Return-Path: X-Original-To: info@ausheart.com.au Delivered-To: info@ausheart.com.au Received: from localhost (marlin.fishinternet.com.au [127.0.0.1]) by marlin.fishinternet.com.au (Postfix) with ESMTP id 41C8C3FA0A for ; Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:36:16 +1100 (EST) Received: from marlin.fishinternet.com.au ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (marlin.fishinternet.com.au [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id 22864-03 for ; Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:36:03 +1100 (EST) Received-SPF: none (marlin.fishinternet.com.au: 59.167.250.138 is neither permitted nor denied by domain of fathersonline.org) client-ip=59.167.250.138; envelope-from=info@fathersonline.org; helo=polyglot.com.au; Received: from polyglot.com.au (ppp167-250-138.lns2.syd6.internode.on.net [59.167.250.138]) by marlin.fishinternet.com.au (Postfix) with ESMTP id 17327DEB0B for ; Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:35:44 +1100 (EST) Received: from server ([192.168.100.14]) by polyglot.com.au with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.211); Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:36:08 +1100 Thread-Topic: Catching the Love Bus Reply-To: Message-ID: <136ef01c62f4a$c98cefa0$0101a8c0@polyglot.local> thread-index: AcYvSsmKQ2k5QmvKQIKGwu9s7ByWGg== From: To: Subject: Catching the Love Bus Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:36:08 +1100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_136F0_01C62FA6.FCFD67A0" X-Mailer: Microsoft CDO for Exchange 2000 Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message Importance: normal Priority: normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.3790.326 X-OriginalArrivalTime: 11 Feb 2006 20:36:08.0234 (UTC) FILETIME=[C98F60A0:01C62F4A] X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at fishinternet.com.au This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_136F0_01C62FA6.FCFD67A0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable =20 =20 Unable to read this email? Please click here =20 =20 Issue 180 - 6th February,2006 Go to our website Here =20 =20 * Welcome Warwick * Grandads * Laughter * Single Dads * Special Feature * Thought of the Week * All You Need is Love * News & Info * Dad's Prayer * About Us Welcome Warwick =20 An old man got on a bus one February 14th, carrying a dozen roses. He sat beside a young man. The young man looked at the roses and said, "Somebody's going to get a beautiful Valentine's Day gift." =20 "Yes," said the old man. =20 A few minutes went by and the old man noticed that his young companion was staring at the roses. =20 "Do you have a girlfriend?" the old man asked. =20 "I do," said the young man. "I'm going to see her right now, and I'm going to give her this Valentine's Day card." =20 They rode in silence for another 10 minutes, and then the old man got up to get off the bus. As he stepped out into the aisle, he suddenly placed the roses on the young man's lap and said, "I think my wife would want you to have these. I'll tell her that I gave them to you." =20 He left the bus quickly. As the bus pulled away, the young man turned to see the old man enter the gates of a cemetery. (taken from www.smartmarriages.com ) =20 This story reminds us that love is a very hard thing to quantify and yet without love, life seems to lose its essence. =20 =20 Every week that you get the fathersonline newsletter, we are encouraging you to find what love is, for yourself, and grasp it with both hands. Mostly love is staring at you across the kitchen table or from the other side of the bed. Sometimes we ignore love and in the process ignore each other, and then even ignore the product of our love, our children. =20 =20 However not all of us are ignoring love. The response to Michael Kiely's brilliant book, 'Man Overboard', a book about how to renew your marriage and keep the love fires burning has been great, with over 80 readers requesting the book. (See our 'All You Need is Love' section to get your free copy). I enclose a letter from one of our readers in response to reading Michael's book. =20 Dear Michael Thank you for the privilege of reading your very timely book! I started putting it into practice as soon as I found something to apply - and kept going! All I need to do is re-read it - just to 'keep it there' until I get revelation also. I won't go into detail, but just let's say that our marriage could be a whole lot better than it is - and we are still together only by the grace of God! I am a geologist, and 'work' always seemed to come first. My wife and I 'swapped cards' on our wedding anniversary last week - and I left for the field an hour or so later for a short drilling job. (We had celebrated with a night at a resort the week before!) I will share with you her comment (P.S on her card to me) - "Thank you for your efforts at loving the last few weeks-- they have''t gone unnoticed, and they have been appreciated." =20 =20 The concluding statement of your book is magnificent and totally appropriate: "My willingness was tested for 25 years. What an amazing woman Louisa is, to persevere with a clod like me for all that time. That is loyalty. I owe her my life." I couldn't have put it better for my wife and me, that's why I am acting on the wisdom in your book! =20 =20 Thank you again, Michael. I have read some of the books in your list, but nothing as down to earth, practical and in 'menspeak' like yours! I'm sure that even you will be amazed at the positive effect that this 'word in season' will make to this nation - and wherever else it finds its way to! =20 Well done! Best regards Geoff =20 Lovework =20 Practice love this Valentine's Day. Let's use any excuse to practise love habits. Give beautiful (live) roses to a beautiful lively woman, or at the very least give her a card. Make sure you tell her she is beautiful and you are proud of her as a mother to your children. If she asks any questions just say you met a man on a bus! =20 Yours for the bus of love Warwick Marsh ________________________________________ Warwick Marsh has been married to Alison for 30 years. He is=20 the father of five children, four boys and one girl, ranging in=20 age from 25 years to 13 years. Warwick is a musician,=20 songwriter, producer and public speaker who likes to think he=20 can still laugh at himself. back to top=20 =20 Grandads =20 =20 =20 For many little girls life with a father is a dress rehearsal for love and marriage. =20 David Jeremiah back to top=20 =20 Laughter Dysfunctionality =20 =20 =20 Two men met at a bus stop and struck up a conversation. One of them kept complaining of family problems. Finally, the other man said: "You think you have family problems? Listen to my situation." "A few years ago I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter. We got married and got myself a stepdaughter. Later, my father married my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter, my step-mother. And my father became my stepson. Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law." "Much later the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son. This boy was my half-brother because he was my father's son. But he was also the son of my wife's daughter which made him my wife's grand-son. That made me the grand-father of my half-brother. "This was nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the half-sister of my son, my stepmother, is also the Grandmother. This makes my father,the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father's wife, I am my stepmother's brother-in-law, my wife is her own child's aunt, my son is my father's nephew & I am my OWN GRANDFATHER!" "And you think you have FAMILY PROBLEMS!!!