Rick Beeman

I feel like I have so much more time on my hands now that Im not writing in the blog everyday. I think it was good for season in my life. I know that it is what God called me to do. Perhaps I inspired some of you, perhaps it will turn into a book someday. Either way I enjoy chronicling my experience. Hopefully now that Im down to once or twice a week it will be meatier…rather than just trying to fill in the slow days. Then again I haven’t had a lot of slow days since I’ve been here. It has been a continuous adventure. At first when I started this blog it was meant to be a chronicle of cultures as I wanted to share my viewpoints of the Middle Eastern/Arab culture and how it differed from the West’s stereotype. Then it became more of a spiritual journey as I healed from my divorce. Perhaps God was having me live through the pains and despair again through this blog to showcase his faithfulness with the great comeback story and my fairytale romance with Jennifer. I decided once...

Well I said I wasn’t going to write in this blog everyday, but here I go with two days in a row again. I just had a lot of really cool things happen to day. First of all I went out Kayaking. I went a really long route and I was in some pretty deep water well…deep relative for the gulf. Most of the gulf is pretty shallow at less than 20 feet. It was particularly quiet then out of nowhere a 3-4 foot manta ray breached about 9 feet just to the upper left of me. Is breech even the right word? First of all, I had no idea manta rays were even in this region, second of all I didn’t know they could fly out the water like that. It must have flown about 6-12 inches off the surface. It completely startled me but it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I always look for dolphins when Im out as they are more common in this area. But think about how many people have ever seen a manta ray fly out of the water. It was a pretty memorable experience. So I found this island I think ...

Well I tried to stop writing in this blog, but too many good things keep happening to me. So I think I’ll write in it periodically as things take place. I won’t be as consumed in writing everyday as I was. Plus Jennifer is right, we are merely merging the blogs, I think this will become official once she moves out here. I realize that Jennifer and my relationship is/was rather sudden. But each day that passes Im more and more convinced that she is the perfect girl for me. I knew the first few months of my new marriage would be difficult. But I reasoned I’ve lived alone for four years, what is an extra few months. How wrong I was. The distance is a lot harder than I thought it would be and that is an entirely good thing. The love that Jennifer and I share is growing every day. Thus the pain of being separated is getting equally as tough to as we long to be together. I was really running out of steam and quite discouraged by the vast half a globe that surrounds us. But I have...

Im going through a lot changes right now. These aren’t necessarily bad things rather they are just seasons in life. I think the blog as constant as it has been over the last 18 months will change as well. Im so thankfull for all you faithful readers. Your prayers and emails of support and encouragement have truly been uplifting. I do feel like Im on the frontlines of spiritual battles on many many fronts. I think I have responded the way that God would have had me respond. I’ve made a few mistakes and I’ve acknowledged those in this blog and to accountability partners. The changes have been stirring within me for the past few months. So this is not a rash decision. The obvious change that I went through is marriage. That has changed and affected me in so many different positive ways. I think in time Im going to stop writing in the blog altogether. But for now, Im thinking of just slowing it down. Its not going to be every day, its probably not even going to be every other...

I missed the blog last night not because I didn’t have anything to say, but rather I didn’t have convenient Internet access. The Internet has been down in my apartment for the last two days and I feel like Im clawing at the walls. Why? Im addicted to connectivity and information. Im able to connect at work which keeps my fix going but not at home. I thought I’d be fine for a couple of days until the engineer makes it out to fix it. But no…that is not the case. I think the most frustrating aspect is that it cuts off the majority of my communication with Jennifer. We usually chat/talk on either Skype or Yahoo Messenger which is free. I can call her cell phone on skype which is .02 a minute which is cheap. She can also call me, but that is a little more expensive at .23 a minute. So we talk fast and tend to take shorter breaths when we chat that way. I was thinking theoretically about how dependent I am on the internet. Pat and I wanted to go see a movie, yet we had a no id...

I don’t feel like blogging much tonight. Things at work are going really well, things with Jennifer are going really well, and my spiritual walk is really going well too. I finished my fast today and celebrated by going to Fuddrucker’s. They have this great barbecue chicken platter there that they make only for me. Its not on the menu but I hold favor there. They all wanted to see Jennifer and my wedding pictures. They got really excited once they saw me. Its not like I leave a big tip everytime and they suck up to me. Rather I take the time to talk to them. Still I usually leave 500 fils which is $1.25. They seem to appreciate it. I rushed off to watch Pat coach a playoff game. It was pretty exciting. Im a big fan I guess. I could only stay for half since I was playing Darren at squash at 830. He kicked my butt this time taking 3 of 4 games. I had to call it early because my blood sugar was doing weird things. I had a big meal earlier and thought that 90 min. was enou...

