing for the glory of God. Now three hours later, I am at work covering for a sick recruit trainee.

Enjoy this image of the moon captured with a 300 mm a while back. Throughout thousands of years, this little circle has found it's place in the tales of countless story tellers, paintings of many artists, and the viewfinders of numerous photographers. Yet, despite it's various phases, it never changes! Night after night, since the fourth day of creation, it continues to speak of the unchanging nature of it's amazing creator.

~ Filipp C.

The Dejected Mushroom

Sitting on the kitchen counter, these mushrooms seemed to share my mood this morning. Lonely, dejected and dispirited they stood on the cutting board. Why is the world so cold and gloomy at 5:30 am? Why do people bother getting out of bed when they could be comfortably sleeping underneath a nice warm blanket? Why do they choose to wake up to the dreaded noise of an alarm clock rather than the gentle patter of autumn rain?

I find early mornings to be unbearably depressing. As I plead with God for strength, I often ask myself, why do I keep fighting? Why not just roll over and die? Yet, morning after morning, God renews my strength and gives me hope. He helps me to once again remember that there will come a day when all of this work and education will be rewarded with a privilege and responsibility of providing for a family.

While driving to the hospital, God spoke to my heart through a sermon and I realized that one must always focus on the truth rather than his or her own emotions. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” By shifting our focus to Jesus, our misery is swallowed up in the joy of praising the glorious truth of His existence. So the next time you are feeling like a dejected mushroom my friend, remember to focus on the truth. Focus on Christ!

~ Filipp C.

The Cup of Christ: C. J. Mahaney

They say photography is an art but, it would be a waste of my life if I went around making art yet failed to honor the source of my inspiration! Wasted! Utterly wasted would be my life if I spent it diverting His glory to myself, if I failed to credit all my abilities to Him, the originator of everything that is beautiful. He is the creator of the universe, the artists of all artists. May all glory be to him alone!

Deeply ashamed, greatly broken, humbly inspired, and tearfully compelled was I as I spent the past two hours listening to a series of sermon jams from various messages delivered by John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, R. C. Sproul, John McArthur, Paul Washer, Mark Driscoll, Al Mohler, and Ravi Zacharias. The scripture speaks of remembering “those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” These are the man that have been radically influencing my life through their uncompromising preaching of the God's word. Check out their websites which have many resources by clicking on their individual name. My prayer is that Got may use these man as a means to touch your heart as well so that you may also experience the ultimate joy that comes from the Lord himself!

~ Filipp C.

Youth Volunteer Work

A while back, some of our youth volunteered to clean up the lot that our church recently bought for additional parking space. Afterwards, a group of us went to drink coffee, socialize, and watch the airplanes take off from the airport. It was an awesome evening, praise God!

~ Filipp C.