Top 10 of 2011 #6 - #4

This is a continuation of the my top 10 list of 2011.  I would greatly encourage you, if you haven’t already started doing one of these of your own, that you do so.  It can be a great reminder of God’s faithfulness and blessings.  As a Christian I believe in the tenet of Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good for those who believe and are called according to His purpose.”  But the catch is… ‘for those who believe.’  So if you are a Christian that essentially means you are in a no lose situation if you are living your life right.  Even in the most dire of circumstances you know eventually that everything will come up positive in the long run.  That promise I’ve seen evident in my life over and over again.  So no matter how bad things appear, I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I’ve been so brutally honest in this blog about my own struggles with highlights and lowlights to prove this.  I hope it has been convincing.  I think this is where the peace that passes all understanding comes into play.  Of course if you are not called according to His purpose, or not a believer or not living your life right…all bets are off.  Then you are on your own. You might have moments of happiness but you won’t have the over sustaining joy and peace 24/7.   Why did it take me so long to learn the principle?  When the going gets tough, the tough get on their knees.  Inexplicably sometimes it’s the answer to almost every problem I have.  It really works!!!

Jennifer's visit in Christmas 2010 outside of my flat

#6 Living in Dubai  I have lived in a lot of places all over the world.  I think my favorite place was Los Angeles, but Dubai has to be a close #2.  Living there was simply a blast.  I was quite spoiled while I was there.  I was working out of a home/office with my boss.  I know that seems weird, but I had my own bedroom and my commute to work was 24 steps. If I wanted to go swimming at the best beach in the UAE, it was a two minute walk across the street.   Another perk was that he was gone about 95% of the time so I had the place to myself.  Did I mention that there was a live in maid too?  This is quite standard in the Middle East.  So our place was on Jumeirah Beach, one of the ritziest places in Dubai.  In fact we were directly across the street from the Ritz Carlton Hotel.  It was the equivalent of living off of 5^th Avenue in New York or Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.  This was the happening and hip place to be.  I got quite spoiled having my room made up everyday and laundry ironed and folded.  All I had to do was buy the groceries and Sunita, our Indian maid would whip it right up, breakfast lunch or dinner.  Not only that, Dubai was just cool with the high rises and energy.  It was quite expensive however.  If you have seen Mission Impossible 4, that you have a good feel for what life was like.  Total luxury. 

The falcon and I after one of our shoots

#5 Leaving Dubai.  There is a time and season for everything.  Leaving Dubai was actually quite an easy decision.  I have learned that the closer you are aligned with God the easier the most difficult decisions become.  As you can see, I loved living in Dubai.  Jennifer had gotten permission to transfer her job and work out of the Dubai office.  We had even found a placed to live on the man-made Palm Islands.  Jennifer was also about 4 months pregnant at this point.  But something happened neither of us anticipated.  I was awaiting a two year contract from my employer.  I had previously been on a month to month contract.  I finally gave them a deadline for the contract.  That same day of the deadline I got a job offer to come work for Jennifer’s company in North Carolina.  The timing was certainly of God.  It made a seemingly very difficult choice simple.  Honestly I think the offer was more about them not wanting to lose Jennifer than to be gaining Rick, but either way it worked.  In hindsight, I can totally see God’s hand in this move.  Jennifer developed serious complication in the latter stages of her pregnancy.  If she would have been in Dubai we would not have had health insurance.  So the costs would have been prohibitive.  Plus where there are certainly fine medical care facilities in the Middle East, being home sure brought with it a lot of peace of mind as we trudged through the uncertainty of our first child together. 

Jennifer and I snow skiing indoors in the Mall of the Emirates

#4  Working at SAS.  All three of these neatly fold together.  Forbes magazine voted SAS the #1 company to work for in America two years in a row.  I have also worked for DreamWorks in the past and DreamWorks is usually on the top 10 list as well.  But SAS is clearly #1.  What a great environment in which to work.  SAS has its own cafeterias, racquetball courts, swimming pools, Hair and nail salons, fitness center, doctor’s offices, physical therapists, and as of this month their own pharmacy.  Everything you could thing of in a company SAS seems to have thought of it first.  Again I feel quite spoiled/blessed working here.  There is also so much positivity as everyone I’ve met at SAS has been proud of working for this great company. 

#3-#1 Coming soon.