=20 back to top=20 =20 Single Dads A Polite Bunch of Blokes By Roland Foster =20 Despite recent publicity about the antics of the Fathers 4 Justice group in Britain, men and father's groups throughout the world are generally a mild, gentle and polite bunch of blokes. =20 This contrasts with the reform actions undertaken by the Women's movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the most prominent leaders of this era, Emmeline Pankhurst, declared that it was legitimate to destroy government property in order to advance the cause of women's suffrage. Smashing the windows of public buildings was a common practice by suffragettes. =20 In 1915 Mary Richardson's frenzied attack on a famous artwork, the 'Rokeby Venus', at the time valued at =A345,000, was motivated by a desire to obliterate the idea of women as Venus - a creature of erotic beauty. An equivalent action today might be the destruction of Michelangelo's statue of David, or perhaps Jackson Pollock's painting 'Blue Poles', displayed proudly in Australia's National Gallery. =20 I'm not suggesting that violence and vandalism become features of fathers' fight for equality. A father's instinct is to care, protect and nurture. However it's become fairly apparent that the policy of dialogue and d=E9tente has failed. The proposed legislative changes = will do little to alleviate the injustices perpetrated against non-custodial parents and their children by the Family Court and the Child Support Agency. =20 Fathers need to change their strategy. We need to implement radical action and creative stunts to highlight the need for fundamental reform. =20 Emmeline Pankhurst underwent hunger strikes during her frequent imprisonments and was forcibly fed by the authorities to thwart her martyrdom. The only comparable event in the Australian fight to restore fatherhood was 30 years ago when a young Vietnam Veteran staged a hunger strike on the front steps of old Parliament House. This spontaneous and humble act of courage produced significant, effective and immediate reform. It also established Barry Williams as the Father of the Father's Movement in Australia. =20 C'mon gentle fathers, meek and mild, what will you do to protect your child? _________________________________________________________ Roland Foster is an non-custodial father, separated since 1997, with 5 young children aged between 9 and 18 years. Roland is a passionate father and an active social reformer who believes Australia's current laws are contributing to the creation of our fatherless society.=20 back to top=20 =20 Special Feature God is Love:=20 Simple papal message reflects=20 basics of faith =20 By John Thavis Catholic News Service =20 =20 Editor's Note: The Fatherhood Foundation is both bi-partisan and non-denominational but we believe the solutions to the problems associated with fatherlessness are both natural and spiritual. Pope Benedict's comments about the need for the renewal of love in human society address the core issues fathers are facing in the twenty-first century. =20 VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even before the release of Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical in late January, it was clear that the theme -- "God is love" -- reflected an emerging focus of his papacy's first year. =20 From his inaugural Mass in April to his recent improvised sermon at a baptismal liturgy, in speeches to world leaders and bishops, the pope has been preaching a basic message -- God is good, God cannot be shut out of personal and social life, and God reaches out to humanity through Jesus Christ. =20 Many were expecting a rule-tightening papacy from Pope Benedict, who headed the Vatican's doctrinal congregation for 24 years. But instead of loading his talks and texts with Catholic magisterial pronouncements, the pope has used scriptural, philosophical and anthropological sources to stir an awareness of the transcendent purpose of human affairs. =20 As a teacher, the pope is taking a less-dogmatic approach in order to reach a wider audience. He is inviting individuals and modern society to change their relationship with God -- a relationship, he argues, that is often one of indifference or antagonism. =20 "God does not hide behind clouds of impenetrable mystery. ... He has shown himself, he talks to us and is with us; he lives with us and guides us in our lives," the pope said in a sermon in early January. =20 Two months earlier, speaking to academics at the Vatican, he warned of a tendency for modern men and women to withdraw into a "suffocating existential microcosm, in which there is no place for the great ideals that are open to transcendence and to God." =20 In his sermon at Christmas, the pope emphasized that God loves everyone, then added: "But some people have closed their hearts; there is no door by which his love can enter. They think that they do not need God, nor do they want him." =20 The encyclical's theme was clearly on the pope's mind last summer, when he confided to a group of priests: "We believe that God exists, that God counts; but which God? A God with a face, a human face, a God who reconciles, who overcomes hatred and gives us the power of peace that no one else can give us. =20 "We must make people understand that Christianity is actually very simple and consequently very rich," he said. =20 That would seem to be one of the goals of his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), to be released Jan. 25. =20 "God Is Love" strikes some as more fitting for a '60s poster than the cover of a papal document, especially one written by an intellectual like Pope Benedict. =20 The phrase, taken from the First Letter of John, may be a simple one. But it's the starting point for what the pope hopes will be a deeper conversation with contemporary society, one that involves the nature of love and its relation to freedom, truth and Jesus Christ. =20 In the pope's view, unless people understand how "God is love," they will never overcome the age-old tendency to mistrust God. =20 In his sermon on the feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8, Pope Benedict said that from the Garden of Eden to modern times humans have suspected that "God is a rival who curtails our freedom and that we will be fully human only when we have cast him aside." =20 In short, he said, man often believes God's love creates a limiting dependency. =20 For the pope, the challenge facing the church is to make people see that "love is not dependence but a gift that makes us live" and that "God's will is not a law for the human being imposed from the outside" but something intrinsic to human nature. =20 The pope followed up on this theme in an address to the new British ambassador to the Vatican Dec. 23, when he spoke about respect for the truth and its implications for civil society. =20 "Above all, it directs us toward a proper understanding of human freedom which can never be realized independently of God but only in cooperation with his loving plan for humanity," the pope said. =20 In his 2006 World Peace Day message sent to leaders around the world, the pope