Mission Impossible IV

I wound up having a pretty fantastic day. Although it didn’t start out that way at all. As I was talking to Jennifer I got distracted before I went to bed last night. I couldn’t remember if I shot up with Lantus or Humalog. Im a diabetic and my routine is to take the long lasting Lantus at 40 units which covers me over a 24 hour period. Meanwhile I talk Humalog before meals at usually 10 units per dose. After I injected myself I realize I might have injected 40 units of Humalog which would be 4 times my regular dose…which would be very bad. I couldn’t remember though. I checked my blood sugar which was high, which was a relief. I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. Suddenly my blood sugar dropped about 75 points over the next two hours, which meant I couldn’t sleep, plus I was worried. So I scarfed down a load of candy and glucose tablets. I was worried that it was really going to drop. I was prepared at 4am to go to the 24 hour mart and chug some orange juice. But thankfully it didn’t go lower. I either nipped it in the bud, or did take the right dosage. Still I went low probably because I am exercising again. I am have to look good for the wife. So that said I got about 3 hours of sleep last night. Today was a big day and I was starting behind.

I got up to work on some budgets with Reg. Our desks face each other. With us also living out of a home office we interact a lot. He is a really good guy. His family is in the UK so I can relate to his displacement a bit. Yet mine is an emotional and physical separation while his is merely physical. It is acceptable in Europe and Middle East for kids to go to boarding school, whereas in the US it is not. Reg is a great dad and a really good guy. The partners, Reg, Ali, and I all respect each other and get along well. It is a very good team. Reg is a London Born Indian, Ali is an Emirati from Abu Dhabi, and Im the American. I think we have the globe sufficiently covered that way. I had to rent a car to drive down to Abu Dhabi for an important meeting. Abu Dhabi is actually an interesting city. It’s the capital of the UAE but Dubai gets all the pub. When the financial crisis hit, and it hit hard in Dubai, there were shockwaves felt all through the Middle East. Dubai was built largely on credit. Abu Dhabi (through more conservative investments and oil) ultimately bailed them out. But not before they let Dubai twist a little. There was money, but Abu Dhabi wanted Dubai to clean up its image of the wild party city. Signs went up in all the malls encouraging women to dress more respectfully. But now the financial crisis seems to be over here.

Ali and I were meeting with a big production company that wants to partner with us on a pilot. I felt like a TV executive again. It felt great. This is really going to work. The beauty of it, its not all my effort and energy. Others are trying just as hard as I am to get the project going. Im supposed to turn around a budget, outline, and script next week to them. Im pretty busy but its stuff that I love doing. I just read in the paper here that Tom Cruise will be shooting Mission Impossible IV here next month. Im stoked about it. He’s going to be shooting 28 days here, so that has to take up a substantial portion of the plot. That’s even more coverage for us here. That all goes to aid in my long term goals of changing the world’s image of the arabs/Middle East and creating a venue for international media productions here. It all seems to falling together nicely. The strange thing is Im not doing anything in my power really to make it happen. Good things just seem to be happening to me without much effort. It has to be a God thing.

It just reminded last week…I was worried about nothing in particular. But it was the fear that was sweeping over me for no reason. So I did the only thing I knew to do…and that was to Seek God. That’s kind of my default, when all else fails type of thing. Because it always works. Seek First the Kingdom and All these things will be added unto you. I did that…and it works…it works every stinking time. Its an amazing and simple trick to get out of any jam. Or for got to give you the strength to endure the jam.

We have a big production day tomorrow. Things are heating up.

The First Contract

It was a good day. I went on a meeting with Reg and we got our first contract. I really didn’t do much. It was a pre-established relationship. I am in a weird situation here, but it is a welcome one. Throughout my career I’ve had to reluctantly wear the hat of salesman. As a freelancer, you are always having to sell yourself. That was difficult for me to do. It uses the side of my brain that I don’t like to use. I’d rather stay completely on the creative side. That is why a lot of creative people in Hollywood have agents, so they can stick with the creative side. I had various agents through the years but they just didn’t do anything for me. While I was in Bahrain, I also had to function as the Sales Manager. We had numerous come through the doors (5) and I wound up selling our biggest accounts. But then having to make the shows, manage the staff, and keep the payroll coming in, it was quite a challenge. But still Im very proud of what we accomplished.

That brings us to my company, www.onetvo.com or Onetvo. There are two very sharp partners on board, one a London born Indian, Reg, and the other an impressive Emirati named Ali. Ali and I like to talk about religion. Ali is becoming somewhat of a local celebrity. Im hoping to help further establish him. My primary job here is to be creative. Reg and Ali are both excellent salesmen. So that task is temporarily taken out of my hands. But since im a team player through and through I’ll continue to help the company anyway I can. I think being a salesman is in my genes from my Insurance Salesman father. But I just can’t cold call. The rejection is tough for me. I know I’ve been rejected thousands of times in my life, but its not in my dna to give up. But in cold call sales…I give up. But if someone pre-establishes a relationship, then I like selling. But for now, I can focus in on being creative.

I am trying to exercise a lot here, because Ive been eating a lot. I walk everywhere, but the problem is the heat. It was about 100 degrees today but really humid. By the time I walk five minutes to the restaurant Im pretty sweaty. I don’t know what else I can do about it. But the weather is starting to get cooler. Again the weather is really hot for 4 months a year, then for 8, it is simply divine. I have tried not using the elevator whenever I can. By the time I get to the 20^th floor however, I think Im dying. I didn’t think stair climbing was that difficult. But once you get past floor #7, it seems as if someone stole all the oxygen out of the world. It is a pretty amazing aerobic workout. But Im also starting to feel old…just a tiny bit. All the hints are there. When I ran marathons…way way way back in High School/College Days, it used to take me about 6-8 weeks to get ready to run in one. Granted I never did well, but I finished them. Now its hard enough to even do three miles. Its frustrating that my body won’t do what I want it to do. But I still feel young at heart and that is the important thing. I am somewhat of a medical marvel. I eat like absolute crap, fast food wise (Jenni is trying to change me…but she’s not here is she) and I have diabetes, yet my blood pressure and cholesterol are great. Im also supposed to be Bald, like my father and both my maternal and paternal grandfather, but I have modern science (Propecia) to thank for that. That stuff really works. Everyone tells me that my eating habits will catch up with me eventually. Maybe they are right. I am trying to change. But God told me that I’d have a long life. He hasn’t been wrong with much that he’s told me. I think its so I can enjoy my wife and have more kids. I feel like these prime wonderful years of my children’s life were stolen from me. So Ill live a longer life as kind of recompense so I can experience all of that again with Jennifer. Im so fortunate that God brought her into my life.

