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An Encouraging Word by Sherry Carrico, Olathe, CO (2026)

08/22/2026

LOVE WINS
“God’s Love never fails; it never gives up, never runs out on me.”
(‘One Thing Remains’ by Jesus Culture)

I awakened one morning with the chorus going through my head; “God’s love never fails” is one of the songs of this age that gives me joy. I remembered something that happened years ago that showed me a picture of the love of God.
For a few winters, I worked at Skyland Foods in Delta, a seasonal job that gave us money for the winter and helped our farming income.
There was a young man who worked there who didn’t like being around me. He complained when he had to work with me and was rude. I didn’t know what I had done to him, but God gave me love for that young man, and I just kept on loving him. One day he rolled his eyes as he had to work with me, “Not with her!” After some time, we were working together, with God’s love smiling at him through me. He looked at me and something clicked – Love won. His demeanor changed, and he looked at me differently. He responded to God’s love and became my best friend at work.
It seems he was going through a terrible divorce, bitter and angry at God. He had been raised by Christian grandparents who were praying for him. He couldn’t do enough for me – even brought me gum; we talked about God. What a joy to see God’s love, the power of it, as he came back to his Lord.

God’s love has never failed me, though I have failed Him many times.
His Love and Power have helped me so much.

(Romans 8:38, 39 NLT) “For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away; our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow. Or where we are – high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean; nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when He died for us.” (His Love never fails; it never gives up, never runs out on me.)

08/14/2026

BEAR CUBS

I had a dream that I was in my back porch, going down to the basement under the floor to our furnace room. I lifted the floor door and was horrified to see a huge, angry bear. I hurried and shut the door but didn’t realize that there were two little cubs that came out when the door was open. They were so cute and fuzzy that I cuddled them, playing with them while mama bear was still under the floor.

One time, as a young Christian, I believed I was too strong to succumb to temptation. WRONG! I started playing with thoughts I had no business thinking. A struggle began that grew and lasted a long time. I could not control it. One night I had a dream that what I was thinking started to come to pass. God showed me a scripture so clearly I knew it was from Him. “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Mat 18:9). Believe me, I jumped out of bed, got on my knees, asking God to forgive me and desiring with my heart to be free of that sin.
No sin is unimportant to God; Jesus carried them all to the cross. He cares about us and knows what sin can do. What I thought was just a little temptation, a little fuzzy bear cub, I let stay until it became something I could not get rid of on my own. It took a time of struggle, but trusting Jesus to help me – at last I was free. Praise God!

Jesus was tempted with the same things we are tempted with, yet without sin. Because He did not succumb to sin, He is able to help us. We can come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:15, 16

Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of Sin. He condemned Sin in the flesh.

Gal 5: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bo***ge.

08/08/2026

BURNING THE TAPES

One morning I awakened, troubled with sin I had been dealing with. The night before, I watched a Christian movie about a man, consumed by tapes his father had made about him. Even though his father died, hundreds of tapes heckling, badgering him as he grew up caused anger, hate, and pain. He couldn’t stop listening to the tapes and was continually tormented by them. As a grown man, he felt no worth or peace because of what his father said about him.
A Christian friend eventually showed him the way to Jesus; His love and value of him; he repented, gladly giving his life to God. The first thing he did was to burn the tapes; letting go, finally free.
Guilt and bad experiences are like those tapes. They keep playing the past over and over in our minds; though we have repented of those sins, believing God has forgiven us. The enemy continues to play those sins over and over, taking us down, accusing and condemning us.
As some of those recordings played in my mind, I realized that those sins had been forgiven, but I had not really let go of the rebellion and pride that caused them. So that morning I prayed and released it all to God. I felt God rejoicing with me as I let go of what offended Him most. I gave Him the recordings too, and I don’t have to listen to them anymore.

Romans 8:1-3 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh.”

07/31/2026

YOU’LL NEVER RIDE ALONE

I jingle my spurs
In my old Rocking Chair
Going back and forth
And getting nowhere

I’m tired of all this
I miss my old mare
The range calls to me
Don’t jest seem fair

And then I remember
A land that’s beyond
With trees and streams
A great Crystal pond

My body won’t hold me
Bound anymore
Jest walk through
That great golden door

The Good Lord won’t leave me
Yep, that’s what He said
Can’t see the trail ahead
But by Him I’m led

I’m hoping to ride
A few more times here
But I look for a Roundup
With my Savior so dear

Written to an old Christian cowboy

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

07/24/2026

CHICKENS AND SHEEP

Several chickens were out of their chicken house, prompting me to try to get them back into their safe haven. I had a wire hook in the building that usually worked well for capturing the chickens, but in the open, there was no way to get close enough to hook their feet and carry them back to the coop. If you’ve ever tried to herd chickens, you know the frustration I was going through. It was getting close to dusk; I heard coyotes and knew a neighborhood dog was fast enough to catch a quick meal. “You crazy chickens, don’t you know I’m trying to save your lives?” Finally it was too dark to chase the hens, and they found their own places to roost. Somehow they made it through the night, and I got them in the next day.

