O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: Deliver us, we pray thee, from an inordinate love of this world, that, inspired by the devotion of thy servant Clare, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.

11 Aug: the feast of St Clare of Assisi, who was the first woman to write – & defend – a Rule for her religious congregation.

(Unknown artist, 17th century, Museo d'Arte della Città
Ravenna) pic.twitter.com/T6dnILtdEd

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) August 11, 2025

Almighty God, give us the increase of faith, hope, and love; and, that we may obtain what you have promised, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Dappled Skies. 22°C and the harvest gathered in. Butterflies. pic.twitter.com/4fxmBYkwhH

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) August 11, 2025

And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them.

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

–Mark 10:1-16

We love #Swaledale at this time of the year 💮 We thought we'd share this view for some #MondayMotivation!

We hope you had a good weekend. Share your #Dales photos with us, and we may post them on our social media accounts 🙌

📸 Mark Sadler | #GetOutdoors #NatureTherapy pic.twitter.com/N8PPFbOD1s

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) August 11, 2025

I have been at this blog since the first part of 2003, and it is time to step back. As I am constantly insisting to my friends, none of us is indispensable, and this is a way of living that out by yours truly.Some longtime blog readers may remember how I have mentioned that I am the type of person who goes to bed every night just a little sad–only a little–about how much I don’t know (and still wish to find out). So moving away from the information addiction for me will not necessarily be easy–but it is important.

Posts will be catch as catch can until I let you know–KSH.

Map by @JakubMarian shows how long the summer break for primary education students is across Europe. pic.twitter.com/pukHLKI8kv

— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) June 30, 2019