Have you heard that expression? We used it in the Air Force to describe organizations that seemed to exist only for themselves, providing no useful service. “They’re just a self-licking ice cream cone.” Not a good thing.

Nearly 20 years ago, my son-in-law, Cody Gifford, was earning his PhD in instrumental music conducting at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He took me to a function which included a speech by the then Dean of the College of Music, Dr. Daniel Sher. I was so taken with the speech that I told Dr. Sher I intended to write an article about it. Dr. Sher just reached into his suit jacket pocket and handed me his script. (I’m finally writing the article!)

Here’s the relevant portion of the speech. See if you see what I heard…

What makes us so successful is that we are a community committed to excellence in music. We are dedicated to individualized and small group instruction, to programs that are artistically sensitive and intellectually rigorous, through a teaching and learning atmosphere that is permeated by a spirit of collaboration and teamwork.

Through our 350 concerts each year, 95% of them free to the public, we present opera, orchestra, concert band, chorus, world music ensembles, and solo recitals. We are a major cultural resource for our community. Through our Marching Band and Athletic Pep bands, we are the heart and soul of the spirit life of the campus.

Beyond the campus and our local community, we are committed to outreach to culturally underserved populations on the eastern plains, in the mountain regions and the K-12 system throughout our state.

Beyond our state, faculty, students and our alums are contributing at the highest level in the profession in performance, scholarly research and publication, teaching, and arts administration. – Daniel Sher, October 20, 2006

I don’t think I’ll get through this in one blog, but here are the first things that jumped out at me:

He described themselves as a successful community committed to excellence in music

• To be judged “successful” you must have a goal and a means by which to assess how well you’ve achieved that goal. He goes on in the speech to describe their activities and achievements
• It is a community, but “community” is not the goal
• It’s a community committed to excellence in music
  • Not a community committed to themselves
  • Not just committed to getting by, but to excellence

And they’re not performing music to listen to themselves, they are having an impact in four areas:

• Local community (concerts, recitals, opera, etc.)
• Campus itself with Marching Band and Pep Bands—the “heart and soul” of the spirit life of the campus
• Outreach in the state to underserved areas east and west
• Impact everywhere as grads go out, competent to serve

As I say, definitely not a self-licking ice cream cone.

By contrast, Robert Lewis describes in his book Church of Irresistible Influence the time he was in the mayor’s office and saw a book about their home town, Little Rock, Arkansas. Robert flipped through the book and observed, “There are no churches in this book.” And instead of getting angry with the mayor, he realized that the churches were all self-licking ice cream cones (my phrase). “If all the churches disappeared tomorrow, who outside the churches would notice?”

A goal for churches? Contribute to the world outside the church.

Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. (Titus 3.14, NAS)

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.16, ESV)

More to come. Stay tuned.

I just finished An Alien at St Wilfred’s by Adrian Plass, the British humorist. I read his The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, age 37 1/2 when it first came out in 1987. Unlike Alien…, Diary is still in print. Strongly recommend Diary and anything else by Adrian Plass. Brilliant. Insightful Dry sense of humor.

Alien was written in 1992 and is about an angel who appeared to a vicar at St Wilfred’s Anglican Church. The book ends with an insight into John 21, Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the seashore, that’s too good not to pass on.

On page 188, in the last chapter, during a period of intense prayer, the Lord gave the vicar seven practical things to work on:

• Organization
• Diet
• Alcohol
• Exercise
• Rest
• Time with God
• Bible reading

The vicar was disappointed because these felt too practical, too ordinary to be of God. When he shared them with his small group who had been meeting with the angel, the angel asked him to think about Peter in John 21. Peter jumped into the water to see Jesus. (I wrote about Peter’s frenzy in January 2022.) They still had unfinished business between them. Why was Peter so anxious to see Jesus? Answer: because he loved him. And who was Jesus? Group members responded:

• The son of God
• The Savior of the world
• The one who made everything

And what was this Jesus, the Son of God, Savior of the world, the One who made everything, doing when Peter arrived on shore, dripping wet? Answer?

Fixing breakfast for his friends.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” (John 21.9 – 12, ESV)

Practical. Ordinary.

A key concept of some of the prayers in the psalms in the 70s and 80s (Book III is Psalms 73 – 89) is a prayer for God to work today as he did in the past. I get the feeling that Israel is in captivity, and things aren’t looking so good. For example:

Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah (Psalm 77.7 – 9, NKJV)

The solution is to remember what God is capable of:

And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds…Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77.10 – 12, 19, NKJV)

“I will remember the works of the LORD…” The theme continues into Psalm 78 with an admonition to teach the children:

We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. (Psalm 78.4, NKJV)

God’s works. I was discussing with a friend a lady in his small group who attributed her successful travel to two graduations in two disparate places to God. “God was on fire.” My friend’s preferred take was maybe Southwest was on fire.

But we agreed that attributing the successful trip to God might not be a bad outlook. Recognize what God is (or may be) doing in the world and share it with the children.

For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; (Psalm 78.5 – 7, NKJV)

Maybe “Focus on the Family” that I wrote about recently is HOW we get the mission done.

