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Valeriy Poltorak

@mrvalography

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Create(d) for Christ † #FaithFilledCaptions
📍 Pacific Northwest

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Exercise Your Faith
Websters Dictionary defines exercise as... let’s be honest we all know what it means to exercise and I’m sure there are many of us who try our best to avoid anything that remotely resembles exercising, because it means actually getting up and having to put in the work.
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While exercise is absolutely essential to our health and gives us the strength and energy we need to grow in life most of us would prefer to take the alternative route and enjoy the comforts of our home, leaned back on the couch in front of the TV or a good book. Because why exercise when you could simply not and still have a somewhat decent life. There’s no harm in that...Right?
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The truth is, there is harm in that. I won’t get into all the medical benefits of exercise but studies have proven that exercise has countless medical benefits which greatly improve your physical and mental health. Therefore, when you choose not to exercise you’re actively hurting your body and causing it to slowly deteriorate. Exercising is truly important for a healthier lifestyle, it’s not easy by any means, but if you want to improve your health the best place to start is taking time daily to exercise.
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There may come a point in your life where you feel the same way about your faith. You may go to church every Sunday, read your Bible daily, and go through the motions thinking that’s enough exercise for my faith right? But the truth is, that isn’t enough.
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If we chose not to exercise our faith on a daily basis we become weak and stagnant in our faith, we slowly start to lose sight of God and His purpose for our life; it may not seem like your hurting anything at first but this lack of action in our faith causes us to become weaker thereby making us more susceptible to sin. Simply going through the motions isn’t enough to strengthen us in our walk with God. Growing in our faith requires patience, discipline, and daily commitment.
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Caption Continued in Pictures and Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻
#FaithFilledCaptions by @mrvalography

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3 years ago

Worry Free
Do you struggle sleeping at night? Are you constantly tossing and turning worrying about the stresses of your daily life? Are you overwhelmed by a massive to do list or not sure how you’re going to survive the week? Well worry not because I have six easy steps that’ll help you achieve a life that is completely worry free!
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Okay, so maybe it’s not that simple but when it comes to being worried or unsure of what the future holds, God outlines the perfect solution to our struggles in Matthew 6. Pretty great isn’t it? That no matter what situations we have going on in life or what struggles we are currently facing the solution can easily be found in God’s Word. Rather than forcing us to deal with all of life’s problems on our own God provided us with the answer; He has given us all that we would ever need to overcome these problems, we just need to know where to look.
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If you’ve been following along with my Bible reading journey this month you’ll remember in the New Testament we began reading about the life of Christ and His ministry here on earth; how He conquered temptation in the desert, the countless miracles He performed and lives He touched. We also read through many of His teachings including the infamous sermon on the mount but the one thing that stuck out to me the most in our reading was God’s reminder for His children to have faith and not worry.
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I’m sure most of us are familiar with Matthew 6:34 where it says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Which is often easier said than done. I’ll be the first to admit that when something goes wrong or if I have an important deadline coming up typically my impulse reaction is to worry, because that is our natural instinct. As sinners we tend to sway towards what our carnal body desires, which in many cases is to rely on ourselves and exclude God in the process, this impulse reaction causes us to go down a path full of worry and fear. Leaving us feeling vulnerable and alone. So, what can we do to include God in these situations and help us get to a point of being worry free?
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 by @mrvalography

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4 years ago

Daily Bread
Think about your life for a second what are some things you absolutely need in order to survive. The first thing that always comes to my mind is food, without food it would impossible for us to survive. In fact, research has proven that the human body can only survive a week without food and water. Our body needs that daily sustenance in order for it to stay healthy, grow and survive. The same could be said of our spiritual health, just like our physical body needs daily nourishment in order to survive our soul needs daily connection with God in order for us to grow spiritually and remain strong in our faith. Whether it be through prayer, worship or spending time in Scripture, Christ should always be part of our daily life.
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Spending time in Scripture is vital to our spiritual growth and walk with God. As a Christian and follower of Christ, the Bible is the most important physical item we have that will ultimately help us grow and mature not only in our faith but in all aspects of our life. The more time we chose to spend in the Word the more we begin to live out Scripture and apply these truths in our personal lives. There’s no greater instruction manual, history book or story ever written than the words taken from the Bible.
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2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that even very words of the Bible were given to us by God: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
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The Bible wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t for the power of God, He gave us this incredible book in order for us grow as believers and be encouraged by the faith of those who have come before us. How is it then that we still spend so little time reading God’s Word? How can we allow our Bible to collect dust then go on complaining about our lives falling apart when the answer to every struggle we face is written in that very book. No matter what situation you’re facing today the Bible holds all the answers you’re looking for.
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 by @mrvalography

