Rick Beeman

Many people were very disappointed today.    The Gulf Coast Countries (the countries the border the Persian gulf, or the Arab nations) decided to cancel all the new year’s festivities out of respect for the conflict in Gaza where so many people have lost their lives.    So that means no alcohol and no clubs.    This is a BIG deal here in Bahrain where drinking and clubbing is so engrained in their culture.    The proclamation came down from the King through the news and the internet kind of like in the same fashion of an emergency broadcast signal.    Many people were quite upset about the turn of events.   I went to a house party at Armand’s and Oz’s house.    It was great fun.    They had the place really decorated well and the music was blaring.    There probably was 60-70 people there.    So it was a great chance to meet even more people.    The house parties are a little quieter than clubs so its easier to communicate with people.    My hearing sucks as it is, I’m not a good dance...

It’s a little bit funny…this feeling inside…wait that’s an Elton John song.    What I meant to say that ever since I embraced my solitude….I haven’t had any…and that is fine by me.    I spent the weekend alone just with God.    Prior to that really ever since my divorce…I hated being alone.    It made me feel like a failure.    Out here was nothing different…I’d have anxiety about being alone and not be able to enjoy myself.    I know my embracing solitude spiel spoke to many of you based on the amount of responses I got back.    By the way…I love the responses thank you so much.    It makes me feel like we are all apart of this together.    Which we are…as we are one body in Christ.   So as soon as I made it past this weekend…I’ve had nothing but social engagements.    Did I really learn what God wanted me to learn in 36 hours?    I’ve heard it said before that God won’t answer a prayer until you’ve become what He desires you to be.    Then once that happens…God can move lightning fas...

Yet another day off in Bahrain.    I think we have three more to go.    Its getting frustrating, I’m anxious to get to work…but I need the whole country to be up and running to be fully effective.    I am very anxious to get things moving at the office.    I have so many promising leads.    Its weird being the “general” in manager.    I have to be the jack of all trades.    I get so much fulfillment from the creative side as the artist in me comes out.    But I’m very good at leadership and motivation.    So that is a key ingredient too.    If I can only get the cash flow/projections/revenue stream down…then I would be absolutely “general”.   I saw a trailer for Madagascar II last week.    I really wanted to see it.    But I can’t go to an animated movie by myself.    So I invited Tanya’s kids to go see it with me.    Tanya wanted to see it too.    So we all went to the movies.    Afterwards we met up with her husband Raimond and went out to eat dinner.    I really feel like Im a part ...

OK…I guess the early warning detection system I mentioned yesterday worked.    God is soooo cool that way.    Since my divorce I’ve really been able to hear from God so much clearly than ever before.    God has always been speaking to me, I just never really took the time or knew how to tune in.    Pain will do that to you.    So in the past three years, I can think of 6 to 7 different occasions where God has warned me to pray and fast ahead of time because a trial is heading my way.    Each time something hit, it hasn’t been debilitating even though the news was often devastating.   So I felt very strongly impressed this weekend that I would be put under a lot of temptation this week because the next two weeks were going to be quite a challenge.    So I prepared accordingly.    In fact, that is one of the reasons why God called me to be alone most of the weekend so I could be in complete harmony in Him.    So I go into work today and one of the first things that hit…could have been a ...

Well I was really embracing my solicitude today.    I don’t want to be a hermit, but want to be completely content with the life that God has given me.    I was very pleasantly surprised at all the supportive emails that I got from readers of this blog.    Your words and well wishes mean a ton. If you want to leave your emails as comments, I really don’t mind…that way they can edify more people.    But I also understand if you want to stay anonymous.      I really feel like I’ve been under spiritual attack…not just emotionally…but physically as well.    I have this strange sickness that comes on in the first part of the day…Just totally wipes me out.    Then I fervently pray…and it goes away.    But it keeps coming back each morning.    A lot of common everyday sickness can be construed as spiritual attacks.    So next time you feel a cold or the flu coming on try this.    Speak aloud…”Spirit of sickness you have no authority over me…you have been defeated at Calvary.    In Jesus name ...

Since my divorce, I’ve hated being alone, especially on a Friday or Saturday night.    The holiday season has been really challenging for me…with no family.    Yesterday was nice with the Shaheen family.    Tonight was going to be tough…or so I thought.    I was meditating today and trying to figure out what God was trying to teach me while im here.    I heard a great sermon from a podcast from Charles Stanley this week.    It was all about contentment.    Stanley advocated…telling God…God I don’t like this situation, but Im in it…and I need your to help teach me why Im going through this.    So I did that.    The answer was very clear.    I need to be completely dependent upon God emotionally and not need to go out and socialize or have things to do.    So tonight was a bit of a test for me.   After church I went to breakfast with Reji, the Indian IT guy at my office.    He’s all jazzed up about starting a church too.    Its just confirmation of what God had earlier told me.    We wen...

