July 20, 2010
Stellar Stuffed Zucchini *****

Steam 8  med to lg zucchinis til just tender.
Meanwhile, combine:
4-6 tomatoes, chopped
4T olive oil
2T cider vinegar
i pkg Good Seasons sweet tomato bruschetta dip mix (1
0z)
1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
4T parmesan cheese

Cut cooked zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out flesh
to make boats, then chop and add to tomato mixture. Pile
into zucchini halves. Top with shredded cheddar cheese
and bake or broil until bubbly at 350-400. Takes about 10
minutes. Makes 16. Wish I had this many when I was
serving 7 people the other night. We would have eaten
them all! (so I doubled the recipe)

New Review!

Valuable Resource for the Modern Patriot!
The Portable Patriot –Documents, Speeches, and
Sermons that Compose the American Soul
Edited by Joel J. Miller and Kristen Parrish

If you want a glimpse into the minds and
hearts of the early American
Revolutionaries that resonates with
astonishing relevancy, this little collection
throws open the windows and airs the
aspirations along with the ills of, in the
words of George Washington, the great
American ‘experiment’.

Though in modern culture their voices are  
faint and almost imperceptible, the words of
Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, Thomas
Paine, to name a few, illuminate the original
intent of the Constitution and its
accompanying documents and other
writings which shaped the public mind.

Amid warnings of greed and the misuse of
power in the governing, and indigence and
apathy in the governed these articulate
speakers infuse wind into the sails of the
modern mind with their humble belief that
the idea we call America, though fluid and
elusive is not only attainable, but worth
every bit of the struggle.

The editors offer no apology or disclaimer
for the blatant religious verbiage in nearly
every entry, in contrast to the current
‘religiophobia’. Definitely worth the read for
any thinking American who fervently hopes
these ideals will continue to be realized in
succeeding generations of America.

I received a complimentary copy of  The Portable Patriot  from
Thomas Nelson Publishers. In return I agreed to write a
review of my honest opinion of the book whether favorable or
unfavorable, through the booksneeze program at
BookSneeze.com



June 22, 2010
"Were we directed by Washington when to sow and when
to reap, we should soon want bread." Thomas Jefferson

I am partway through the little gem of a book called the
Portable Patriot and I am indeed amazed at the relevance
of the writings of our founding fathers. More on this later...

Perpetual Union- Having been married to the same man for
almost 24 years (I've been married to him for the same
amount of time that I'd lived without knowing him) I've been
enchanted by this phrase. I extrapolated it from a
description of one of the patriots when discussing
America and its unity but I'm borrowing it for my own for
now. Although every year has not been fat, and the past
few have been lean financially, they have all been rich in
family and friends, in growth, in learning and in humility.
Who could guess ahead when standing in white before the
preacher? Richer, poorer, sickness and health. Yes, we've
seen all four. You could insert a lot of adjectives here, and
the idea would be the same. Perpetual union. The union is
the primary thing. What a delight that he has chosen the
same thing! I am blessed indeed.

Somewhere along the way during the last month,all the
kids started leaving home more often. I thought it would
happen more gradually, but it's almost shocking to have
the house so quiet. When I examine my gray roots which
are going to be covered tomorrow, thank goodness, I
discover that its been quite a long time since that first vow-
making. There have been many restatements along the
way, and I'm sure there will be many more. Perpetual
union. That's what we're going for!



May 30, 2010

A couple things jiggled loose in my mind today as I was
surfing twitter and  its orbiting entities.

First of all, I have been searching for a title to describe the
varied interests and jobs in my life. I have found myself
listing my activities like an eccentric syllabus on occasion,
wishing I had a catch-all title that captured what I do and
who I am. A mission statement encapsulised in a couple
nouns, eh?

So what emerged was-" Creative Activist "

This is at any rate the rough draft...I will be trying it out to
see how it fits.

