A Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, Birthday, & Anniversary Weekend
Which of the four did I pay attention to (or do I plan to pay attention to) this weekend: the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, my mom’s birthday, or an anniversary? (Note, Monday is my day off, so I consider it my weekend.)
If you guessed the Super Bowl, you would be wrong. I haven’t watched an entire Super Bowl in my life. My parents “made” me watch part of it growing up (if I wanted to eat the Doritos and cheese dip.) They wanted me to enjoy the commercials, and I think they were hoping I’d learn to like the game. It never worked. I figured the good commercials would replay after the game was over, so I’d just wait. It wasn’t worth sitting through the slooooow game where it takes 30 minutes to move 10 yards.
If you guessed Valentine’s Day, you would also be wrong. I have a dentist appointment later today. And then we’re checking out a preschool for Silas. That is the extent of our plans. I enjoyed the holiday as a kid, picking out the valentines with a cartoon to address to my classmates, making sure the mushy ones didn’t go to the boys. My mom always gave me a small box of See’s chocolates too - at breakfast no less - and who wouldn’t love that?
I’ve never been the romantic type though. I told Jeff as much our first year dating. He believed me until the day of, when he decided he wanted to do something special even if it was last minute. So we went to Fuddrucker’s with his coin jar and bought hamburgers. Then we used a Hershey’s Kiss (brand and shape!) fondue pot from a white elephant gift exchange and attempted to eat pineapple dipped in chocolate. That was our fanciest Valentine’s Day that I can recall. (I did make someone cry Valentine’s Day 2019, but that’s another story for another day.)
If you guessed my mom’s birthday, you’d be right. Do I get good daughter points for that? Just kidding. Happy Birthday mom! I love you and I love eating Hans and Harry’s chocolate cake to show you my love.
And if you guessed an anniversary, you’d be right. Just like I loved remembering the debut of Cat Lawyer from February 2021, I also love remembering Valentine’s Day 2021. It was the best Valentine’s Day because it was a baptism Sunday. We went to church, then we went to the bay where there’s a little beach and witnessed a public proclamation of a life changed by Jesus.
You are what you celebrate. And I love celebrating baptisms. Oh, and that girl in the photo, she’s now our housemate. It’s been amazing to see her be transformed by the love of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8
The older I get, the more I appreciate that there’s no marriage in the resurrection. Don’t get me wrong, I love the institution of marriage, and I love Jeff a lot a lot. He’s my bestie. But at the end of this age, I get Jesus unveiled. Tides may change, nations may change, seasons may change, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is my forever valentine. That’s worth celebrating everyday.
We sat on cold metal chairs in a white room, leaning against a cold metal examining table...waiting. Our beautiful dog Sabrina had been hurried to the back of the emergency clinic without us. She was in danger and distress.
It’s been a minute.
I love that phrase. I probably overuse it. And my repetitious use of it probably annoys those in my listening (or instant messaging) range.
Why did the tomato blush? He saw the salad dressing! Thank you for laughing. I appreciate it.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Our friends returned to the mission field last week. They had to go.
Lakes are pretty cool places. One might say that they're refreshing.
Months ago, we taught Silas how to count to twenty. Recently, he has been skipping six. Poor six.
I’m a huge fan of Os Guinness (and his ministry The Trinity Forum.) If you haven’t heard of him, go look him up on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube because he is a gazillion times more articulate than I am.
In the past ten months, I have had to hold fast to Hebrews 13:1-2a, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.”
Hospitality to strangers is easy to neglect.
What do you think of when you hear, “when strivings cease?”
“When the burden is too much for you to bear, you do not need stronger shoulders, you need weaker knees.”
Dr. Mitch Kim
What do you do when life is rough? If you’re a follower of Christ, what do you do when your pursuit of Christian maturity keeps calling you onward and upward, to terrain that is steeper and more challenging?
What do you do when life is rough? If you’re a follower of Christ, what do you do when your pursuit of Christian maturity keeps calling you onward and upward, to terrain that is steeper and more challenging?
Our cool-factor here at SBCA has been notched up tenfold the past month. Why you may ask? Great question!
Yesterday was Palm Sunday. We had a lovely time at church.
And while no Dickensian Ghost-of-Palm-Sunday-Past visited me, I found myself reminiscing. Holidays and rituals are meant for such a thing, I suppose.
We attended a Christmas party last December and within two minutes of our arrival, Silas (age 2) showed me a toy he had just found. We were outside, in the dark, and on time (meaning not many people were there yet.) Looking around, I asked him, “where did you find this tractor?”
I nerded out this weekend at a ‘Faith and Science’ conference held here in San Diego. Praise the Lord for paid time off and for a grandma who is willing to watch the kid.
In the summer of 2007, in the sticks of San Diego county, Jeff and I met at Indian Hills Camp.
Oh Indian Hills Camp. So dusty. So Wild West-y. So can’t-ever-forget-that-camp-song-y.
No, this isn’t about Eutychus (Acts 20:9.) This is about the first Sunday of March in 2019 when someone suddenly died at the church we were serving at.
It’s early March and the evenings are still too chilly for me, even in San Diego. Since I’ve committed to staying inside in the evening until the weather warms up, it seems like a good time to start spring cleaning.
I am a terrible movie watcher. I don’t cope well with plot holes. Everyone else will talk about the scenes they loved, the parts that captured their imaginations. I, however, will talk about plot holes and major oversights.
During a short vacation to the mountains last summer, I had the time to read a few books
A few Sundays ago, we were singing ‘Be Still My Soul’ at church and my not-so-still two-year-old ran up on stage. Uggh.
Which of the four did I pay attention to (or do I plan to pay attention to) this weekend: the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, my mom’s birthday, or an anniversary?
This Wednesday is the first anniversary of Cat Lawyer! I love Cat Lawyer so much that I felt it appropriate to give him an homage via blog.
I’m an institutionalist. I believe we’re stronger as a team - that’s dedicated to the mission - than we are siloed off.
Two years ago while preparing material for our homegroup leaders, I came across a word study that shifted my thinking, or at least readjusted my focus: “Created for good works…so that we would walk in them”, (Eph.2:10). The word “walk” in the Greek does not imply the simple straight line from point A to point B, but has a more spherical quality.
I live in suburban America. Here in suburbia, we have companies that come to our houses on a weekly basis and take our trash away. It’s wonderful. Until the week before Christmas, when the magic stopped. The garbage workers went on strike. Womp womp.
Last night, we ditched our Sunday night prayer meeting, packed up Silas, and drove 98 miles to see a commissioning service at Celebration Church. One of their pastors and his wife will be returning to Cambodia to share the good news of Jesus with the people of Cambodia who have not yet heard His name.
Why start a blog? Here is a list of questions that I asked myself before starting this.
Kylene Lopo
Kylene Lopo is a pastor’s wife, a BI Reports Developer, and is the mother of Silas (age 4) and Hosanna (age 0.) She has a masters in Biblical Literature from Alliance Theological Seminary and is an official worker with the C&MA in the South Pacific District.