Bit by Bit: A 31 Day Devotional Journey

By Cara A Salley

Bit by Bit is a 31 day devotional that will help you reflect on and evaluate your own spiritual journey. Cara invites you to join her on this quest, and see God make Himself known in the details of your life.

"I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe in mistakes only in as much as God has mercy and can show Himself even in thos

• Language: English
• Publisher: Salley Ministries
• Release date: Mar 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780993451249

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A 31 Day Devotional Journey

by Cara A. Salley

Copyright © 2019 Cara A. Salley

The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of For Joy Publishing.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Published in the United Kingdom by For Joy Publishing.

All scriptures are NKJV unless otherwise noted.

ISBN: 978-0-9934512-4-9

Design/Layout: Loulita Gill Design. www.loulitagilldesign.com

Table of Contents

An Introduction to Bit by Bit

Bit by Bit…We Cultivate our Faith Walk

Day 1: Consider the Birds - Luke 12:24, Matthew 14:28-29

Day 2: Premier Love - Matthew 6:33, Psalm 91:4

Day 3: Rejoice Regardless - James 1:2, Philippians 4:4

Day 4: Faith Rests - Isaiah 26:3, Hebrews 4:9 & 11

Day 5: Down to the Crockpot - Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:19

Day 6: Daughter, I Have an Answer - Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 7:7-8

Bit by bit…We Overcome in Life

Day 7: Mountain Top - Romans 8:37, Zechariah 2:8

Day 8: In the Valley - Galatians 6:9, Habakkuk 3:19

Day 9: For the Joy - Hebrews 12:2, Luke 9:23-24

Day 10: Transparency Test - Romans 12:9, Revelations 12:11

Day 11: The Undesirable Bits - Matthew 14:24-25, John 16:33

Day 12: A Maze of God - Genesis 28:15, Proverbs 3:6

Bit by Bit…We Celebrate Life!

Day 13: Celebrate Life’s Adventure! - Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 16:11

Day 14: Like Christmas Morning - Zephaniah 3:17, Deuteronomy 30:9

Day 15: Summer-Time Fun! - Zechariah 8:5, Ecclesiastes 8:15

Day 16: The Simple Life - Psalm 46:10, Luke 9:3 AMP

Day 17: Laughter: God’s Medicine - Proverbs 17:22, Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4

Day 18: It’s Your Choice - Psalm 118:24, Deuteronomy 30:19

Bit by Bit...Life Proceeds

Day 19: The Test of Patience - Hebrews 6:12, Colossians 1:11

Day 20: Missionary Moments - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a AMPC

Day 21: We Mount Up! - Isaiah 40:31, Ephesians 6:10

Day 22: Even in Your Messes - 1 Peter 1:23

Day 23: Rich in Mercy - Ephesians 2:4, Lamentations 3:22-23

Day 24: Stubborn in Grace - 2 Timothy 2:1, Romans 5:2 NLT

Bit by Bit…It’s The Little Things

Day 25: A Daily Jolt - Joshua 1:8-9, Psalm 119:18

Day 26: Cultivating Gratefulness - Psalm 91:1-2, 2 Corinthians 4:15

Day 27: Light Be - Matthew 5:14-16, John 8:12

Day 28: My Anchor - Hebrews 6:19, Romans 15:13

Day 29: To Be Dreamed - Psalm 139:13, Jeremiah 1:5

Day 30: Amazing Grace in Each Bit - Philippians 4:13, Genesis 2:2-3

The End of our Bit by Bit Journey

Day 31: The Bonus Bits - 2 Corinthians 9:8, Luke 17:6

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I dedicate this work to God. He is the sole author and finisher of my bit by bit journey. I thank God for my incredible husband who lifts me up and encourages me to keep writing and is always reminding me that I’m good with words and stuff. Also, I am eternally grateful for my three strong, handsome, gifted and intelligent boys who never cease to give me great writing material out of the mouth of babes.

A ginormous THANK YOU to Amy White, my dear editor, who will probably try to edit the word ginormous from this book! You are an incredible woman and your eye for detail and things grammatical far surpasses mine. Thank you so much for writing the inspired prayers added at the end of each day’s journey.

I must say a heartfelt thank you, as well, to the amazing Loulita Gill and Loulita Gill Design team for lending your strength of design and publishing to bring this book to pass. I found a true gem of a friend when I met you. So grateful God allowed our paths to cross.

Lastly, I am so grateful to God for each of the dear ones - partners, friends, and those we have served alongside - that I have met along our missionary pathway. You know who you are, and each one of you puts a precious smile in my heart when you come to mind. The bits of Christ each of you have revealed to me, have brought depth and light to this book. For that I say a sincere, Merci Beaucoup!

An Introduction to Bit by Bit

This is a book about faith.

It is a devotional book that I hope will inspire you to develop your confidence in a God who dearly loves you. Faith is cultivated through time with Him in His Word. It is tried in the test lab of our daily lives.

Have you seen His faithfulness to bring you through?

Have you learned to trust Him when life doesn’t quite line up with the picture you dreamed?

Have you chosen to praise Him because of who He is, regardless of any outward evidence?

I know I have, and I know His Word will continue to be a sure and steady foundation in every one of life’s situations. I truly believe that the Bible is the only constancy in this life. It is this faith that has kept me steady through some very questioning times.

This is a book about overcoming.

Do you know Jesus?

How closely do you walk with Him?

Have you held His hand through moments of joy and pain?

When you walk with God through good times and bad, you begin to see a picture of how He desires for us to walk in constant fellowship with Him. In that place of clinging to the Lord no matter what is happening around me. I have come to truly know Jesus and to see His victory time and again.

I also hope you will come away from this devotional time with an ability to walk through any of life’s circumstances while allowing Christ to strengthen your walk with Him through each one so that you can rise above the adversity.

This is a book about what to do when life happens.

Has life ever unexpectedly happened to you? If you’ve lived any number of years, chances are that it has.

Sometimes unexpected things happen because of our own decisions and sometimes they just happen because we live in a fallen world. Either way, we must know what to do when we find ourselves in those unexpected places.

I truly desire for you to see that you are not alone in these spaces of life. Many have walked the lonely road of unexpected happenings, but most importantly, Jesus has walked this way before you, and He will never leave you as you journey.

This is a book about celebrating life.

Have you learned to rejoice always?

I know I haven’t! I will be very candid with you. I am still a work in progress, but God has shown me how to grow in my ability to laugh daily.

Sometimes we need to learn to laugh at the world around us, laugh in the face of obstacles, and even laugh at ourselves. A merry heart truly does do good like a medicine, and I am learning to daily enjoy this beneficial medicine!

Mostly, this is a book about the little things: those details that come together bit by bit to create God’s master plan. I have written this devotional to bring you a sense of hope each day.

Most of the poetry and devotional entries in this book were written during a very unsettled season in my life. Our family was fighting to hold onto a word from God to