Rick Beeman

Im writing this a little bit earlier than I normal do. I was invited to the closing night party at Aqua Fuego. My friend Sidd is moving his club to a new venue. So since we have our “Funniest Person” contest there, I thought I should attend. I told Sidd, its funny that we’re friends, because I hate clubs. For a number of reasons. The club (in general) is one of the places where my marriage was destroyed. So I don’t like that environment. Plus I don’t drink, smoke, and can’t dance a lick. So Im kind of like a Muslim in a pork butcher shop there…or a diabetic in a candy store. I just don’t fit in. But I want to be a support. I stayed up late…really late chatting with friends in the U.S. last night. I didn’t get to sleep til 5a. It’s the weekend, so I didn’t mind. But imagine my surprise when I woke up at 2pm. What.!!!!! That was kind of surreal for me. So I hopped out of bed answered a couple of emails, and made it to my kayak. It was really dusty ...

Lots of really interesting things happened today. I was so buzzed from last night that I didn’t get in nor get to sleep til really late. I always justify going into the office a couple hours late in the morning if I work late the night before. I give the same courtesy to my staff if they are working. So I went out to lunch with Sidd, the owner of Aqua Fuego to review the comedy night. He was very happy. We doubled the attendance from the previous week, and from the buzz, everyone enjoyed it more than the first week. So we are progressing. Everyone told me how much they liked it and how much they appreciate me doing something different in Bahrain. I got a wonderful sweet note from someone I’ll call Mrs. Finland. She is an incredibly sweet person. She is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. At first I wanted her in the competition but she declined. Later, a day before the first competition…I kind of begged. So she agreed since I had only one other ...

I am spent. What a truly exhausting yet exhilarating day it was. I work very hard at what I do, still it seems a bit unfair that I get paid for this kind of stuff. That said, I know I’m very good at what I do, and not to many people can do it. Im very very blessed. Its just really bizarre that the sum of all my life experiences =being very prepared for what I do. So doing a lot of different things in the field of media makes me very general…perfect for a general manager. I woke up early and went out to the marina. We hopped on Khalifa’s boat and went to the other side of the island. This is a work day I remind you. So there was this large caravan of old dhows (wooden boats) heading out from Bahrain to reenact pearl divers. Apparently they do this every year and that allows the young ones to participate to appreciate their heritage. So we got some amazing footage of the divers going down to get the oysters. Khalifa’s father was a pearl diver and he went on t...

What a great day it was. I just feel so encouraged by all your prayers and support. I feel like Im finally back on track, like Im myself again. When I say myself, I mean the happy-go-lucky optimist. Work was pretty incredible today. I totally feel God’s favor upon me. I finished writing a script on the History of Bahrain Seaports and its pretty darn good. Writing has been and always will be my primary passion. Its amazing. As I was doing my research on Bahrain, their history goes back 7000 years to the dawn of time practically. The first known civilizations (other than Biblical), Mesopotamia or Sumerai to the North and the Indus Valley (West India) to the East were the two corners of the earth at one time. They met in the middle to trade goods…they met in Bahrain. So even though this is a tiny country it still had a big impact on the world. Even as recently as the Gulf Wars here…The US navy base played a strategic role. I also learned that Bahrain was the ...

What a great night it was. You know I’ve been venting a bit in my blog. Its amazing the encouragement that I’ve gotten through it and on facebook. I feel really blessed. I think Im finally turning the corner in terms of positivity again. Sometimes you just have to battle through it. We had the positive living group again tonight. It was the first one since I’ve been back. It was sooooo encouraging. Im changing the nature of the group to positive living/encouragement group. We had a guy named Moody show up to the group tonight. Moody came to the very last session before I left for my short vacation. This time Moody brought his father. Im great with people bringing guests. I like having a very eclectic group. It turns out both Moody and his father are Christians. They get Joel’s email updates everyday. Here are two Arabs that are Christians. Wow…imagine that…I meet Moody through a guy by the name Art, Professor Harlem. It was total happenstance th...