45 min. and a ticket

So something was definitely up the last couple of days. This morning I felt like professionally I got hit in the gut. I think the enemy knew this was coming and was trying to get ready to kick once I went down. Well the good thing is that I was stunned but not knocked over. Today everything is fine. Ive mentioned this before, F.E.A.R.= False Evidence Appearing Real. So it was much ado about nothing really. But I did feel like I passed some sort of test. Plus, the enemy goes after you if you are a threat. So I must be on the right track.

I had a car two weeks ago. I drove it around all of two days before I returned. Yet I just found out I got a ticket. I had the car for 45 minutes when I was on the toll road. Apparently they don’t have policemen give tickets. Instead they take a picture of your car at a marker point and if you pass the second marker point too early they can determine if you were speeding or not. I remember seeing a flash behind me, but I figured it was somebody driving. Apparently if you are an Arab its culturally acceptable to follow on someone’s bumper really close, honk your horn, and flash your brights to say, “Hello friend, would mind if I passed you up, pretty please.” So the fine was $160, ouch. Its just ironic that I’ve only driven for a cumulative four hours on the roads in the UAE and the first hour I get a ticket. Not that I didn’t deserve it.

We have a big day tomorrow with two meetings with important clients. One of the clients is in Abu Dhabi, so I have to rent a car, for $40 so its not that much, and make the 90 mile drive down.

Oh, yeah. I stayed up to watch the Oakland Raider game. The late games come on at 12:00 am here. So remind me not to stay up til 3:30 AM then watch one of the best field goal kickers in the game miss a short 34 yard goal with no time remaining and your team loses by one. Apparently that causes problems when you try to sleep.

Another frustrating thing is that I can’t make any outgoing calls on skype. I can receive incoming calls, but can’t make any outgoing. That is kind of a hassle too. Boy, I sure am full of complaints today.

Sorry if this has been a blah blog lately. I don’t have much of a social life yet. Since I work out of the home office, I only get out once a day for dinner. So Im just not interacting with that many people yet. I know this will change soon.

Out of nowhere...a dark cloud

It was a rather bizarre day. I just woke up with a heaviness over me. I couldn’t really explain why, but I was just depressed. I was very fearful of the future. I guess you can rationalize that since I’ve been on top of the world seemingly for the past few months, I was due for a letdown. Maybe that was it. Nothing happened today that really warranted me being afraid of the future. That is so out of character for me. But I did what one should do in these types of situations. I just had a long talk with God. Then when that didn’t help, I just spent a lot of time in prayer rebuking spirits and such. When that didn’t work, I just praised him. I took my iphone and plugged in some praise and worship music and sauntered down the boulevard silently worshipping and praising. Normally I belt it out, but since there were hundreds of people around, I thought that might not be the most prudent thing. So I worshipped on the inside. When there was enough separation I would let a few praises slip out. I think the key is to praise even though you don’t feel like it. I trudged through. God has been faithful time and time again for me. I know he would come through eventually this time as well. Soon whatever heavy spirit that was over me, disappeared as mysteriously as it arrived. That kind of confirmed to me that it was some sort of spiritual attack. We know the enemy comes to lie, steal, and destroy. He’ll put irrational fears in your head trying to evoke a reaction. Well Im determined not to let the enemy steal my joy. He has stolen so much already. I am the one that controls whether or not he steals my peace. So I held fast in my faith knowing that whatever it was that was dogging me, would pass too. It eventually did. Now Im doing much better. I think it’s a combination of things that are bothering me. The deteriorated relationship with my family, being physically separated from Jennifer, embarking on a risky venture, living far away, having no close relationships here yet, technical issues at work, money, etc… If ever there was a time for the enemy to strike, I guess now was the time. Im glad I held firm and didn’t resort to self-medication as we are all prone to do sometimes.

Its going to be a very busy and critical week for me. Your prayers are appreciated.

The good news is on a personal note that means nothing spiritual. There is a free weekend on nfl.com. So Im watching four games on my quad screen on my computer in HD. This package isn’t available in the US. So the Raiders are coming up next. Im pretty entertained.

The Burning Plain

My computer has really been giving me headaches lately. It kept locking up at various times without warning. I lost a lot of work. But since its happening consistently I’ve leaned to save my work every minute or so, just in case. So that really interrupts the flow. I tried various things, I updated the operating system, quit certain programs, nothing seemed to work. I took my battery out, since it was a new battery, maybe it had a short in it. It helped a little but it still locked up. Finally I figured out the problem. The laptop was getting too hot, thus shutting down. I guess that’s a problem with the mac, especially when I’m running multiple programs. I give the hard drive a run for the money. So I went to the mall and bought a laptop cooling stand. It’s basically a piece of plastic with a tiny fan that the computer sits on top of. I think that did the trick finally. While I was at the mall, The Dubai Mall, the biggest in the world, I thought I’d catch a movie. By the way, I don’t have a car and am relying upon public transportation. I grew up rather privileged and the thought of using public transport just didn’t happen all that often. Although I took a bus and BART home from school, while my sisters got chauffeured. Maybe that taught me resiliency. No matter, I like the public transport as Im walking everywhere, it’s a really great workout. Plus it only cost $2.50 round trip (about 10 miles) to ride. BART would have cost triple that, I think.

While I was at the mall I figured I should see a movie. I should tell you, I’ve seen A LOT of movies in my day, since its kind of my field. I estimate around 15,000 or just under the number of women Wilt Chamberlain slept with. So when I see movies, I am absolutely scientific about it. I research movies pretty thoroughly before I see them. Rarely do I see a bad film unless its by choice. Sometimes its fun to watch bad movies. I never go to movie based on the storyline, which is kind of odd since Im a writer. Rather, I will see movies primarily based on the 1. Director, 2. Writer, 3. Cast. I figure out what the director or writer produced before and if I like it, then I’ll see it. So there is one particular theater in the Dubai Mall that shows Arthouse type of films. I think it’s the only theater of its type in the Middle East since this isn’t a region for highbrow artsy fartsy stuff. They like Stallone’s Expendables movie for instance. If there are fart jokes and explosions, consider it prime material for the Middle East. So this particular movie at the arthouse was written by the guy wrote Babel and 21 grams, two movies I loved. He was a writer-director on this one, called The Burning Plain. That’s all I needed so I bought my ticket. It’s a double edge sword when you see movies out here. They are censored so there is NO sex or nudity at all, but loads of violence. So you don’t have to be concerned about polluting your mind. But the censors aren’t artists and they chop a film up sometimes that impacts the story. So I sit down at Burning Plain not knowing what is was about, but excited to see it nonetheless. I wasn’t there 5 minutes before I realized the entire movie was about a married woman (played by Kim Basinger) having an affair with a married man and how it devastated the family. I was so worked up, I wanted to throw my nachos at the screen and scream “You Bit**” But I refrained. But boy did that movie stir up some emotions. I thought the wound was healed but this sure was picking at the scab. (Ill go into more detail of how it made me felt and why on my private blog. If you want access send me an email). I eventually settled down and liked the movie from a professional and technical standpoint. Even though the subject matter made me uncomfortable, the artist Guillermo Arriaga was simply brilliant. It was one of the best films I had seen this past year. I guess what helped me through this movie, knowing I have a beautiful wife waiting for me. That is the best thing in the world to heal the old wounds God knew that, that is why he sent Jennifer my way.