I thought about the Good Shepherd leaving the ninety-nine of the flock to find the missing sheep. Unlike me, he kept looking until he found it and brought it home. He did not see his sheep as a flock, but individually knew them by name. Each one was uniquely important to him.

Is the Good Shepherd looking for you? Are you alone and wounded, lost and away from the flock? Cry out to Him, and He will come find you and carry you, rejoicing as you both return to the fold.

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1Peter 2:24, 25.

Thank you, Jesus, for your willingness to surrender to your Father's will; If You had chosen to save yourself, you could not have chosen to save us.

07/18/2026

SEEKING FIRST

I struggled with a mountain of worries; so much going on in my life. A precious lady at work told me to stop, just take one problem at a time, and give it to God. I took a few moments, brought each of my concerns to the Lord, and let them go. A peace came to me as I realised I was not alone anymore. My Savior was there.

Jesus gave the answer in His Sermon on the Mountain by saying:
“Seek you first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Mathew 6:33, 34

We are to seek first the kingdom of God before we start our day. Whether it's the night before, on the way to work (however we can do it), as long as it's before our decisions and before we jump into that daily race. Our trust must be in more than us.

“ And His righteousness”. How? We spend our time trying to do the right things. We just can’t make a righteousness that is worth much. We lay our treasures on the earth and see them deteriorate. God’s righteousness will bring forth treasures in heaven where they will not fade, rust or decay. When we belong to God, He gives us His righteousness; He paid for us at Calvary, as our name was in Jesus ’ blood as it ran down a splintery cross. His righteousness can bring forth treasures that will last forever.

When God says not to worry, fear, be anxious, etc. He is not saying that we won’t have cares. He is saying He wants us to place these things one by one into His Loving Hands that hold them safely. He helps us to walk through the waters, not drown, to go through the fire and not be burned. How? We seek Him first, trusting Him so the door will be opened for His guidance and blessing.

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and that which is to come.
1 Timothy 6:8

07/11/2026

“Be Not Weary in Well Doing”

A blind man stepped upon my hand as I bent to tie his shoe
In pain, I told him of my plight and pondered what to do

“My friend, I know you’re wrong,” the blind man said to me
“I see no hand beneath my foot; surely mistaken you must be”
I pleaded, and I cried to him, but still he stood there fast
I thought, “How long, oh Lord, will this pain and anguish last?”

As anger began to rise in me, I suddenly had a thought
I knew a friend who’d surely help with this trap where I was caught
This friend who one time came and gave to me my sight
Opened the door from darkness and showed me His Eternal Light

Jesus came, I knew He would, then I told Him why I cried
He said, “Be still & wait, my child, just trust me by your side.”
The blind man wailed that he might see as he felt the Savior close by
And scales fell from off his eyes, and with joy, he began to cry

And then the man amazingly at last looked down on me
Still caught beneath his heavy foot and jumped back upon his knee
He lifted me up to my feet and said, “Oh, friend, pardon me
For I know that you were right; Thank God, now I can see!”

I left the man there singing and wondered at it too
And then I thanked God above that I had bent to tie his shoe.

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
-Galatians 6:9

The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a
marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from;
Yet He has opened my eyes!
-John 9:30

07/03/2026

Boom of the Cannon

Before my husband went to be with the Lord, he did something he always wanted to do. He made a cannon with some old wagon wheels and an axle. It turned out well, even making an incredible ‘Boom’ with oxyacetylene and a match! However, if you put a ball in the PVC barrel, all it would do was blow off the end of the barrel, as it wasn't designed to handle that kind of pressure. I think about the use of cannons in past battles. It was the biggest weapon soldiers had for many years. What if one side never actually fired a projectile but just made big booms? They would have been waving a white flag as they dealt with the power of the other side.