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4 years ago

Cross·roads
/ˈkrôsˌrōdz/
“a point at which a crucial decision must be made that will have far-reaching consequences.”
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No matter who you are or where this journey through life is taking you there will, undoubtably, come a time where you will stumble upon a crossroads and forced to make a decision; one that may seem small at first but could completely alter the direction of your life. This moment may happen more than once but, regardless, a decision must still be made, and it is up to you alone to choose which path to follow.
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During this moment it’s important to determine what motivates your decision. Are you firm in your faith and trust in the guidance of your Creator or are you feeble and easily persuaded by the pleasures of this world? What choice will make? What direction will you go? Do you choose to go your own way, or do you listen to God and go the direction He sends you?
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Going your own way is no doubt the easiest choice because who knows you better than you, right? I mean how could God know me better than I know myself. Obviously, I know what’s best for myself. This world can be quite persuasive at times and will do it’s best to constantly bombard you with the mindset that you know what you need more than anyone else, including God. I’m sure you’ve heard one of these popular phrases many times “It’s my way or the highway” or “do what makes you happy”. The world doesn’t want you to rely on God or seek Him for guidance it wants you to be solely reliant on yourself after all you don’t need God to make a decision as long as you do what makes YOU happy that’s all that matters right?
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Rowena Crest by @mrvalography

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4 years ago

Distractions
Be honest, how many times a day do you find yourself getting distracted? If you answered once or none at all then please, tell me your secrets! Living in the 21st Century it is now easier than ever to get distracted, especially when more than 80% of the entire population of the world is in possession of the most distracting tool known to man, a smartphone. Websites, apps, social media, radio and even physical locations, no matter where we go or what we do we are constantly being bombarded with advertisements and the whole purpose of an advertisement is to distract you, to entice you and pull your attention away from whatever or whomever you’re trying to focus on.
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The devil works the same way. Haven’t you noticed how the moment you start to read your Bible that random thoughts will suddenly start pouring into your head like “why DID the chicken cross the road” or “did I leave the oven on” next thing you know you’re in the kitchen, checking the oven, reminded of the laundry that has been sitting out for a while and by the time you know it an hour has gone by and you’ve ran out of time to read the Bible or how you try your hardest to strictly set aside time to worship God and connect with Him on a daily or weekly basis but somehow during that time something will always suspiciously come up, this isn’t by accident, that is the devil interfering with your life and trying his best to keep your attention off God. Satan is conniving and deceitful and if he can’t get you hate God he will at least do anything he can to distract you or preoccupy your time so that you aren’t focused on God but rather focused on yourself, on the world or literally anything else.
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Cape Disappointment State Park by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

Lonely
As a 33 years old, single, young adult, who has spent a large portion of life out on my own the one question I get asked quite frequently is do you ever feel lonely? And the truth is, while yes, I am physically alone and live on my own, I have never felt lonely or alone…actually, I take that back, I have felt lonely, but we’ll get to that in a second. Truth be told even on my own there have been times I felt lonely and to figure out why that was the case or what caused the feeling of loneliness first we need to understand the difference between being lonely and being alone.
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Let’s start with the word lonely. What does it mean to be lonely? According to Dictionary.com it means being “affected with, characterized by, or causing a depressing feeling of being alone; lonesome.” Essentially being lonely is an emotional reaction caused by the state of being alone. It is a feeling we get when we sense the absence of another’s presence; physical or even spiritual.
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So, then what does it mean to be alone? According to Dictionary.com it means being “separate, apart, or isolated from others.” Simply put being alone is the physical state of being on your own and not surrounded by others; isolated or otherwise disengaged.
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In the process of writing, God convicted me with a question that slightly derailed my whole thought process (not surprising at all as the Lord works in mysterious ways and loves convicting His children to get them back on track). The question that God put on my heart was “is feeling lonely a sin?”
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Lake Wenatchee State Park by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