Closed til 2 on Fridays

It was a little bit of a frustrating morning. I wanted to go to church, so I had to get up early. I wasn’t exactly where the church was so I had to give myself extra time to find it. As near as I could tell it was at the end of the metro station. I could walk to the metro station and hopefully either walk from there or take a short taxi cab ride. I haven’t gotten my first paycheck so money is tight. Im trying to conserve the cash and I didn’t want to blow my remaining $38 on a cab fare. So I woke up and wanted Senita the maid to make me breakfast. I couldn’t find her. That’s when I felt both really spoiled and really stupid. I forgot that she had Friday off. Her husband is a construction worker in town and this is the one day that she gets to see him. Im more than happy that she can do that. But remember I don’t make these rules, Im just a guest in the house. This is the way it works with most maids and laborers over here. So since Im really spoiled now and with no one to make me breakfast I did what any normal person in my situation would do. I skipped it. I headed out to the Metro and already by 9:30 it was really warm. 95 F to be exact but it was particularly humid. By the time I completed my 15 minute walk to the Metro, I was drenched in sweat. I tried to get to the train but there were three people waiting outside. They told me that the Metro is closed til 2:00 on Friday. D’oh. So I didn’t want to risk not having enough money for the cab ride back, plus I have to save cash for emergencies too, so I figured it was the thought that counted. As an added consolation prized I was listening to the podcast from Cornerstone in Livermore. So at least I got some preaching in today.

Im trying to exercise everyday. Usually its swimming and long walks on the beach. I have a routine after my workout. It might not sound like much, but its brutal. I walk home. That seems easy enough but its up 20 flights of stairs. I must be incredibly out of shape or getting old. The first time up, with a head of determination, I made it to the seventh floor. I had to work my way up to 20. Now Im getting to 20 every time wheezing like an asthmatic, but its getting easier finally. My goal is to make it up all 38 flights. Someday, but I don’t want to rush it. It’s the weekend here, so Im casually getting work done and Im catching some movies. That’s my entertainment and social life thus far as I haven’t made any friends locally yet. It’s 2am…I seem to be most productive in the wee hours. Plus I get to talk to Jennifer more. We communicate via iphone 4 face time, so we get to see each other on our phone video cameras with wifi, so it doesn’t take up any of our minutes. You have to love technology, it makes the distance a little more bearable.

A bitterweet day

I feel that life is a little bittersweet right now. I still feel like Im top of the world personally. I have a beautiful wife who really is more than I ever could ask for, my professional dreams are coming true right before my very eyes, Im living in probably one of the coolest places on the planet, I have loads of friends, Im influencing people for Christ both through this blog and in my life, my parents are proud of me, Im more physically fit now than in awhile, the future looks great, and most importantly my intimacy with God is stronger than it ever was. So where does the bittersweet part come in, with the loss of divorce. I have blogged about this in the past. And just this week I was reminded again about the positivity of me talking about it. A person who shall remain nameless wrote to me thanking me for cautioning about the ills of divorce. Because I articulated my pain, this person decided to stick with their marriage, even though it was difficult and today she is doing fine. Its examples like that, that give me hope. Maybe my ministry isn’t just walking around the arabs, maybe its online as well. I always feel the Holy Spirit flowing through me as I write. I feel inspired. That is why, when I stumble and sin, its brutally difficult for me to write anything. That was so neat about writing the blog yesterday about the Names of God. I knew people would disagree with me, maybe some people think Im off my rocker now. But that is OK. I will write what I feel compelled that the Holy Spirit is telling me to write. I’ve been following that still small voice for years now, and it has not led me astray not even once. There have been several times I have ranted on this blog, then at the last minute deleted everything. As a writer that is difficult to do.

Im feeling it a little this week. Even though I’m living the life. I get up when I want. My maid asks me every day what I want to eat, and she makes it. I take swims either in the pool or in the gulf. Im living the dream life really, but if I have no one to share it with, what does it matter? Mark 8:36 “What does it profit a man if gains the whole world but loses his soul.” I don’t think Im losing my soul by any means, but I don’t have anyone physically to share it with at this precise moment. Im crazy in love with my wife and that is giving me the emotional fuel to keep going. But after living with her as man and wife for two months, I felt a little like what God has designed marriage to be. It wasn’t heaven, but it was certainly on the same direction as heaven. I think that God is compensating me for my faithfulness with all this external blessing. If anything, faithful readers of this blog will see in a tangible way the reaping and sowing principal of God’s blessings. I know that once Jennifer gets here, it will indeed be heaven on earth for me. But I have to wait just a few more months for that dream to be a reality. In the meantime we both have a lot of work to do, and Im trying to focus all of my solitude on God. Isn’t it strange how when God wants to get our attention he eliminates distraction. Not that Jennifer was a distraction, but it was just hard getting into a spiritual routine with her. I did pray for her every morning and night but we weren’t able to get into a devotional routine. I wasn’t that disciplined with my own spiritual walk either. Too many distractions/excuses for me. Not that I was walking away from God. But it was more like walking parallel with God not walking towards him as direct as I should have been.

Im leaving a little bit out here, but Im just feeling the pains and ramifications of divorce and loss. It hurts and it always will. Im fortunate that God has blessed me with a wonderful loving wife, who’s not perfect, just perfect for me. Still I miss my kids. I love them. I just have to wait and be patient and someday my relationship will be restored. In the meantime God is protecting me emotionally. I don’t know how I would have survived without God.

I think Im a little reflective because I just saw Wall Street and a Im not giving anything away by saying part of the movie revolved around the subplot between Gordon Gecko and his estranged daughter. It just reminded me of everything.

My life is filled with solitude for the time being. I found a church or Jennifer found a church. She can find anything even though she’s a half world away. I need interaction with people. I need friends. Im not meaning to throw myself a pity party. But when Im alone, the pain of not having those three special children around really hurts. I again have to trust God that even this great loss is all apart of his perfect plan for me life. I’m very fortunate about that.

