Recapping the Past Few Weeks

Apologies for anyone who has been waiting to hear from Jaron (me) on recent activities. I've been a little tied up as of late with school and all. But I think I'm ready to get everyone caught up on current events.

All my classes are going pretty well. I find most of the classes interesting, and only a few are slightly strenuous, but I expect that I'll be able to get over that feeling with a few more weeks. Most interesting of all, I find that somehow all my classes have been popping up with similar overall topics, really just philosophical questions that have been around for a long time. In Political Science, Psychology, Philosophy, and Criminal Justice I've been faced with these questions: Is mankind and human nature basically good or evil? Do human beings have free will or not (are we really in control)? These are very engaging and deep questions. The free will question is especially difficult for me to have an idea of, but I've figured that even if mankind doesn't have free will, everyone is essentially responsible for their own actions.

Anyway, enough of that for right now. I have to summarize my latest adventures. On Labor Day weekend I went mountain biking for the first time, resulting in a lot of walking and a badly scratched up right leg. But I did it with people I enjoy and I didn't complain, because it really was fun. After that, I cut an onion for a brunch meal and teared up because it was a very potent onion. Later in the week I went frisbee golfing and had a really bad score (again with friends, so it didn't matter).

I read the Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, which is pretty engaging when it comes to inculcating serious thought. Every time I think about that book I'm reminded that someday I too will have to die, and yet it doesn't bother me right now, because as Paul says, "To live is Christ, but to die is gain." I hope I can have that attitude when I know that I must die soon. I still have to write a reflective essay on that soon.

One adventure I had a couple of weeks ago was a hike up the side of Steptoe Butte, about 30 miles north of Colfax. I might get the pictures onto my computer and then Flickr sometime. It was fun, but we got a lot of seeds and burs in our shoes. We could've driven to the top, but that would've been no fun at all. I'm thinking that might be a good bike ride, but all uphill.

Marching band leaves for Seattle on Friday, so we're getting the show and the tunes ready for game day. I'm a little bummed that I can spend as much time as I'd like back home, but there will be other vacations. If you live close to home when you're in college, consider yourself blessed: don't think about how close you are to parents, but how close you are to their love and generosity. If only we could all see the upside to all things, maybe we'd praise and thank God more.

Which brings me to a particular blessing that has been exciting as of late. I'm attending a Foundations for Marriage Bible Study class at One-Way Books as of late, it's on Tuesdays at 4:00 taught by Doug Busby, the pastor at E-Free in Pullman. It is really an eye opening class, and I think I'm really growing into the community there, including a lot of my friends from WSU. I checked out their statement of faith on their website, and it looks very consistent with the Word.

That is a lot of stuff, but I haven't written in a while, so that's what's been going on lately here. Praise and glory to God, my love to my family, and to the brothers and sisters in Christ, God bless and guide the USA, Bones Rock, and Go Cougs!