200 Countries * 200 Years * 4 Minutes

Deb’s House Concerts

Who knew statistics could be so interesting?

200 Countries * 200 Years * 4 Minutes

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Nathan Pacheco Sings for HRH Prince Charles

Deb’s House Concerts

Nathan Pacheco at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

 

Nathan Pacheco Sings for Prince Charles at the British Embassy

Disney Artist Sings for Prince Charles

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Stop Bullying Now

Deb’s House Concerts

Ellen speaks about bullying.

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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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Gay Rights = Human Rights

Deb’s House Concerts

Hillary Clinton

Human rights are gay rights, and gay rights are human rights.

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Ray Boltz: To Be True

Deb’s House Concerts

To Be True

To Be True by Ray Boltz

I have stood on stage in concert halls, looking out at faces, trying to please them all.

The longer I stood there, the more that I knew some people will love you, and some never do.

To be true is all that I want to do. To be true is all I can promise you is to be true.

No hidden agendas, no clever disguise, no fiction or fables, and no alibis.

I will open up this heart filled with passion and pain. All I ask before we start is you do the same.

To be true is all that I want to do. To be true is all I can promise you is to be true.

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I Never Blogged About Lingerie Before

Deb’s House Concerts

Following RuPaul With Lingerie

It seems only right to follow RuPaul’s drag show post with a post about a lingerie ad. At the least, it’s a convenient place for me to put this post.

Sexiness for Everyone

That’s the name of this lingerie ad. It’s definitely breaking new ground and pushing the limits. It achieves the sexiness goal. The limits it is pushing are possibly religious and political.

Count on the Europeans

I used to expect the next new thing to come from California. It seemed to be the way things happened. They’d start in California and move east.  But, in matters of sexiness married to religion, I don’t expect to see it in the USA. For all the simulated and suggested sex on television and in movies, there is still an underlying conservative attitude in many  places. The lingerie company that put out the ‘sexiness for everyone’ ad is based in Germany. Daily Finance had the story.

Glow Berlin

I think the company took a huge risk and stepped way outside the usual lingerie imagery. If you liked the ad, they’d like you to visit their Liaison Dangereuse page, too. It helps if you know German.

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Davey Wavey (the opposite of negative thinking) – extrovert extrordinaire

Deb’s House Concerts

Negative Thinking or Positive and Bubbly?

My post two days ago was about a study that said therapy that tries to help people feel better might actually make them feel worse, because it shows them how very bad they feel. They called it self-help through negative thinking. Today, I want to offer a link to a positively bubbly guy who calls himself Davey Wavey. He must be off the scale on the Extroversion and Optimism categories.

Davey Wavey’s Blog – Break the Illusion

The man who calls himself Davey Wavey has a blog called Break the Illusion.  He’s young and fit and energetic and positive. He writes positive posts. He has lots of positive videos of himself talking to YOU (or me, if I’m watching). And, he has lots of pictures of himself not wearing a shirt (“I’m allergic to shirts.”)

Davey Wavey’s World View

You won’t be wasting your time if you spend a few minutes on Davey Wavey’s blog “Break the Illusion.” Here’s a little of what he said about himself in his “about me” video.

My three favorite beliefs:

I live in a world that is infinitely beautiful, and if you could just see a fraction, a fraction of how beautiful everything is, you would be totally be blinded.

I believe that you create your world through the perspective that you choose to hold.

And, I believe that everything is one.

Davey Wavey’s Mission

This is his stated mission:

My life’s mission is to 1.) share my love with the world 2.) teach others about the pervasive oneness of this perfect universe and 3.) learn, grow and develop from all my experiences and all my teachers.

Check out Davey Wavey

Break the Illusion

About Davey Wavey

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God and Dog (song and video)

Deb’s House Concerts

A Friend Sent the Link to This Song (on youtube)

Her note said, “This reminds me very much of you – in so many ways.  You may already know it.” You know I HAD to listen after a comment like that.

Simple and To the Point

The song is simple. It’s probably in the “I wish I’d thought of that!” category. Why didn’t I write that song? Apparently it struck home with a LOT of people. She had a million youtube views in the first month it was posted. Wow!