said acknowledging the full truth of God is the "first, indispensable condition for consolidating the truth of peace." =20 "God is love which saves, a loving father who wants to see his children look upon one another as brothers and sisters, working responsibly to place their various talents at the service of the common good of the human family," he said. =20 A pope's first encyclical is often viewed as a thematic touchstone for his pontificate. Pope Benedict has chosen to write on the place of God in human affairs and the nature of love -- topics that go far beyond the borders of the Catholic Church. =20 In doing so, he is pointing out that, as he said last July, faith is not extraneous to life, nor is it "a package of rules that we load onto our shoulders like a heavy backpack." =20 Faith is "simple and rich," he said. That's how he hopes "God Is Love" will be received. back to top=20 =20 Thought of the Week =20 =20 =20 =20 Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. =20 Franklin P Jones =20 back to top=20 =20 All You Need is Love Is Your Marriage in Crisis? =20 By Michael Kiely =20 Try this quick quiz. =20 A. Are you married? Y/N B. Are you married? Y/N C. Are you married? Y/N D. Are you married? Y/N E. Are you married? Y/N =20 If you answered Yes to one of these questions, there is a 90% chance your marriage is currently in crisis, recently been in crisis, about to go into crisis, or on a slow burn towards crisis.=20 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The above is an extract from the book Man Overboard. Many readers are sceptical about this remark, especially men. But those for whom the crisis is like a wave crashing on rocks know it is happening... and that wave started a long time before it crashed, a long way out at sea. And it has been a long time coming. The men who doubt the power of the wave are the ones washed off the rocks. =20 I found support for my contention in the pages of the book The Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason. The institution of marriage precipitates a crisis for each individual that enters into it because it carries with it a conflict between 'the needs for dependence and for independence, between the urge toward loving cooperation and the opposite urge toward detachment, privacy, self-sufficiency.' Marriage is an intense invasion of privacy, he says. 'The wedding is merely the beginning of a lifelong process of handing over absolutely everything, and not simply everything that one owns but everything that one is.' =20 This next bit is beautiful. If you thought what you were going through was a mistake, dwell on this - it's a natural part of the process of marriage. He says: 'There is no one who is not broken by this process. It is excruciating and inexorable, and no one can stand up to it. Everyone gets broken on the wheel of love, and the breaking that takes place is like nothing else under the sun. =20 Pain goes with the territory. Love is about feeling pain as your ego is broken down and reconstructed such that you can share your life with another, caring for her as much as for yourself. There is a crisis of ego built into the institution of marriage. And that crisis lasts as long as the marriage lasts. But there is a beautiful freedom to be found there, when your surrendering enables your partner to open like a flower to become the person they were born to be.' =20 http://manoverboardbook.blogspot.com =20 =20 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *=20 Free Offer of E-Book for Fathersonline Subscribers =20 'Man Overboard' by Michael Kiely is a breakthrough book, designed to help men rescue and renew their marriage relationships. Michael has been married for over 30 years, has three children and a background in business and marketing. He shares with his readers how he rescued his own marriage when it went into crisis mode. 'Man Overboard' is short (100 pages), filled with headlines, valuable insights and quotations and doesn't beat around the bush. Warwick Marsh, founder of the 'Fatherhood Foundation' says, 'Every man should read this book if he is serious about staying married. It is easy to fall in love, but you have to fight to stay in love. Michael Kiely's book will give you keys to win the battle of love and save your marriage from destruction. 'Man Overboard' will help to keep the 'love fires' burning, but beware, this book is only for the brave. The fainthearted should not read this book.? =20 To get your free copy of 'Man Overboard' (normally over $20), simply send your request with a copy of the first page of your fathersonline (which contains your first name and email address), to Michael Kiely: michael@newhorizon.au.com with 'Free copy of Man Overboard' written in the subject line. =20 Don't miss out. This offer will not last. Make sure you give Michael some feedback on his kindness in giving you a copy, free of charge=20 back to top=20 =20 News & Info =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 _____________________________ =20 Marriage & Family Seminar =20 17 - 18th February 2006 =20 This nation rides or falls on families. How we respond to relationship issues is crucial. Whatever your status we all need God given instruction. This unique seminar will help you communicate within families, workplaces, the wider Body of Christ. For singles, couples and families. =20 Speakers: Michael & Alison Goode - Families For Life Australia Warwick Marsh - Fatherhood Foundation Bill Muehlenberg - Family Council of Victoria Danny Nalliah - Catch the Fire Ministries =20 To register your interest in attendance please phone: 9am - 5pm Catch The Fire Ministries Inc. PO Box 7427, Dandenong Vic 3175 Email: inquiries@catchthefire.com.au=20 Phone (03) 9794 8211 Fax (03) 9794 9311 www.catchthefire.com.au =20 __________________________________________________________ =20 =20 =20 =20 Editor's Note: This is an historic article which shows that the Liberal Opposition in South Australia are making history in the nation by offering a coherent policy on men's and father's issues. They need our encouragement and our support. =20 Two blokes and a bub ... it must be poll time=20 By Jeremy Roberts =20 =20 A GENERATION after the birth of women's politics, South Australian Liberals believe it's now time for men to be treated as a special case. The Liberal Opposition pledged yesterday to redress a perceived imbalance in funding for men's services if it wins government at next month's state election. Families and communities spokeswoman Isabel Redmond said men were falling behind. "When I look at the statistics in a whole range of issues there are just so many things in which men are faring worse,'' she said. Ms Redmond said funds should be redirected from women-only services to men's services. "Women don't live in this isolated community -- they have fathers and sons and husbands in their lives,'' she said. But Families and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill said the Liberal policy had "not one dollar'' for new services. It was "about giving a wink to the Black Shirts'', he said, referring to a hardline men's group. He said the Government already provided services for men covering health, education and the homeless, where males were over-represented. The Liberal policy includes the introduction of boys-only classes in state schools for Years 8, 9 and 10 in English, maths and science, aimed at "rebalancing the agenda'' between