What in God's name....Part 2

Yesterday I expounded on all the differences that Christians had with each other. We may have our differences but I believe we’re all going to heaven together whether or not we speak in tongues or not Psalm 139:14 (New International Version) 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. So if God made us all wonderfully different it stands to reason that our faiths would different and distinct as we are.
So the question I broached yesterday, What is God’s name? Is it Father, God, Lord, Savior, Jesus? All of those are correct. In fact at the bottom of this blog I am pasting a list of all the names of God that are used throughout the Bible. God has dozens of names, including my favorite “I am” which is open to plenty of discussion and debate.
So my point is, if God has many different names that are in the Bible, could one of his names be Allah as well? Are Allah and Jehovah the same God? I have asked a few friends this question. Some of them believe Allah is not the same God as Jehovah, but that is their opinion. I asked God to reveal the truth to me, and the more that I interact with Muslims the more I believe that maybe Allah and Jehovah are different names for the same God. The details of the faiths between Muslims and Christians are certainly different. But I went into detail in yesterday’s blog about all the details that are different within the Christian church as well.
Muslims and Christians Believe in the God of Adam, of Noah, of Abraham, of David and Jesus. Are these not the same God? The fundamental and major difference between the two is the divinity of Christ. Christians believe that Christ is the Son of God and that He is one with God and the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. Muslims believe in Christ but only as a great prophet not as the Son of God. They also believe that He is coming back some day in the rapture. There are a lot of similarities within our religions and even more when you compare Judaism and Islam.
Now I don’t know the answer to this, but Im just going to throw this out there. Please feel free to agree or disagree, or to state your opinion on the matter. The most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” There is also John 14:6 “I am The Way, The Truth, The Life, no man gets to the Father but by me.” For Christians, which I myself am a passionately devoted Christ-follower, its pretty cut and dried. All paths to heaven go through Christ. If you don’t have Christ stamped on your eternal passport you are out of luck…from the Christian standpoint. But…consider this…and Im not sure I have the right answer to this yet. If God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are indeed one through the Trinity, if you believe in God, by definition aren’t you also believing in Christ at the same time. Its kind of a mind blowing concept if you think about it. What Im trying to figure out, as a Christian, are Muslims getting to heaven? I am not the judge, and thank God Im not. But after interacting with them for nearly five years now, It is my opinion that they are going to heaven. I have met so many devoted and passionate Muslims over here. I think we’ll be standing side by side next to each other. I know this may cause an uproar, but remember its not our job to judge who gets into heaven or not. Remember Christ Himself said in Luke 10:25 “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”28“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” Most of the Muslims that I have met do exactly this. So who am I to say whether they will or won’t get into heaven.
Sure they may have some extreme radicals in the Muslim ranks, but Christians aren’t averse either. Take that one pastor in Florida that was planning the Burn the Quran day for example or the white supremacists burning their crosses. Every society has their nuts, but the majority shouldn’t be judged on the extreme minority. I have noted in detail how God speaks distinctly to me. When I got here he told me specifically that my job was NOT to convert Muslims to Christianity, instead I was to reach out to my fellow expats instead. There are plenty of expats out here to which I can minister.
I was having breakfast with my friend today a devout Muslim. We were sharing our faith and we believe that we believe the same God. I think he’s like the Muslim version of me, trying to open up his brother’s eyes about Christians. He said something that blew my mind. “What if Christians are Muslims” meaning that we believe the same God. If you think about it, the term Christian is just a label. Christ did not come to this earth to start Christianity, instead he was teaching “The Way” a new way just to believe, simply, like God had originally intended. Christian means “Little Christ” it was a derogatory term the Romans used to describe Christ Followers in the first century. The Christ followers liked it, the name stuck. Muslim is just a label too for the followers of Islam. The details and how we practice our faith are vastly different, but the key like Christ admonished, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. For Christians and Muslims that bicker with each other over their opinion of the truth, maybe we should all take heed with the latter part of that verse.
Comments, suggestions, debate welcome.
Jevohah and Allah, Here are some other names of God found in the Bible:
OLD TESTAMENT NAMES FOR GOD
ELOHIM......Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1 meaning "God", a reference to God's power and might.
ADONAI......Malachi 1:6 meaning "Lord", a reference to the Lordship of God.
JEHOVAH--YAHWEH.....Genesis 2:4 a reference to God's divine salvation.
JEHOVAH-MACCADDESHEM.......Exodus 31:13 meaning "The Lord thy sanctifier"
JEHOVAH-ROHI......Psalm 23:1 meaning "The Lord my shepherd"
JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH.......Ezekiel 48:35 meaning "The Lord who is present"
JEHOVAH-RAPHA.........Exodus 15:26 meaning "The Lord our healer"
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU......Jeremiah 23:6 meaning "The Lord our righteousness"
JEHOVAH-JIREH.........Genesis 22:13-14 meaning "The Lord will provide"
JEHOVAH-NISSI.........Exodus 17:15 meaning "The Lord our banner"
JEHOVAH-SHALOM........Judges 6:24 meaning "The Lord is peace"
JEHOVAH-SABBAOTH......Isaiah 6:1-3 meaning "The Lord of Hosts"
JEHOVAH-GMOLAH........Jeremiah 51:6 meaning "The God of Recompense"
EL-ELYON..............Genesis 14:17-20,Isaiah 14:13-14 meaning "The most high God
EL-ROI................Genesis 16:13 meaning "The strong one who sees"
EL-SHADDAI............Genesis 17:1,Psalm 91:1 meaning "The God of the mountains or God Almighty"
EL-OLAM...............Isaiah 40:28-31 meaning "The everlasting God"
MORE NAMES OF GOD
ABBA.............................Romans 8:15
ADVOCATE.........................I John 2:1 (kjv)
ALMIGHTY.........................Genesis 17:1
ALPHA............................Revelation 22:13
AMEN.............................Revelation 3:14
ANCIENT OF DAYS..................Daniel 7:9
ANOINTED ONE.....................Psalm 2:2
APOSTLE..........................Hebrews 3:1
ARM OF THE LORD..................Isaiah 53:1
AUTHOR OF LIFE...................Acts 3:15
AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH..............Hebrews 12:2
BEGINNING.........................Revelation 21:6
BLESSED & HOLY RULER..............1 Timothy 6:15
BRANCH............................Jeremiah 33:15
BREAD OF GOD......................John 6:33