Pray
I have a question for you. No need to answer out loud just think for yourself. When presented with a trial or conflict what is your typical impulse reaction? For example, God forbid any of these happen to you but let’s say you wake up tomorrow and discover that your car has been broken into or an email arrives from your manager regarding an error you’ve made at work, or an unexpected bill comes up and you’re left scrambling trying to figure out how you’re going to put bread on the table for your family, how do you respond? Is your first thought to panic or do you pray?
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I’ll be the first to say that I’ve failed in this area of my life more times than I care to admit, my sin nature will often times get the best of me and the first thing I’ve done when met with conflict is panic, I ignore God and start to process and think that it’s up to me to fix or resolve whatever situation I’m confronted with but guess what you don’t have to go through these trials on your own, you don’t need to panic or worry or be afraid because God is in control. Do you know what happens when you try and solve all your problems on your own? You start to panic and spiral out of control; you over analyze and begin to stumble and next thing you know your situation is much worse than it was to begin with. Trust me I’m preaching to the choir here, I know it’s easy to react and try and solve things on our own but as a child of God the first thing we ought to do in the midst of any situation should always be pray. No matter what the situation may be or the gravity of the conflict that arises in your life the first step should always be prayer. The first person we should always turn to is God; no matter the circumstances, nothing is too big or too small for our God.
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

Do Not Be Afraid
The time is 6 am, many are still sleeping while others are just waking up and preparing for their day, making breakfast, hugging their children, getting ready for school or brewing a cup of coffee to prepare for a long day of work ahead. Unfortunately for some their morning was abruptly shaken and met with chaos.
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At the time of me writing this war has just been declared on Kyiv, Ukraine, my home country, my place of birth and a country I once called home, a country that for years has felt hardship and pressure but at the present time a country that has just been forced into war. My heart is broken and burdened for the countless families who are caught in the middle of this devastating situation, who are currently fighting for their lives and praying for the chance to see a new day. I am thankful, however, that many of my family members aren’t alone and aren’t afraid because they’re hope isn’t based on the outcome of this war or political unrest but their hope is in Christ and it is that hope that comforts me with the reminder that God is in control.

Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Ukraine by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

Becoming Perfect
Interested in learning how you can become perfect? Well you’ve made it to the right place. Today, I’m going to teach you how anyone can become perfect. Step one, win the lottery. Wait, that can’t be right; let’s be honest winning the lottery probably does more harm than good. When you think of perfect or striving to be perfect who do you think of? Do you picture a celebrity or someone successful who has made it in life? Do you picture God and His perfection creation?
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The English dictionary has a variety of definitions for the word perfect, a few are: “make (something) completely free from faults or defects” also being “absolute; complete” and “having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.”
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Apparently all it takes to be perfect is to learn how to be free from faults and defects, be complete and have every desired quality and characteristic. Seems a bit far-fetched to me and a nearly impossible feat so why would anyone ever want to be perfect? What benefit is there to being perfect?
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The other day I had a conversation with my mom and was convicted by the word perfect, without question I said “I don’t want to be perfect because it seems like an unachievable goal.” I know I’m not perfect, in fact I’m the furthest thing from perfect, I’m a sinner saved by the grace of God but a sinner none the less who makes countless mistakes, one who is full of faults and imperfections so why would I ever want to be perfect? Personally, when I think of perfect I of course think of God and how perfect and flawless He is and how perfect and without flaw His Word and Creation is. How can I be perfect when my heavenly Father is far more perfect than I could ever be? This goal of being perfect to me seemed extremely unachievable and not just that but something I didn’t want for myself because I couldn’t comprehend putting myself on the same level as God; I know I’m not God but when I think of the word perfect I think of God and I’m not Him nor will I ever be Him. So I figured being perfect was out of the question.
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Cannon Beach, Oregon by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