men's and women's issues. School counsellors would be retrained to encourage boys to consider careers in education, in an effort to increase the number of male primary teachers. Labor and the Democrats described the policy as an attack on women, but it unearthed perhaps the only praise for Mark Latham since the publication of his diaries last year. Mens' advocates decried Labor's "loss of credibility'' on the issue since Mr Latham's departure from politics. Fathers Foundation director Warwick Marsh, who represents more than 2000 fathers around the country, called the Liberal policy "exciting and incredible''. "I think they could win the election on this one, so long as they articulate it well and reassure women it's nothing against them,'' Mr Marsh said. He and other men's advocates said the Labor Party had dropped the issue since Mr Latham left politics after the 2004 federal election loss. "The blokes who are really feeling it are the blue-collar guys represented by Labor,'' Mr Marsh said. Michael Green, an author of books on how fathers should handle divorce, said the state Liberals had "picked up on a social movement and based their policy on good research''. A former barrister with a Labor background who is now a relationship mediator, Mr Green said "it was a great shame'' the ALP had not followed up on Mr Latham's policies.=20 =20 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * =20 Editor's Note: The Fatherhood Foundation has joined Australians Against RU486 in their battle to protect the women of Australia from money hungry drug companies who do not care for human life, women or children. The vote in the Senate was a tragedy for the women and children of Australia and we encourage the fathers of our nation to speak up on their behalf. =20 =20 =20 =20 SENATE GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO=20 ABORTION PILL BATTLE SHIFTS TO HOUSE OF REPS=20 ON MONDAY 13 FEBRUARY =20 The Senate passed the RU486 Bill at 4.49 pm on Thursday 9 February. Many Senators acknowledged the many thousands of letters received which were overwhelmingly against the Bill. Sadly the majority chose to disregard the grassroots community concern over the deadly abortion drug. =20 The battle now shifts to the House of Representatives where debate on the RU486 Bill will begin on Monday 13 February, we urge all Australians who are against this Bill to take urgent action NOW. =20 What to Do Next to Stop RU486 =20 Your urgent action is needed. Don't delay, act now! =20 1. Telephone the Australian Electoral Commission on 13 23 26 and check who your federal Member is. The Parliament House website will provide email and postal addresses for Members of Parliament: www.aph.gov.au =20 =20 2. Telephone Parliament House on 02 6277 7111 and ask the switchboard to put you through to your Member?s office.=20 =20 Phone, fax, email your concerns (see attached 'key issues of concern' sheet). =20 3. If possible send letters/emails/faxes or make phone calls to all members of the House of Representatives. =20 =20 =20 YOUR WORK OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS=20 CAN MAKE THE VITAL DIFFERENCE!!! =20 Authorised by A.Mills. Australians Against RU486. 225 Glenmore Rd, Paddington NSW 2021. Tel: (02) 9357 1684. info@aaru486.org.au. www.aaru486.org.au .=20 February 11, 2006. =20 Media Release SF/31. Thursday February 9, 2006 SENATE WASHES HANDS OF RU486 =20 Most Senators, in supporting the RU486 bill, have accepted the proposition that there is not any difference between surgical abortion and medical abortion. They have then argued that a decision to make medical abortion widely available is a technical or operational matter which does not involve any policy issues. But as one person said to me this week, if there is not any difference between surgical abortion and medical abortion, then why is there any difference, in terms of policy, between drilling for oil in Bass Strait and drilling for oil in the Great Barrier Reef? After all, if the policy decision is to support drilling for oil, then the location is simply an operational matter. Family First is concerned about the Senate's decision to remove from elected politicians the responsibility for policy and social issues related to RU486. Having set this precedent, one wonders what else the Senate might delegate or, to put it another way, what it would not delegate. I agree with the Prime Minister when he said this bill involves "' not only the medical implications' but also the principle that important decisions affecting the community should be made by people who are accountable directly to the community". With parliaments handing over their responsibilities to unelected bodies, people might well ask what value they are getting from their politicians. One positive element of this debate has been the widespread concern expressed about the high number of abortions in Australia, including by many supporters of this Bill. There has also been a widely expressed view that governments should act to reduce that number. Research shows this is what the community wants. Given that research also shows the community supports women receiving independent counselling before having an abortion, and a reasonable cooling-off period between receiving the counselling and deciding whether or not to have an abortion, Family First hopes all senators will positively support any government initiative which reflects the community's concerns. For media enquiries phone Chief of Staff Felicity Dargan on 0409 550 446 back to top=20 =20 Dad's Prayer =20 =20 =20 =20 Dear God =20 Help me catch the thought of others, Help me know their feelings true Help me make my destination Help me do it all for You. =20 Though I cannot see the end Dark clouds completely fill my mind Help me choose my destination=20 Help me catch the bus in time. =20 The conductor is my brother The driver is my wife. The fare of love is high The cost is all my life. =20 I struggle to give What I cannot understand Help me stay aboard forever Until I ride into your land. back to top=20 =20 About Us Mission Statement & Help Us! =20 =20 Mission Statement=20 The Fatherhood Foundation is a charitable, non profit incorporated association with a goal to inspire men to a greater level of excellence as fathers, by encouraging and educating them, thereby renewing and empowering families. Click here for more information about us =20 Help Us! The Fatherhood Foundation believes that the key to life is giving. That's why this newsletter is given freely without expectation. Life is also about relationships. That's what being a good father is all about, developing relationships with your loved ones. =20 If you would like to give financially to the Fatherhood Foundation, please mail your cheque or money order to: Fatherhood Foundation PO Box 440 WOLLONGONG NSW 2520 AUSTRALIA You have received the fathersonline.org newsletter because you have subscribed, or you have been subscribed by a friend. If you do not wish to receive future emails, please click the UNSUBSCRIBE button below or send an email to info@fathersonline.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject heading. back to top=20 Click Here to Unsubscribe =20 ------=_NextPart_000_136F0_01C62FA6.FCFD67A0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Fatherhood Foundation
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Issue 180 - 6th February,2006 Go to our website Here