BREAD OF LIFE.....................John 6:35
BRIDEGROOM........................Isaiah 62:56
BRIGHT MORNING STAR...............Revelation 22:16
CHIEF SHEPHERD.....................1 Peter 5:4
CHOSEN ONE.........................Isaiah 42:1
CHRIST.............................Matthew 22:42
CHRIST OF GOD......................Luke 9:20
CHRIST THE LORD....................Luke 2:11
CHRIST, SON OF LIVING GOD..........Matthew 16:16
COMFORTER..........................John 14:26(kjv)
COMMANDER..........................Isaiah 55:4
CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL...............Luke 2:25
CONSUMING FIRE......................Deut. 4:24, Heb. 12:29
CORNERSTONE.........................Isaiah 28:16
COUNSELOR...........................Isaiah 9:6
CREATOR.............................1 Peter 4:19
DELIVERER..............................Romans 11:26
DESIRED OF ALL NATIONS.................Haggai 2:7
DOOR...................................John 10:7(kjv)
END....................................Revelation 21:6
ETERNAL GOD............................Deut. 33:27
EVERLASTING FATHER.....................Isaiah 9:6
FAITHFUL & TRUE........................Revelation 19:11
FAITHFUL WITNESS.......................Revelation 1:5
FATHER.................................Matthew 6:9
FIRSTBORN (3)........................................Rom.8:29,Rev.1:5,Col.1:15
FIRSTFRUITS............................1 Cor.15:20-23
FOUNDATION.............................1 Cor. 3:11
FRIEND OF TAX COLLECTORS & SINNERS.....Matthew 11:19
GENTLE WHISPER.........................1 Kings 19:12
GIFT OF GOD............................John 4:10
GLORY OF THE LORD......................Isaiah 40:5
GOD....................................Genesis 1:1
GOD ALMIGHTY...........................Genesis 17:1
GOD OVER ALL...........................Romans 9:5
GOD WHO SEES ME........................Genesis 16:13
GOOD SHEPHERD..........................John 10:11
GREAT HIGH PRIEST......................Hebrews 4:14
GREAT SHEPHERD.........................Hebrews 13:20
GUIDE..................................Psalm 48:14
HEAD OF THE BODY.......................Colossians 1:18
HEAD OF THE CHURCH.....................Ephesians 5:23
HEIR OF ALL THINGS.....................Hebrews 1:2
HIGH PRIEST............................Hebrews 3:1
HIGH PRIEST FOREVER....................Hebrews 6:20
HOLY ONE...............................Acts 2:27
HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL.....................Isaiah 49:7
HOLY SPIRIT............................John 15:26
HOPE...................................Titus 2:13
HORN OF SALVATION......................Luke 1:69
I AM....................................Exodus 3:14, John 8:58
IMAGE OF GOD............................2 Cor. 4:4
IMAGE OF HIS PERSON.....................Hebrews 1:3 (kjv)
IMMANUEL................................Isaiah 7:14
JEALOUS..............................Exodus 34:14 (kjv)
JEHOVAH..............................Psalm 83:18 (kjv)
JESUS................................Matthew 1:21
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD................Romans 6:23
JUDGE................................Isaiah 33:22, Acts 10:42
KING.................................Zechariah 9:9
KING ETERNAL.........................1 Timothy 1:17
KING OF KINGS........................1 Timothy 6:15
KING OF THE AGES.....................Revelation 15:3
LAMB OF GOD...........................John 1:29
LAST ADAM.............................1 Cor. 15:45
LAWGIVER..............................Isaiah 33:22
LEADER................................Isaiah 55:4
LIFE..................................John 14:6
LIGHT OF THE WORLD....................John 8:12
LIKE AN EAGLE.........................Deut. 32:11
LILY OF THE VALLEYS...................Song 2:1
LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH............Revelation 5:5
LIVING STONE..........................1 Peter 2:4
LIVING WATER..........................John 4:10
LORD..................................John 13:13
LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.....................Revelation 15:3
LORD JESUS CHRIST.....................1 Cor. 15:57
LORD OF ALL...........................Acts 10:36
LORD OF GLORY ........................1 Cor. 2:8
LORD OF HOSTS.........................Haggai 1:5
LORD OF LORDS.........................1 Tim. 6:15
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS..............Jeremiah 23:6
LOVE.................................1 John 4:8
MAN OF SORROWS.........................Isaiah 53:3
MASTER..................................Luke 5:5
MEDIATOR................................1 Timothy 2:5
MERCIFUL GOD............................Jeremiah 3:12
MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT................Malachi 3:1
MESSIAH................................. John 4:25
MIGHTY GOD...............................Isaiah 9:6
MIGHTY ONE...............................Isaiah 60:16
NAZARENE.................................Matthew 2:23
OFFSPRING OF DAVID.......................Revelation 22:16
OMEGA....................................Revelation 22:13
ONLY BEGOTTEN SON........................John 1:18(kjv)
OUR PASSOVER LAMB........................1 Cor. 5:7
OUR PEACE................................Ephesians 2:14
POTTER...................................Isaiah 64:8
POWER OF GOD.............................1 Cor. 1:24
PRINCE OF PEACE..........................Isaiah 9:6
PROPHET..................................Acts 3:22
PURIFIER.................................Malachi 3:3
RABBONI (TEACHER)........................John 20:16
RADIANCE OF GOD'S GLORY..................Heb.1:3
REDEEMER.................................Job 19:25
REFINER'S FIRE...........................Malachi 3:2
RESURRECTION.............................John 11:25
RIGHTEOUS ONE............................1 John 2:1
ROCK.....................................1 Cor.10:4
ROOT OF DAVID............................Rev. 22:16
ROSE OF SHARON...........................Song 2:1
RULER OF GOD'S CREATION..................Rev. 3:14
RULER OVER KINGS OF EARTH................Rev 1:5
RULER OVER ISRAEL........................Micah 5:2
SAVIOR...................................Luke 2:11
SCEPTER OUT OF ISRAEL....................Numbers 24:17
SEED.....................................Genesis 3:15
SERVANT..................................Isaiah 42:1
SHEPHERD OF OUR SOULS....................1Peter 2:25
SHIELD...................................Genesis 15:1
SON OF DAVID.............................Matthew 1:1
SON OF GOD...............................Matthew 27:54
SON OF MAN...............................Matthew 8:20
SON OF THE MOST HIGH.....................Luke 1:32
SOURCE...................................Hebrews 5:9
SPIRIT OF GOD............................Genesis 1:2
STAR OUT OF JACOB........................Numbers 24:17
STONE....................................1 Peter 2:8
SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.....................Malachi 4:2
TEACHER...................................John 13:13
TRUE LIGHT................................John 1:9
TRUE WITNESS..............................Revelation 3:14
TRUTH.....................................John 14:6
VINE......................................John 15:5
WAY........................................John 14:6
WISDOM OF GOD..............................1 Cor. 1:24
WITNESS....................................Isaiah 55:4
WONDERFUL..................................Isaiah 9:6
WORD.......................................John 1:1
WORD OF GOD................................Revelation 19:13