What a great day this turned out to be.    I was dreading it a bit, since I missed my kids so much.    Christmas is all about family.    Im missing mine at the moment, but we’ve been over that.    I woke up early and sent my staff all texts with Merry Christmas in their various languages (Hindi, Tagalog, Arabic, etc…)    Then worked out for an hour and immediately afterwards played squash with Baraq for another 90 min.    By the time I was finished I was absolutely knackered but what a great workout it was.     I went over to Tanya’s house a little later for Christmas dinner.    I was a bit uncomfortable at first because I didn’t want them to invite me just because they are being polite or feeling sorry for me.    They know all about my situation and how much I miss the family I used to have.    They invited me as one of their own.    I truly felt welcome.    I scrambled to buy all the sibling’s family and Khalifa gifts, I couldn’t go in empty handed.    So here I am carrying in all th...

It was an interesting day.    I need to learn to temper my highs and lows.    I heard a sermon by T.D. Jakes once.    He was exhorting to not let your highs get too high nor let your lows get too low.    When you get on a high, take some of that emotion deposit it into a bank account and then make a withdrawal when your lows come.    I think its all about even keel.     I haven’t learned the art of that dance yet.    I still go through a bit of extrmes.    I swear Im not bi-polar, I don’t think.    I was thinking about Christmas trying to make it just another day.    I have no decorations up in my house.    And other than sending gifts to my kids, really haven’t done that much.   So I get in my car to go to lunch.    Not really feeling sad, until I turn on the radio.    John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas” song was playing.    I just started crying for some reason.    I had to pull off to the side of the road.    Now here is the weird part.    I wasn’t really sure why I was crying.    Im no...

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the villa Not a creature was stirring except my bro Abdullah The sandals were hung by the space heater with care In hopes that Kareem Claus would soon be there The children were nestled all snug in their beds While visions of Falafells danced in their heads I in my thobe and Mamma in her abaya Had just fallen asleep by the imaginary fire When out in the yard there arose a great matter I sprang from the bed to see if a Filipino was causing the clatter Away to the window I flew like a flash Tore open the mini blinds threw up the sash I fell forward and chipped my tooth and the enamels But then I saw a sleigh and 8 tiny camels With a tiny little driver smelling so good and clean I knew in a moment it must be St. Kareem Now Ahmad, Now Hassan, Now Ibrahim, Now Amir, On Jamal, On Khalil, On Omar, On Yassir To the top of villa, to the top of restraining wall Now dash away, dash away, dash away all And then in twinkiling I heard on the roof The p...

It’s strange.    For as bad as my life has been over the past four years…its that good now.     Im on a high…that seems to just go on and on.    Though I do hit a lull every once in a while when I miss my kids.      It just reiterates the faithfulness of God in my life.    I was so racked with emotional pain, I didn’t think I’d ever be happy again.    But here I am…just getting off a great day both at work and from a dinner party.    Lets go chronologically.   There is a bit of a cash flow concern at work.    Arabs generally don’t pay on time, so we have this huge back log of cash still owed to us.    Nader is a very smart and astute businessman.    He sees the financial forecasts for 2009 and is already preparing for the storm.    We are hoping the financial crunch won’t hit the entertainment and advertising industry.    Historically, movies have always fared well in economic downturns.    People need to escape.    Some moreso now than ever.   With the crunch in mind.    I visited a r...

Christmas Party It dawned on me this past weekend how many Christmas parties that I had been invited to, yet I didn’t plan one for my office.    So in our staff meeting yesterday, I announced that we’d be having a party at my apartment.    The Filipino girls cheered.    I’m finding Filipinos love any excuse for a part.    So with only a day’s preparation, the girls excitedly prepared the shindig.   Im feeling a little under the weather, so the girls planned everything.    It was nice seeing everyone socially out of the office.    Having them in my home really meant something special both for them and me.    We all had a great time.    They girls brought so much food.    We ate and ate and ate.    I really like the people I work with.    It is becoming my second family.    After we feasted, we did a gift exchange.    I had everyone show up with a $6-10 gift.    No one had ever done a gift exchange before.    The idea of stealing someone else’s gift was a riot.    Poor Jerilyn, got the g...

Interesting day today.    I say that a lot don’t I?    Well most of the days are interesting.    I wore a tie into work today because I had a meeting.    Most of the time, I dress smart casual, which is slacks, nice pair of shoes, and a dress shirt.    So I’m in my office early and Simi, our wonderful Indian office manager came into my office and jumped because the tie startled her.    She wasn’t used to seeing me like that.    It was pretty funny.   So I had been working on a project with a difficult client.    He was a “I have to have it by yesterday” type.    So I finished a project for him in three days and it was a lot of work to do it.    Then I didn’t hear from him for three weeks.    We spoke last week, and he said he was moving on to a different company.    So his boss’ boss, the GM calls me and wants to set up a meeting as quickly as possible.    So we go over there and one of the first thing he asks…why isn’t our project completed and why did you miss the deadlines?    Wha??...