Welcome Warwick

An old man got on a bus one February 14th, carrying a dozen roses. He sat beside a young man. The young man looked at the roses and said, "Somebody's going to get a beautiful Valentine's Day gift."

 

"Yes," said the old man.

 

A few minutes went by and the old man noticed that his young companion was staring at the roses.

 

"Do you have a girlfriend?" the old man asked.

 

"I do," said the young man.  "I'm going to see her right now, and I'm going to give her this Valentine's Day card."

 

They rode in silence for another 10 minutes, and then the old man got up to get off the bus.  As he stepped out into the aisle, he suddenly placed the roses on the young man's lap and said, "I think my wife would want you to have these. I'll tell her that I gave them to you."

 

He left the bus quickly.  As the bus pulled away, the young man turned to see the old man enter the gates of a cemetery. (taken from www.smartmarriages.com )

 

This story reminds us that love is a very hard thing to quantify and yet without love, life seems to lose its essence. 

 

Every week that you get the fathersonline newsletter, we are encouraging you to find what love is, for yourself, and grasp it with both hands.  Mostly love is staring at you across the kitchen table or from the other side of the bed.  Sometimes we ignore love and in the process ignore each other, and then even ignore the product of our love, our children. 

 

However not all of us are ignoring love.  The response to Michael Kiely's brilliant book, 'Man Overboard', a book about how to renew your marriage and keep the love fires burning has been great, with over 80 readers requesting the book. (See our 'All You Need is Love' section to get your free copy).  I enclose a letter from one of our readers in response to reading Michael's book.

 

Dear Michael

Thank you for the privilege of reading your very timely book!   I started putting it into practice as soon as I found something to apply - and kept going!  All I need to do is re-read it - just to 'keep it there' until I get revelation also. I won't go into detail, but just let's say that our marriage could be a whole lot better than it is - and we are still together only by the grace of God!  I am a geologist, and 'work' always seemed to come first. My wife and I 'swapped cards' on our wedding anniversary last week - and I left for the field an hour or so later for a short drilling job. (We had celebrated with a night at a resort the week before!)  I will share with you her comment (P.S on her card to me) - "Thank you for your efforts at loving the last few weeks-- they have''t gone unnoticed, and they have been appreciated."   

 

The concluding statement of your book is magnificent and totally appropriate:

"My willingness was tested for 25 years. What an amazing woman Louisa is, to persevere with a clod like me for all that time. That is loyalty. I owe her my life."  I couldn't have put it better for my wife and me, that's why I am acting on the wisdom in your book!     

 

Thank you again, Michael.  I have read some of the books in your list, but nothing as down to earth, practical and in 'menspeak' like yours!  I'm sure that even you will be amazed at the positive effect that this 'word in season' will make to this nation - and wherever else it finds its way to!

 

Well done!

Best regards

Geoff

 

Lovework

 

Practice love this Valentine's Day.  Let's use any excuse to practise love habits. Give beautiful (live) roses to a beautiful lively woman, or at the very least give her a card.  Make sure you tell her she is beautiful and you are proud of her as a mother to your children.  If she asks any questions just say you met a man on a bus!

 

Yours for the bus of love

Warwick Marsh

 ________________________________________


Warwick Marsh  has been married to Alison for 30 years. He is
the father of five children, four boys and one girl, ranging in
age from 25 years to 13 years.  Warwick is a musician,
songwriter, producer and public speaker who likes to think he
can still laugh at himself.

back to top

Grandads

 

For many little girls

life with a father is a dress rehearsal

for love and marriage.

 

David Jeremiah

back to top

Laughter

Dysfunctionality
 
 
Two men met at a bus stop and struck up a conversation.  One of them kept complaining of family problems.  Finally, the other man said:  "You think you have family problems?  Listen to my situation."

"A few years ago I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter.  We got married and got myself a stepdaughter.

Later, my father married my stepdaughter.

That made my stepdaughter, my step-mother.   And my father became my stepson.  Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law."

"Much later the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son.  This boy was my half-brother because he was my father's son.  But he was also the son of my wife's daughter which made him my wife's grand-son.  That made me the grand-father of my half-brother.

"This was nothing until my wife and I had a son.  Now the half-sister of my son, my stepmother, is also the Grandmother.& nbsp; This makes my father,the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father's wife, I am my stepmother's brother-in-law, my wife is her own child's aunt, my son is my father's nephew & I am my OWN GRANDFATHER!"

"And you think you have FAMILY PROBLEMS!!!

