Sunday, August 29, 2010

Glenn Beck… Who Is He?

“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you're worthy of the trip.”  …Glenn Beck in The Christmas Sweater

Glenn Beck credits his wife for his success.  He says she not only changed his life, but saved his life. 

Beck is an interesting man to be sure.  In an interview with Jon Stossel, Jon tackled the question “Who is Glenn Beck?”.

After ticking off a list which includes his parents’ divorce, his mother’s alcoholism, and her eventual suicide, followed by Glenn’s own alcoholism, the birth of his eldest child who suffers with Cerebral Palsy, and his own divorce, Stossel lands on the woman behind Beck, his wife Tania Beck.

When Stossel asked Beck why he decided to become a Mormon, Beck replied:

“I apologize, but guys will understand this. My wife is, like, hot, and she wouldn’t have sex with me until we got married. And she wouldn’t marry me unless we had a religion.”

And Beck’s wife, Tania, confirmed it to Stossel: “He’s not joking.”

Now Beck, who was born a Catholic, says that Mormonism has grounded him, so he’s grateful to his wife for that plus it has been a very good place for his older daughter, Mary, to feel accepted.  Glenn has said many times how much he himself has learned how to cope from his children especially from his oldest daughter Mary, who has accomplished far more than the doctors had warned of after her birth.  (Not as much is known of his second daughter Hanna except that she a typical teenager, both healthy and happy.)

Then came 9/11 which plucked Beck from comedian and local Florida DJ (on WFLA) into the National spotlight because of his passion.  Within a week Beck was at Ground Zero painting a clear and detailed picture of what he was seeing, as well as feeling.  He would later say that it is the only broadcast he had regrets doing because of the personal impact, but we now know it was divinely inspired because it has led him to be one of the main conservative voices in America today.  This event plus endeavoring to prove his daughter wrong about what she felt and was learning in school about American history  has made him one of our true experts on true American History. 

Glenn has  become the new Oprah of book publishing; quite an accomplishment for a guy with barely one semester of college, as well as the guy that the Progressive Left loves to hate, right up there with Limbaugh, Hannity, and Levin.

The three top Talk Radio programs on today are, of course, Number 1 Rush Limbaugh, 2 Sean Hannity, and number 3 Glenn Beck and even with his bad time slots he is running circles around most of the Cable News Shows, including beating numbers for #1, the O’Reilly Factor, a few times.

9/11, his religion and his wife and family make up the triangle of inspiration for his Glenn Beck’s life.  He has become a great Dad to Mary and Hanna, daughters from his first marriage for whom he shares custody, and Raphe and Cheyenne.  But he will tell you that his wife is his strength, inspiration and counsel; without whom he makes no major decisions, business or personal.

Glenn and Tania had been married 5 years and remained childless although Glenn had the two girls from his first wife with whom he shares custody, but he wanted more children. He and Tania traveled to Texas and adopted a baby boy.  Almost two years later Cheyenne Grace was born, and they would love to have more should they be blessed again.

Beck recently installed Web-Cams in his home so that he can have more time with his wife and children.  The children can see and hear their father while he is at work and he can pray and consult with his wife throughout the day.

Glenn has worked very hard on his Christian Walk.  He said recently that he doesn’t swear, doesn’t look at women other than his wife, doesn’t lie, does not make or tolerate sexual comments or innuendos or racial slurs, tries to be an honorable man in all his dealings and decisions, sleeps little and seeks knowledge; hoping that God will favor him with guidance.

Glenn prays with his wife on their knees regularly and prays with his staff at meetings and over major decisions.

His mantra is “Question with boldness!” then do your research and share what you know and learned.

Wife Tania keeps him honest he says;  “She won’t lie or cover for me, even just to say I’m not home to skip taking a phone call, even after a long day”.  “I’m so blessed to be able to have a wife who will tell me ‘you’re coming home now,’ and I want that from her.  She keeps be grounded and gives me honest counsel, even when I don’t want to hear it!”, Glenn added.  I envision that Glenn and Tania have very much the same relationship and John and Abigail Adams.

Glenn is now a nice and honorable man and is the first one to admit that he was no always that way.  His past is an open book and he describes himself as a dirt bag during his drinking years.  He has conquered alcoholism, found God, changed his outlook and has become a dedicated father and devoted husband who is motivated by what he would say is his divine insight into what is to come that he couples with his self-taught knowledge of history and the Bible in the capacity of a messenger.

Glenn feels this weekend’s 8.28 Restore Honor Event was divinely inspired and those that know him best feel that he has only just begun.  His entire staff was involved in putting on the event along with many others, but as usual his wife was his silent partner, who actually wrote the check to cover the cost of the Kennedy Center for Friday Night’s pre-event, Divine Destiny, at the Kennedy Center.

Glenn Beck with Raphe and Cheyenne

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