Darren LeBlanc

I’m sitting here eating hot wings in Sierra Vista AZ with some entertaining people from work (who are peaking over my shoulder), then sleeping for 3 hours, then driving 3 hours, then flying for 3 hours, then sitting in an airport for an hour, then flying some more, then getting a limo from the airport to my in-laws place, then going trick or treating with my little tinkerbell. It will be a good day. 

This week was good. I had to come down to here to get a few things in order and it was a successful trip. I’m still on my audiobook kick. This week it is Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster. Pretty solid book by a Quaker. Discusses some fundamental habits that people who profess to be Christians should probably adopt. Being Quaker, he brings a new perspective to many things. I’m enjoying it.

One thing he talks about is the discipline of solitude. I don’t want to get too far into it other than to highlight a suggestion he gives. To retreat 4 times a year for a few hours for the purpose of assessing your goals. He goes on to say that we often overestimate our 1 year goal, but underestimate our 10 year goals. I’ll be thinking about that in my 3hr “solitude” while driving to phoenix tonight.

Today’s video postcard: Here

PS…too tired to write anything else.

I remembered this verse today. I find it quite interesting. 

matt 5:4 -  Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.

It’s like saying that we are blessed when we lose someone. Or we are lucky to have to go through something that wrenches our heart. We are blessed because it is then that we can finally admit we need the peace and comfort that only God can give. Any other takes on this verse? I didn’t spend a lot of time on it.

Olivia,
Your nightly video postcard is – HERE. I’m so excited that you got to go to the Delaware Water Gap today. I’m glad you had a good day. – daddy

Dear Liv,

I miss you honey…I hate being away for work. I made you a video today from here in the desert (yes, I’m in the desert). Hope you like it. You can watch it HERE.

Be good for Memma while I’m gone. Love you tons!!
–Daddy

Credits:
Video by a cheezy canon s2000 point and shoot camera
Editing by cheezier windows movie maker (my work computer doesn’t have any good software)
Scenery courtesy of God

I just walked in the door and it’s 4:15am, though the clock in my hotel reads 3 hours off.

The 200 mile trek from phoenix into the heart of the desert was mildly amusing. I needed to stop and get a coke (read: caffeine) so I stopped at the best looking gas station I could find.I walk up to the door and it is locked. My eye is drawn to this strange metal drawer protruding from the wall – like a bank tellers window. I decided to get a little closer. Out of the back this zealous fellow pokes his head politely inquiring as to my needs:

“A coke please”
“20 oz?”
“Sure”
“Be right back”

He brought my coke and passed me a debit card swipe machine through the hole. I swiped…no luck. Again, no luck. So he gave me a plastic bag and told me to wrap the card in it. It worked but apparently I had to pay a surcharge to use a debit card…whatever. I’m there thinking to myself how much I wish I were in NJ when this 1980s cadillac pulls up with a motley group of 30-40yr old guys.
“Is it open or do you have to use the window?”
“You have to use the window” I replied
“What the !$#*@! This state sucks….and you, you suck too!”

I laughed out loud. I couldn’t make stuff like this up if I tried.

Anyway, forgive any spelling errors as I’m on my blackberry. I left my laptop charger at my house (read: idiot).

I have been getting all these little cards from St Jude saying who has donated money in Misty’s name. It was so encouraging. I did however wonder why all the cards were comign from different retrun addresses. So, I’m thinking to myself that maybe there are different locations that process the donations or something like that. Well, someone finally pointed out to me that the return address is the donor’s, not the organization’s.

Yes, I’m so dumb. The moral of this story is that many of you will not recieve thank you cards, but please know you are so apprecaited. Also, to everyone who has done so much even (especially) before Misty’s death, I am so thankful. I will never get thank you cards out, but know that I’m so incredibly, deeply, sincerely, appreciative.

Lastly, if you donated to Hope Resource Group, please note that your check was received, but won’t be cashed for a couple weeks.  The delay is due to the non-profit status we are applying for. No issues, just the process…and it takes a little time. Thanks for being patient.

It was 13 years ago today (around 8pm) that I asked Misty to “go out with me”. We were kids, 14 and 15 years old. We had just gone to the homecoming dance a couple nights before and I was ready to make this thing official! For those of you who remember the story of how we met – this is 2 months later, after we had been talking on the phone regularly. 

People often ask me how to know if he or she is “the one”. I obviously have no good answer for this. Is there really an answer (note the rhetorical nature of this sentence)? “You just know” or “God will show you” never really does it for me. Anyway, while I never have an answer, I do always tell them about my Misty though. When we met it was different.  I liked myself and who I was when I was with her. We were real. And perhaps most important to me, we made each other better. We challenged each other in many areas and helped each other grow. She taught me discernment and gave me an appreciation for the simple things. It was just obvious to me after a few months dating that we just made each other better. I haven’t really thought that through, so don’t go writing a book on how the way to know is if you make each other better….that is just my story. For what it’s worth. 

Anyway….13 years. We had a good run. I miss her.

PS….I finally got a new (read: working) scanner so I promise I will scan those scripture memory cards she did and have them available each week…soon!

I finally fixed up a few new banners to replace most of the ones that are out there now. There were 2 of the 6 that I didn’t touch. If you still have the banner on your site, they will automatically change. If you want to add a banner link back to this page, just go HERE to get the info.

