When I was pregnant at 23, I devoured parenting books. My husband and I bucked the current trend to wait for children: Our first son was born the day after our one-year anniversary. We adopted the cry-it-out method in a studio apartment. I quit my job and spent precious hours shoveling sand, watching boats, and picking flowers.

As much as I wholeheartedly embraced motherhood, I had no idea how self-revealing it is—how tangible the gospel message becomes when we have to flesh it out with little offspring following our lead.

More unmarried Christians in their 20s are skittish about making a lifetime commitment, and some who are married wish they were not. It’s vital for both groups to see how older Christians learned to work and pray through uncertainties and difficulties, and in the process gained decades of joy. 

MARIN COUNTY, Calif.—Yesterday, outside San Quentin State Prison, Andre Williams weighed in on California Proposition 34. The measure, rejected by voters, would have abolished the state’s death penalty and converted the sentences of 726 inmates on California’s death row —all housed at San Quentin—to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The city of Oakland moved last week to prevent federal law enforcement from closing its biggest marijuana dispensary, the largest pushback since an aggressive crackdown on California's booming pot industry began last year.

Oakland sued U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and San Francisco U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag last Wednesday after the Justice Department attempted to seize the building that houses Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary that generates more than $1 million in local tax revenue annually.

SAN FRANCISCO—A lawsuit challenging a San Francisco ordinance that bans "misleading" advertising by pro-life pregnancy centers will proceed after a federal judge upheld its "equal protection" claim that the law unfairly favors one viewpoint over another. 

Instead of owning health insurance, Geyserville, Calif. mother Marci Lee relies on buying organic food. While loading her cart with cantaloupes, tomatoes, and cilantro at a local Whole Foods store, Lee said she shops strictly organic to avoid synthetic pesticides and genetically-manufactured foods: "This is our health insurance."

When he was just 12 years old, Viliami Lauti began selling drugs outside a rundown East Oakland liquor store. At first, it was easy money for new tennis shoes and clothes, but soon he became hooked on drugs and the steady flow of cash. By age 24, Lauti was a fixture on the corner of Coolidge Avenue and North MacArthur Boulevard.