Family Portrait

What do you guys think?

The Inklings- C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein

I figured, since we were just talking about this.... =) 

The Inklings was an informal literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England, for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949.Its  most regular members (many of them academics at the University) included J. R. R. "Tollers" Tolkien, C. S. "Jack" Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, Christopher Tolkien (J. R. R. Tolkien's son), Warren "Warnie" Lewis (C. S. Lewis's elder brother), etc.

The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who praised the value of narrative in fiction, and encouraged the writing of fantasy. Although Christian values were notably reflected in several members' work, there were also atheists among the members of the discussion group.

"Properly speaking," wrote Warren Lewis, "the Inklings was neither a club nor a literary society, though it partook of the nature of both. There were no rules, officers, agendas, or formal elections.

Readings and discussions of the members' unfinished works were the principal purposes of meetings. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet, and Williams'sAll Hallows' Eve were among the novels first read to the Inklings. Tolkien's fictional Notion Club (see Sauron Defeated) was based on the Inklings.

Meetings were not all serious though; the Inklings amused themselves by having competitions to see who could read the famously bad prose of Amanda McKittrick Ros for the longest without laughing.

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.

I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.

LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

love you guys,

ojen

p.s.When I got out of physics lab this afternoon the weather was warm and beautiful and it smelled like spring! I love it! =)

The story of Stuff

For your viewing pleasure. It's kind of long but its interesting =)

Harry Potter and Armenians

As some of you know, I have been on a Harry Potter reading craze. My roommate, Taylor, keeps reminding me that I'm 10 years late and keeps saying '' What are you, in, like, 1999 or something"... but anyway, I'm enjoying it. Besides... don't people still party like its 1999?

That's not the point of my post though... my point is to tell you guys when I was finishing up the second Harry Potter book, I came across some interesting stuff. Here's an excerpt.

'' My dear boy, do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village form werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all..."

HAHAHAHA. Isn't that funny? Well, I thought so... =)

Hey family,

 So I got my Job Proposal last week and wanted to share a part of it with you to give you a better idea of what I'll be doing. It's still kind of vague but it helps. Here it is. 

Job Proposal        

For:                  Ojen Aslanian                

Date:                  19 February 2008 

From:                  Joe and Joy Maschhoff, Sunland Regional Leaders

                  Dave and Kelly Sasaki, UCI Campus Leaders

Effective                        June 20, 2008 – June 20, 2010 

Title                               UCI EDGE Corps Staff                

Description                    1)            Receive EDGE Corps training at UC-Irvine (raise funds for 2/3 a year this                                                             summer and full fundraising summer of ’09)

2)              Work under Dave and Kelly Sasaki as your Campus Leaders, seeking to help their vision become reality

3)              Trust God for generations from UC-Irvine to the cities and to the nations 

4)              Be a full participant in NavWest

5)              Build further on the impact and relationships God has made through you at UCI—getting to see the next season and next steps of God’s working at UCI

 

Reasons                       1)       We think God is in this   

2)              We really want you on our team in a full-time capacity (although we know

that you will be in school this fall quarter)

3)              The need at UC-Irvine is huge (students need Jesus!) as well as the need here in SoCal and the world (people need Jesus!)

4)              It seems to us that God’s hand is on you in a special way and that two years in this role could be very developmental for you and help set you up to be just who God wants you to be, long-term

5)              God has used you so profoundly while you were a student at UCI that we get so excited at the thought of your getting to serve and minister at UCI full-time 

To be honest I'm nervous. A big part of me doesn't want to do this... but I really think God is leading me towards this and I wan't to be obedient and faithful. This is the verse that kind of pushed me over the edge (haha... no pun intended... unless you think its extremely clever, then i'll take credit for it. ).

'Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.'   Matthew 10: 37-39

I know to a lot of people this looks like a waste of time. Especially because I am putting off school. But in reality, this is an opportunity for me to invest in something that is beyond us and will go into eternity. Something beyond a paycheck.... its people's lives and hearts and souls. You know? Plus, the wisdom of Jesus, is foolishness to this world, and I know thats partly why mom and dad don't get it, although their thoughts and feelings come from their love for me and wanting what is best. 

Anyway, don't know what you guys think. I would love to hear your thoughts or if you guys have any questions or anything. Of course there will be a lot of time to talk about this stuff, especially since i dont have all of the details yet. love you! thanks for listening to me ramble on! =)

I fell

so, this is my first post. i know its long awaited and you guys have been harassing me and making comments about babies that i dont get, but anway, i fell. thought you guys would be interested since i am a "faller down of stairs." well, now put me down as a "faller down in baths." i fell in the shower on sunday. hold your laughter. i've ever since been reminded of my fall because of the huge black bruise on the back of my thigh that i have to sit on for eight or more hours at work. at first i thought, that'll be a cool bruise. i was wrong, there is nothing cool about your rear hurting when you have to sit for many long hours.

so how did this happen you ask? well you probably aren't actually asking that since asking "how did helen happen to fall?" is like asking "how did stoli happen to fart?" The answer is in the question, Helen falls and stoli farts, its just the way it is. i wont spare you the details though because this is a blog and i cant afford to spare details so ill just put them down in type. so i was done with my shower and ready to step out of the bath. one foot was planted on the floor and the other in mid air ready to exit the bath tub area and enter the bathroom area. it doesnt take a degree in physics to figure out how the next part of the story transpired, one foot was in the air, no surface to grip, no surface to aide as a producer of frictional force. the other foot was on the bath floor and managed to overcome friction and slip. so now im literally swept off both feet. since i cant fly, the foot in the air came crashing down on the rails that the sliding door fits on, ultimately resulting in an interesting bruise under my foot. in response i screamed at the top of my lungs and was comforted by the sound of oshin running up the stairs to rescue me. it was too late, my fall continued and the back of my thigh landed on the rails. i've been limping and sitting funny for four days now. it could have been worse i guess. so there's my first blog. about how i fell.