My Heroes... Glenn Beck

I can hear cheering and booing from those I know. No matter. He probably wouldn't be comfortable with the label, either, but he has influenced my life for the better, so I'm adding him to my list. I began listening to Glenn a year ago March. He was talking about "You have to stop lying, in all your dealings, especially to yourself." I really needed that reinforcement of what I was already working on. He also talked about history, rekindling an old love for history, especially American history. He's passionate, and so am I. It was a relief to hear someone go on a rant, besides me. I'm called rabid. I suspect he is, too. I call it passionate about the things I care about. I heard about Marcus Luttrell on Glenn's program, first. What an inspiration. I would not have found The Lone Survivor, otherwise. Listening to Glenn was about discovering I was not alone. Most unexpectedly, because of him, I unearthed a love and admiration for the military I never dreamed I possessed, except in the very secret places of my heart. The places no one could ridicule, because it was so well hidden. His gregariousness has given me the courage to interact more with others. His book The 7 came out precisely when I needed it. There was a week-long online program, with homework, following the book. I participated. It wasn't so much new to me as reinforcing important lessons I was in the process of learning. I think one of the things that cemented my admiration was watching one of his programs and then a short time later I saw a news program criticizing him. I try to be open minded, and then the reporter quoted what Glenn had said completely wrong. It wasn't even close to what had actually happened. It taught me to do my homework if I really cared to know, and to pick my battles. It was fun participating in the American Revival event with my nephew's wife and her sister. I've been inspired by the Restoring Honor and the Restoring Courage events. I've also discovered amazing people like David Barton and Pastor John Hagee and Rabbi Daniel Lapin and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and Pastor Khoury and so many other remarkable, inspiring people. So, yes, Glenn Beck is one of my heroes for expanding my world for good and inspiring me to reach farther and believe in myself. He's made me laugh and made me cry and made me think.

A little bit more: I was uncertain as to whether or not I ought to choose Glenn, because I knew it would be controversial. I talked it over with my sister. She has commented, more than once, on how much I've changed since I started listening to Glenn, more outgoing, more sure of myself, more passionate in the things I care about. I also have a tendency to leave out important information, like the fact that he reminds me a bit of my last counselor. I started listening to Glenn a few months before my counselor informed me he would be leaving. My counselor had definite ideas, and I felt obligated to consider his opinion because he was my counselor. I also sometimes felt like I was falling short somehow. It was my perception not something he said. With Glenn, I recognized that he was an entertainer and wasn't any smarter than I was. I could disagree and not feel like I was missing some point that I needed to grasp to improve. With Glenn, I felt freer to form my own opinions and ideas, and I didn't feel guilty if I decided I didn't agree. With Glenn, I had automatic boundaries. There was no pressure to please or conform, no matter how adamant he was. What could he do? Did he really care about what I chose? He gave me new ideas to think about and because I didn't owe him anything, I felt like I had permission to explore what I really felt, believed, and thought. God bless him and those who work with him.

NASCAR Nationwide series ~ Carl came in 4th. Sprint Cup series ~ Carl came in 9th. However, he is 3rd overall. Yay! Go Carl!! Unfortunately, ABC decided to preempt the race for football. I'm not impressed. They are contracted to show only 3 races this year, and they preempted 1/3 of their contract. I love football. I do, but NASCAR trumps. And why couldn't they do a split screen or a screen within a screen? *pfft*