I understand why Im alone during this season. God is really revealing himself in new and very positive ways. I have to be careful though. What God is speaking into my life is really blowing my mind. I have to study to make sure the words I hear are indeed of God. I got this great Greek-English Interlinear New Testament (NASB/NIV). It really helps delve into God’s work in its original text. Since God’s word has been interpreted by man into other languages there might be a few minor discrepancies in the finished product. Studying the original Greek really goes to the heart of the matter. Its more hardcore Bible study. I like that. God is really defining and deepening me. I feel like Im almost at the finishing stages for this season. God will never be done with me, but Im hoping this season of being alone will come to an end sometime soon. For you married folks out there…enjoy what you have, because celibacy sucks! It wasn’t so bad when I was a virgin bef...

It has been a very strange day/night. I took two naps yesterday which was a very bad idea. Normally Im so busy during the work week I only get about 4-5 hours sleep a night. So If I can take long naps on Friday, that recharges me for the week. Well it didn’t work this time. I guess Im not completely over my jetlag as of yet and those two naps kind of flared it up. So there I was up until 5 am. A little frustrating. But I think God is trying to do something with me this weekend, like Im in some sort of test or awakening period. I spent virtually the entire weekend alone. I’m trying to embrace my alone time without being lonely. God is really speaking to me heavily through this process. Im trying to absolutely content in Him. So I finally went to sleep at about 5 am and woke up at 1:30 pm…What!!!! My day was gone before I knew it. I was planning on going to the museum to do some research but that was out. I was kind of groggy all day because of over-sleep....

Now that Im back on track spiritually God is speaking to me again. He was always talking but I was out of routine and running interference so it was hard for me to really be in tune with his voice. I just didn’t take the time to sit down and commune with him since I was so interesting being with my family. I think that was ok for the time. Im trying to embrace my loneliness out here to find God’s purpose in all of it. I read something in the book that has taken me 5 years to read, and Im still not done “The Fire of Delayed Answers” there’s a funny story behind that book in the back blog pages. What the author Bob Sorge was contending is that when God doesn’t answer our prayers its like we are in a spiritual prison. Im in an emotional prison it seems like for the past four years. The reason he allows that is to give us great quantities of time with the Lord so that we can establish an amazing connection with him. If I were busier with a girlfriend or spouse…those m...

I think all the excitement of the month is catching up to me and reality is sinking in as I settle into a routine. Life in Bahrain is very surreal for me. Its like Im living in a dream world, or living in a reality television show. I don’t really feel like what I do is work, especially last night at the Improv contest. Im so fulfilled with my work, especially when I help people achieve their maximum potential. Life seems almost like Shangrila or Utopia most of the time. The pains and loneliness of the past three years are gone with my fresh start….mostly. Im somewhat insulated from my past here and I think that’s the case with many people that move here. They are escaping something. I guess Im the same way…escaping the memories of the past that haunt me. I don’t think that it is necessarily an unhealthy thing either. Driving around Los Angeles and the Texas I was reminded of the family I used to have. Those brought up some pretty painful memories of loss. I ...

It was a really nice end to an unsure day for me. Tonight was the first night of our “Funniest Person in Bahrain” competition. There was a lot of nervousness and I pride myself on not getting nervous. Would anyone actually show up? If they did would the show bomb? Would the performers have fun? Would the material be offensive to the government or Islam? As the M.C would I get up and there and freeze? Would my actors chicken out at the last minute and bail on me. So there was a lot going on in my mind. A couple people said I looked really nervous, but I didn’t feel nervous, I was just extremely focused. So when we got started we had a half-house. Everyone is late in Bahrain all the time. But by the time we finished we had a full house. Now the audience was great, they all felt like they were a part of something historic. So they might have been there for support or to watch a disaster, like having front row seats as the Titanic went down. So the camera...

The jet lag is kicking in a bit. I got home at 3:00 am, unpacked and went to bed at 4am. The good thing is I slept for six straight hours. But Im dragging a bit at points today, so Im not sure if this will be a long blog entry or not. I had a staff meeting today. I bought the entire staff Texas/Americana T-shirts and memorabilia. They didn’t seem to appreciate as much this time around. Oh they were glad to get their hands on it, but didn’t express a lot of gratitude. Maybe I spoiled them already. They think when Rick leaves he brings us back stuff. Well, if it is not appreciated, its not going to continue. I got mostly caught up at the office. It didn’t seem like they did much of anything while I was gone. I know when the cat is away the mice will play. So I had a lot of catch up to do. We are in a bit of a financial crisis, and I have to do whatever we can to get us out of it We have to develop additional revunue streams. The Funniest Person in Ba...

