Gracious God my heart renew; make my spirit right and true*
by chuckofish
Well, I had a swell time visiting the prairie girls (and boy). We stayed inside except for a quick walk around the block and a trip to church on Sunday. But I got to hold the bud a lot…
We read a lot of books…

…and we played with a lot of Magna Tiles (which can be very frustrating)…
We watched some of the Olympics and Katie and Ida think they would be good at snowboarding…
I was impressed that she included those slalom flags in her drawing.
I enjoyed visiting their church on Sunday which was packed. It is a very different vibe than my church–lots of U of I students. (They have an active RUF chapter.) We heard a good sermon:
(Katie’s sermon notes)
I drove home in the speedwagon on Monday morning after DN gassed it up and procured a Polar Pop for me. I listened to the Springfield country station and was a little shocked by the current songs–all whiskey, bars and loose women–but this one by Morgan Wallen had a clever twist.
Yeah, the night I said, “I’m leavin’,” I turned into Richard Petty
Broke my heart, so I got even in my ’97 Chevy
Now I’m walkin’ on this water mixed with Johnnie Walker Black
There’s a lotta reasons I ain’t Jesus, but the main one is thatI ain’t comin’ back
Oh, no, no, I ain’t comin’ back
When I got closer to STL I switched to Joy99.
Now it is Tuesday and I am discombobulated about what day it is. C’est la vie. Have a good one!
*Scottish Psalter (after Psalm 51)





It looks like you had a wonderful time on the prairie — and I just love the image of you driving the “speedwagon”!
Glad it was such a fun trip–except for the MagnaTiles!!
Good times all around! ❤️