When I read the Declaration of Independence, I think of the problems in our country. Remember that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Ending with, “And for the support of this Declaration, with affirm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” It sounds like we are to be a unified country that cares about one another and works for the good of all.

Man has found that following that mandate is impossible in their own strength and wisdom. Truly, we see how weak the flesh is, having problems controlling ourselves, let alone serving others.

God has given His children His Holy armor and weapons to live the life He has called for us. We fight the battle with the enemy in the power of the Holy Spirit. When we try to fight in our own strength, we just make a big boom, and nothing happens. However, we do not need to fear the battle but remember what Paul said in Eph. 6:10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

He then goes on to say we need to (Eph 6:11&12) “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Whew, that might cause a person to say, “I don’t feel like I can do that”. Satan knows how much power God’s army should have and trembles, but do we know? The armor is described in 6:14-18: (NKJV used)

Armor of God

Put on the belt of truth (Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and The Life)

Breastplate of Righteousness (Christ’s Righteousness, not ours)

Feet wearing the Gospel of Peace (Jesus left us His Peace)

Shield of Faith (Able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one)

Helmet of Salvation (Certainty of who we are in Christ)

Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God)

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit

Some of the armor is for our protection, but some is for spiritual warfare. May we, as God’s children, be filled with God’s Spirit and fight the battles in the Name of the Lord. When we fight the enemy with God’s power, there will be victory and Him Glorified, not just a ‘big boom’.

I wrestle too often, trusting my flesh instead of entrusting the battle to God’s Spirit and the armor He has provided, but I am learning.

Paul said in Eph. 6:10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

06/26/2026

LET GO AND LET GOD

I remember walking with my brother where a circus tent was being put up. It was exciting to think of all the things that would be under the big canopy. One of the most amazing acts was the swinging trapeze act. It took a lot of practice with faith for an acrobat to let go of one swing, trusting the other person to catch them on the other side.

Let-downs

Trusting others is hard, especially if we have had let-downs, and most of us have been disappointed when someone we trusted didn’t follow through. Sadly, that can shake our trust, even sometimes our trust in God.
I once met a man who had been enslaved by drugs. He said there was simply no way out. Finally, by God’s grace, he trusted in Jesus, let go, and grabbed onto the hand that was reaching for him. Now he proclaims the name of Jesus, the One who freed him from his addictions and more. He said he grew up in church, but now realizes we don’t just need to know about Jesus; we have to trust Him in faith and realize that our debt for sin has already been paid.

I am overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness and His Spirit that actually helps us let go of the past, along with anxiety, fear, and doubts, so that we can grab onto Jesus. Sometimes we keep swinging and swinging, afraid to let go.
As we trust in Him, He catches us and never lets go; He won’t drop us. I asked God what makes it so hard for us to trust Him, and His answer was, “Letting go”.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:12-14)”

“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save:
Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. (Isaiah 59:1)

06/20/2026

CHANGING HANDS

The Crowd hid the little girl, enclosed in the moving throng of people. She scarcely noticed the congestion as she held tightly to her daddy’s hand. Her world was one of knees, skirts, ankle socks, pant legs, and shiny shoes. She wondered where they were going as the large crowd of people all moved as one. Once in a while, she would spy another child and strain to see if they saw her before they disappeared in the crowd. Cracks in the sidewalk met her gaze as she stepped over them. There was something shiny ahead as the crowd bustled about; a penny lay on the ground before her. She would have to move fast, so leaning over, she grabbed the coin, only letting go of her daddy’s hand for a moment. She safely held on once more while looking at her find. “Look, Daddy,” she said as she looked up. To her horror, she was holding a strange man’s hand. She screamed, “Daddy!” In the blink of an eyelash, he was there scooping her up in his arms. Relief and gladness were partners as she hugged her dad, saying, “Look, Daddy, what I found”.
I was the little girl, and that was only one time of when my daddy came to my rescue.

It’s easy to change hands. We can be walking along with our Heavenly Father in faith when suddenly we get distracted, let go, and then grab onto the hand of fear. We realize what we’ve done and cry out until our Father again takes our hand.
Ever changed from the hand of humility to pride? I have. From peace to frustration? I have. The list could go on about the flesh and the spirit, but God’s hand is there, loving us, waiting for us to grab hold once more as we walk with Him.

"You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great."
-Psalms 18: 35

An Encouraging Word by Sherry Carrico

08/22/2026

08/14/2026

08/08/2026

07/31/2026

07/24/2026

07/18/2026

07/11/2026

07/03/2026

06/26/2026

06/20/2026

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