dis·ap·point·ment
/ˌdisəˈpointmənt/
sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.
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Disappointment is an emotion we’ve all experienced at least once in our life that is solely based on our hopes or expectations; what we expect to happen from any given situation. Far too often do we expect or desire for the world and/or the actions of others to go a certain way and when things don’t go according to plan disappointment is typically the emotion that follows. We’ve all been there, we’ve all experienced disappointment and been let down, it’s a part of our sin nature, weather you were on the receiving end of it or the one, unfortunately, doing the disappointing it’s bound to happen. So how do you keep yourself from getting disappointment? Is it even avoidable?
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I recently watched a fairly popular new release and no spoilers I promise but in the film Spider Man: No Way Home MJ made an interesting quote that I couldn’t help but ponder over. She said, on multiple occasions “If you expect disappointment, then you can never really be disappointed." In some way she makes a compelling argument; if we let go control of a situation or not set such high expectations then the probability of us being disappointed drops dramatically but then does this mean we should never expect anything or having anything to look forward to? What is life if we aren’t living towards something or expecting something?
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Last week I decided to start the new year off with a solo retreat on the coast and for this retreat I set some expectations, I made plans and looked forward to the journey ahead and to my surprise nothing, well nothing that I had planned for myself, went according to plan. Everything that God had planned on the other hand went exactly according to plan. I tried to control my weekend and as we all will find out at some point or another when we try and control our own future God tends to stir things up because He would rather us let go and follow Him than make poor decisions that would bring us further disappointment.
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Cape Disappointment State Park by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

I’m Done
I tried to quit, I thought I could pull a Jonah and run away from what I knew God was calling me to do, I came up with excuses, I pursued my own selfish desires and chose a life I thought would provide me with true happiness. I thought maybe just maybe if I ignored God and walked away from this that maybe He’d just forget about me and let me “enjoy my life” or at the very least be content with where I was at but that didn’t happen, I forgot that God doesn’t give up on His children and if there’s a plan that He has for you then He will continue to work in your life and tug at your soul, He will do whatever it takes to open your heart and eyes to what He has planned. God will never give up on you so why do we try so hard to give up on Him? Why do we think our wants or desires are..should be more important than His calling or purpose for our life? Do we truly know what we need more than our Heavenly Father does?
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Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
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I know it’s not easy and truth be told living the Christian life and pursuing God by being faithful and following the path that He set’s before you is not easy but boy is it rewarding, maybe not right away and maybe not in the way that you expect. Your purpose, your love for God or your faith shouldn’t be about a “feel good” experience, it should be the core of why we choose to follow Him. The emotions we feel through our faith shouldn’t be our sole purpose of following God. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that living the Christian life should make us feel good, so why do we try so hard to twist God’s word and His purpose to make us feel good and seek after that feeling? God reminds us through His Word that nothing in life, no feeling or temporal pleasure, will ever come close to the joy we’ll experience when we truly love God and are living for Him. It is through that relationship we have with Him that we will ever experience true joy and satisfaction.
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Caption Continued in the Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Link in Bio🔻 taken in Lake Wenatchee by @mrvalography

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5 years ago

Love Thy Neighbor
Show me in the Bible where it says love thy neighbor BUT ONLY if they’re the same race as you, love your neighbor only if they have the same title as you, only if they share the same view or perspective as you, love your neighbor only if they drive the same car as you, believe the same God you believe, have the same degree as you do or live in the same neighborhood as you. News flash the Bible doesn’t say any of that. There is no IF contingent upon our love for our neighbor. No matter WHO your neighbor is, where they are from or what they believe God commands us to love them. This isn’t just a simple, verbal expression of love either, no, God commands us to love our neighbor exactly as we love ourselves. I don’t know about you but that is an astounding amount of love and respect that we ought to be having for one another.
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Matthew 22:36-40 says this: “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
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I know what you’re probably thinking, I love my neighbors we never talk, they stay on their side of the fence and I stay on mine and we never bother each other or maybe you’re thinking I love my neighbors, they’re like family and our kids hang out together all the time. While that’s great and all our so called “neighborhood” goes beyond our physical address. Our neighbors are all those whom we come into contact with. Your coworkers, classmates, mailman, your Uber driver, the grocery store clerk, your teacher, hair stylist, police officer, pastor, the homeless man at that one intersection, your doctor, and yes, even our president. These are all our neighbors and God calls us to love them, every single one, no matter our differences.
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Caption Continued in Comments - Pictures - Website Blog Post via Bio Link🔻 by @mrvalography

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6 years ago