Rev. Simon A. Simon

I normally detest moving, but I'm excited about it today!

I'm moving to a new blog with a new look, new layout, new name and new mission!
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Starting this weekend, however, I'll be authoring new content exclusively on a brand new WordPress site. I exported the archives there so you don't have to jump back and forth between blogs; frequent the new one and simply use the Search function if looking for old content.
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Please sign up for automatic updates via the Subscription tool in the right hand sidebar at Life Paladin (I recommend the Google reader option, but any of them work).
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Matter of fact, there are already on the order of 170 cities in the United States and Canada registered to participate.
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If you've read this far, you probably believe in God and the power of prayer, and you recognize the objective truth about abortion as an intrinsically evil act. Listen to and honor what's written on your heart.
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In pouring over the last few months' Defend Us In Battle posts, a recurring theme has presented itself; I've been unwittingly drawn further into a deepening conviction on abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty.

I'm not smart enough to pinpoint the exact beginning of my journey to the present, but it seems within the realm of possibility that God has thrown an eclectic mix of life experiences my way, all of which have come together to define a new emphasis for the site.

So it is after prayerful deliberation I answer a calling to focus my vision here at DUiB and concentrate on one battle front: - Respect for and defense of human life.

One strategy I will employ is a commitment to ecumenism. While I'm grateful for time spent studying Church history and the early Fathers because my Catholic education allows me to explain my expression of faith in a creator to those who might be curious, no longer will I engage in polemic debates with other theists.
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I choose to fight.
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So you can imagine the pride I felt when I read of two prominent archbishops' rebuke of "Catholics" like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi who cherry pick their way through Church teaching and pander to members of the pro-abortion public because it's expedient come November.
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I'm still blogging, but much of my time on DUiB will be sacrificed for time spent on a new WordPress site called Our German Daughter.
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I've gone on record in previous posts as saying people should be more careful about separating their Christian consciences from their politics while in the voting booth.
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There are 1.25 million members of the Knights of Columbus in the U.S. "It is time for us to say, 'if you want my vote, as a Catholic, you're not going to get it if you vote for abortion, period... and that's not just aimed at the Democrats as some people might suggest.
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I didn't want to break the news prematurely, but my lovely bride and I have embarked on a little adventure: we're hosting a foreign exchange student this year!
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Youth For Understanding, the international student exchange agency we're working with, has done the home study and interviews. References are in. Criminal background checks have been conducted. Nadine's flight has been booked and she's been accepted into a nearby high school where she'll attend with (and be shown the ropes by) our 17 year old niece, Lauren.

Why host a foreign exchange student?

To begin, I must reference an incident from our vacation to Florida last May.
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Conversation ensued. She turned out to be a former exchange student who was traveling back to Hastings, Nebraska to spend a month with the family who hosted her during her junior year in high school. She was German.

Ahem.

Seed planted, Denise and I spent the flight home discussing how rewarding it might be to open our home and hearts to an exchange student from another country. Seed planted, Denise and I spent the flight home discussing how rewarding it might be to open our home and hearts to an exchange student from another country.
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My wife and I have a family history which includes infertility; in depth investigation of adoption (including concerns with the "open adoption" process locally and suffering $25-$30K sticker shock for "closed adoption" abroad); discerning foster care and its potential pitfalls; and attempts to conceive via both NFP and Eastern medicine fertility aids such as acupuncture.
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Denise and I have a strong, mature relationship based in faith, love, respect and communication.
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In 20 years as a police officer, I have seen more instances of poor child rearing than I care to remember. This has impressed upon me the idea that serving in the role of a parent sometimes has little to do with biology. Empathy, commitment, solid values, and a heartfelt desire to "Do unto others" will carry us through whatever challenges lay ahead.

There are no accidents in life. I believe we were unwittingly on the path to bring Nadine "home" to Omaha from the moment a stranger from Germany was provoked to sit down next to Denise on our way back from Florida last spring. I believe we were unwittingly on the path to bring Nadine "home" to Omaha from the moment a stranger from Germany was provoked to sit down next to Denise on our way back from Florida last spring.
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Myers is reiterating his promise to mock the Catholic faithful -1 billion worldwide- via public desecration saying, "I'll do something that shows the cracker has no power," this according to the ever watchful Catholic League.
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As a DUiB reader has pointed out, Myers' incendiary blog wasn't actually hosted on U of M servers, but a link to his online manifesto did appear on the university's web page. Thankfully, taste, decorum and respect have prevailed and the link has been removed.

While I defend Myers' right to make whatever venomous comments he likes, I equally have the right to label them despicable, divisive, and unbecoming of an "educated" university level professor.

Sidebar: I wonder if Myers is aware the 118-year-old publicly funded university's first buildings housed an American Indian boarding school administered by the Sisters of Mercy religious order of the Catholic Church?
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It's painfully obvious to this particular Christian who loves the Lord and the Roman Catholic Church that the last remaining rampart of bigotry and hatred which is acceptable in the United States is most assuredly anti-Catholicism.
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Note: Myers' hateful, threatening diatribe came via his blog which, incidentally, is hosted on U of M servers. It appears the blog has been taken down since news of this story broke. Nonetheless, Catholics are urged to contact University President Robert Bruininks to convey their feelings about his professor's hate mongering.
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Evidence of Obama's support for infanticide is mounting. For all the gory details, take a gander at an article posted just this morning on the Catholic League's website. - Obama & Infanticide

I have prayerfully contemplated this issue for weeks and it escapes me how so many "Catholics" in America are poised to vote for Obama.
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I further challenge you to then search within yourself to identify that which prevents you from allowing your moral conscience from being exercised in the voting booth.
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-Ps 24:1We are accountable for what we do or fail to do to preserve and care for the earth and all its creatures. We are stewards dwelling within creation, we aren't separate from it.

As faithful stewards, fullness of life comes from living responsibly within God's creation. Stewardship implies that we must both care for creation according to standards that are not of our own making and at the same time be resourceful in finding ways to make the earth flourish.

One of the best ways to accomplish both goals is to plant a tree. This is particularly vital for readers living in the Omaha metro area ravaged by a massive straight-line windstorm which left 130,000 residents without power on June 27th.

ReTree Nebraska is a 10-year cooperative to raise public awareness of the value of trees, reverse the decline of Nebraska's tree and forest resources, and improve the health and sustainability of trees and forests across the state for future generations.

The primary goal of ReTree Nebraska is to work in partnership with Nebraskans to foster the proper planting and maintenance of 1 million new trees by 2017.
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(I'll let readers discover the more unsavory, vulgar, hateful things Maher has said over the years here.)
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If you're a subscriber to HBO, I implore you to demonstrate the courage of your convictions: sign the petition and, if Home Box Office doesn't come through, cancel your subscription and give your hard earned money to another cable programmer.
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Don't let anti-Catholicism or more generally, anti-Christianity, r