OK…I think Im getting popular around here. That sure helps in the loneliness department. Beautiful Romanian #2 wanted to go to the mall with three of her other flight attendant trainees. So here I was, driving four stunning Eastern Bloc girls (2 Romanians, Czech, Russian) to the mall. Tough life for a missionary eh… Am I missionary? The more Im here the more convinced that I am. I freely talk about my faith all the time. For those of you who freak out about sharing their faith or are intimidated by witnessing, let me give you one little hint. You generally talk about whatever you are most passionate about. That could be body building, sports, entertainment, shopping etc. So if you want to make witnessing to others easier…just become much more passionate about your walk…that way sharing your faith will come much more natural to you. Witnessing should be easy and effortless. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Now for me its second nature. I spent most of the day w...

Another interesting day in Paradise.    Is this place paradise?    It seems like it.    My sister did her honeymoon in The Maldives, which is supposed to be exquisitely beautiful.    People travel from all over the world to experience their white sand beaches and crystal blue waters.    This is what the waters of the Persian Gulf look like on this island.    The only difference is that this beauty is undeveloped.    There are no public beaches here.    I guess when you live on a small island, the idea of going to the beach is a little passé.    Its like how many San Franciscans do you know go down Lombard street.    I still have yet to go the Winchester Mystery House…because its right there.    Everything is a beach here.    I think if Bahrain re-marketed itself as a tourist destination, this could easily become a global popular hotspot.    Who knows, maybe if I can help the Ministry of Economic Development establish a film industry here, I could be a part of creating more of a tourist...

Im very proud of my crew today. We’ve had five weddings in four days and two of those days were national holidays and a weekend day . They are working so many overtime hours, yet they all seem to have a great attitude. A typical Arabic wedding is a ladies only affair. The only man is usually the groom. There really isn’t a formal starting time. The ladies most of the time start milling in around 8-9. And the wedding usually gets started around 10:30. The meal is around 1. I say around because there really isn’t a set time. After the ceremony, the ladies dance and party away to the wee hours of the morning til 4 or 5 or even 7. I think the traditional Arabic ladies spend so much time behind the veil, these wedding are their opportunity to let their hair down so to speak. Their gowns they wear to these events are certainly extravagant. Its just a really cool thing to be a part of. Im in the back with the video switcher just observing and hiding because I’m man. For events l...

We had another day off today because of National Day, they call it Day (Singular) but it’s a two day holiday.    Its just funny and cool watching people hand out their windows while they are driving around honking, waving flags and screaming.    Not too safe, but funny nonetheless.    Lots of spirit here.   You might remember god placing on my heart to start a Bible Study.    I was trying to put a whole bunch of pressure on myself, How, where am I going to find people, do I need to solicit.    But God told me, not to worry about it and leave all the details up to him.    Actually everything about my anxieties Im supposed to leave to him.    I planned my way here…God is directing my steps, every single one of them.    I don’t really have to sweat a thing.    That includes the emotional/lonely part too…more on that in a bit.    I was speaking with the pastor of my church today, and expressing my interest in starting a home group/Bible Study.    He said they already have one half formed i...

What a very cool day it was.    It’s a national holiday here for the next two days.    Its National Day of Bahrain, which is essentially their version of the Fourth of July.    It celebrates when the Khalifa family came to the monarchy.    Everything is decorated in red and white national colors.    It looks a bit like Christmas decorations.    It certainly is festive.    There are a lot of car horns honking.    Young kids hanging out the windows of cars waving their Bahraini flags, cheering and hollering.    Its all quite exciting and festive.    I just love living here.    I was mentioning to someone earlier today, that it feels like Im on a well paid vacation.    Im living in an exotic land, meeting interesting people from all over the world, Im making an impact in people’s lives, and I love what I do.    Things are pretty darn special for me right now.    Yes, I do have my down days when I miss my kids or bemoan the pain and struggle of my divorce.    I air those emotions quite fre...

What an amazing day it is has been. First of all..I feel like Im partially living in a dream, and partially living in a really poorly written soap opera. I must say the outpouring of support I’ve gotten has been really encouraging. I must be doing something worthwhile out here…because it seems like the spiritual attacks are absolutely non-stop. It’s a strange sensation. When I have a cloud of heaviness that surrounds me…and I try to “Osteen” it away. (that means think good happy thoughts) Sometimes the cloud doesn’t lift immediately. Then inexplicably, the cloud lifts and the son shines through again. Its at that moment, I feel the prayers of others physically impacting my life. It’s a great great feeling. So thank you for your continued prayers for me and my children. I went to our church’s Christmas party last night. It was really nice, meeting grown ups…lol. Most of the people I’ve met have revolved around the club scene. So this was a pleasant diversion. I like being a...

I didn’t get much sleep last night.    The drama is ramping up again.    You’d think halfway around the world I’d be away from it.   It wasn’t five minutes after I posted the blog that I get a call from my ex-wife.    It was strange.    I hadn’t heard her voice in nearly a year (she refuses to take my calls).    In a strange sick and twisted way it was actually nice to hear her voice again.    It was soothingly reminiscent of an earlier happier time.       Does that make me mental?    I do care about her still, very much so and I will probably for the rest of my life.    I never say anything bad about her in the presence of the kids.    She is their mother and she should be respected as much.    She also is an amazingly talented and intelligent woman.    We have three wonderful kids and if there was that much discord during our marriage certainly it would have showed up in the children.    I think she and I could have probably worked through things with proper communication.    Can’t a...