The other "Aha" was regarding the term 'home schooling'
which in my opinion is slinking away like last year's copy
of the tax code. Note, I said the term, not the concept.   I
am a proud mother of four children who received the
better part of the first 8 grades of their education  while
spending most of their time at home.

In view of the struggling nature of education, I think a bar
needs to be raised in awareness. As aptly expressed by  
Sir Ken Robinson education in America is too linear, too
focused on tracks, and needs not reform, but rethinking
completely, as it is based on an industrial, manufacturing
model which 'cranks' out results. Schooling at home
should and often does provide individualized instruction,
but traditional public schooling cannot do this while
retaining the ideals and methods it embraces.  

So, I propose the following conceptualized form of
education which I here referred to as " ISchool". An
accepted 'body of knowledge'  and the skills to access
more  knowledge,  should be fueled by an educational
climate which integrates the whole person and his or her
physical, mental and creative properties. an app, if you will,
for the student's entire life, and all of this with the goal of
globalizing our view of who we are and what we are in the
world to do. This can extend to an entire lifetime, because
In fact, all of us are students all the time.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Let's make this a 'dia-
blog' that's interactive.


May 23, 2010

My world has been expanded by Ray Bradbury's book
Something Wicked This Way Comes. He manages to say
the most moving and profound things by hiding them in a
story like a piece of jewelry in a cracker jack box. We eat
the popcorn, but don't we really want the prize?  Read it for
yourself and find the nugget I found in this tale of a carnival
gone bad. The relationship between the boy and his dad is
the best picture of a relationship I have ever read. It is
priceless!
At 80 plus Mr Bradbury deserves some of  literatures
highest praise. Why aren't his books required reading in
schools?

May 4, 2010

Book review for :  Will the World End in 2012?  A Christian
guide to the questions everyone’s asking   By Raymond C.
Hundley, Ph.D.

The subject of Dr. Hundley’s work is the current
apocalypse prediction, which is  fueled by varied and
sometimes intertwining theories, and has been more
recently defined in the American psyche by the release of
the movie, 2012. He cites a ‘prediction addiction’ which
has spawned many a doomsday story.
Using the studies of scientist and experts, Hundley states
the prediction along with evidence for or against it, and
ends each of the first ten chapters with his own
conclusion about whether or not the events predicted are
likely to occur.
What sets this book apart is the last two chapters in which
Hundley offers his own  impassioned advice for the
common man in the face of any kind of disaster, and
invites them to faith in an all-powerful God. The epilogue
contains a challenge  written especially for Christians. To
find Hundley’s answer to the question, check out this
timely book.


A complementary copy of this book was given to me by
Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest
opinion and review, whether positive or negative.


April 12, 2010
What is the evidence of God's spirit in my life? The fruit, or
proof of His spirit is that I behave more like Him, right? I'm
thinking the list of fruits, love, joy, peace, patience...well
those are good for starters.

If I'm not really showing at least some of those at home
especially, then perhaps only my spirit is showing.

Why home? Because home is where we really are who we
really are. The litmus test for character. It's the hardest
place to practice graciousness, because we KNOW
everyone there isn't perfect! We've lived with them, and
they with us.

A baby step might be to listen to my words, as I talk around
my house. How much of what I say is:

1) about me

2) criticising someone else

3) complaining about how my life is going

That's  enough for now. I have some work to do already!
Open the doors of your heart and let God  bring his
gracious spirit into your home in a greater awareness of
how you are talking to others.



April 3, 2010


Illuminations

A few years ago I adopted a practice of imagining the very
real physical presence of Jesus sitting in the passenger
seat when I was driving somewhere alone. I think as
women we desire the actual presence of the Lord
intensely. Rather than calling this ‘pretending’ I prefer to
think of it as the theologians of the last century would
have, as ‘practicing the presence of God’.  Jesus said,
“Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe.”
How comforting to realize He knows how we feel!




March 25, 2010

Web Garrison’s  What’s In a Word?