Who Wrote the Song?

Wendy Francisco wrote GoD and DoG.

What About Her Family?

Funny you should ask. Her husband sings in the Jesus Music category: Don Francisco. Her daughter Annie Brooks is a folk singer.

How Can You Learn More About Them?

Here are some of their web pages:

Wendy Francisco

Don Francisco

Annie Brooks

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Martin Luther King, Jr in Memphis, TN

Deb’s House Concerts

Singing to the Congregation

He did not really sing his speech, but the Gregory Brothers have autotuned and edited the movie of Dr.King speaking.

I May Not Get There With You

… but, we as a people will get there. I’ve been to the mountain top. (It’s good.  Take a moment and watch it.)

The Original Speech

Listen and watch as it really was.

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I Hereby Resolve To …

Deb’s House Concerts

During the Month of January …

Where I live, January tends to be cold with a lot of gray days, some clouds, some rain, some ice, and occasionally some snow. The trees are bare. There are few flowers. Hummingbirds are nowhere to be seen.  I suppose it could be called a dreary month, one that could lead one to feelings of gloom or pessimism, depression or despair. These are not feelings I want for myself or for you.

Therefore, I Have Decided …

January will be the month (this year, 2010) for posts about ‘feel good’ things. Unlike certain friends, I like self-help books and articles. I like analysis of the human psyche and insight into what makes us tick. We are, afterall, bio-psycho-social-beings (as some would say).  ;)

So, That’s the Plan

This month, January 2010, is hereby designated ‘feel good’ month. You don’t have to feel good to read this blog this month. And, I might not always post ‘happy’ or ‘feel good’ posts. But, I do want something that will give us all a glimpse of the sunshine on the other side of the clouds.

Speaking of Grey Skies …

Have you ever been in an airplane on the ground, ready to take off, and the day is dark and gloomy? The clouds completely cover the earth for as far as you can see. Maybe the rain is pouring down. This, to me, is how life seems when all the bad things in life are largest in our vision. Now, do you remember how it was when the plane took off? Was it a little scary to be zooming down the runway and lifting up into that rain and into those dark clouds? What happened after that was amazing.

The Sunshine on the Other Side of the Clouds

Do you remember? As you entered the clouds, you could see nothing at all, and it was that way for what seemed like a long time. But, before you knew it, the airplane rose above the clouds and everything was different. The clouds were below, and they were brilliant and beautiful! And the sky was nothing but blue, clear, bright blue. How did this happen? Everything changed. But, nothing had really changed.

Perspective

Perspective is something I enjoy thinking about. It is something I try to remember to notice. It is part of how I look for images I’d like to photograph. It isn’t that things change. It is that they way we see things changes. Good things happen and bad things happen. Happy things happen and sad things happen. People love us. People reject us. People are kind. People are cruel. We are healthy. We fight sickness and injury and disease. We live. We die.

What Makes the Difference in Our Experience?

What makes the difference in how events in life affect us? Is it all in our perspective? Is it all about being below the clouds or above the clouds? What is it in us that leaves us in the rain under the grey sky one day (or month, or year) and in the sunshine over the brilliant tops of the same rain clouds another day?

What’s Your Perspective on Perspective?

I’m thinking of a photo of a person looking in a mirror looking at a person looking in a  mirror looking at a person looking in a mirror … What does perspective mean to you? How does it affect  your life? How does it influence your choices (big and small)?

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Nathan Pacheco on Disney’s Christmas Day Special 10am on ABC (9am west coast)

Deb’s House Concerts

Christmas Morning

I hope you’re having happy, happy day.

Nathan Pacheco Sings Oh Holy Night on the Christmas morning special on ABC this morning.

Singer brings new life to Yanni’s music(interview with Nathan Pacheco, June 2009)

Nathan Pacheco on MySpace

DISNEY PARKS CHRISTMAS DAY PARADE (12/25/2009)

Celebrating the ‘Season of Giving,’ 26th Annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade Broadcasts from Both Coasts, Airing on ABC-TV December 25(earthtimes.org)

http://kathychicago.wordpress.com/

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