MuseScore - an open-source music editor

Messing around today with trying to re-arrange 'Til the Storm Passes By (Mosie Lister) for a male quartet. Came across the MuseScore software and was pretty impressed with its capabilities for an open-source project. It looks like it may be a real option in order to edit music on Windows, Linux, or Mac. My only complain right now is that it seems to crash before I've gotten very far, but I'm using a nightly build so that doesn't give me a lot of room to complain.  I don't have a MIDI keyboard and MIDI input is not supported in Windows at this time - no big deal.  The general note entry seemed easy enough.  Just trying to figure out how to do a Barbershop-style arrangement.  After that, it's time to tweak the voicing a little so it sounds better and is still singable by our group.

• MuseScore | Free music composition & notation software

School Spirit

Eliana's school is going through their "Spirit Week" and one of the main colors is red. Eliana said that she needs to wear the most red, or all red this week so she can out-do the principal. She then asked if she could dye her hair red. (With the obvious "no" response.) Realizing the flaw in her question, she asked if her mom could dye her hair red. I can only imagine what it's like seeing life through the eyes of a young child.

My Weekly Thoughts: Fresh Out

• Fresh Out

  So what do you do if your church is "fresh out" of Jesus, anyway? And why is it that we seem to miss the mark so often when we're needed the most? Of course, this doesn't just apply to Christians. My wife got interested in that superhero reality show and the "heroes" in the show did the same thing when they were needed the most.  Of course, I've heard seminary students relate how they were heading to a class to learn more about the parable of the good Samaritan who walked right past someone who needed their help/time without a second glance.  Same for those who had just come from the class.  This is a pretty good reminder that we really need to be open to the times God wants us to help and not just assume someone else is handling it.
  

  tags: church-life, evangelism, christian, christian-life

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72 in 60

I'm impressed - Eliana just did 72 math problems (addition w/ totals up to 20) in about 60 minutes. We worked on using the abacus for some of the addition and also did the basic "count the dots" method. That worked well as long as she didn't lose track of the dots or put down the wrong number of dots. It was a pretty good time and I'm glad she enjoyed it.

Bookstore Mixup

We were browsing in our semi-local Half Price Books recently, looking for a book for a friend as well as letting Eliana peek through the various offerings in the Kids' section. She was sitting quietly looking through a rather large assortment of Berenstein Bears books when her mom said, "Eliana, Stop it." I looked at Eliana and back at her mom, trying to figure out what was going on. Once again, "Eliana! Stop that right now!" This was followed by, "Peter, will you help me out?" I look at Eliana again, trying to figure out what's going on.

Her mom then reached down, grabbed a book, and said, "Thanks a lot, Peter." I then told her that Eliana was over here and realized she'd been talking to a little girl who was just about Eliana's size, hair color, and complexion. She immediately apologized to the little girl and started insisting on a somewhat hastier than normal exit from the store. (Eliana was disappointed that she didn't get to finish going through the books.)

I did discover a book that looked promising in the Bear vein through all of that - something along the lines of the Berenstein Bears Help Those in Need or Put Others First or something along those lines. Looked like a good theme on using what we've been given to help others who are genuinely in need and can't help themselves.

Chex Mix Makeover

Eliana was helping her mom make up some chocolate/peanut-butter Chex mix (w powdered sugar). She was in charge of the shaking to mix everything together and coat the Chex w/ sugar. Mom thought that the bag needed some more air. She adjusted the bag, opened it up a little more, re-sealed, and gave the bag back to Eliana. Eliana stops shaking and starts to unzip the bag. Mom asked what she was doing, to which she replied, "The bag needs more air."

Before mom could stop her, Eliana had opened the bag and puffed really hard into the bag. The powdered sugar flew out of the bag and resulted in a white mask of powdered sugar on her face. (Kind of like a white raccoon.)

After they cleaned up and finished, she wanted to know if she had to test it like Daddy had "tested" the previous batch.

Thoughts on Halloween - from a Christian perspective

Darrin Brooker has some good points about the celebration of Halloween from a Christian perspective. He also refutes some of the common arguments Christians use to justify celebrating Halloween.

Running Well - » Thoughts on Halloween

Lately, I've been considering the idea of how our witness is affected by the way we celebrate (or don't celebrate) the day.  This article reminded me that God tells us in His word that we are to "abstain from every from of evil" or the "appearance of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  What's evil about little kids dressing up in costumes begging for candy?  Nothing in particular.  However, the day itself is the day of celebration for those in direct opposition to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

"Our battle is not against little children in costumes trick or treating, but against demonic forces that disguise themselves as light and innocence."

Some of the articles quoted in Darrin's are ones I've read and they also brought up some points that sound valid.  However, I think Darrin backs up his case with scripture.  Sure, Halloween is just another day, but it is still a celebration of darkness and evil at its core. (or do I miss something in the fact that all of the decorations traditionally associated with Halloween are tombstones, ghosts, monsters, witches, etc.?)

I'd recommend reading through the article and considering the arguments Darrin offers prayerfully.  This is a tough issue for a lot of Christians and I'm sure quite a few of us have fond memories of going trick or treating when we were younger - lots of candy, cool costumes, etc.  We are not supposed to be "just like the neighbors" - we are called to be different and be a light to the world amidst the darkness.

Eliana - Reporter

No idea where she gets some of these ideas from.  I walk in to our room as mom is doing her hair.  Eliana reaches over an grabs a spare hairbrush.  She starts talking into it along the lines of "We're here with a big giant.  Here he is." and points the hairbrush at me.  This goes back and forth for a while as she pretends to be a reporter while her hair is being put up.  When that was done and I left, she turned to her mom and started to interview her.  Shortly before I left she ran out of the room, grabbed her jump-rope, and ran back in.  I then heard, "That's not a stethascope!"

It's interesting seeing the role-playing that she's doing.  She was a gymnast yesterday and was flipping all over the living room and eventually walked the balance beam (her jump-rope again).  Reporter and doctor combination today.  Who knows what it will be tonight?

Foster Care - Part II

As expected, Paris and Solomon left to go to a more permanent foster home. We had the normal issues that can be expected from two kids who have been moved around quite a bit, but they were great to have around. Eliana was a great "big sister" and helped constantly with both of them. When Solomon was crying, she would comfort him by telling him that everything was okay and there was nothing to cry about (sometimes a little too loudly, but she tried). When we explained that Paris was having trouble sleeping because she was a little scared of the different environment, Eliana was determined to explain to Paris that there was nothing to be scared of at night.

We are praying that they will have a great home to live in permanently very soon and that they will grow up safely. They're already on the right path. Paris is a very bright and friendly two year old. Solomon is a great baby and is extremely happy when he's not pre-occupied with typical baby matters. (nap, eat, cuddle, etc) We miss them, but are glad that we could play even a small part in their lives.

Foster Care

We have our first experience with foster care providing respite care for two beautiful kids - Paris and Solomon. They've been great to have in our house, even if only for a couple of days until they can be moved to a permanent foster home. Eliana has been a great "big sister" and has played well with Paris and hugged and kissed Solomon for the little baby he is. It's been different with new young ones in the house, but I'm glad that we've all been given an opportunity to be together for a short time. We've been learning a lot through this experience and I know that we'll all be somewhat sad to see them leave.