Rick Beeman

I keep asking for God for confirmation about my relationship with Jenni. God and I have conversations. I tell him God, I really love this girl, so if its not your will please give me a sign, like a giant billboard telling me that she’s not the one. Yet each time I pray that prayer an opposite sign happens confirming that she absolutely IS the one. There is not a doubt a mind. I’ve spent hours talking to Jennifer today. So instead of posting my own stuff, I decided to borrow Jenni’s blog. It totally confirms that she is the one that I will marry. There is a not a doubt in my mind. Please pray for my kids. There is a lot of strife there. Jenni's blog.... If you are not living on the East Coast of the United States then you are probably fortunate enough to be living a weekend full of sunshine or at least above freezing weather. Unfortunately for me, the story has a different plot. I don't think the temperatures today reached above 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Lucky for me, I...

I had to wake up early today. Some of my improv. Comedy troupe and really some of my best friends on the island are forming a group called Arabites. Its essentially producing short videos to post on the web via youtube. If you are familiar with The Whitest Kids You Know its very similar to that. For their first video they wanted me to direct. I guess Im quite honored that they thought that highly of me. But it kind of put me off having to work for free. But since they had volunteered to work for free for the Improv show, I felt like I owed them. So we got off to an early start. I was in a bad mood for a little bit. I had to wake up early. So the script was written by Tariq and Muneer. They just wanted me to come direct. So there was a cast of about 10 there, they were all very excited about the project. So we produced a 10 minute no-budget internet short. It actually turned out to be quite good. It also went a lot faster than I anticipated. We got the project done in a...

First of all I need to preface this that this particular blog is in no way meant to denigrate my former spouse. If you happen to be a former spouse of mine, I strongly recommend you stop reading. This isn't meant at all to be vindictive. Rather, Im trying to illustrate how great God happens to be. The year was early 2006, I believe. I was still legally married but the reality of the impending divorce was becoming increasingly unavoidable. Keep in mind I had prayed continuously along with my closest family and friends for the reconciliation of my marriage. Now it was sinking in that the marriage would end. I was absolutely devastated. I have cried a lot over the past four years. More crying in two years then my entire life combined. My mother used to sit me in front of the TV, to watch Old Yeller, Brian's song, Love Story, The Champ, just to try to get me to cry. I think it was her way of trying to get me in touch with my feelings unlike my father. That's a t...

It was a really great day. I am feeling very much like an effective general manager. I don’t have a lot of production to do so Im focusing in on the other aspects of the job. I have always been a good delegator. Primarily because I was trying to get out of work. Now Im getting paid to get out of work in a sense because im the manager. This is going to be a short blog tonight. I always say that and they usually turn out to be normal. Im exhausted and I still haven’t talked to Jennifer tonight. My friend Tom invited me on the base for an Avatar screening. So after a very effective day, I left the office at 3:30 and headed to the Navy base. The producer Jon Landau, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodrigues, and Stephen Lang (the bad guy) were all on the base signing autographs and taking pictures. James Cameron apparently is coming tomorrow. I won a T-shirt. Im not into autographs from celebrities. I used to be when I was 12. Now I consider these celebrities my peers. So it w...

What a great great great day I had. Why was it great? Im not really sure. Nothing very consequential happened. Its just that I feel like God’s hand is on my every move. I know there are tons of people out there praying for me. That is such a great feeling. I feel like Im on the spiritual war front lines. So you might have noticed that I was really down. But then, the clouds parted and the oppression lifted, really for no reason at all. Im so full of hope and joy right now. I told Jennifer this earlier, but I’ve never been so sure that she’s the girl for me then at this precise moment. A lot of people don’t understand this. Everyone says take it slow. Well…I did take it slow the first time around in marriage, a three-year courtship and engagement, and look how that turned out. So taking it slow isn’t always the way. I just have to look at all my Indian friends. I love Indians, but I just hate their food. Its sooooo spicy. I believe that Indians are my favorite culture...

I think I just ran out of gas. My life is a real mix right now. My love life is going great, but the professional life is not really not going as well as I would like. Plus I really miss my children. It seems the past five years either my professional life is going great and emotional life is hurting, or my emotional life is great and professionally Im hurting. Its like a piston, one is up and one is down. One of these days They are both going to be up at the same time, I just know it. Maybe that is a plan of God to keep me going and to give me hope. I am fortunate that I am still employed with a great job. Im still living the adventure here. Its just a little bit luster has worn off. I used to love love love my job and couldn’t’ wait to get into work. Now it feels like work. My supervisor is trying to push me into more of a sales/business development role. My passion remains in the creative/production realm. That is where I really excel. As a salesperson, Im ordinary...