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Single Dads

A Polite Bunch of Blokes

By Roland Foster

 

Despite recent publicity about the antics of the Fathers 4 Justice group in Britain, men and father's groups throughout the world are generally a mild, gentle and polite bunch of blokes.

 

This contrasts with the reform actions undertaken by the Women's movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  One of the most prominent leaders of this era, Emmeline Pankhurst, declared that it was legitimate to destroy government property in order to advance the cause of women's suffrage.  Smashing the windows of public buildings was a common practice by suffragettes.

 

In 1915 Mary Richardson's frenzied attack on a famous artwork, the 'Rokeby Venus', at the time valued at £45,000, was motivated by a desire to obliterate the idea of women as Venus - a creature of erotic beauty.  An equivalent action today might be the destruction of Michelangelo's statue of David, or perhaps Jackson Pollock's painting 'Blue Poles', displayed proudly in Australia's National Gallery.

 

I'm not suggesting that violence and vandalism become features of fathers' fight for equality.  A father's instinct is to care, protect and nurture. However it's become fairly apparent that the policy of dialogue and détente has failed.  The proposed legislative changes will do little to alleviate the injustices perpetrated against non-custodial parents and their children by the Family Court and the Child Support Agency.

 

Fathers need to change their strategy.  We need to implement radical action and creative stunts to highlight the need for fundamental reform.

 

Emmeline Pankhurst underwent hunger strikes during her frequent imprisonments and was forcibly fed by the authorities to thwart her martyrdom.  The only comparable event in the Australian fight to restore fatherhood was 30 years ago when a young Vietnam Veteran staged a hunger strike on the front steps of  old Parliament House.  This spontaneous and humble act of courage produced significant, effective and immediate reform.  It also established Barry Williams as the Father of the Father's Movement in Australia.

 

C'mon gentle fathers, meek and mild, what will you do to protect your child?

 _________________________________________________________

Roland Foster is an non-custodial father, separated since 1997, with 5 young children aged between 9 and 18 years.  Roland is a passionate father and an active social reformer who believes Australia's current laws are contributing to the creation of our fatherless society.

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Special Feature

God is Love:

Simple papal message reflects
basics of faith

 

By John Thavis

Catholic News Service

 

Editor's Note: The Fatherhood Foundation is both bi-partisan and non-denominational but we believe the solutions to the problems associated with fatherlessness are both natural and spiritual. Pope Benedict's comments about the need for the renewal of love in human society address the core issues fathers are facing in the twenty-first century.

 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even before the release of Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical in late January, it was clear that the theme -- "God is love" -- reflected an emerging focus of his papacy's first year.

 

From his inaugural Mass in April to his recent improvised sermon at a baptismal liturgy, in speeches to world leaders and bishops, the pope has been preaching a basic message -- God is good, God cannot be shut out of personal and social life, and God reaches out to humanity through Jesus Christ.

 

Many were expecting a rule-tightening papacy from Pope Benedict, who headed the Vatican's doctrinal congregation for 24 years. But instead of loading his talks and texts with Catholic magisterial pronouncements, the pope has used scriptural, philosophical and anthropological sources to stir an awareness of the transcendent purpose of human affairs.

 

As a teacher, the pope is taking a less-dogmatic approach in order to reach a wider audience. He is inviting individuals and modern society to change their relationship with God -- a relationship, he argues, that is often one of indifference or antagonism.

 

"God does not hide behind clouds of impenetrable mystery. ... He has shown himself, he talks to us and is with us; he lives with us and guides us in our lives," the pope said in a sermon in early January.

 

Two months earlier, speaking to academics at the Vatican, he warned of a tendency for modern men and women to withdraw into a "suffocating existential microcosm, in which there is no place for the great ideals that are open to transcendence and to God."

 

In his sermon at Christmas, the pope emphasized that God loves everyone, then added: "But some people have closed their hearts; there is no door by which his love can enter. They think that they do not need God, nor do they want him."

 

The encyclical's theme was clearly on the pope's mind last summer, when he confided to a group of priests: "We believe that God exists, that God counts; but which God? A God with a face, a human face, a God who reconciles, who overcomes hatred and gives us the power of peace that no one else can give us.

 

"We must make people understand that Christianity is actually very simple and consequently very rich," he said.

 

That would seem to be one of the goals of his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), to be released Jan. 25.

 

"God Is Love" strikes some as more fitting for a '60s poster than the cover of a papal document, especially one written by an intellectual like Pope Benedict.

 

The phrase, taken from the First Letter of John, may be a simple one. But it's the starting point for what the pope hopes will be a deeper conversation with contemporary society, one that involves the nature of love and its relation to freedom, truth and Jesus Christ.

 

In the pope's view, unless people understand how "God is love," they will never overcome the age-old tendency to mistrust God.

 

In his sermon on the feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec. 8, Pope Benedict said that from the Garden of Eden to modern times humans have suspected that "God is a rival who curtails our freedom and that we will be fully human only when we have cast him aside."

 

In short, he said, man often believes God's love creates a limiting dependency.

 

For the pope, the challenge facing the church is to make people see that "love is not dependence but a gift that makes us live" and that "God's will is not a law for the human being imposed from the outside" but something intrinsic to human nature.

 

The pope followed up on this theme in an address to the new British ambassador to the Vatican Dec. 23, when he spoke about respect for the truth and its implications for civil society.

 

"Above all, it directs us toward a proper understanding of human freedom which can never be realized independently of God but only in cooperation with his loving plan for humanity," the pope said.

 

In his 2006 World Peace Day message sent to leaders around the world, the pope said acknowledging the full truth of God is the "first, indispensable condition for consolidating the truth of peace."