"What in God's name...." Part 1

I figure this blog is about to stir up some debate. But I think defending your faith is good for the soul, as iron sharpens iron. Plus it might motivate you to dig deeper to challenge your beliefs and why you believe them. 2 Timothy 2:15 (21st Century King James Version) 15Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
What is God’s name? What do you Call God? Lord, Saviour, Jesus, Master, Father, all of these names are perfectly applicable to God. What I like best about God is that He customizes his relationship with each one of us individually. My walk is probably going to be different than your walk. If we are indeed created in His image, and we are all distinct from each other doesn’t it stand to reason that we would worship and follow in slightly different ways? There are some distinct absolutes in the Bible of course that all believers must adhere to. But the details sometimes become murky. For example how many Christians do you know that drink alcohol and how many do you know that think it’s a sin? Remember it was just a few decades ago that make-up and card playing were considered sins. What about the scandals that were created when a woman wore slacks in church. In my day it was the evils of dancing (which never affected me because I can’t dance anyway). Besides true theologians who can accurately explain the differences between the denominations. What is the difference between the Baptists and Methodists? What about Presbyterian and Lutheran. I just did a google search and there are exactly 100 different Baptist organizations listed on Wikipedia. There are 74 different Pentecostal churches and other 30 or so Charismatic churches. What about the Catholic churches or the orthodox churches. Then there are the Jews and the Messianic Jews. I could spend a lot of time covering all the different faiths that are out there. Just Google church denominations and you will get nearly a 1000 different types of structured Christian organizations all believing generally the same thing that there is One God and Jesus is his Son and we must confess our sins and believe in Christ to be saved. That is the basic tenet to which most of those 1000 adhere. But there are so many details. Now who out of those 1000 are right, and who are wrong. Who are mostly right and who are mostly wrong? Is it possible they could all be right. Everyone likes to think that their way is the perfect way and every other way is a bit second rate. That is why each city has First Baptist, First Methodist, First Assembly, First Presbyterian. They all believe they are the first. How many Second Methodist, and Second Assembly, and Second Presbyterian can you come up with? I think that is why God doesn’t want us Judge each other.
Then there are dozens of Bible Translations. Which one is the right one? I like the New King James, because I like Shakespeare? You might like the New International Version, of the New American Standard. My parents read “The Message” but I don’t prefer that version. We have our preferences but does that mean my preference is the best, or just the best for me? It is God’s word, it is infallible. It is inspired. It is living, there are just different interpretations of God. God is different to each of us. We could read the same scripture passage and pick up two entirely different meanings. The Bible and God is a living breathing entity.
My point is that we all believe just slightly different from each other. What is important is that you work out your salvation with God on an individual basis. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, but God alone. 2 Phillippians 12 says this from The Message translation: Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
14-16Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.
What I pick up from that is not to argue about the details or our petty disagreements with our faith. Its counter-productive. We can talk about the basic black and white fundamental details, like the 10 commandments for example, but not argue about whether talking in tongues is edifying or not. Our faiths are deeply internal and personal. I think God customized each of our faiths and our relationships with him to be as unique as we are.
I think that is the beauty of God. Part 2 comes tomorrow.

Living life right

It was just after I leased my car when it hit me. I don’t really need a car…at least not every day. I just need it during production and for meetings. Since I work out of a home office, my commute is about 25 feet. I had leased the car for a month. Later that day I found out I could get the same rate daily-weekly-monthly from the Thrifty Rental Car place next to my building. I could rent as needed for virtually the same rate. Most everything is within walking distance and the Metro is only about 15 minute walk from me. In fact I can see it out the window now. It’s a good way to save a few bucks. The rental guy was nice enough to let me out of the contract. But the big problem was returning the car. It was way across town, about a 45 minute drive on the other side of the river. Reg dropped me off on Saturday, but it was night, I wasn’t paying attention and he took a different route to avoid traffic. I called the rental guy for directions and he didn’t know. So he referred me to his driver. The driver was a Filipino that didn’t speak English much if at all. He tried his best to give me discernible direction but he said Mattom bridge when he must have meant Markhtoum (I realized later) so I tried my best to write it all down but I really couldn’t understand much of anything he said. When I asked him to clarify, he always said yes so I don’t think he understood me either. Oh, by the way it seems the standard protocol for anyone over here that doesn’t understand is to answer yes to any question. They certainly don’t want to say no and look foolish. Rarely do they ever ask you to repeat yourself either. So there I was only knowing I had to drive north and then west a little…I think. I knew I was going to get lost. I hoped I could at least get close by some landmark then they could come and get me and guide me in. But as I got in the car a strange thing happened to me. I prayed that God would lead me there. So I started driving and then I figured Markhtoum, must have meant matton. So I just kind followed that inner voice/intuition/God that I’ve grown quite accustomed to hearing. A left turn here, straight through the roundabout there. I didn’t see any of the landmarks that he referenced. After about 15 minutes, sometimes resisting the urge to make a u-turn, I turned the corner. It was a quite surreal “Use the force Luke” moment but I didn’t close my eyes, nor did I destroy the deathstar, but instead I came directly across the rental car place on the very first try!!! Not only that but there was a parking place right in front. How did that happen? Dubai is a very confusing place in which to drive (the roads are like thousands of years old). Yet there I was, I didn’t make one wrong turn. I looked at the directions and I don’t think I understood or followed even one. Yet I made it easily. It made me think that God really does care about the little things. Oh you could say it’s a coincidence like most people are apt to say if they are not believers. But instead I knew this was God. If he cares about what direction Im going on the road, don’t think he’s going to be delivering on all the bigger promises he told me that he had in store for me.

After I dropped the car off, it was about a 15 minute walk to the Metro. I was so enjoying the downtown souq-type of atmosphere. I was just breathing in the culture and my surroundings. Im so lucky and blessed to be in this situation. There were scores of Indian laborers around me (some don’t believe in deodorant) and I was just soaking in the experience. Most people don’t get this much cultural interaction in a lifetime, and I get it in an afternoon. Im so fortunate. I got on the Metro and for $1.50 I rode back across town (30-40 miles) and walked back to my apartment. Oh, I took a bunch of pictures of my building and environment too. As I was walking to the beach, I came across this guy walking his camels. Are you kidding me? A guy walking camels on the beach at sunset. So I ran as fast as I could to get the perfect framing for the picture. If you want to take a look at that pictures and pictures of my new temporary home you can find them at this link. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=286847&id=751722138&l=f4a497ee5d

I finished my first script today and sent it to my partners. Good news in that they both really like it. These are exciting times for me. Im very blessed and very fortunate. I hope I don’t come across as egotistical in this blog. I try to detail my successes and my failures in detail. I think through my life one could make a very strong argument that God does indeed exist. At least that’s the argument I use, when I have to use words.

By the way I appreciate all the great emails and facebook comments I’ve been receiving. They are so encouraging. By sharing this blog with you, I feel as if we’re both in this together.

Being Utterly Spoiled

OK, Im feeling really spoiled right now. I guess this is one of the reasons why I live in the Middle East. This is the good life. Im presently operating out of a Home-office situation. I already went on and on about the nice location of the place. But let tell you about another little perk, one that Im almost embarrassed to admit due to its scarcity in the U.S. We have a live in maid. Live in maid’s are quite common here as opposed to the U.S. where only the upper-upper class have them. Instead the live in maid’s here are quite inexpensive much like the female version of the laborer or construction worker. Im not trying to dehumanize maids and laborers, Im just trying to paint a picture of what life is like for most people that live in the Middle East. Almost every home Middle Class and above has a maid. Most are from the Philippines, Sri Lanka or India. Its almost expected that you will have a maid because the buildings are built with maid’s quarters in tact. The maid’s quarters consist of a tiny room, and an attached bathroom. Maids make about as much as a laborer around $400-$500 a month. Many are very glad to have employment as the economic situation in their homeland is usually much much worse. Most maids work about 6 days a week. I always try to treat the maids and the other people with me, better than most. This is my way of being a blessing to them as they are to me.

