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Fresh
Vision
Warwick
Marsh
5th August, 2007
In
a recent update I talked about
one of the greatest decisions
of my life, travelling Australia
with my young family for 12
months back in 1990. Many
of you probably thought that
it was an easy decision to
make. Others probably thought,
'How do you make good family-friendly
decisions?'
 Hindsight
is a wonderful gift. My decision
was quite hard to make and
fraught with challenges. Many
times the decisions we make
are like punts in the dark
and often it takes years to
find out if your decisions
turned out to be right or
wrong.
That
famous poem, 'Don't Quit',
'Life is queer with its twist
and turns, as every one of
us sometimes learn', but the
truth of the matter is we
make many wrong decisions
in life.
The
key thing in life and for
your family's sake is that
you make more right decisions
than wrong ones. Keep the
batting average up and stay
positive. Depression and negativity
will kill you quicker than
anything else. You are your
family's greatest asset. That's
why you must stay positive
and always embrace the gift
of life that each new day
brings.
In
1985, through sheer stupidity
and the 'recession we had
to have', I lost everything
I had worked for. I lost my
business, my good name (one
of the hardest to lose, for
those of us who are in love
with our own egos) a hundred
acre farm, 35 square home,
Volvo and Ford Fairmont. At
the time suicide was a consideration
as I also had adequate life
insurance. I thought driving
into a tree would be a good
way to end it all. Luckily
I had my two young boys in
the car with me at the time.
Life is always a decision
in more ways than one. We
ended up living in a small
garage, 3 metres by 7 metres
at the back of a friend's
house for six months, and
surviving on the dole. Thank
God for the dole (another
blow to my ego as I had always
been rather disparaging of
those who needed handouts).
Towards
the end of the eighties it
looked like I was getting
back on my feet financially
but was still living in a
rented home (still am today).
The trip around Australia
with my family was not just
about spending time with my
family, but it was also to
do with our desire to become
part of the answer to our
society's destruction and
not just be a silent participant
in its continuing collapse.
Larry
Norman sang a song, 'Two roads
diverged in the middle of
my life I heard the wise man
say. I took the one less travelled
by, that's made the difference
every night and every day.'
One decision leads to another.
If I had not taken that journey
down that road the Fatherhood
Foundation would not exist
and you would not be reading
this newsletter today. The
reform process in family law
would not be as advanced,
hundreds of marriages and
families would not have been
saved and encouraged, many
more children would be fatherless
and the undertakers would
have made a lot more money.
Life is always a decision
in more ways than one.
How
do you make good decisions?
1) You must have a value
system you can trust.
2)
Dream a dream and formulate
a vision (without a vision
the people perish).
3)
Pray - get help from above
4)
Be in agreement (the place
of agreement is the place
of power).
You
must agree with your spouse
on the key decisions of life.
As John Howard is wont to
say, 'Disunity is death'.
The greatest decisions are
usually made together.
Lovework
Dream
a dream. Don't be discouraged.
Get a vision for your life
and put first things first.
Come into agreement with those
you love and move forward
together.
Always remember, nothing ventured,
nothing gained.
Punting
in the dark is great fun if
nothing else.
Yours
for a fresh vision
Warwick Marsh
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Vision
without action is a
daydream.
Action without vision
is a nightmare.
Japanese
Proverb
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Don't Quit
When
things go wrong, as they sometimes
will,
When the road you're trudging
seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and
the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but
you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you
down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't
you quit.
Life is queer with its twists
and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes
learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had
he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the
pace seems slow -
You might succeed with another
blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
it seems
to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given
up
When he might have captured
the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when
the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden
crown.
Success is failure turned
inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds
of doubt -
And you never can tell how
close you are,
It may be near when it seems
afar;
So stick to the fight when
you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst
that you must not quit.
Author unknown
A
Dad's Prayer
Dear God
Help
me find my heart
for out of it flow the issues
of life.
Help me find Your heart for
You are the source of life
itself.
Give me a vision for my life
nd let it begin by me seeing
You.
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