Men are like govt. bonds. They take soooooooo long to mature.

He's some poor guy's son-in-law.

The last of the flooring is down, the ceiling has a second coat of paint, the shoe molding is installed and painted and therefore I consider the project FINISHED! Well, sort of. When the weather has cooled and the chance of monsoon rains passed I'll install a skylight. I also need to build a cornice to go with the new window coverings we'll get (cellular shades and faux drapes on either side). But we're now focusing on getting some new used furniture from Craig's List.

You'll notice the blue painter's tape still there. The paint hadn't quite dried on the shoe molding when I took this.
BTW, I am NOT a fan of that extruded foam molding, but at least in shoe molding it's all Home Depot carries. It doesn't cut as much as it melts, and it doesn't nail well at all.

How do you feel about politics? Some of my friends avoid anything remotely political. They are antagonistic to that arena and would sooner have their fingernails pulled out with pliers than watch the Sunday morning political shows. Others are just disinterested. They don’t care about political machinations one way or another; it bores them. Many of my Christian friends feel passionately about politics. Think twice before you get them started on current events or the leaders of the opposition party. Their default station is talk radio and at or near the top of their heroes list is their favorite talk show host. Think Face Book links to his latest polemic.

One of those talk show hosts, Glenn Beck, hosted a rally in D.C. last weekend. He and the other organizers repeatedly emphasized it was NOT a political rally. It was a gathering of people committed to returning this country to God in the public arena. The spiritual focus of the rally needed repeated clarification precisely because Beck’s day job has everything to do with pressing a very conservative political agenda. It’s what people first think of when they hear Glenn Beck’s name - fervent Right Wing politics.

I should make it clear at this point that I’ve never listened to Glenn Beck. I barely know what he looks like and wouldn’t know his voice if he called to me from the next room. I enjoy politics the way I enjoy football; I find it interesting for the gamesmanship and back-and-forth dynamics. I define myself as a political conservative and care about what most would describe as Republican perspectives, but would almost fetch the pliers before I’d listen to one of the politically conservative talk shows. I don’t know where to find them on the radio dial and don’t want you to tell me. I value civility in the public square and the commitment to disagree agreeably, neither of which characterize most of political talk radio. If I wanted to listen to someone yelling at me constantly I’d have married Becky.

That said, if Christians choose to identify with and line up behind Limbaugh’s or Beck’s political pitch I have no particular objection, so long as they keep the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man separate and distinct. However, I’m very concerned Christian fans of Glenn Beck will cheer on his call to return our country to its spiritual heritage as expressed at last weekend’s rally.

Glenn Beck is a Mormon. That religion holds positions absolutely opposed to the clear teaching of Scripture on such basic matters as the Person of God, the nature of sin, the means of salvation and the authority of the Bible. To put it bluntly, Mormonism is heretical and opposed to the biblical gospel. It is not of God, it is of Satan. As Christians we must see Mormonism for what it is - a false religion that deceives people and closes their hearts to the gospel. (Not surprisingly, Beck’s rally included participation by Rabbis, Immams and Catholic priests.)

Glenn Beck decided to move from the political soapbox to the spiritual soapbox. I’m afraid too many Christians followed him across the square and cheered him on there, too. They are ill-informed regarding Mormonism, or Scripture or both. Methinks given Glenn Beck’s new focus Christians need to seriously re-think publicly aligning with his political views. He chose to link his fame in the realm of politics to a spiritual agenda, including "ecumenism," that opposes God’s work in the world. Can a believer run the risk of endorsing Beck the pundit without now implying an endorsement of Beck the Mormon, with the false doctrine that goes with that?

IMHO