Rick Beeman

Yesterday was a good day. It was our first day of production and I wanted to make sure it went smoothly. I was a little apprehensive at first. But then part way through the day, I realized, this stuff is easy. I think if you are doing what you are called to do, it should be easy. If I were having an accounting job or a job of a surgeon that would be difficult. I think being a statistician that would be easy too ;o) I was fortunate because Reg was there along with a camera and grip. We had to shoot a lot this day. Once Reg saw that I knew what I was doing he took a back seat and worked on other projects. I watched the cameraman, Sandeep closely. But once I could tell he knew what he was doing I could relax and let him work on his own. I think he could be a good director some day. I really enjoyed working with him. During a break, we spoke about family. Indians get so excited when talking about their family. Whenever I talk to Indians about family I al...

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. ...

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. ...

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,...

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 ...

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 t...

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 t...

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 ...

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 ...

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 examp...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 st...

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 mi...

I thought it was time for an update since I haven’t written in the blog for quite some time. I do plan to continue to update it, but its going to take a different twist. Instead of taking a single, divorced guy’s approach to leading a faith-based in a foreign culture as a lay missionary’s life, (whew…) it will turn into a couple’s blog with my lovely wife Jennifer’s input. We will probably merge our blogs and instead of “An American in Bahrain, call it An American Couple in Dubai or something catchy like that. As means of an update I resigned my position at KSDi in Bahrain on very good terms. In mid-September Im headed to Dubai to start up a production company. It is a high-risk, high-reward opportunity. But with Jennifer by my side I can afford to take this kind of risk. The return could be enormous. Im a dreamer, much like my father. Jennifer truly has been a Godsend for me. For a guy like me to get a girl as fabulous as her I think proves that God exists. Its not as m...