Rick Beeman

Wow so many incredibly wonderful things happened to me in the past four months I was totally due for down time.    It hit and surprisingly enough Im rebounding quite well rather quickly.    I remember getting a package from Lakewood for the small group/church I started last week.    I took a CD series in the car to listen to and from work.    The title was handling adversity.    Last Wednesday I thought to myself, huh…I don’t need this, there isn’t much adversity in my life right now…then whamo blamo… do you think God was trying to get me prepared for something? It was just the strangest feeling walking around yesterday in a state of shock really.    Once that war off…I was a little numb…then today I was a bit out of it.    I went to church and prayed…God give me hope.    Then the very next song was something about God giving us hope.      I knew that things would get better…I just knew it.    God wouldn’t have taken me this far to let a little thing like this destroy his whole master ...

Im a little bit stunned right now..no make that a lot stunned.    I started this whole blog thing to talk about my experiences in a different culture, my tools for making through the pain of my divorce, and the amazing adventure that God has me on at this moment.    Its interesting.    Something great must just be about to happen, because I feel like Im being spiritually attacked on all sides.    I think Im in a little bit of emotional shock right now.     This has easily been my worst day on the island…yet I’m fighting through trying to stay positive.    Trying to know that God is still in control.      My relationship with Ms. Texas, ended rather abruptly.    I thought about recapping what happened, but I thought would be easier to just copy and paste.     I woke up this morning to the following email: Hi Rick,  The first think i have to say is I am soooo sorry that you have to deal with this kind of thing. I know it isn't easy dealing with not only an ex, but her new hubby too. ...

Readers, Im sorry this has gotten so ugly.  I hope my kids don't read this blog anymore.  Im starting to email them directly.  Divorce and hate is so ugly.  I'll repeat...hate is like ingesting poison hoping the other guy will die.  Im at peace right now. I don't control who comments on my blog and I never delete a comment.  I try to share my feelings without going into much detail on other people's personal struggles.  I just detail my own.   However, X's hubby has become quite irate with some of the comments that others have posted on the blog.  He has threatened to share some information about me that is actually quite heinous and quite untrue.  He threatened to post this information if I don't get my readers to stop saying bad things about him.  This is free speech, so I'm not going to censor people's opinions.  If new hubby has issues, Im sorry about that.  I just wanted to forewarn you, that you might be seeing some pretty damning accusations about...

Wow…what a soap opera huh?    The readership is spiking but unfortunately…my kids have been hurt.    I hate that.    I hate divorce. I hate dissension.    I hate that I don’t have the relationship with them like a true father has.    I’ll do my best to work on it, and be the best father I can be from the vantage point from this limitation.    There is so much crap and miscommunication going back and forth in this blog, and I apologize for it.    I always prided myself on being a man of character, and trying to live my life by God’s principles.    But I have failed more than a few times.    Im a sinner that needs grace just like everyone else.    But that is not the man who I am anymore.        Think about it logically, If I admitted publicly to having a past addiction to the adult online thing, and have been pretty transparent in this blog with every other thing I’ve done, why would I feel compelled to lie now?    That doesn’t make any sense.    If anything I would lie about my past to...

Another one of those days where 8 days of blog material happen in a day.    I was really upset last night about my children. And if you read the comments from X, she tried to make me feel even worse about it.    I think Im a pretty objective soul.    Those of you who know me, know that I’m also incredibly transparent with my feelings.    What you see is what you get.    Its part of my ministry.    For example, I was leading a small group tonight.    It was a bunch of South Africans…and me.    I shared, my pain, my vulnerability and the solutions and the comfort that God has given me.    Because I opened my self up about my own shortcomings, it gave me more credibility.    They were interested in hearing my solutions.    I know I made a big impact with at least one guy there tonight.    Im glad when God can use my pain to impact another soul in such a profound way.    Its easy to have joy and peace in your life when things are going well…but how easy is it to have when things are not go...