Prayer works. I think I’m living breathing proof of the existence of God. Im pretty transparent with my feelings and yesterday was just a plain sucky day. I know I’ve had a lot of great great days while Im here, so the odds are heavily in favor of me having a sucky day every once in a great while. Yesterday was that day. I think I told some friends that I felt like I was under spiritual attack. Nothing really too tragic happened to me, I just felt kind of oppressed all day. Just really discouraged mostly. That simply doesn’t happen much. So I was having my chat with God this morning and later at lunch where he repeated himself. I was at Burger King, just finished off my Double Cheeseburger and read Proverbs 30…What an interesting chapter. So instead of going back to the office right away I thought that place was as good as any to talk to God. So just closed my eyes and listened. I heard God very clearly tell me not to bother with any of the details. My job was just to “Se...

It was a tough day at the office. Don’t you just hate when someone has a bad day/weekend then when they see you they vent/project all the anger on you. Well that is how the first day of my week started out. It was pretty intense. My supervisor also has a tendency to focus on the negative. His managerial style is kind of the exact opposite of mine. He believes employees respond better when they are intimidated/threatened. I don’t adhere to that philosophy at all. Its just really hard to take. I guess Im venting here. I am the general manager, yes, that means general I understand that. But He wants me out on one outside sales call a day, to train the staff in video/photo production, keep tabs on all the employees activities, maintain a positive cash flow, continue to write, produce, and direct projects (Im the only writer, producer, director, on staff), prospect new clients, and I have to train up the editors, maintain all quality control, and now that our office boy is on va...

OK…this love letter thing is kind of fun. It’s like Sweeps for the networks during rating season. Nothing gets the readership up more than conflict with the former wife or the love letters. So we’ll just go with the love letters. By the way, many of you have sent wonderful congratulatory emails. I really do appreciate your care and support. So without further adieux, here’s another love letter. Good morning Sweetheart, I love you and I am so committed to you. I re-read your emails while you were sleeping and they just broke my heart. Not because I was upset at you, but rather because you were hurting so bad. Im sorry I couldn't be there to immediately comfort you and assure you. Im certain your panic attack was of the enemy. Its just rather ironic that two people Im very close to had such intense spiritual oppositional encounters within hours of each other. I've learned to take spiritual warfare to a whole different level and I think Im called to help other people ...

The day started out very well. Well..it started out even before it started. I had a nice middle of the night chat with Jenni, went back to bed and then started my day out the normal way. I had a wonderful Asian brunch at my friend’s Annti and Aila’s house. They are the Finns. They invited several people over for this brunch. It was a very cultured affair. It was nice, elegant, and very classy. I guess its like how rich people have brunch at people’s houses. It made me feel like I was part of the “in” crowd. I met a lot of new friends today and the food…it was delicious. There were a lot of children there today, mainly between the ages of 3-7. I so love that age. That’s one of the many reasons why Im so excited about my relationship with Jenni. She’s only 29, 12 years younger than I. So right there…I scored..and she has no problem with the age difference. Her sister married a guy 13 years older than her and they have a great relationship. Jenni really wants a family and...

Dear Blog readers, friends, and others, Its been a wonderful journey that I’ve (we’ve) been on this past year. I know a lot of you read this to live vicariously through me. Not sure if this ride for you has been an upper or a downer. But even through the rough patches, I’ve had a continuous joy. I hope that has been an inspiration to you. I think that is my calling in life to be an inspiration to others to help them maximize their God-given abilities. So as you have traveled through my heartbreak and frustrations, now we are on the emotional good side. God’s faithfulness is really shining through my life right now and Im ecstatic. Since I share so much with you already, I thought you might want to read a love letter I just wrote to Jenni. (I asked her permission.) Be forewarned…its pretty sickeningly sweet. If you are not romantic it may cause you to throw up in your mouth a little bit. Jenni, I am sitting in Fuddrucker's right now eating lunch and watching the Oscar no...

I got a chilling email last Friday and it has taken me more than a few days to process it. It was from the Archdiocese of Houston. A coldness swept over me as I read it. It was a petition from my former wife using her maiden name to annul my marriage to her. Im not really sure what it all means and what the purpose behind it all is. I can only speculate. I had no forewarning that it was coming. I think the part that bothers me is the idea that 15 years of history can be wiped away because someone changed their mind. Where does that leave the children? If you are catholic and want to weigh in on the matter your opinion will be valued. The questionnaire was really long. It asked me about everything in my life, from my parents, to my childhood, to dating, to dating my former spouse, to engagement, to marriage, to divorce. Literally no stone was unturned. It was a 16 page application/questionnaire that was incredibly thorough. The Catholic church is doing their due diligence...