Im trying a new routine now that the weather is warmer. I’m trying to get up super early to kayak in the morning like I did last Spring-Fall. But we have to figure out the time change because Jennifer wants me to talk to her before I head out. When we talk we always put time limits on ourselves but we always go over those limits. We just can’t seem to get enough of each other. But I did make it out to the Persian Gulf…D’oh…they like to refer to it as the Arabian Gulf, since its all of theirs. There is a region within the Middle East called the GCC, Gulf Coast Countries. These countries comprise of: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. There are 25 Arab states or countries spread out over the Middle East and Africa so the GCC is a subset of that. There was talk of making one currency, kind of like the Euro in Europe, but Oman and the UAE opted out. They are still attempting to unify the currency in the other countries with Saudi Arabia bein...

It was and up and down day for me. It was a nice day at work as I was productive and plenty motivated. Its hard to stay motivated now. Jennifer and I decided that it would be better to be married and apart then dating/engaged and apart. Since both of us were living alone, we just figured the living alone part would be a little easier knowing there was someone out there that loved the other. Well, we put in our heads we could go five months alone if we had to. Now it seems like we can’t even go five weeks. The distance is hard. Its like each of us is running out of oxygen in our respective emotional rooms. Now all of this is good news as we long to be together. Many people go a lifetime without having this much passion. So the distance thing will certainly be an emotional hardship. There are so many options where are careers can take us. Jennifer and I are both very fortunate to have pretty exciting, and amazing careers. I feel like I have a calling in my life to use my p...

First of all Happy Easter everyone. Easter here is a little different since the Muslims don’t really believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Its interesting they do believe in Jesus, but only as a great prophet not as the son of God. Essentially they believe most everything in the Old Testament as do the Jews. They do believe that a man was killed on the cross only it wasn’t Jesus. There are differing schools of thought here, most believe that a substitute was placed on the cross instead of Jesus. So the person who did die, was not really Jesus. Instead, according to their viewpoint, Jesus was most likely whisked away either to safety or to heaven. Here’s the interesting part. Even though most Muslims don’t believe in Jesus as the son of God, they do believe that he is coming back or the second coming. So all three religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity believe that Christ is coming. For Christians and Muslims they believe Christ’s return to the be the second coming. Mo...

This is Jennifers Blog from today. Im not one given to hyperbole, or exaggeration...But i do believe that was absolutely the best email/letter I think I received in my entire life... As rick commented in his blog yesterday, I sent him a 61 page text file from our first conversation via Instant Messaging. We had not seen each other and up to that point, had only exchanged emails. This was our first real interaction between one another. We pretty much discussed everything under the sun, and by the time I got ready to head out of my house for trivia, I had composed a pretty gutsy email to rick. This is by far a subset of the email i sent to him. Because its not as interesting as the parts I pulled out. just some minor details being left out for safety purposes :) I really can't stop looking at these early correspondences. Because how could this have been only three months ago when Rick and I have known each other for a lifetime? Rick and i are so funny and we laugh at ourselves for re...

What a strange day. I stayed up so late the night before. Jennifer first of all freaked me out with an April Fool’s day blog announcing she was pregnant. Im so friggin gullible. Tben I had to reason that certainly she would tell me first if she was pregnant wouldn’t she? I know she does like facebook and her blog a lot. Finally I had to call just to make sure. I am really looking forward to having children again (one of the many reasons I chose Jennifer) but just not quite this fast. Plus we abstained til we we got married, granted it wasn’t that long of an abstaining period. That is one of the benefits of a long distance relationship, it cuts down on the physical temptation. So then Jennifer sent me the transcript of our very first chat. Its 60 pages long. Can you believe that? We are both very fast typists…almost type as fast as we can talk. So the first conversation looking back it was clear that she and I were meant to be. It was some funny stuff, but a lot of it was...

Boy do I feel silly…no, silly might not seem like a strong enough word. I feel stupid. Those of you that know me, know that I don’t get stressed about much. I think stress is a pointless emotion that just drains the joy out of a person and makes them miserable. Plus since misery loves company, stress seems to be contagious sometimes. So I’ve had plenty of things to get stressed about the last four years, but I found a little trick. I just pray the stress away and voila its gone. I pray something like “spirit of fear, anxiety, stress, you have no authority over me, be gone in Jesus name.” Its like a magic spell, the cloud just lifts almost immediately. This works for me 99 times out of 100. Well, this morning was that 1 out of 100 time. I prayed that prayer over and over yet the fear just was relentless. That fear was also irrational I just didn’t realize at the time. An acronym for FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. In hindsight Im pretty sure I was under spiritual at...

I am finally starting to feel better after a two week bug, or parasite, or stomach virus whatever you call it. To top that off I also had the flu. So there I was during my “honeymoon” sick as a dog. It must not have been very fun for Jennifer. But I promised her a lifetime of honeymoons. So our “honeymoon” consisted of flying to Houston to go through my old stuff to throw away, showing her around the town that I lived in. Other than my children, Houston does not hold a lot of happy memories for me. Then we were off to Dallas then a cross-country trip to Raleigh, NC. Even though I was sick, we absolutely had a great a time. She really is my best friend and we have so much fun together…she absolutely gets my sense of humor which is amazingly obscure. She is a good road trip partner to boot. I really did choose well. But that’s just reminds me of one more thing she’s better than me at…She chose even better than me ;o) Oh before we left Houston I felt somewhat compelled to meet...