Have you ever stopped to think why we say the word 'hello'
as a form of greeting? A search on the web discloses that
'hello' came from  a phrase in Old English  which could
have been  ‘whole be thou’ or ‘hale (well) be thou’.  Web  
Garrison has done much of the leg work for us in his book
What’s In a Word?   Although the word ‘hello’ is not in
Garrison’s book, the word ‘good-bye’ is. According to the
book, the phrase ‘God be with you’ was shortened to ‘good-
bye’ sometime after the Shakespearean era.

The book examines a total of over 350 common English
words and phrases, giving a short history of their origin  It
is the nature of a book like this to keep you asking more
questions
.
Being an avid wordsmith, I lapped these up like a kitten to
milk, but the questions that gathered along the way were
numerous. For example, the word mug when used to
describe one’s face was reported to have come from the
practice of fashioning mugs in the shapes of faces. Still I
wondered, where did the word mug come from?  As with
any learning process,  the more you know, the more you
know you don’t know!  For a tickling of your curiosity about
words, I recommend What’s In a Word?  But I promise you,
it’ll leave you wanting more!

I received a complimentary copy of  Web Garrison's book ,
What's In a Word?   from Thomas Nelson Publishers. In
return I agreed to write a review of my honest opinion of the
book whether favorable or unfavorable, through the
booksneeze program at BookSneeze.com
Read my latest community column in the Modesto Bee

http://www.modbee.com/2010/07/01/1236031/maris-op
portunities-to-explore.html

Recycling in Modesto  http://tinyurl.com/24cpvuc

Idealism aside, most plastics are not easy to recycle.  
Amy L Maris


Recycling News:

Yosemite Recycling at 2413 Yosemite Blvd in Modesto is now
accepting ALL plastics, and will pay if you include at least 50%
CRV products. They also take glass and aluminum.
(209) 578 5857
Mon-Fri 9-5 Sat 9-4

Star facility in Modesto on Oakdale and Scenic will take only
CRV. Hours: 9-4 daily

S&d on Kansas also takes plastic and does not pay.
Contact me to read excerpts from:

Never Say Uncle: Romantic suspense novel

Unearthing Tilly; A Horror Story of Unethical
Proportions: Science Fiction

JANE (based on Bronte's Jane Eyre): A musical
screenplay

Fresh Lungful: A novella
"The greatest good you can do
for another is not just to share
your riches but to reveal to him
his own." -B. Disraeli
Amy L Maris
The Path

I forged a path
through dirt and stone
I dug the way
though quite alone.

It wound along
through stream and glen
and never straight
its windings went.

Through blood and tears
the years grew long;
still song and lyric
spurred me on.

It seemed to stop
beside a tree
and so I sat
my mind to free.

No sooner had
my thoughts unwound
than idle fears
my heart had bound

And so constrained
I sought to go
but which direction
did not know.

The song had waned
and with it peace.
Before I knew,
the music ceased,

For night had come
and with it fear
for everything
that I held dear.

So easily
the former way
had led me on
about the day;

The shadows now
were playing tricks
and good and evil
seemed to mix.

Dark music from
a deeper space
warned further stepping
in that place.

The cords that bound
my heart to fear
became my proof
that harm was near.

My spirit shrank
from phantom laws
as hunter's prey
from gaping jaws.

How could I see
to find my way
without the glorious
light of day?

Devoid of strength
and spent of will
I lay me down
and slept my fill.

Then I awoke
and dreading truth
my pose revealed
the hideous ruse-

That night had come
and kept me still
beside a trap
all set to kill.

The boundary shunned
beyond became
a harvesting
of deadly game!

So feeling free
but scarcely so,
I stepped o'er harm
and turned to go.

Now night or day
I follow on
and dig my way
propelled by song,

And know if fortune
lights the way
or shadow still
bids sight away,

The path I take
is made for me
by some unearthly
melody

That old as time
yet new to me
sings on in seamless
harmony.

A. Maris