Grayton Beach State Park, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands, “Let’s not take his life…Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. ~ Genesis 37:21-22 On the surface, this sounds like Reuben really cares about his brother. What’s really going on is that Reuben cares about himself and his birthright. Remember that he lost it and all the privileges that come with it when he prematurely claimed Jacob’s concubine as his own. He believes that if he returns Joseph to Jacob that he’ll get back in his father’s good graces. While the action to save Joseph from death seems good and right, it’s the motive that’s wrong. Reuben isn’t operating from a pure heart with pure intentions. It’s essentially the same condition the Pharisees had when Jesus told them they were like whitewashed tombs. The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive. (Proverbs 20:27) In God’s eyes, motive counts. Do you ever consider your motive when you do or say things? Reuben’s motive wasn’t to do the right thing and rescue his brother from the rest of the brothers, his motive was to manipulate his father. Looked good on the outside, but ugly inside.
After tuning in to our home church for services early this morning, we tossed around the idea of riding our bikes all the way to Alys Beach again, finding a public access area and walking the beach side of the rich and famous.
Nah.
We drove down. Or is it up? Whichever, it saved Blaine’s feet, and my legs. He wore thick ankle socks and a pair of old tennis shoes to walk the beach in, I planned on carrying my sandals.
Before we hit the beach, Blaine had discovered that there was a nature trail in Alys, so we stopped to check it out first.
The trailhead is just to the left.
Nice little trail, and to get back to where we left the Jeep, we took a route through another one of the Alys Beach neighborhoods. Everything seemed abandoned today, I guess because it was Sunday afternoon. There’s still a good deal of construction going on, and when we came upon one house, since no one was around, we stole inside to check out how the other half lives – or at least how they build. 😊
Many homes in this area (meaning Walton County beach areas) have them,
and the ones we’ve seen are all this size.
Seems more like hot tub size to us.
Back at the beach, Blaine searched for a public access, and found one in Rosemary, where we’d parked the Jeep, so we walked through town to find the gate, only to discover it wasn’t public after all.
However, God is sooo good to us! A man was just approaching the gate from the beach when we arrived, and offered to let us in. When it was mentioned that we couldn’t get back, he said, “Just hop the gate.” Yeah. Well. Not gonna happen. So then he told us that there was a public access about ½ mile further up. He actually owns the house beside where we were standing, and he’s from Ohio! Said it sat empty for four years. On a friend’s suggestion, he came down to visit the area, loved it, bought the house, did some changes to it, and now lives there full time.
We had a great time walking the beach, except….
As we walked from his place out to the water, we turned around to get a better view of his house. Have you ever heard the saying “Don’t turn your back on the ocean”? Well. Don’t. A wave came up beyond the current water line and soak our feet up to the ankles! Poor Blaine was stuck with soggy shoes and socks all afternoon! And we discovered that the millions-of-dollars-homes weren’t as impressive from the beach side as we expected them to be.
This took up at least two plots, and the outbuildings were in bad shape. Wonder if anyone lives here? 
Of course I had to take close-ups! 
That’s the private entrance where the “guard” sits to let people in.
Back home, I got all domestic and made my very first pecan pie! I combined things from two different recipes I found on-line. It turned out really well! And while that was going on, I made a half batch of walkabout soup, which we haven’t had for ages. That was good too. 😊 Recipes below.
Tomorrow we’ll take in a history lesson!
WALKABOUT SOUP (Outback clone)
8 C. water
8 beef bouillon cubes (or 8 t. granulated)
3 medium white onions, sliced thin and quartered
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
¾ C. flour
1 C. heavy cream
1 ¼ C. Cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ C. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
In a large pot, heat the water to boiling. Add the bouillon and dissolve. Add sliced onions, salt and pepper. Bring back to boiling, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Remove about 2 cups of the broth into a bowl. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Pour into the simmering soup and stir carefully. (If you stir aggressively, you may tear the onions apart). Simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the cream and 1 cup of Cheddar cheese. Continue to simmer the soup for another 5-10 minutes.
PECAN PIE
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. light Kayro syrup
1/3 C. melted butter
3 eggs
1 ½ t. vanilla
¾ t. salt
1 heaping cup to 1 ½ C. chopped pecans (depending on your preference)
PIE CRUST: (or use refrigerated one)
1 ½ C. flour
1 ½ T. sugar
1 t. salt
½ C. vegetable oil
2 T. milk
Mix together and press into pie plate. For regular pies (not deep dish), you’ll have some left over.
Mix all the ingredients together and pour into the pie crust.
Bake covered with foil at 350⁰ for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking an addition 20-30 minutes or until the center is set. Baking times vary for pecan pies – anywhere from 45-75 minutes.
Cool completely before serving (minimum two hours) and keep refrigerated.