Im sitting in the Zain Basketball Arena in a district called Um Al-Hassan watching Muharraq battle it out with Isa Town in the playoff round of Bahrain’s Professional Basketball League. Muharraq is coached by my roommate Pat. They have a 10 point lead led largely by the three point shooting skill of Big man, Lamond Murray. OK enough of the sportswriter talk. Actually at one point in my career I wanted to call professional sports or write about them as I did in college. Im so glad I didn’t go that route. Im still an avid sportsfan but it just seems like there are so many other things I can sink my teeth into. Sports are a fun diversion but I still want to change the world. I had a phone call before the game from a dear friend. We caught up about the marriage and the trip to the U.S. and then she told me she met a boy. I was happy for her as this particular person is a beautiful inside and out and has a heart for God. She deserves to find the perfect match for her and Im sure ...

I got to JFK last night. A hard night turned out to be a little easier when they upgraded my flight to Business Class. It was only a 12 hour flight, compared to the normal 17 hour but still it was a great perk. Im getting spoiled in Business class. I tried to sleep a little bit, but I kept awakening at my own snoring. Im a little congested. Even though it was a great two weeks with Jennifer, I was sick the last week of it. But, now that I have health insurance I was able to see a doctor and come back with loads of medicine. I even have around a year’s worth of insulin. I would have had to buy everything full price here. I got to the Dubai airport and then it hit me. I was alone. I had been in the Dubai Airport before with 6-8 hour layovers and I was alone and in no relationship then. But this time, I was alone but lonely. But it was a good kind of lonely. Now that I’ve tasted what it felt like to be loved again, it just made me crave it all the more. I had adjusted to ...

Im flying over Raleigh North Carolina at the moment, somewhere over my beloved new bride’s Jennifer’s house. It’s a weird feeling leaving your wife not knowing when we’ll be able to be together again. We both love each other dearly and our few weeks together has done nothing but confirm that. What Jennifer and I have decided to do is quite unconventional by the world’s standards or at least by the U.S. standards. Most would consider it prudent to wait a few years so you know…well both Jennifer and I did that the first time around and that didn’t work. Really the sudden courtship and marriage really wasn’t a difficult decision at all. In fact it was one of the easiest ones I had ever made. I’ve found the closer you get to God the easier difficult decisions become. It just becomes crystal clear, a very natural choice. I had more of an issue of deciding where to eat dinner last night than whether or not to marry Jennifer. Not because I didn’t seek God, but rather He was so clear...

So here we are, at my parents house. Finally in my bed. Well, sort of. I get this bed "my bed" as long as my sister and her husband are not here. Usually when i am here, they are too. I wonder how things will work out now that I am married again. I guess I will find out at Christmas this year, if I am even around. The more time Rick and i spend together, the better we get along. We are learning more and more about each other and it is only bringing us closer together. We both have the same favorite Classical Musician. That is pretty cool. I still have no idea the names of the bands he lists, but i seem to know all the words to most of the songs. Some how. We are very good road trip partners. We made it from Dallas to Birmingham on Monday, and then Tuesday we made it to my parents house, which is only three hours from my own home. We could have made it all the way home, but I really wanted to see my parents and stay here, and rick was ok with that. We had dinner, hung out, sha...

I apologize for the delay in writing the blog. Thanks to all the readers that have encouraged me to keep going with this. I’ll probably be more faithful writing when I return to the Middle East. Right now, Im just spending all of my time with Jennifer and having a wonderful time. Even as I write this, I don’t feel like Im sacrificing anytime with her as she is busy writing her blog. So here is the big news…Yesterday Jennifer and I officially…and legally got married. At first Jennifer wanted a small ceremony but when she thought about the logistics of planning in the midst of her full career and trying to finish her dissertation it just seemed quite overwhelming to her. I could go either way, but I preferred a small affair. It is the second wedding for both of us. It seems like second weddings should be small. It’s like we would be saying “Hey never mind about this first one, this is a do-over…we’re really serious now.” Plus another thing…I hate..is when people say they found ...

I want to apologize to the faithful readers that I have. I’ve been MIA for about a week. I should have forewarned you a little better. Im in Raleigh, NC now and have been here all weekend staying with Jennifer. Life is pretty darn wonderful for me right now. Everyday I spend with her, Im more convinced that she is indeed the one that God has for me. She has such a fiery personality and that is one of the many things that I love about her. What also excites me is that I have the temperament to handle this strong personality. We were talking to a counselor a few weeks back, and he said Women get into relationships hoping to change the men, while men get into relationship hoping the women won’t change. I think that is case with us as well. Im really having a great time here. Jennifer has a beautiful home in a very wooded area in North Carolina. Her two dogs (children) also are a lot of fun. Ellie, likes to go to the park to play soccer. You kick the ball to her and she dribbl...