By contrast…

The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. (Psalm 78.9 – 11, NKJV)

Equipped but not obedient. And they “forgot His works…” Therefore, they were useless in battle. Sad. A picture of many in our churches.

Walking the dog has not been nearly so eventful in our new neighborhood. It’s gated, surrounded by a wall, more in the city than where we were before. Deer encounters were frequent. Here’s a classic picture with Babo, our previous dog, a picture which triggered recreational outrage that I wrote about before.

Things are much more tame here. The only excitement has been keeping my dog from chasing the rabbits.

One day, however, I looked up, and about 10 yards away was a large cat. My immediate thought was, “Wow. That’s a big cat, and what is a house cat doing outside unattended?” I was able to lead my dog in such a way that he didn’t see it.

Only after I got home, did I realize, “That wasn’t a house cat. That was a bobcat! A few days later, someone who lives about a mile from me posted this picture:

That’s “my” cat. Upon reflection, this verse came to mind:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5.8, NKJV)

He wasn’t roaring, but “seeking whom he may devour” is exactly what the cat was doing. Folks on NextDoor commenting on the picture said things like, “The reason he looks so healthy is that he’s been eating my chickens!”

The cat gave my dog the once-over, but my presence apparently intimidated him enough. The 1 Peter passage continues…

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5.9, NKJV)

Here’s another feel-good story, similar to Scotty Scheffler, world’s #1 golfer, who knows what matters. Deion Sanders, flamboyant coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, has just recovered from bladder cancer. Here are some snippets of Mark Kizla’s editorial in the Colorado Springs Gazette, July 28, 2025: Deion Sanders beat cancer with good medicine, God’s grace and the power of football.

Who did cancer think it was messing with?

Deion Sanders doesn’t blink.

Football made him Prime, rich and famous.

But now the game has bestowed a far greater gift on Sanders.

Since a dark day in April, when a malignant tumor was discovered in his bladder, football has given Sanders a reason to live and the strength to stand up against cancer.

“I didn’t stare death in the face. I stared life in the face,” Sanders said Monday. “I’ve got too much life to be thinking about death.”

With a clean bill of health, Sanders is back on the job at CU, wearing a white cowboy hat and blue overalls and faith on his sleeve.

…

“It was never in my spirit, in my heart, that God wouldn’t allow me to coach again.”

But there were moments when the future of Sanders and the CU program was dicier than Prime lets on. Early in this three-month fight, after the 57-year-old coach made the mistake of researching the mortality rate of bladder cancer on the internet, he promptly got his end-of-life financial business in order. The real reckoning that results in writing a will is how the act can force a man to consider what makes his life worth living.

Coach Prime is convinced God has brought him back to Colorado to shape the lives of young men and bring championship glory to the Buffs.

…

Without any warning signs of his cancer, Sanders was fortunate that football helped find the devilish disease lurking inside him, when a medical examination during spring practice alerted doctors to abnormalities in his bladder. A dangerous tumor, malignantly invading through the bladder wall, was removed. “I am pleased to report that the results from the surgery are that he is cured from cancer,” Dr. Janet Kukreja said.

But it requires more than good medicine to beat cancer. There’s also the healing power in a sense of purpose that can make every sunrise a blessing.

…

During recovery on his 5,000-acre ranch in Texas, Sanders would rise with the sun to go for a walk or fishing, accompanied by two bags that would fill with urine and blood.

While carrying that weight day after day, steadfastly refusing to burden two sons now off chasing their own NFL dreams with the truth or details of his serious health ailment, Coach Prime was left to wrestle alone with what matters the most during the finite days we all have on earth.

I asked Sanders how the doubts and fears instilled by cancer challenged or re-affirmed his commitment to a football job often coldly judged by numbers on a scoreboard.

“The decision I made and the surgery I chose was based on not just family. It was based on football. I didn’t want to be going weekly to the hospital while I’ve got practices,” replied Sanders, fired up by the opportunity to lead the Buffs to greater heights in his third season at CU.

“So football is in there (among the top priorities). But faith is No. 1. Football is somewhere down the line, behind family and all that.”

Faith. Family. Football. In that order.

“I’m too blessed to be stressed,” Sanders said.

A lot of good stuff in there. The priorities, of course: faith, family, football. But what about, “There’s also the healing power in a sense of purpose that can make every sunrise a blessing.”

God has his people in all walks of life, even college football. And no one has more of a platform than a head football coach.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2.10, NIV)

…And who knows but that you have come to your…position for such a time as this? (Esther 4.14, NIV)

Continuing with Jesus’ admonition on prayer…

Never give up. (See Luke 18.1)

…the Luke 18 parable ends this way:

But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” (Luke 18.8, NLT)

How many will he find…who have faith? Would he find me a man of faith? You? How much faith is enough to “count.” Let me suggest a simple way to look at that important question. Consider first:

• You walk into a dark room. How much faith is required to bring light? Answer: enough faith to flip the switch. The switch doesn’t make light. The light bulbs do that provided they are connected to a power source. But if the light bulbs are functional, and they are connected to power, all you need do is flip the switch. An act of faith.
• You are afraid to fly. How much faith does it take fly to a distant destination? Answer: enough faith to get on the plane. It doesn’t matter how you feel about it. What matters is that conditions are right for flying, the plane is in good repair, and the crew members are competent. All you need do is get on the plane.
• You need something from God. How much faith does it take? Enough faith to pray.