Here are the perks, I never have to clean and Im encouraged to leave my underwear on the floor…literally. She asks me at various times of the day if I’d like tea or coffee. We have a system worked out for Diet Coke. So whenever Im hungry I just ask her to make me something. I buy the groceries ahead of time and set the menu. It’s a pretty neat situation. I can already tell Im becoming very spoiled.

Since Im working in a home office situation, I can roll out of bed anytime I want. The key is for me to get the work done. Today was supposed to be the weekend. But I wound up inspired and was writing a script until 2:30 am. As long as the job gets done and beats the deadline it doesn’t matter what hours I keep. That said, when Im in production I usually work a 12-14 hour day. Because its fun, I don’t really consider it working anyways. That’s such a benefit to be able to do what you love.

I did wind up taking a break today and I went over to the Mall of the Emirates. It’s not the largest mall in Dubai. That is the Dubai Mall which is the largest mall in the world. Still this one is pretty stinking huge. It took me about 20 minutes to walk from one end of the mall to the other and I was walking fast. Plus there are four other floors I didn’t get to. It has like four food courts. This is the mall that has the indoor skiing slope in it. There are just so many cool things to do here…plus Im right across from the beach. My life is pretty ideal right now (thanks be to God). I feel like I am so utterly blessed even though I don’t deserve it. Really there are only two things that could make my life better at this point. 1. To have Jennifer by my side again (She’s moving at the end of December for sure) 2. To have a restored relationship with my children. I do love and miss them so.

Spinning wheels in the desert

What a frustrating day. I am still not 100% over the jetlag. Just like 90%...im staying up til 2-3 am and waking up at 8 or 9 and can’t get back to sleep. At least Im getting things done…in theory. I woke up and listened to my Pastor Steve from Livermore on the podcast on the way to breakfast. Then at Fuddrucker’s I had a nice breakfast and devotional to God. Check out what I came upon today. I read the bible cover to cover.

Isaiah 40
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

And

Isaiah 43
18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

Were those appropriate for me life or what? Sometimes God speaks to me through the voice in my head but more often than not, he speaks to me through His word. Those of you who know me, or read this blog, know I dwell in the past. I have to quit doing that I know. But its hard to do with the relationship I have with my children is a constant reminded of the life I used to have. I do miss them so. But the whole desert reference is really kind of cool.

Im really determined to put more discipline back in my life. Its so easy to slip into mini-compromises that before long grow bigger. Like my Pastor Jim Lewis from Lakewood you used to say…Your spirit and your flesh are like two dogs…whichever one you feed is going to kill the other.

After breakfast I was determined to get my iphone 4 unlocked. Im locked into AT&T but they aren’t out here, so the process is to get it unlocked so you can put in another sim card and use it with a local carrier. So Reg dropped me off on his way to the airport. I walked for about an hour to the souq…or at least I was trying to find Mina Bazaar which is a big shopping district of stores. I wasn’t sure I was there til I asked someone and he said “This is all of Mina Bazaar. So most of them were closed since it was a Friday (church/mosque day). One guy hustled me into a store. “Can you unlock the iphone 4? Sure…10 minutes.” The 10 minutes turned into 30 minutes. I told him I was going to go eat lunch and come back. After lunch 30 minutes turned into 60 more minutes. Fortunately, I was across the street from the Dubai Museum, so I hung out for an hour in there. An hour in that place was perfect. America….appreciate your museums! So I go back to the phone store and he said…Im sorry I called everywhere no one can unlock iphone 4, its too new. Iphone 3, yes…4 no. Apparently they haven’t made their way here yet. So it took me another 15 minutes to get my phone. I looked for other shops around there for an hour but couldn’t find any that could do it. I needed to head back because Reg was going to help me rent a car. I walked to the Metro and caught the train back to my place. After a 15 minute walk, I was back…and a sweaty mess. I cleaned up and we went to get the car. I was right by another souq so I asked around some shops. After 10 rejections…I put 2 and 2 together…I guess they can’t unlock the iphone 4. Fortunately, Jennifer found my old Bahrain phone, so I can use that here. The iphone is still nice to have because Jennifer and I can use it for the face to face feature. So it was 11 hours of total time just spinning my wheels. You have to take the good days with the not so good days here. Im still standing.

First Day in Dubai

First full day in Dubai and I feel amazingly blessed. My flight got in at 10:30 pm local time. It took a long time to get through customs at 90 min. but finally I was through. I packed all of my belongings into two big boxes plus a heavy backpack and a carryon that totaled around 70lbs. I lugged that thing around heathrow for 6 hours. So I got to my flat around 12:30 am. I was met by Reg, my partner/boss/friend. Im going to staying with him until Jennifer moves out here. Reg’s boys got accepted to play in a soccer academy in the UK, which is quite prestigious Im told. So they will be living in a boarding school type of situation. Reg’s wife is moving back to her home in the UK to be with the boys and Reg will commute and develop our UK business. So Im quite fortunate and blessed to be living here.

I went to sleep rather quickly, as I had been up for 34 straight hours at that point. But the goal of staying awake is a strategy that I often use to combat jet lag. If I can stay awake enough the first night then when I crash, I crash according to the sleep schedule of the new environment. I only woke up at 7 am because of a low blood sugar then went back to sleep til 2:00 PM. Sleeping til 2 probably wasn’t the best for adjusting to the jet lag but it sure felt nice.

We had a meeting with Ali the other partner about all of our projects in the pipeline. I’ll share more in detail when the projects become firm. But I am very excited about the possibilities. It could be really huge. We are trying not to build too quickly. Instead we are trying to be a lean organization and build up through efficiency and foresight. Already there is a lot to do. Im thrilled about that. Im pretty ecstatic right now. Im staying in a place called Jumeirah Beach Residences. Im right across the street from the Ritz Carlton Hotel so that lets you know what type of neighborhood this is. This is what Wikipedia had to say about JBR. Jumeirah Beach Residence (also known as JBR) is a 1.7 kilometre (1.06 mile) long, 2 million square metre (22 million square foot) gross floor area waterfront community located against the Persian Gulf in Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is the largest single phase residential development in the world and contains 40 towers (36 are residential and 4 are hotels) . JBR's capacity is about 10.000 people living in its apartments and hotel rooms.

