Into the Dark

One of our favorite things to do is analyze film. We watch an array of movies from art films to comedy and from classics to documentaries. We love movies, but even more, we love the art form that film lends itself to, filled with symbolism and meaning, a new way to look at the world: physical and spiritual. One of our favorite websites in rednow.com that was started by a couple of Young Life guys.

According to the site, "As we pile experience on top of experience, we long for ways to understand what we are feeling and thinking....rednoW exists for this reason. We feel strongly that the sounds and images that are causing us to wonder the most are doing so for a reason. These wonder inspiring encounters act as signposts pointing towards a deeper truth for which we long. We see filmmakers and musicians as Poets, Prophets and Preachers—and here at rednoW we gather and listen with great expectation." Beautiful...I encourage everyone to check out this website!This year, rednoW is doing something based on Craig Detweiler's (a Christian filmmaker and analysis guru) newest book "Into the Dark" in which each month, 5 movies are selected (in theaters, emerging canon, documentary, foreign, and an older film (pre-2000)) and then discussed and analyzed through group forums on the website.Needless to say, Kyle and I are thrilled, signed up, and beginning with the 2006 movie (emerging canon), "The Prestige". Here are our thoughts that we posted in the forum:

• Brilliant film! The word that comes to mind while digging into this movie is "Truth". Every element of the film is based around finding the truth, hiding the truth, knowing the truth,disguising the truth, forgetting the truth, understanding the truth. The first person in the movie who knows the truth is the little boy at the magic show who cries at the knowledge of the dead bird. "Where is his brother?" he exclaims, not being fooled by the illusion. The truth brings him fear and remorse. The relationship between the two Borden's and the wife is littered with lies amongst the pure truth of love. She looks through those lies to try to find if her husband loves her. "You mean it today," she says, deciphering it from the times when she can tell that he doesn't. Towards the end of the movie she says, in a fit of rage, "I want you to be honest with me...no tricks, no lies, no secrets...do you love me?" In which he replies, "Not today". She later hangs herself. The truth killed her.
  
  The first glimpse we get of the danger of truth is when Cutter is showing the box to the buyer. Cutter tells him that it is, "...too dangerous", to which he replies, "I'm sure underneath all it's bells and whistles, it has a disappointing trick". "It has no trick," replies Cutter, "It's real." It is not the tricks and illusions that are dangerous, it's the Truth.
  
  Angier does not begin with this pursuit of truth, but steadily evolves throughout the film. At the death of his wife we see his desire for vengeance ("I don't care about my wife, I care about his secret!") that turns into curiosity to envy and pride, to finally, power. Truth holds power.
  
  When Angier is first seeking the truth in his profession, Cutter says to him, "You have to get your hands dirty if you want to achieve the impossible". As he gets closer to the "real trick", Borden says to him, "Finally getting your hands dirty, are you?" At the end, from his jail cell where he is waiting to be hanged, Borden tell's Angier, "You're not afraid to get your hands dirty". Perhaps it is not Truth itself that brings these ideas to the surface, but rather what we do with the truth. Borden and Angier both discover a real "trick" but do the do the same thing with it?
  
  The physicist Tesla says, "People are happy to be mystified" and Angier in his last breath says, "The audience knows the truth, the world is miserable, but if you can fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder". At the end Cutter says, "You don't find it because you aren't looking for it...you want to be fooled". Does this succumb to Thomas Gray's idea that, "Ignorance is bliss?"
  
  How, as Christians, do we respond to this portrayal of truth?
  

Missing my Grandma...

On Wednesday, I recieved a call from my dad with words that took my breath away and replaced it with throbbing pain. My grandma had passed away after suffering a major stroke. This is the first time I have experienced pain to this magnitude. I have beautiful memories of this incredible woman and I am so thankful to have had the wonderful relationship that we had.

I remember her laugh that was silent until she sucked in air, her silly comments, how she liked everything chopped teeny tiny in the kitchen, the way she smelled...like vacation and family. She loved cheddar cheese with her apple pie and always got mad if people took her tuberware without returning it. She loved butter on saltine crackers (well, on anything really) and hated exercise, yet always had a stationary bike by her bed. She liked classical music and soap operas, solitare and novels. Her cheeks turned pink when she drank wine and she always wore cardigan sweaters and keds. When my parents went to China to pick up Molly, she stayed with me the whole time, helping me knit a blanket for my new baby sister. She hated it when I dropped stiches and would make me start over. When I was little, I wanted her to be the maid of honor in my wedding. Everytime we went to visit her (or vice versa) we shared a bed and, while she was sucking on her tums, we would lay awake talking about everything and anything. We called this "Tums Time" and looked forward to it all day. She provided my something old (a charm she got when she was born) and my something borrowed (a Irish linin handkerchief). She sewed all my American Girl doll clothes. She was sweet, sassy, and meant the world to me. My heart aches for her.

My friend Sarah asked me the other day how my grandpa was doing. She was not aware that he had passed away when I was a toddler and I was excited to be able to tell her, "Sarah, he is wonderful! He is so happy today!" It is these thoughts and the promise of eternal life to my faithful grandma that brings me joy through my tears. I can't wait to see her again.

Grandma got to come to Wenatchee for Thanksgiving this year :-)

These past few days I have not felt like talking to anyone. I am so thankful for everyone's calls, texts, and e-mails but the times that I was able to compose myself enough to return calls were the times I was thankful to not be drowning in my tears. Grief is so strange but knowing people were thinking and praying for me and my family was an incredible comfort.

I love you Grandma. I can't wait to bake pies and talk about our days again.

Back from Blogging Haitus

I have learned that my blogging ability is very dependant upon the availability of my camera. I left my camera in Kansas, ergo, I have not blogged since before Christmas! My mother-in-law is sending me some pics from Christmas but, in the meantime, I will summarize the last month of our life!

However, with that I will say how awkward blogging is when stop for a minute to think about it. I need to ask myself, "Kelsey, does anyone really care what the Eberth's did between now and the beginning of December?!" While the answer is obviously no, I also remind myself that this is more for me: a journal that is laid open in hopes that someone will pass by and shed a glance, a really long facebook status that will get some "likes" and perhaps even a few comments, a record in case I forget what we ate for dinner 6 weeks ago. Everyone should have one, right? With that, I present to you....

The Top 10 Things from the Past Month that No one Care About (in no specific order)

1. Christmas in Bellevue: Boppa de whatever, downtown Seattle window shopping, time with family.

2. Christmas in Kansas: I love my new family!! Even when my new sister wears a onsie and my new dad drives like a maniac through snowy parking lots.

3. I turned 24...and I always said I wanted to start having kids at 25...EEK!

4. Kyle was in the wedding of his good friend, Kevin Mills, in South Carolina on New Years Eve

5. I rang in 2010 with my Wenatchee family....yummy food, good wine, and fun games

6. Kyle spent a week in Georgia for Young Life training searching for spiritual themes in movies...can we trade jobs please?

7. I bought my 5 year old husband the ugliest jacket in the world after he threw a temper tantrum for a week.

8. I lived with my Myers family for 2 weeks while Kyle was gone...it is always my favorite part of January

9. I learned that Tupac is the key to getting freshmen to read

10. Laughed...a lot.