Highview Campground COE, Ennis, Texas
And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world. When Jacob (Joseph’s estranged father) learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons (the ones who sold Joseph into slavery), “Why do you just keep looking at each other?…I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” ~ Genesis 41:57-42:2 Depending on how long it took Jacob’s family to decide to enlist help from Egypt for their very survival, Joseph is now 38 or 39 (sometime between 1600 and 1700BC). He was 17 when they sold him, he was 30 when Pharaoh made him second in command, they’ve enjoyed their seven years of abundance, and are now into the famine years. And none of them know it yet, but this is the catalyst that brings God’s people to Egypt where He will keep them gathered together until He sends Moses to free them from their Egyptian enslavement in 1446BC. I know I’m going off track from the verse, but I was confused by the numbers because I remembered that in Genesis God said they would be enslaved for 400 years. I still kinda am. But I like the way thetorrah.com explained it. Genesis 15:13 says, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.” Jewish Rabbis have determined that the beginning of them being ‘strangers’ is from the time the covenant is made because Abraham wasn’t living in the Promised Land yet. And they talk about the Hebrews being mistreated since the time of Ishmael. They don’t apply the 400 years as the Israelites being enslaved by the Egyptians for 400 years, they begin the 400 years from the time of Abraham. They believe the enslavement to have lasted just over 200 years; which fits the timeline between Joseph and Moses. So basically what I got from this is, it’s all in how you read Genesis 15:13. Thank you for indulging my rabbit trail.
Saturday, we didn’t do much, hence the combined dates. We just took a short walk around the ‘neighborhood’, sat around outside and admired the lake, then made shrimp pizza for dinner. Scrumptious!! (recipe at end)
We began our Sunday at Tabernacle Baptist Church, where we were able to participate in worship and learning. There was this one song, “In Jesus’ Name (God of Possible)” by Katy Nichole that really moved us and we prayed it over our children as we sang. Wow! So powerful!
After church, we acknowledged it was a nice day and we didn’t want to sit around inside, so we ate an early lunch and began to get ready but were waylaid by our observations of a bathing wasp.
Yes, you read right. There was a wasp on our bathroom window doing what we can only describe as taking a bath. He was methodically wiping his wings with his back legs, then running them through his mouth. Once he did that a few times, he worked on his other legs, and body. . . wipe, lick, swipe up and down a few times, lick. We never knew!! Quite intriguing! Held us spellbound for several minutes!
Off to get in some exercise at a nearby park with a ¾ mile trail around a prairie area. We didn’t have any expectations of anything interesting going in, but boy were we wrong! There were all kinds of interesting things at Kachina Trail! Enjoy our walk – twice around. 😊
After that, we decided to take a stroll around historic downtown Ennis.
Tomorrow, we’re hoping to get our bikes going. We haven’t been on them for a while.
SHRIMP PIZZA
1# shrimp, peeled and deveined and cut in half
¼ C. small curd cottage cheese
¼ C. Miracle Whip
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. fresh basil, chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 ½ T. Cajun seasoning
3 individual pizza crust with a raised edge
1 C. feta cheese
½ C. roasted red pepper, chopped
1 C. Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, OR grill over medium heat.
Combine cottage cheese and Miracle Whip in a small bowl. Stir in the vinegar, garlic and basil. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sprinkle shrimp with the Cajun seasoning, then sauté just until pink. Set aside.
Spread a thin layer of cottage cheese mixture on each piece of bread, getting as close to the edge as possible. Sprinkle on the Feta and then the shrimp. Top with the pepper and cheese.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese melts and begins to brown, or place pizza directly on the grill until hot and crust is crispy on the bottom.
Serves 4