It’s a little bit difficult to keep communicating with my kids because of the time difference.    Its 10 hours so when Im awake they are either asleep, or at school or I’m at work.    So there is only a small window of opportunity where I can talk to them and that is usually on the weekend.    So I had a great talk with them on Saturday and then Max called me several time the next day.    He said it was very urgent that I call him back.    When I did, he was very very angry with me.    He had me on speakerphone with Spencer and they were really mad at me.    They read the blog and were really upset at how I expressed my feelings about Ms. Texas.    Maybe I shouldn’t have written what I did about her.    I do tend to get into things too fast. Everyone tells me that, so maybe I should start listening.      But they were upset that I hadn’t told them about her.    I tried to explain but they kept telling me I was lying to them.    Have you ever had one of your children call you a liar?   ...

OK…the trends.    I’ve noticed a significant spike in the readership of this blog lately.    I know Im not supposed to write for numbers but Im curious about who reads this, when and where.    I hope Im being a blessing to some of you out there, I hope Im educating and inspiring too.    I’ve noticed that the more I write about Ms. Texas the more the readership is steadily increasing.    So does that mean Ms. Texas is good for ratings?    Im not sure, she certainly is beautiful and marketable.    So Im not sure if people are reading for the soap opera aspect or not.    My life certainly has resembled that of a soap opera.    Im just glad I’m finally winding up on the good side of it.    Things look really good. I had some potentially discouraging news today.    I mentioned we are starting the acting school.    The place where we were going to hold it is a Montessori Nursery school that has a custom built little theater on its property.    Today one of the government offices told the own...

OK…Im thinking of changing the name of this blog from An American in Bahrain…to An American in Bahrain in hot pursuit of Ms. Texas.    She kind of has been dominating my emotional life, and that is a very good thing.    Im absolutely falling for her.    I know I’ll get criticized, but its my heart Im risking here.     The people that care about me, just don’t want to see me get hurt again as they know how much I was hurt in the past three years.    But really,    I kind of feel emotionally invincible.    I went through sooooooo much pain in my divorce, I don’t think I can ever hurt that much again.    So what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.    I can withstand heartbreak now, more than in the past, that’s why Im so wiling to risk my heart again.    Nothing ventured nothing gained.       Its weird how the relationship with Ms. Texas is evolving.    What started out as just emails, turned into in frequent chats, turned into routine chats, turned into phone calls, turned into video cha...

Im really touched by all the girls sharing their opinions on my love life.    Its flattering.    As you know if you read this blog, I kind of put myself out there for better or worse and let the chips fall where they may.    Wow..one sentence three cliché’s don’t try this at home (four).    I will admit, there is an artist in me, that makes me very passionate and I fall for girls quite easily.    That said, I’ve only been in love 4.5 times in my life, so I think that is average for a guy.    But Im a director.    Its easy for me to spot talent and to cast accordingly.    So when I say Im falling for Ms. Texas…it comes with a good measure of conviction and its not just a passing phase.     I think she can fill the role of what I am looking for as far character and characteristics.    Im so into character right now.      Now the part that I have to figure into all of this.    Is that I love being in love.    So I have to separate that feeling from the attachment to the individual.    I f...

I was just headed off to bed then I stopped and remembered I didn’t write in the blog tonight.    It’s a little bit strange.    I like having Guy around, but Im having to set up a new routine.    Its all going to be good.    My internet connection is down at the moment.    That’s one thing negative about being here.    The technology is about five years behind the U.S.    So periodically, in the apartment building we lose our connection entirely so sometimes it takes a few hours to get re-established.    Its an amazing thing being addicted to the net.    I think    a lot of people are.    Im not really sure what to do with my time with the Internet down.    Maybe this is God’s way of telling me I need to go to bed soon.    Part of the thing that makes it frustrating is this usually the time that Ms. Texas and I talk.    So when that gets interrupted it gets really frustrating.   I played squash with the Iraqi tonight.    Afterwards we had a really interesting discussion on religion.   ...