In other news (yes I say that a lot…i just love it…hahaha),
Olivia continues to make me smile. Today, after dinner we were leaving Scott and Ann’s house (Violet and Lyla’s house to Liv) and Olivia kept saying:

“See-do way-der Awa-gay-der”

I can’t handle it :)

Later Gator,
Darren

My new lens came in today!! I have some big events coming up and had to replace it pretty quickly. It’s a sexy piece of gear…I’ll have to post a picture of it for you.  While we are on that topic…I get lots of emails about photography. Specifically, many people ask what equipment I use. So, here is the list:

Pentax k10D (Semi-Pro Digital SLR)
Pentax 16-50mm  f/2.8 (what I just got to replace the Sigma I dropped in Maine)
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
Sigma 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 (the super wide angle lens I posted pictures with a few weeks back)
Pentax FA50 50mm f/1.4
Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro (one of the sharpest lenses in production from any manufacturer)
Flashpoint Carbon Fiber tripod, with Giottos ball head
Pentax FG540 Flash (2x)
Alienbees Studio Lighting

I have been thinking that taking pictures is kinda universal. We all do it. So I am hoping to do a series of little posts on how to take better pictures without buying all the junk I just listed (the gear doesn’t really make your pictures any better anyway unless you are willing to learn). I think it will be fun.  Anyway, as you can see, I shoot Pentax. It is by far the best value for me. I’ll explain later, but if you are looking for a DSLR, take a peek at their stuff.

Ok, so…we all know I LOVE to have comments, especially from people that disagree with me. Like I said the other day, I’m pretty obsessed with being better in every area and I love to learn. When we challenge each other, we make each other better. For those of you who may be interested in a little more in depth Bible discussion, I’m going to dig a bit more into the text I posted yesterday. The following comment made me go back and double check myself…and I learned a good bit in the process. Here is the comment I got:

I think you are determining the verse in your mindset. This verse is all about risk, bro. Otherwise the guy would of done it? If God gives you more and you use it you are risking it. On one hand you can use what He gave you and use it with carnal heart and hands and destroy it, therefore losing a lot. But it is in the trusting of God in what he has entrusted and living by faith in some risk, because you do have something to loose. It is the whole balance of faith. If you have nothing to risk, what is the point. If risk is not present then there is no tension or struggle to do something. The message does have to be read by someone who has read the bible and will compare back to the bible, I agree. But verse 28 is true and holds truth in most practical and biblical thought patterns.

So, I went back and read the text in a couple different translations (I’m not cool enough to be able to read the original language…that would be Greek to me!). Here is what I’m observing. The NIV says:

 14“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

The act we see here is the servant putting the money to work. This does not imply risk to me…just work. Then after the servant tells the master he buried the money, we see:

26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!

The Master addresses him as wicked and lazy. If this parable were about risk, I suspect that the master would have called him cautious or cowardly. John MacCarthur supports this by calling the man “slothful”, implying this is an issue of laziness.

Perhaps the ringer for me though is Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

Burying money (v. 18) kept the capital safe, but the money would have been no less safe with bankers (m. Baba Mesi`a3:11; Gundry 1982:509). (full text)

If putting the money with the bankers (as instructed by the master) was no less safe than burying it, then there is no more risk involved with investing over burying it. This is not captured in the Message which has lines like: “It’s criminal to live cautiously like that!” or “Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most.” and my personal favorite, “And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb.”

The first time I heard these eloquent exhortations, I was ready to preach a sermon on risk. Then I did my homework and was disappointed. Oh well.

I’m addicted to audio books. If you have never tried it, I must say I highly recommend it. For years I consumed every leadership book I could get my hands on. I just have it running in the car…its pretty painless. Lately, I’m more into books on God rather than making myself better (though becoming a better leader certainly is a noble endeavor). This week I’ve been listening to the Message, which is one man’s take on paraphrasing the stories of the Bible. The Message is in no way the Bible and if I were to bare my soul…you would know that it’s kinda annoying to me how people use it like it is in fact the word of God. I always find myself listening to something and then going back and reading it in the real bible to compare notes (Real = NIV, NKJV, NASB, etc). Today, I had an interesting comparison that I wanted to share. This is what the Message says for Matthew 25:14-28

 14-18“It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

 19-21“After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

 22-23“The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

 24-25“The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’

 26-27“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

 28-30“‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’

 I was with him up to verse 28. In the NIV translation, verse 28 says: “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” (a talent being a sum of money that was great than $1000). There is no mention of risk at all. In fact, I think our Mr. Petersen missed the mark on this one. I’d say it’s clearly about stewardship, not risk. Risk may be a component, but it is very misleading to identify it as the singular value exhibited in the story.  Don’t get me wrong, the Message is a great tool to have in the toolbox for exploring the mysteries of God. It just should be used as a tool, not the authority.

In less argumentative news…
Day 2 at work was significantly less relaxing. I guess its good that it only took a day to get back into the swing of things (good for someone at least…not sure it was me…haha).  And tonight Olivia said her longest sentence yet. In reference to her Curious George doll not being able to come upstairs for a bath, Olivia said “He sit on the couch and wait for me” – 9 words. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly…after many failed attempts, my daughter officially had her first pee on the potty today. Way to go Liv! And I know I talked about this like months ago…but we stopped trying when things got harder with Misty. Tonight Olivia asked to go so we kindly let her :)