Butterfly High on Butterfly Bush

Deb’s House Concerts

I’ve seen so many pretty butterflies this summer. Most were on this butterfly bush. It smells like honey. It has pretty purple flowers. Mmmmmmm.

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Bee on Butterfly Bush Flowers

Deb’s House Concerts

I see many butterflies on the butterfly bush, but I don’t see many bees. I’d love to make my yard a haven for butterflies and honeybees.

ps – I realize bees, and butterflies, and other such creatures are not “pets and other animals”, but I’ll be including them in that category.

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The Coolest Bench

Deb’s House Concerts

Isn’t this the coolest bench? It’s made almost completely out of vines. Okay, the sitting part of it is made of vines. I LIKE IT!

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Bench in Magnolia Shade

Deb’s House Concerts

I thought this was so wonderful, a bench at the base of a huge magnolia tree. It belonged to a friend who was moving, so I photographed it before we moved it to my house. It’s not suitable for sitting, but it’s wonderful for looking. I only wish I had the tree, too!

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Deer by the Barn

Deb’s House Concerts

This deer was in front of the barn at my other grandparents’ house.

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Honeysuckle and Butterfly

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This was outside my grandparents’ house August 8, 2010.

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How To Get Started

Deb’s House Concerts

Appropriate Quote for Today

The quote today is appropriate on many levels. The birthday girl lives this saying. Like Walt Disney, she is creative and she actually DOES things with her creativity. She doesn’t just think about being creative, she IS creative. She can get more done in an afternoon than most people can do in a month. So, here’s the quote:

Walt Disney said,

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Walt Disney

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Getting vs. Becoming

Deb’s House Concerts

Zig Ziglar says:

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

Zig Ziglar

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Cracked Pots

Deb’s House Concerts

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots. Each hung on one end of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But, the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. ‘I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.’

The old woman smiled. ‘Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.’

‘For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.’

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

We need to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path.

~ Author Unknown

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“I Chose” by Ray Boltz

Deb’s House Concerts

I Chose

I Chose 

by Ray Boltz

I chose my house, and I chose my car. I chose the strings on this guitar, and I chose to smoke that first cigar. All of these things I chose.

I chose the hat that’s on my head, and the pillows on my bed. And, I chose to eat what I was fed, even though I wanted something else instead. I chose. I chose.

But, I didn’t choose to be born in June, a baby boy with eyes of blue. I didn’t choose the blood in my veins, my hometown, or my last name.  I didn’t choose the way I feel. I know what’s right. I know what’s real. You see, some things are a part of me, and other things I chose.

Well, I chose to kneel and I chose to pray that God would take all the pain away. And, I chose to hide all the doubt and fear. I chose the path that brought me here. I chose. I chose.

But, I didn’t choose to be born in June, a baby boy with eyes of blue. I didn’t choose the blood in my veins, my hometown, or my last name.  I didn’t choose the way I feel. I know what’s right. I know what’s real. You see, some things are a part of me, and other things I chose.

I chose.

Ray Boltz Blog

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“Who Would Jesus Love” by Ray Boltz

Deb’s House Concerts

“Who Would Jesus Love”

by Ray Boltz

“Who Would Jesus Love”

by Ray Boltz

 I used to wear a bracelet asking “What Would Jesus Do?”

 All my faith and my promises quickly fade from view.

I tried to do my best, but what I did was never enough.

Then, I asked the question, “Who would Jesus love?”

Would He only love the ones who look the same as me?

Would He only offer hope if He saw similarity?

Would He leave the others waiting like a stranger at the gate?

Would He discriminate?

Tell me, who would Jesus love?

Now, I  can build a bridge that can reach from me to you.

Or, I can build a wall instead if I don’t like the view.

‘Cause I make the decision on how to follow through.

I don’t need a bracelet to know what He would do.

Would He only love the ones who look the same as me?

Would He only offer hope if He saw similarity?

Would He leave the others waiting like a stranger at the gate?

Would He discriminate?

Tell me, who would Jesus love?

There is no Jew or Greek. There is no slave or free,

No male or female. He treats us equally.

Do we only love the ones who look the same as me?

Do we only offer hope if He saw similarity?

Do we leave the others waiting like a stranger at the gate?

Do we discriminate?

Tell me, who would Jesus love?

Who would Jesus love?

Ray Boltz Blog

 

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“God Knows I Tried” by Ray Boltz

 Deb’s House Concerts

God Knows I Tried

God Knows I Tried by Ray Boltz

When they said I was a sinner, I was struggling with my youth. And, with the hope that God could change me, I believed it was the truth.

I spent my whole life trying to be what they said I should. On the inside I was dying, because I never really could.

God knows I tried. God knows all the pain I kept inside. He’s seen every tear I ever cried. God knows I tried.

I was so good at pretending, just like an actor on the stage. In the end, nobody knew me, only the roles that I portrayed.

I would rather have you hate me knowing who I really am than to try and make you love me being something that I can’t.

God knows I tried. God knows all the pain I kept inside. He’s seen every tear I ever cried. God knows I tried.

And, after all these years of living, I’ve begun to understand. I can try to be like someone else, but it won’t change (no it won’t change, no it won’t change) who I am.

God knows I tried. God knows all the pain I kept inside. He’s seen every tear I ever cried. God knows I tried.

Ray Boltz Blog

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“The Swimming Hole” by 2010 Ray Boltz

Deb’s House Concerts

The Swimming Hole 

by Ray Boltz

The Swimming Hole 

by  Ray Boltz

Everybody would stare at him, but he would always be the first one in, like he didn’t know it was always cold in the swimming hole.

He’d come up, and nothing would change. He’d hear them laugh, and nothing would change. It was long ago at the swimming hole.

He was always different. That’s why he became a target for all their hatred and shame.

Then one night on my tv screen I saw his picture staring back at me. The reporter said they found him dead at the swimming hole. His body wrapped in a bloody sheet, the rope still tied to his hands and feet. Yes, he died alone at the swimming hole.

He was always different. That’s why he became a target for all their hatred and shame.

Lately I’ve had this dream at night. I see him standing in the bright sunlight, and I’m all alone at the swimming hole. He watches me taking off my clothes. He watches me as I face the cold. Yes, he’s watching me. He’s watching me. He’s watching me as I’m diving in.

Ray Boltz Blog

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Desiderata

Deb’s House Concerts 

  

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence. 

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons. 

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit. 

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. 

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. 

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. 

Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass. 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth. 

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. 

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself. 

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. 

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. 

Be cheerful. 

Strive to be happy. 

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952 

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Prop 8 Unconstitutional

Deb’s House Concerts

California Judge Rules

Follow the story on Box Turtle Bulletin.

Oklahomans For Equality

Opposition to the right to marry affects same-sex couples everywhere.  A gay-marriage ban was passed in Oklahoma in 2004. Two Oklahoma couples sued in Tulsa U.S. District Court in 2004 challenging the Oklahoma gay marriage ban and DOMA. Oklahomans For Equality are holding a Prop 8 Decision Day Rally at the Dennis R. Neil Equality Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma today.

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