Opinion

Scott Mitchell: God in the middle of your marriage
Marriage is a beautiful gift from God — designed not just for our happiness, but for our holiness.

Kyle Troutman: Good news in Wheaton
“There’s so much bad news in the world all the time, and this could be good news and an uplifting story.”

Terry Held: The levers of Democracy — Finding our public voice again
After reading Ron Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton, I was struck by my own ineptness in supporting the freedoms granted by our founding fathers’ work.

Sheila Harris: Would you still be my friend?
“Would you still be my friend, if I told you I was illegal?”

Randy Crane: The word more fully confirmed
We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:16-21 (emphasis added).

Kyle Troutman: How my award was not the reward
On Saturday, for the third time in four years, I had to give a speech. At the annual International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) Conference at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D., I was honored to accept a third Golden Dozen award for excellence in opinion writing — and I was shaking.

Janet Mills: Crying over onions: Why nothing is wasted
It happened on an ordinary Tuesday. We had just finished unloading a rare shipment of farm fresh produce. The produce choice table was exceptionally full of options and colorfully displayed.

Dakoda Pettigrew: American Insights — Lincoln’s pledge, and ours
The words of the Psalmist were on his mind. “If I forget thee,” Abraham Lincoln thought, speaking not at this moment of God’s Law but of the doctrine of the Declaration of Independence (the same thing anyway), “let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.”

Donnie Spears: The greatest weapon
I believe every Christian knows that there’s a battle going on within and around each and every one of us.

Kyle Troutman: Room for Cassville?
Over the weekend and through Tuesday, a lot of people asked me, “How was your Fourth?”