July 2025

HEAD OVER MEALS When thinking of salad, the variety of ingredients these days is almost limitless. Using a variety of cheeses, nuts, various greens, and fruit is quite common.

The title of this devotional may actually give you some trouble. How can we say that God is good when so many children and adults have lost their lives in recent floods, or when our expenses are growing faster than our income, or when death takes our loved ones and friends? What about those lesser troubles, such as not getting a call back from customer service, or not being able to find anyone to mow our lawns, or keeping up with technology? Take a moment to insert in your mind those things that cause you to be troubled, and ask yourself where God fits in among them. I recently became aware of being troubled. I would catch myself saying, “I’m fretting.” That is a word we don’t hear very often these days, but the psalmist knew about it. In Psalm 37:1-5, the author says, “Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust in Him, and He will act.” I began to feel that I had to deal with my troubles. I needed to make some changes.

Alpine Avalanche.

Dear Neil, my red oak is about 10 years old. Some of the leaves are starting to look distressed, so I looked closely. I noticed small red ants climbing up and down the trunk almost as if they were harvesting something. And then I found these unusual nodules at the ends of almost all the branches. Is this a fungus, an insect, or something else. Is it going to harm my beautiful tree?

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The Alpine Cowboys spent time last week serving lunch to worshipers at Paisano Baptist Encampment. Courtesy photo .

Send your community events to kara. gerbert@alpineavalanche.com July 31 Hike with Homeless Dogs, 9-10 a.m.

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Get ready for a funfi lled evening at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute’s (CDRI) annual BBQ & Auction fundraiser on Saturday, August 9. The event aims to introduce new attendees to the CDRI site while strengthening existing friendships. It also helps generate operating funds for programs throughout the upcoming year and supports CDRI’s educational initiatives for children in the Texas Education Agency’s Region 18 service area.

The number of people still missing in the July 4 Kerr County flood dropped to two after another body was recovered last week, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The two still missing are a child and an adult who were at Camp Mystic, where at least 27 campers and counselors died.