Yesterday Simi, my Indian office manager, came into my office giggling.    She said we really like Guy.    I said..wait you are not allowed to like him more than me.    She said..we already do…and she laughed..He’s everything you said he would be. She said.    It was a good laugh.    So I wrote a company wide email: I realize that everyone loves Guy, but you aren't allowed to love him more than you love me...Otherwise, we'll have to let him go....It's a joke...We are all thrilled that he is on board the team. Rick   We all had a good laugh about it.    So when I walked into the office this morning.    My picture was photocopied and put everywhere on the walls…with hearts and #1’s posted.    It was very very funny.    I took a picture of it with the girls on the staff that did it. I’ve posted the picture below.     It really was a hoot.   I got a package from Lakewood today and I really was quite blown away.    I had mentioned to Jim Lewis, the men’s pastor that I’m starting...

Another day and another bevy of things to write about in this blog.    Things are getting so exciting here.    All I have to do is keep Seeking God…and everything will fall into place perfectly.    The last month I’ve been doing this thing where I start each day in prayer, dedicate myself and my mind to God and the bless the day.    I shimmy out of bed so my knees hit the floor before my feet do.    There’s nothing really spiritual about that, but it is a funny sight and reminds me to be humble before God.    So I’ve been doing that the past month or so…and now my life just seems to be getting better and better.    Joel Osteen always preaches..the path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter.    Im such testimony to that.   Well…it was momentous day today.    I’ve only spoken with Ms. Texas on the phone and seen pictures.    The pictures were beautiful, but there is something different to seeing a live person.    I know I told you this before but im really into this girl.    I was ...

OK…lots happened today…another one of those crazy days where five days worth of blog worthy items happen.    Last night, after Guy arrived, we went straight to quiz night.    It was just Guy, my friend Brett, the Australian, and myself.    We wound up winning a round and Guy loves quiz night…so I have a new partner for the quizzes.    We came back to the house slept for an hour, chatted with Ms. Texas…and then off to my friend’s Darren’s house for a Super Bowl party at 2am.    By halftime, Guy was really drifting so we decided to leave early.    Once we got back to the apartment, I watched until the fourth quarter but by 5 am, with the Steelers up 20-7 with the ball…with 10 minutes remaining…I figured…its over…I need the two hours sleep.    The next morning I woke up to see that the Cardinals scored 16 points in those 10 minutes in what was called the most exciting Super Bowl ever….AHHHHHHHH why don’t they have Tivo here.    Plus, since we are international, I didn’t see any of the com...

Im sitting at the Bahrain airport waiting for the arrival of Guy Schafer.    Guy and I went to Grad school together.    He is one of the most dynamic people I’ve ever met.    He has his pain as well.    His divorce was just finalized and he is thinking about Bahrain as an opportunity to start fresh, just like I did.    There are many familiar circumstances between our stories.    Not only will Guy be a great friend out here, I need him in the office.    I’m being stretched so thin with my responsibilities, I’ll be able to delegate many things to him, so I can focus on the creative and training up my staff to be better filmmakers.    I can’t make every project myself, so I have to multiply myself through my staff.    I think that is what a good executive does.    Guy is coming over for a three month trial.    It’s a pretty big decision to move to the Middle East so he is coming with an escape plan if he doesn’t feel comfortable here, or finds he misses his children too much.    With me ...

Strange Day, I have so many up days here , there’s bound to be a down one every once in awhile.    And today wasn’t really down, it was just kind of blah.    Nothing really happened.    Which in retrospect is a good thing.    I think Im so acclimated to being blessed    and having fantastic days that an average day is considered to be a bad day as compared with everything else.    That is a great thing I think.    It reminds me of what my father always says (I think it’s the only toast, he knows) “May the best of your yesterdays be the worst of your tomorrows.”    So I think that is what is happening to me.    God is transitioning me to higher plateau of being.    Where an average day, can be considered as bad as it gets.    That is so encouraging.    Does that mean I’m not going to have bad days.    Absolutely not.    Like Rick Warren said, either your in the midst of a trial right now, just coming out of one, or just about to go into one.    I think God is constantly challenging us. ...

