Darren LeBlanc

Liv and I spent a few hours this afternoon wandering the acres of land at Conover’s Tree Farm in Netpune. We did finally decide on one…and here she is :)

PS…no, we didn’t bring it home. We wait till Dec, then go back and chop it down.

If you have ever worked with me you know that I am a big fan of professionalism in a  product or an event. In college I was in charge of running all the big concerts (like Switchfoot, etc) and I was kinda obsessed with having everything planned out and looking professional. I would invest so much energy into creating a professional image. I remember spending over an hour on signs that were only for the band to know where the bathrooms were..I mean, seriously!!

I’m kinda in my element though this week. I have the privilege of spending the week at Harvard Business School for an executive leadership course.  When I arrive on campus, the guard knew who I was and gave me clear directions. A short drive through the campus and I’m met by a group of porters who take my luggage and escort me to registration…then to my room. In my room I find a personalized messenger bad with the Harvard Business School  Executive Education logo and all of my course materials neatly inside. Then to the classroom where all the seats have name tags and logo printed usb thumb drives. This was just the beginning, but needless to say I’m feeling comfortable here :)

Anyway, I’m away for the week…surrounded by 96 other leaders from 36 countries around the world. So for 6 days we are in sessions or meals together from 7:30am till late in the evening when I collapse in my room and try to prepare for the next day by reading all the case studies and such.  So if I ignore your email this week, I’m sorry :) Be back soon.

If you have been hanging around here for the last couple years, you will inevitably know my dear friend Courtney and her lovely family. Courtney and her husband Brian are heroes of our day literally dedicating their lives to serving God and serving kids. 

If you can, please read her oct 8th post at the link below. They are in need of help.

http://www.storinguptreasures.com/

I finally got around to posting some pictures from the last few weeks. I wanted to give you some images that I took on Sept 23rd as we remember the passing of Misty last year. In the midst of a very difficult day for many, we had what was truly a beautiful time that I think Olivia will appreciate forever.

She and I visited Mommy in the cemetery. Olivia picked out pink roses…pink is her favorite. Whenever we visit, she always leans over and touches the stone engraved image of Mommy’s face. This is usually where my eyes well up as she tells Misty how she misses her and that she loves her. This particular visit, I also found myself listening to a story of how she wants to go camping in the snow with Mommy.

We also spent some time on the beach with a few members of the family. We released butterflies as a memory of Misty. Olivia then chased the butterflies for 20 minutes from the edge of the waves up to the dunes. It was a rainy day, so we didn’t have much competition for the beach…which was nice.  

Probably the best part of the day for my little lady was being able to write on a balloon and send it up to heaven. She knew this was coming and had been talking about it for days. Olivia had some nice things to say, which I helped her write, then she let the helium filled message carrier fly out over the ocean and up to heaven. I was kinda amazed seeing a 2 year old standing there watching them fly away…in an almost somber respect.

She doesn’t grieve the same way that you or I do, but she gets it. And the simple fact that she does get it hasn’t always been easy for me. Shortly after Misty died, I found it difficult to accept the pain Olivia would walk through for the rest of her life…just wondering what her Mommy was like and wishing she could be with her. That still hurts me. The words on this computer screen are getting blurry as my eyes fill with tears for that. I can’t say it will ever be easy. But one thing that I do believe that God has spoken to me very clearly about is that just as I can sit here today and tell you I am a different person because of Misty, well…I believe Olivia will be able to say that as well. Just as you have been impacted by Misty’s faith, so will Olivia. And while it’s painful for her to walk through life with this, I have an unshakable confidence that she will be a stronger person than you or I can imagine.  Suffering changes people. It’s generally up to us whether or not it will be for the better or for the worse. For me, I am better. For Olivia…it will be the same.

Thanks for the emails I have gotten from a few of you checking in to see how my trip last week went. Yes, I’m home safely from the White Mountains. I had an incredible time and I feel like there is infinitely more clarity in my life now. God solidified vision in my life for the new year. I can’t tell you how important I think it is, if you are a leader, to get away on a personal retreat. If we don’t have a vision for our own lives, no one wants to follow us.

One thing that God really dealt with me on is focus. I have pretty clear priorities established for my own life and I am trying hard to make everything else for into that.

1) knowing God – I am truly trying to do a better job at chosing to read the Bible daily instead of investing so much time in blogging/facebook/etc.
2) loving my family – for me, this is Olivia. I am taking active steps to give her better time. We spend time together, but all to often, its when I’m exhausted. I need to eliminate some late nights to give her better time when she is awake.

Life is a matter of balancing priorities. If my marraige were on the rocks, you I’d do absolutely anything possible to fix it. Anything that doesn’t impose on priority number one (and if God is #1, then anything includes basically everything but wrong or sinful things).  If my kids don’t know I care about them…I’d drop the Bible study I lead, eliminate the side business I do to have money for big vacations and I’d ignore calls from my old college buddies. These are of course notional…just trying to make a point. Sometimes I need a reminder that focus on priorities. Make a list…then stick to it. I probably sound preachy…which is so not me. I’m just kind passionate about this today.