 

"God is love which saves, a loving father who wants to see his children look upon one another as brothers and sisters, working responsibly to place their various talents at the service of the common good of the human family," he said.

 

A pope's first encyclical is often viewed as a thematic touchstone for his pontificate. Pope Benedict has chosen to write on the place of God in human affairs and the nature of love -- topics that go far beyond the borders of the Catholic Church.

 

In doing so, he is pointing out that, as he said last July, faith is not extraneous to life, nor is it "a package of rules that we load onto our shoulders like a heavy backpack."

 

Faith is "simple and rich," he said. That's how he hopes "God Is Love" will be received.

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Thought of the Week

 

 

Love doesn't make the world go 'round.

Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

 

Franklin P Jones

 

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All You Need is Love


Is Your Marriage in Crisis?

By Michael Kiely

 

Try this quick quiz.

 

A. Are you married? Y/N

B. Are you married? Y/N

C. Are you married? Y/N

D. Are you married? Y/N

E. Are you married? Y/N

 

If you answered Yes to one of these questions, there is a 90% chance your marriage is currently in crisis, recently been in crisis, about to go into crisis, or on a slow burn towards crisis.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The above is an extract from the book Man Overboard. Many readers are sceptical about this remark, especially men. But those for whom the crisis is like a wave crashing on rocks know it is happening... and that wave started a long time before it crashed, a long way out at sea. And it has been a long time coming. The men who doubt the power of the wave are the ones washed off the rocks.

 

I found support for my contention in the pages of the book The Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason. The institution of marriage precipitates a crisis for each individual that enters into it because it carries with it a conflict between 'the needs for dependence and for independence, between the urge toward loving cooperation and the opposite urge toward detachment, privacy, self-sufficiency.' Marriage is an intense invasion of privacy, he says. 'The wedding is merely the beginning of a lifelong process of handing over absolutely everything, and not simply everything that one owns but everything that one is.'

 

This next bit is beautiful. If you thought what you were going through was a mistake, dwell on this - it's a natural part of the process of marriage. He says: 'There is no one who is not broken by this process. It is excruciating and inexorable, and no one can stand up to it. Everyone gets broken on the wheel of love, and the breaking that takes place is like nothing else under the sun.

 

Pain goes with the territory. Love is about feeling pain as your ego is broken down and reconstructed such that you can share your life with another, caring for her as much as for yourself. There is a crisis of ego built into the institution of marriage. And that crisis lasts as long as the marriage lasts. But there is a beautiful freedom to be found there, when your surrendering enables your partner to open like a flower to become the person they were born to be.'

 

http://manoverboardbook.blogspot.com

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Free Offer of E-Book for Fathersonline Subscribers

 

'Man Overboard' by Michael Kiely is a breakthrough book, designed to help men rescue and renew their marriage relationships.  Michael has been married for over 30 years, has three children and a background in business and marketing.  He shares with his readers how he rescued his own marriage when it went into crisis mode.  'Man Overboard' is short (100 pages), filled with headlines, valuable insights and quotations and doesn't beat around the bush.  Warwick Marsh, founder of the 'Fatherhood Foundation' says, 'Every man should read this book if he is serious about staying married.  It is easy to fall in love, but you have to fight to stay in love.  Michael Kiely's book will give you keys to win the battle of love and save your marriage from destruction.  'Man Overboard' will help to keep the 'love fires' burning, but beware, this book is only for the brave.  The fainthearted should not read this book.?

 

To get your free copy of 'Man Overboard' (normally over $20), simply send your request with a copy of the first page of your fathersonline (which contains your first name and email address), to Michael Kiely: michael@newhorizon.au.com   with 'Free copy of Man Overboard' written in the subject line.

 

Don't miss out.  This offer will not last.  Make sure you give Michael some feedback on his kindness in giving you a copy, free of charge 

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News & Info

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

_____________________________

 

Marriage & Family Seminar

 

17 - 18th February 2006

 

This nation rides or falls on families. How we respond to relationship issues is crucial. Whatever your status we all need God given instruction. This unique seminar will help you communicate within families, workplaces, the wider Body of Christ. For singles, couples and families.

 

Speakers:

Michael & Alison Goode - Families For Life Australia

Warwick Marsh - Fatherhood Foundation

Bill Muehlenberg - Family Council of Victoria

Danny Nalliah - Catch the Fire Ministries

 

To register your interest in attendance please phone: 9am - 5pm

Catch The Fire Ministries Inc.

PO Box 7427, Dandenong Vic 3175

Email: inquiries@catchthefire.com.au

Phone (03) 9794 8211 Fax (03) 9794 9311

www.catchthefire.com.au

__________________________________________________________
 

 

 

 

Editor's Note: This is an historic article which shows that the Liberal Opposition in South Australia are making history in the nation by offering a coherent policy on men's and father's issues.  They need our encouragement and our support.

 

Two blokes and a bub ... it must be poll time

 By Jeremy Roberts   

 

A GENERATION after the birth of women's politics, South Australian Liberals believe it's now time for men to be treated as a special case.

The Liberal Opposition pledged yesterday to redress a perceived imbalance in funding for men's services if it wins government at next month's state election.

Families and communities spokeswoman Isabel Redmond said men were falling behind.

"When I look at the statistics in a whole range of issues there are just so many things in which men are faring worse,'' she said.

Ms Redmond said funds should be redirected from women-only services to men's services.

"Women don't live in this isolated community -- they have fathers and sons and husbands in their lives,'' she said.

But Families and Communities Minister Jay Weatherill said the Liberal policy had "not one dollar'' for new services.

It was "about giving a wink to the Black Shirts'', he said, referring to a hardline men's group.

He said the Government already provided services for men covering health, education and the homeless, where males were over-represented.