I am in a routine now where I talk to Jenni every morning. Well…I usually talk to her in the afternoon, evening, middle of the night…but in the morning is when do our webcam chat. Thank you skype. It makes it seem like Im not a half world away this way. I had an early morning meeting at the Navy Base so I decided to eat at Chili’s right aroung the corner. They have a great breakfast feast for $4. So I’m talking to Jenni on the cell phone all during breakfast. It was like we were on an actual date. I made her hungry in fact so she had to go get something to eat herself. I really enjoy chatting with this girl. She is very funny. So we have this little competition to find out who is the funniest person in the relationship. I think she wins hands down, but I’ll give her a run for her money. The meeting with the navy folks went far better than I ever could have imagined. I thought we were going just to pitch performing The Funniest Person in Bahrain. But they wanted more than...

We had a great small group tonight. There were only five of us, well 6 because Pat joined later. The spirit of God was really moving in this one. One of my ardent young muslim friends was so energized by this. He wanted a transcript and exclaimed this was the best message yet. Essentially Joel talked about how God allows resistance in our life in order to propel us to make us stronger. If there was no resistance (trials) we would remain weak. I know the trials that I had to endure in my own life have made me incredibly stronger in the spiritual realm. I brought up to the group my past issue with Pornography which they all know about. Before when temptation hit, it really wasn’t much of a battle. I prayed, but I was soon bowled over. I really had no idea how to fight that demon in my life. I was the 98 lb. weakling and the devil was the 300 lb. ripped bully kicking sand in my face. But the trials I had to endure through my divorce and career struggles forced me to work out ...

Im sitting in Darren’s living room watching the Cowboys Vikings game. Darren is from Dallas so he’s pretty upset at the deficit right now. Its nice watching a football game with a bunch of guys. Im feeling very American right now. I had to go and buy Insulin earlier today. The hospital where I normally buy the insulin from was out of my type. So I had to go downtown to buy the Insulin. I didn’t know where I was going but I knew it was somewhere in the Souq, which is another word for the downtown market. I was trying to get directions, and the pharmacist trying to give me directions asked do you know where the Yateem Center is, No, Do you know where the KFC is? No, Do you know where the KFC is? No. I do know where Bab Al Bahrain is. Good, go to Bab Al Bahrain take the first right, then don’t turn at the next right, go by British Airways, don’t turn left, go to the street where you turn left or right and turn left and then go four stores down. So…I promptly go out and get lost...

I talk about Carolina Girl a lot, I know that. So we both thought it was time we introduced her, Her name is Jennifer. So I’ll refer to that moniker from here on out. We are both crazy in love with each other. Its just so cool to have someone think Im very attractive, very intelligent, and a very Godly man. I guess I didn’t have such a high esteem about myself, but Jennifer makes me feel like a man. If you think about it, that’s why we fall in love. Its because the other person makes us feel better about ourselves. Since we are in the courtship and meeting phase we decided that her opinion is really interesting and important. So Im going to be using her to help either write this blog, or I’ll just copy and paste from her blog. Eventually we’ll merge the blogs when we get married and have a His and Hers viewpoint. I think she is a better writer than myself so hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy her input. I have chronicled my life for well over a year now. Next week this blog...

I decided to skip church today. I did that ahead of time so it was planned. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep since Carolina Girl entered the picture. She and I both have addictive personalities and we are both addicted to each other. Its like emotional crack. Im not sure if other couples that fall in love go through this. But it sure has me in its grasp. So I want to make sure that Im doing the right thing here, and I think I am. The commandment is remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. I always took that to meaning go to church on Sunday. But since they do the weekends differently here we go to church on Friday. Does that mean Im not keeping the commandment by not going to church on Sunday? Lets take this a step further, I have started my own home church, on Monday. I like to consider that my Sabbath. Is that wrong? There is also a commandment “forsake not the assembling of yourself together.” I am doing that. So by skipping the normal church service on Frida...