He taught me so much more, but I’m focusing on my priorities and getting to bed so I have energy to spend some time with liv tomorrow :)

I’m officially out of touch for a few days. The last few weeks have been a scurry of overwhelming issues in work and at home. I found myself lacking the normal clarity with which I see life and the vision that usually drives me. It’s about the right timing though…

I committed last October to spend a week each year to myself. A week of personal retreat that I can pray/think/read and cast vision for the upcoming year. Last year I did this at Acadia National Park. This year, I’m climbing Mt. Lafayette in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. A few days there should be really good for me.

I personally believe that those of us who call ourselves leaders need to take personal time seriously. If we lead people, we can’t afford not to have a time to refresh and make sure our vision is secure.

I have 3 A.W Tozer books already in my CD player and ready for the long drive to NH. It’s about 8pm now and I’m heading out. Not sure where I’ll sleep tonight, but 8am starts my hike tomorrow morning. If you think of me today please pray with me that God gives me clarity and vision for the future of my family, my work and Anthem of Hope. There are a lot of big things coming this year and I need to be on the right track.

Ok, cell phone off. Love to you all.

I got a gift from Misty this week. I found a gift card to Milagro Spa at the Atlantic Club. It was from Misty from 2004! We used to get each other messages from there as a gift. Well, this time I must not have used it. It was nice.

I got a gift tonight as well…but this time not from Misty. A group of my friends showed up and we cooked dinner together. It was nice. I did promise them to post our reciple though…so here it is! We also added garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus

Chicken Marsala

1/4 cup all-purpose flour for coating
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded 1/4 inch thick
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/4 cup cooking sherry
 
DIRECTIONS
In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear

My daughter Olivia has a way of making me laugh regardless of what’s going on. Well, tonight we were at a family party for my sister shannon (Happy 16th Shannon!) and Olivia got a blister on the back of her heel. Yes, as you are probably thinking, this was clearly my fault for letting her wear shoes that were too small…ok, get over it, she’ll be fine.

Well on the way home the complaining settles down for about 5 minutes and she remains quiet. I figured she was going to sleep (she falls asleep in the car like 3 days a week as we are often out and about pretty late)…but I was quite wrong. All of a sudden, she yells to me:

“Daddy!”
“What baby, whats the matter?”
“Daddy, if you throw me in the ocean, I’ll ride on a turtle and my blister will be healed. But, only if I can find a turtle.”

Anyway, she was back there dreaming up this hilarious scenario of how to make her blister better. She cracks me up. I’m sure many of you have similar toddler stories :)

If you have seen my twitter updates on the right hand column of this page, or in your twitter feed…you know I’m off traveling for work. Every once in a while, this traveling turns out to let me connect with people I might not otherwise be able to.

Well, tonight I had dinner with one of my heros and her family. Michele Roberts was a huge encouragement to me and Misty as we walked through the rough times of last year. Michele was always sending encouragement, stories of healing and of course some scripture. She became a huge catalyst in building our own faith. Anyway, since I’m in the Dallas TX area I got to take her family out to dinner. This was a huge honor for me and turned out to be a wonderful time.  We grabbed dinner at Mexi-Go, headed off to wednesday evening service at their church…and finished with ice cream!

 
Michele with her boys: Bradley, Braylon and Brenton

You may have seen the website she has for her son Brenton if you have been hanging around here much…but in case you haven’t, it’s below.  He has had cancer and they are believing for a healing….and his scans have been perfect. So I’m pretty excited. Anyway, take some time to visit the website and pray for her and her family.  The mean a lot to me. I’m praying for continued strength for her. She is a pillar of faith and encouragement to so many.

You can visit:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brentonroberts

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I am a pack rat by nature. I recently found a track uniform from my freshman year in High School…been through 4 moves and somehow is still with me. I have no use for it…it doesn’t fit, yet I still find myself naturally unwilling to part with much of anything.

Well, my wife cured me of much of that sickness early in our marraige. I simply wasn’t allowed to keep plaid pants that I wore in the days when Ska was cool. Or shirts that had excessive pit stains (I had some serious contenders in that arena), even though I had once loved them, they had to go. So I’m ok with it now. I do ok with parting with my stuff.

Today my family crashed my house to clean my basement in preparation for construction starting next week. We are building a studio down there so I can do the bulk of the recording for the Anthem of Hope worship album (our second major product release, scheduled for late next year). I was so appreciative of the help…and despite my natural tendencies towards pack-rat-dom, I did a good job of purging the unneccesary items from my life. Unfortunately, that purge is probably going to cost me a pretty penny in dumpster fees :)

On a serious note though, I found a few books in the shuffle. One of which was a devotional book of Misty’s. I found some scripture highlighted and I wanted to share it. This was one that she had blocked out in yellow with a highlighter.

Peter 3:3-4a
³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within…

 The cool part is that she lived that, everyday.