I have so many thoughts running through my head right now. It’s going to be difficult to be really coherent with them. But since when has coherency really been a priority with me and the blog. Im sitting the Dubai airport right now in the executive lounge. This place is massive sprawling with space. There are about 12 food stations (all free) stretched out over 500 yards or so. There is wireless, couches, beds, business centers, about 6 bars, a teen and a kid area, xbox PS3, a masseuse, showers, if you can think of it, its probably here. Its truly luxurious. I have about six hours to spend here so the luxury part is nice. They have outlet towers for all types of electrical outlets 110-220…so im connected and wireless. I just got out of the shower. They were pretty nice showers too. There was an Indian attendant there helping me. They are so enthusiastic to help westerners. Partially because we have money, and partially because we are a bit like celebrities to them. So h...

Well I made it through Laserquest, but the boys did it much better than I. I skipped a game to take a nap. But the boys made it the whole way through. I was proud of them. We wind up having a great time. It was a total father-son bonding experience. Max wound up doing the best. We made it back home at 6:30. The boys fell asleep in the car ride home. We slept for four hours then woke up to face the day. We went out to dinner with my dad and then came back to spend a couple hours they had left with my parents. We had such a nice time together. It truly has beena wonderful couple of weeks. Im sorry that it has to end. I am having a movie night with my boys. That is one of our favorite pastimes. Im already packed and ready to go. I am looking forward to going back to Bahrain but Im not looking forward to being away from them. Im getting up early to go to early service at Lakewood tomorrow. Jim, the men’s ministry pastor wanted the DVD I made of ...

It’s 2am and Im writing to you from the Lobby of the Laserquest building. Try as I might I wasn’t able to talk the boys out of this. They had their heart set on all night lasertag. They were so jazzed about it. I must be getting old. So from 12am-6am its all night laser tagging each other. Its such a boy thing. There are about 30 of us here and actually its pretty fun. It makes me feel like Im being a good dad…and I am a good dad. I was able to talk the boys out of the downtown aquarium. We just had too much going on today. We wound up cramming about two months worth of activity into two weeks. Im sad its coming to an end in two days. I love my kids soooooo much. After we saw a movie, we met a dear friend and her kids at Itz. My boys lost their friends/semi-cousins so to speak in the divorce as they very seldom get to see them anymore. And they were particularly close to these other kids until about a year ago and then the relationship was severed. ...

It was a really nice day today. Im getting along so great with my boys. I love them sooooo much. We are just having a blast together. Spencer keeps trying to incite me into fighting/wrestling with him by jumping on me, hitting or kicking me. It works… Its fun. He likes to give affection by zestful play too. As Im writing this blog, they are throwing pillows at me trying to get me to go after them…I think I will hold on…. I got up a little early because I had an appointment at Lakewood. I met a person by the name of Joyce in the bookstore. She’s the missions coordinator for Lakewood. So Joyce left me in the bookstore and said get whatever you want and we’ll put it on the Missions tab. Lakewood’s bookstore, like Lakewood is huge. So I was like a kid in a candy store. But I wanted to be responsible too. So I mainly got the DVD series. For our positive living group, we always watch a Osteen video and discuss it. So I think I picked up around 25 DVD’s and...

This blog is getting really hard to write. I guess because I don’t want to take any time away from my boys. When I write in the blog in Bahrain I have much more time on my hands and I actually look forward to it most days. I don’t want this to become a burden otherwise it will lose the spark that makes it special. I really appreciate all the readers I have throughout the world. It was another special day today. I slept in the boys room. Spencer wanted to sleep on the floor to be close to us. We had a late night talk again…that’s special. Spencer woke up at the crack of dawn to play Wii again. My dad and I took the boys out to breakfast at cracker barrel. He gave them $10 to spend in the gift shop…and if you know max…you know he was thrilled buying $10 worth of junk. We went shopping the rest of the day. We went to Costco next. I wanted to fill up on as many American amenities as possible. To bring them back to Bahrain with me. So it was shopping a...