Im a little bit heartbroken right now, and no it doesn’t have anything to do with my love life. What an amazing end to rather blah day. We don’t have a lot of projects we’re working on right now, so its slow at the office. I suck at looking busy, always have so I don’t even bother. That probably isn’t the best example for a GM. When I have a lot to do, Im amazingly efficient. So tonight was a night full of activity. First of all I went to play Russ Racquetball at the base. I always enjoy that. We had a very nice chat. Afterwards I always eat Taco Bell on the base, since its not available anywhere else on the island. Then I ran off to the Basketball game. Pat’s team was playing for first place against the other team they were tied with. They were playing Manama, which are the NY Yankees of Bahrain Professional Basketball. I got there with five minutes left in the game. Muharraq, Pat’s team, was holding a one point lead. It was standing room only as the place was absolutel...

I love playing squash. It is such an amazing aerobic workout for me. It works the upper body, abs, and lower body. It is incredibly taxing. It is so much fun. The main person I play is one of my best friends here, Darren. Darren is probably the best sportsman you’re ever going to meet. The thing with Darren is that we are super competitive. Neither one of us is going to give an inch. Yet when either one of us makes a spectacular play we cheer each other on. When I first started playing Darren I used to beat him routinely. Then I let him use my racquet. He bought one like mine and ever since then, he has routinely beaten me. Maybe I should have kept my big mouth shut. But still we play for the exercise if we win, that’s a bonus. He’s been getting the bonuses for awhile. Its really been ticking me off lately. Most all of our games are extremely close, 15-13, I just don’t seem to have it at the end or lack the killer instinct. So I was really thinking about it today. I ...

Its an interesting thing about the blog. The more soap opera-ish it is, the more hits it receives. I guess that’s just human nature, which is fine by me. Films/Television and now this blog has learned give the people a little sizzle they’ll be coming back for more. I really like posting Carolina Girl’s comments. It kind of gives me a break from writing and gives you insight into her life. She really is a remarkable girl. Im absolutely addicted to her at this point and she is to me. We can’t seem to get enough of each other, either phone calls, chats, or webcam chats. It’s a very good feeling to not only care, but to have someone care about you so much. Its been a long long time since anyone has cared for me as much as she does. My relationships for the past five years really, from my former wife to the subsequent girlfriends have always had me chasing them trying to convince them to love me, which hasn’t worked. Part of that was my issue and the girls that I chose to pursue...

OK…is this romance thing getting anyone sick their stomach yet? Im not tired of it. I think if you read the blog you would see how I’ve longed for this type of connection for years. It is sudden, but it is absolutely right. I have an absolute peace about it. I thought it might be nice for you to hear from Carolina Girl again to get her perspective. I am introducing her to friends now as the girl I’m going to marry. That is pretty bold after just one week, but very few things in my life have ever felt this right. I grow a little closer to her each day. I just can’t get enough of her. Here’s what she had to say in her blog yesterday: SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2010 skeptics unite - divide - and fall... I'm not surprised that there are skeptics in my life, especially right now. I think the biggest test will come on Tuesday, when I tell my therapist of the news. He has been in my life for over two years now, and while I'm sure to shock him with all of this, I need him to ask me t...

Wow what a weekend. I need to learn to take better care of myself to get proper sleep. Im head over heals with Carolina Girl and I have to learn to pace myself. It’s a marathon not a sprint. I know this is all so sudden. People might think its rushed and it is, but it absolutely feels right. I was quite surprised by how quickly my parents and little sister endorsed the relationship. I guess they could hear the passion and conviction behind my voice. It really is pretty hard to believe…the whole love at first sight thing. We could do a marketing campaign and say love at first skype. That would be more accurate. One of the good things about my spiritual walk at the moment is that im really in tune with God’s voice in my life. This absolutely feels like it has been perfectly orchestrated by Him. Just look back in my blog the past few months and notice the longing and desire for a mate. There is a book that I’ve mentioned quite a few times in this blog, The Fire of Delayed An...

I thought you might want to hear from Carolina Girl. This has been a pretty exciting weekend. We both know we are moving way too fast...but we both think its kind of fun. She writes a blog too. Here's what she had to say in her blog. I though it might be of interest to you. FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2010 Meeting THE ONE? After about a year of dating losers, guys that were just not good enough, men that would never stand up to me, absolute doormats, I decided to take a different approach. No offense to the men i've dated in the past year, but come on... Weak Christians (if Christian at all) Bad Drunks Lazy Uneducated Poor socioeconomic status the list goes on I was settling for anything that moved and gave me attention. Men that would get my number and never call. Men that would get my number and hide behind text messages. Now the thing is, i'm not an ugly girl. I know this. I'm not. I'm quite attractive by the worlds standards. I am pretty sure of that. But... what? w...