The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment

Sound familiar? Then you too must listen to Glenn Beck. For those of you not familiar with him, he is a radio talk show host (conservative of course). Don’t get me wrong, Rush Limbaugh is the Godfather and Sean Hannity has his moments, but there is something about Glenn Beck’s quirkiness and genuineness that just reel me right in. I can be laughing and crying within minutes. He also has a show on CNN Headline News, but I prefer the radio show. I guess I’m just a talk radio geek. My mom got me listening to Rush and it just spiraled from there.

Last year Glenn Beck brought his Christmas stage show to Salt Lake. Since April is my partner in crime and also adores Glenn, we decided to have a girl’s night out and see his show. It was awesome! The stories that he tells are seriously beyond belief. Beck’s producer on his radio show had the opportunity to meet Beck’s family and tried to find out if in fact these were true stories or if there was some Beck fabrication involved. All of them were true… even his crazy step mother sawing off the arm of the couch to get a better view of the TV. And that is only one of many stories.

Anyway, it was so awesome last year that April and I decided we couldn’t pass it up this year, knowing that it was pretty much the same show. And yet again, it was fabulous! He is an animated storyteller so even though I knew the stories, he still had me laughing. He sums up the show with the true meaning of Christmas. He talks about how it’s more than the birth of a baby, but that Christmas is about the life that Jesus Christ served, His death and most importantly, His resurrection. In other words redemption is the true meaning of Christmas.

If that didn’t get me even more in the Christmas spirit, then I don’t know what could. After the show in Salt Lake, he shared the story of his conversion to the LDS church. Initially, when I first started listening to Glenn, I had no idea that he was Mormon, but after a couple of months and a few references to his religion, I put the pieces together. It was a beautiful story, not only about his conversion to the church, but also about friendship, his family and how God does in fact place certain people in our lives. I am a firm believer that certain people have been put in my life for a reason, almost like guardian angels and I am so grateful for each one of them.

Next year Glenn (we’re on a first name basis) will be doing a different kind of show called “The Christmas Sweater”. It sounds like quite a production. A sweater on Christmas day was the last gift that he received from his mom before she committed suicide and so there are a lot of feelings and deep meaning that go along with this sweater. I could go on and on about Glenn Beck. As Dustin puts it, he has College Football and I have Glenn Beck. We all have our quirks right? Thanks to April for sharing a fun evening. We laughed, we cried and we were entertained through it all. We are both counting down until next year!!!