Another good day on the island of Bahrain.    I was torn at first, I woke up for church, they do church on Fridays here, the first day of the weekend and its still weird.    But just as I was about to leave Ms. Texas popped up on IM.    I love chatting with her, and its difficult to find mutually convenient times to chat.    So I had a choice, skip church and do what I really wanted to do, which was connect with her, or go to church.    I chose the latter and Im glad I did.   This whole blog started out as a way for me to break perceptions that America has with the Middle East and Arabs.    Somehow slowly it has morphed into my spiritual and emotional journey.    I’ve complained, whined, rejoiced, marveled, expressed my peace, joy and elation.    It just has meandered away from a cultural understanding of Arabs.    I ask myself why.    I think its because that there just isn’t that many differences between Americans and Arabs.    We have the same hopes, dreams, and desires.    In fact,...

Magic…what a magical day it was, simply magical.    Im having more and more of these so I think its becoming a trend.    First of all it started out with me waking up at 4 am…and chatting with Ms. Texas for an hour.    Its hard to connect with the time change.    The spa day for her went over very well.    When she got there…the workers were buzzing…Oh so you’re…Ms. Texas….    They went on and on…how they wish their spouse/significant others would do something considerate like that for them.    I had her favorite flowers delivered to the spa too.    She had never had anyone pamper her like that before so it made her feel incredibly special.    And thus, because she was so genuinely appreciative, made me feel special.    I love doing that kind of stuff for people I care about.    I did that sort of thing for X all the time, but it had the opposite effect after awhile, the more I did the less she respected me in the end.    I did love X dearly…but not in the way she desired me to love he...

I installed a stat counter on this blogspot…Well I didn’t…I had Reji..our IT guy do it.    I was just curious how many people were accessing it.    Before I came over here, God had laid it on my heart to write a book about my divorce and how I overcame the hurt, pain and rejection.    Somehow…this blog is the result of that.    Im honored that I have so many readers…supporters…and prayer partners.      Im really blessed.    But then I got to thinking.    The stats…isn’t that just the flesh talking?    I just read about David when he took the census when he was King.    The sin was he was placing his faith in numbers and not God who had provided again and again for him.    I worked for a few churches and missions organizations.    They were very concerned about their numbers.    Its like a Christian scorecard, how many people raised their hand at the end of the service meant validation or valuation for them.    That so turned me off… I think it comes down to the parable of the lost shee...

Wow…am I spent.    What a great day of activity it was.    Intellectually I was going all day.    We have a ticket booked for Guy, he’s going to get here on Monday.    Im excited about him coming.    Since he’s going to focus primarily on sales, I can keep focused on making movies, my true passion.    I am actually a really good salesman, but I think Im a better filmmaker.    So its all a part of being balanced.    We are starting the acting school in mid-Feb.    So to promote it and our ventures, we did a press release that went out wide yesterday.    We were in a few publications already, but due to the nature of the piece as a feature, its more likely going to go to print on the weekend editions.    But we did have a reporter from a local paper and her photographer come to interview Khalifa and I for her paper.    We spoke about two hours with her.    She was from Sweden a former Gulf Air hostess turned reporter.    She was really smart.    A lot of our goals and objectives cultural...

Mean people suck.    Have you seen that bumper sticker?    I think it was my mantra today.    I was trying to figure out what to get for my daughter for her birthday.    I called her, at first she said, ipod or iphone.    Then she changed her mind, I think because she thought it was frivolous, Im not sure why.    Still I wanted to be a blessing to her.      Her mom confiscated her other phone.    Plus, since Im not allowed to leave silly messages or call on the house/X’s hubby’s phone/formerly Lindsey’s, I thought it would be a good idea to buy Linz an iphone.    So I could call my daughter directly, like I call my son.       I sent an email to X offering to pay for a year’s worth of coverage if I bought Linz a phone.    A few rude emails later, it was expressed to me that I don’t listen and Lindsey doesn’t want a phone. Which got me to wonder, what soon to be 15 year old girl in the world doesn’t want her own phone…I thought that was state law.    But x has so much control…its sad rea...