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. (Luke 18.1, NLT)

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. (James 4.2, NLT)

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6.18, NLT)

Yesterday’s blog ended with Jesus’ admonition that we should always pray and never give up. (Luke 18.1)

So how am I feeling about our prayers for the house sale? I had asked for:

• The right people
• The right price
• The right time

I haven’t met the people who tendered the offer, but I know they are a 49-year-old married couple, one of whose mothers is going to move into the house with them. The price was certainly right: our asking price and cash.

What about “the right time”? I thought “now” would be the right time, but apparently God thought later would be just fine. These folks can’t buy our house until they sell theirs. A central theme of this move has been blessing others, mainly with our excess furniture. I think our house is going to bless these people. They’re moving from a 2,000 square-foot, two-bedroom house in the desert to a 3,600 square-foot, four-bedroom house in the woods. It will feel like a mansion.

So we pray…for no glitches in the process and a quick sale of a home in the Phoenix area. As always,

We should always pray and never give up. – Jesus

If you follow baseball, you know that the Colorado Rockies are having a dismal season. Their record as of last night is 29-80 (not a typo), and their season’s goal right now is to avoid setting a new Major League record for losses. As Jason Gay wrote in an article about the “pretty good” New York Yankees:

If you’re a Rockies fan, you can’t believe anyone can be spoiled like this. Actually, that’s not true—if you’re a Rockies fan, you’ve disavowed baseball and taken up knitting hats for the neighborhood squirrels. – Jason Gay, Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2025

But, as we used to say in the Air Force, “Even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes,” and even the Rockies can inspire. Last night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates is a case in point.

Before the Rockies came to bat in the bottom of the first inning, they were already behind by nine runs. That’s right, 9-0 after the top half of the first inning. I turned the game on during the Rockies’ half of the fifth where they scored four runs bringing their deficit up from 15-6 to 15-10. When I turned the game off, it was 16-10.

But, as we were going to bed, I glanced at my phone, which gives me the running score of the game even while the phone is off, and I told June: “It’s 16-15 in the bottom of the ninth with only one out. The Rockies have a man on first. They can actually win this thing!” And they did. A minute later, the phone’s display changed:

Walk-off home run. The AP story posted on ESPN opens with:

DENVER — — Brenton Doyle hit a walk-off, two-run homer in a five-run ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies overcame a nine-run first-inning deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 17-16 on Friday night.

You can’t make this stuff up…

I have a picture in my office of the great tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walking across Niagara Falls on a high wire. He signed it:

Bob, never give up.

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. (Luke 18.1, NLT)

I don’t know what the significance of this story is… We’re a wealthy country? We really care about animals? Or By caring about animals, we help ourselves? Here goes…

If you drive on I-25 north of Monument, you’ll see a bridge over the interstate under construction. Not that unusual except…there’s no road there! What’s the purpose of the bridge?

It’s a wildlife bridge! You can’t make this stuff up. No matter that when the highway between Monument and Castle Rock was widened a few years ago, they built five underpasses for wildlife. It turns out that some wildlife won’t use the underpasses…so Let’s build an overpass! And so we are. Our local newspaper reports:

The wildlife overpass under construction on Interstate 25 between Larkspur and Monument will be the “world’s largest bridge structure built for wildlife,” officials said in a release Friday as they marked the project’s halfway point. 

Measuring 200 feet wide and 209 feet long, the massive I-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass will cover nearly an acre once completed. It will span six lanes of traffic, on a stretch of the interstate traveled by more than 100,000 vehicles each day, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The purpose?

With the stretch of the interstate between Castle Rock and Monument averaging “one wild-life vehicle crash a day in the spring and fall seasons,” officials say the bridge is expected to reduce wildlife collisions by 90%.

There are already five nearby underpasses in the area, this bridge, however, will benefit elk and pronghorn in particular. Officials say both species prefer to cross “open structures that provide clear and open sight lines” instead of tunnels. Moose, bear, mountain lions, mule deer and smaller animals are expected to use the structure as well.

How much?

The $15 million overpass is expected to be completed in December 2025. 

Like I say, I’m not sure of the significance. I’ve read before that some herds got split when the interstate was first built, and the new bridge will allow them to reunite. It’s not something I lay awake worrying about, but apparently some people do. And one wonders where the 90% figure comes from. One crash per day in spring and fall equates to, what, 180 crashes per year? And they expect that number to go down to 18? How do they know?

OK, enough! I’m violating an important principle…

LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. (Psalm 131.1, NLT)

Re Trusting and Waiting for our buyer, right before yesterday’s blog posted, THE OFFER came in!

The good news is that it’s a cash deal for the asking price. The not as good news is we have to wait until the buyers sell their home in the Phoenix area. We’re aiming for a closing of October 15th or earlier.

So the trusting and waiting continues, now praying for a buyer for a home in Phoenix!

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27.14, NKJV)