The Liberal policy includes the introduction of boys-only classes in state schools for Years 8, 9 and 10 in English, maths and science, aimed at "rebalancing the agenda'' between men's and women's issues.

School counsellors would be retrained to encourage boys to consider careers in education, in an effort to increase the number of male primary teachers.

Labor and the Democrats described the policy as an attack on women, but it unearthed perhaps the only praise for Mark Latham since the publication of his diaries last year. Mens' advocates decried Labor's "loss of credibility'' on the issue since Mr Latham's departure from politics.

Fathers Foundation director Warwick Marsh, who represents more than 2000 fathers around the country, called the Liberal policy "exciting and incredible''.

"I think they could win the election on this one, so long as they articulate it well and reassure women it's nothing against them,'' Mr Marsh said.

He and other men's advocates said the Labor Party had dropped the issue since Mr Latham left politics after the 2004 federal election loss. "The blokes who are really feeling it are the blue-collar guys represented by Labor,'' Mr Marsh said.

Michael Green, an author of books on how fathers should handle divorce, said the state Liberals had "picked up on a social movement and based their policy on good research''.

A former barrister with a Labor background who is now a relationship mediator, Mr Green said "it was a great shame'' the ALP had not followed up on Mr Latham's policies.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 Editor's Note: The Fatherhood Foundation has joined Australians Against RU486 in their battle to protect the women of Australia from money hungry drug companies who do not care for human life, women or children.  The vote in the Senate was a tragedy for the women and children of Australia and we encourage the fathers of our nation to speak up on their behalf.

 

 

 

 

SENATE GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO

ABORTION PILL

BATTLE SHIFTS TO HOUSE OF REPS

ON MONDAY 13 FEBRUARY

 

The Senate passed the RU486 Bill at 4.49 pm on Thursday 9 February.  Many Senators acknowledged the many thousands of letters received which were overwhelmingly against the Bill.  Sadly the majority chose to disregard the grassroots community concern over the deadly abortion drug.

 

The battle now shifts to the House of Representatives where debate on the RU486 Bill will begin on Monday 13 February, we urge all Australians who are against this Bill to take urgent action NOW.

 

What to Do Next to Stop RU486

 

Your urgent action is needed. Don't delay, act now!

 

1. Telephone the Australian Electoral Commission on 13 23 26 and check who your federal Member is. The Parliament House website will provide email and postal addresses for Members of Parliament: www.aph.gov.au  

 

2. Telephone Parliament House on 02 6277 7111 and ask the switchboard to put you through to your Member?s office.

 

Phone, fax, email your concerns (see attached 'key issues of concern' sheet).

 

3.  If possible send letters/emails/faxes or make phone calls to all members of the House of Representatives. 

 

 

YOUR WORK OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS

CAN MAKE THE VITAL DIFFERENCE!!!

 

Authorised by A.Mills. Australians Against RU486. 225 Glenmore Rd, Paddington NSW 2021.

Tel: (02) 9357 1684. info@aaru486.org.au.  www.aaru486.org.au.

February 11, 2006.

 

Media Release

SF/31. Thursday February 9, 2006

SENATE WASHES HANDS OF RU486

 

Most Senators, in supporting the RU486 bill, have accepted the proposition that there is not any difference between surgical abortion and medical abortion.

They have then argued that a decision to make medical abortion widely available is a technical or operational matter which does not involve any policy issues.

But as one person said to me this week, if there is not any difference between surgical abortion and medical abortion, then why is there any difference, in terms of policy, between drilling for oil in Bass Strait and drilling for oil in the Great Barrier Reef?  After all, if the policy decision is to support drilling for oil, then the location is simply an operational matter.

Family First is concerned about the Senate's decision to remove from elected politicians the responsibility for policy and social issues related to RU486.  Having set this precedent, one wonders what else the Senate might delegate or, to put it another way, what it would not delegate.

I agree with the Prime Minister when he said this bill involves "' not only the medical implications' but also the principle that important decisions affecting the community should be made by people who are accountable directly to the community". With parliaments handing over their responsibilities to unelected bodies, people might well ask what value they are getting from their politicians.

One positive element of this debate has been the widespread concern expressed about the high number of abortions in Australia, including by many supporters of this Bill.  There has also been a widely expressed view that governments should act to reduce that number.  Research shows this is what the community wants.

Given that research also shows the community supports women receiving independent counselling before having an abortion, and a reasonable cooling-off period between receiving the counselling and deciding whether or not to have an abortion, Family First hopes all senators will positively support any government initiative which reflects the community's concerns.

For media enquiries phone Chief of Staff Felicity Dargan on 0409 550 446

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Dad's Prayer

 

 

 

Dear God

 

Help me catch the thought of others,

Help me know their feelings true

Help me make my destination

Help me do it all for You.

 

Though I cannot see the end

Dark clouds completely fill my mind

Help me choose my destination

Help me catch the bus in time.

 

The conductor is my brother

The driver is my wife.

The fare of love is high

The cost is all my life.

 

I struggle to give

What I cannot understand

Help me stay aboard forever

Until I ride into your land.

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About Us

Mission Statement & Help Us!

Mission Statement

The Fatherhood Foundation is a charitable, non profit incorporated association with a goal to inspire men to a greater level of excellence as fathers, by encouraging and educating them, thereby renewing and empowering families.

Click here for more information about us

Help Us!

The Fatherhood Foundation believes that the key to life is giving.  That's why this newsletter is given freely without expectation.  Life is also about relationships.  That's what being a good father is all about, developing relationships with your loved ones.
 
If you would like to give financially to the Fatherhood Foundation,
please mail your cheque or money order to:
Fatherhood Foundation
PO Box 440
WOLLONGONG  NSW  2520
AUSTRALIA

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