So after our meeting I went on a walk. They have this upper level called “The Walk” which connects all the buildings. In my 5 tower structure there are four pools, with the main one being this 25 meter long pool. There are an assortment of boutiques, stores, DVD rentals, coffee shops and restaurants on the walk. Just below the walk is the main strip, two stories down. The main strip is where the Ritz Carlton, Hilton, Sheraton and all the other five star hotels are. This was bustling with activity with all the restaurants open on a Thursday night (Thursday night is their Friday night since weekends here are Fri-Sat as opposed to the US’ Sa-Su). The walk was far less crowded then the strip and that lent a certain exclusivity about the place. I just love it. I passed a Fuddruckers, Ruby Tuesday’s, Chili’s, On the Border and a slew of other great restaurants. OH…plus a minute away from me is a 24 hour Subway and a 24 hour grocery store. Im pretty excited to be here. Plus Im within a one minute walk to the largest natural beach in Dubai. Its literally just across the street. Im not on the ocean front side. Instead I can look out my window from the 20th floor and see the marina. Jennifer and I stayed at a hotel across the street when she visited in March.

I just feel so incredibly blessed right now. I was having a really nice talk with God on the plane ride over and he greatly impressed upon me that I need to get ready for the ride of my life. I told him I didn’t really deserve the blessings and he empathetically reminded me that the blessings are for all of his children. All they need to do is remain obedient and the blessings will flow. It’s a pretty simple concept 1. Love God + 2. Love Others, like you love yourself = God’s incredible rewards. He won’t always reward you monetarily, but He’ll make you feel like whatever you have…is more than enough. Right now, I feel like I have way more than enough. It’s pretty cool realizing that you are in the center of God’s will. Now if I can only stay true to the course and not deviate (God told me again the blessings were conditional based on my obedience) that the sky is the limit. God will never take away a blessing but if you are not living your life right he can suspend future blessings til you get your act together. I pray I can keep my act together this time. The future has never looked brighter.

By the way this is my public blog. If you would like access to my private blog which talks more about my emotions and Jennifer’s point of view, please send me an email and I’ll add you to the list and send you a private link.

Off to Dubai for the new adventure

OK, I think its about time to revive the blog with a few twists. Im currently somewhere 35,000 feet in the air headed to London to await a 6 hour layover then off to Dubai to start the next adventure. My friend Ralph said it best when he said “isn’t great to be doing what God had prepared you to do your entire life.” I certainly feel like that is the case with me. All of this has been a prelim for a professional crescendo that will be played out over the next 40 years or so. In other words Life, Take 2. Bahrain was an amazing life changing experience. But in retrospect I knew early on that it wouldn’t be a career ending move in my career. God told me in January 2010 that my time in Bahrain would be coming to an end but I was to be patient and if I rushed anything it would just delay the process. When God speaks he speaks to me clearly and emphatically (see earlier posts). I believe I should write about each to prove God’s faithfulness. I also believe that one of my many missions in life is to inspire and to help others be able to hear and recognize God’s voice.

So I waited for God’s perfect timing. Waiting was wise as I courted (briefly, it was more like a full court press) and married my wife Jennifer. It was total love at first sight for both of us. We knew from our second conversation that we would marry each other. When you get two impulsive, artistic, and a little nutty people together, sparks begin to fly. I think my friend Steve said it best after he met Jennifer. “At first I was happy for you, now I hate you.” He was trying to feign jealously and that was his humor. Everyone seems to love Jennifer. She is a unique individual. God certainly broke the mold. Well I believe meeting her was one of the purposes for the delay and the other was to set up the venture Im going to embark on now in Dubai. I believe Bahrain was training camp, and the regular season is about to begin in 24 hours. Bahrain was wonderful but it was a small stage. I believe that God has called me to a bigger stage where I can intermix my worldview subtly in the media that I am association with. Hollywood has been doing this for years for mostly negative (in my opinion) moral results and its about time we try to swing the momentum back the other other way. Im taking a very great risk in going with two partners in starting up a production company but with great risk comes great reward. The risk is lessened somewhat as we were thrilled to learn that Jennifer will be able to keep her job at her company and transfer to their Middle East headquarters in Dubai. Is that a coincidence or God just showing off? The girl of my dreams just happened to be working for a company that has a branch in Dubai and she can go there to work. God never ceases to amaze me.

In the past this blog has been a forum for me to talk about the pain of my divorce and the loss of my family. I think that the reason what God compelled me to write about my pain is that His glory could shine through when He turned it all around. Unfortunately this blog has been a lightning rod for my ex-wife and her new husband. It seems as if they don’t want their actions or the consequences therein talked about publicly. If the truth hurts lets just try to suppress it or pretend it doesn’t exist. This sort of thing has been going on since the dawn of time with “What do you mean about forbidden fruit” and “It’s not my fault, they made me do it.” I think its human nature to mess up and blame other people for your problems that’s why I try not to let the shenanigans bother me all to often. So after Ex wife and New Husband told me they were blocking the blog from their home, we later find out that they are our no. 1 readers to this day. They check my blog when I write it and Jennifer’s blog sometimes 4-5 times a day. (Jennifer the genius that she is can track who accesses it and who doesn’t.) So because of this the blog is going to take on a very professional and cultural outlook. But that doesn’t mean Im not going to write about the drama as it sometimes unfolds. Instead we are going to write a private candid blog so that only a certain controlled audience of friends and family can access it. Its called Beeman Buzz and if you would like to access it please send me an email to rickbeeman@mac.com and I’ll add you to the list. But before I sign off on all the personal info, let me give you just a quick overview of my personal life here. The parental alienation that has been admitted to in writing by the new husband is at all time worst. Everyone tells me that has been through something similar that the kids will see the truth eventually. My job is to continue to love them unconditionally and to fight for them at every opportunity. I will continue to do that. Im fortunate enough to have a spouse that likes to fight as well. That is probably one of the 2,762 reasons why God brought her into my life. Injustice and tyranny has always struck a nerve with me, who knew that it would affect me so directly? Well God knew and this like everything is no surprise to him.

I believe its right to talk about my personal life with all of its challenges and successes so other people can learn from some of the mistakes that I have made. But more importantly be inspired by God’s overwhelming faithfulness I believe Ive been quite forthcoming about those mistakes, if not shoot me an email and I’ll go into detail.

I will keep this blog going for a couple of months as is, but obviously the name is incorrect. The plan is for Jennifer to finish her Ph.d by December and move out to join me in Dubai. We will then retitle it, An American Couple in Dubai. Though Jennifer doesn’t like that title, Im open to suggestions. We will both write in that blog as she is much more of a prolific and artistic writer than myself. We will occasionally share blogs from the private blog on this space as long as it doesn’t detail any personal family information. I hate being censored. But I don’t want to give that household any more ammunition to turn my conciliatory aspirations through this blog and through other means into venom that can be twisted to aid in their alienating efforts.