About the Author
Cathy Boyd Byrd invites others to join her in considering topics of interest to those on the Christian spiritual journey…..discipleship, spirituality, mental health, Christian growth, and Bible study. Cathy enjoys working with others as they transition from emotional emergency and brokenness to spiritual emergence and abundant living! Many of the topics about which Cathy writes are interrelated as experienced in her own life and in the lives of those with whom she works in counseling, teaching, and case management, and in friendships. She believes that sharing our journey of Christian growth and spirituality helps us know God and ourselves better and connects us with others!
Cathy is a Christian Educator and Life Recovery Counselor, and an ordained deacon through Christian Leaders Institute. She serves as Community Outreach MInister at Lynn Haven United Methodist Church. She is a student (disciple) of the Holy Spirit and shares with her students (disciples) the things the Lord teaches her through Bible study and contemplation, incorporating experiences interpreted through the Word, cherished traditions of her faith, and reasoning that comes from seeking the mind of Christ in accountable community. She was widowed in August 2020 after 48 years of marriage to Bill Byrd, is mother of 2 and grandmother of 5. Her journey of faith has been lifelong and continues to be an adventure with the trailblazer and guide, Jesus Christ!
Cathy is the founder and program manager for a Christian women’s residential life recovery program, Titus 2 Partnership, Inc.(www.titus2.life) in Panama City, Florida.
De-Shamed
De-Shamed: Exposed, with all the beauty of spirit and soul you were intended by God to have, redeemed, "naked , and unashamed", Genesis 2:25. Quote heard and pondered at a women’s conference a few years ago: “There is a difference between forgiveness and freedom. You can know you are forgiven and still not live in freedom.” You are living in freedom when you can boldly proclaim what you are forgiven from! It’s no longer about the pride of self-protection, but it is about abandoning yourself to trusting God so that it no longer matters who knows what you have gained victory over!" Forgiveness...
Answered Prayers and Serendipities
You may never know.....sometimes when a needed item appears at "just the right time" by some mysterious means from an unexpected source, it builds faith and demonstrates that God does care about the smallest, seemingly most insignificant things. But anything needed by God's people is of interest to God and God is pleased to meet that need through his people in ways that just defy "circumstance"....Instead of "it just so happened", it's more a matter of "as God would have it." I have seen that several times in just the last couple of days. It doesn't even surprise me anymore when it happens!...
The Test of Time
Some value things that they believe will stand the test of time. But what of the day when time is no more? Will those valued treasures stand the test of eternity? 1 Corinthians 3:6-23 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 By the grace God has given me,...
How I Know What I Know
Some say "You KNOW that you KNOW that you KNOW", implying that one has certainty about knowledge acquired. I prefer "I know WHAT I know" AND acknowledging there is much that I don't know, can't know and will never know! I know I am not God. I am not gifted with any unique insights. I simply know what God chooses to reveal to me in His Word, through His Holy Spirit, among the kind, loving, generous and wise people He has placed me among in the midst of circumstances He has allowed. In short, I know God. He has made Himself known again and again through His Glory revealed in the beauty of His...
Predictive vs. Prescriptive Foreknowledge
As I listened to a discussion about the difference between predictive and prescriptive foreknowledge I began to see why-and how- Satan had the audacity to challenge God, thinking he could assume and wrest authority over creation from God. Satan is a keen-observing futurist, like Faith Popcorn or other popular futurists whose time comes and goes because of their genius in reading the signs of the times and predicting the next move of the collective human mindset. We are told in Luke 4:13 "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time." We had previously...
Devastation Grief
The devastation of the landscape is as heartbreaking to many of us as our own personal property losses. The barrenness of the trees, the yards and roadsides still destroyed by fallen trees and heavy equipment, continued trash in many places, businesses and some homes that have had no remediation or demolition. We're now 1/3 of a year beyond Hurricane lMichael and we are seeing that the half year mark and even the one year mark will still find us with much unrepaired or restored.... and our community scarred and limping. (2/7/2019) Photos by Tiffany Harris
Idol Pruning
It seems to me that sometimes God removes from our lives what would have become an idol in our lives to prevent that very thing from happening..... I have thought about this in regard to King David and the death of his first child with Bathsheba. If God had let that infant live, given David's multitude of sins that were part of the dynamics that included that child and David's urgent pleading for the child's life, it is quite possible that David's heart would have been with that child to such a degree that he would have been blinded (even more than he was already by his children). His...
Healing Spirit, Soul, and Body
I had written about a message by Charles Stanley two years ago on this day, Tonight as I was reminded of it I realized I had almost the exact conversation with a discipleship student this afternoon! What do we do when faced with the consequences of a faith failure? God's greatest blessings come when we trust him and move forward even when things look impossible...Stanley's text was the twelve spies' report after scouting out the Promised Land. Ten reported back with fear. Two reported back with faith. The people gave into the "majority report" and failed in their faith. What happened?...
Fearless and Searching
A fearless and searching Twelve Step study under the supervision of a Christian who is experienced in spiritual direction and guidance can be one of the most helpful spiritual discipline practices you will ever undertake.....Life-changing. Peace-making. God-revealing. Spirit-affirming. Christ-accompanying. Identity-strengthening. Relationship-reconciling. Past-liberating. Present- fulfilling. Future-empowering. Charles Wesley's bands formed around similar life-issues and were likely the first groups to use the principles of the Twelve Steps (which really boil down to 6 fundamental tasks-...
“Have You Heard The Joke….?”
I would have said "offered without comment" about this news report, but that does a disservice to this young lady and to the Lord..... I think her joke was funny and each of us, if we have a truly intimate relationship with the Lord, know that God has a sense of humor, too, and loves us so much He will forgive us if we cross a line. Saying that He loves anyone of us the best is what we all want to feel but we know that God, in His goodness loves all of us and as Scripture says, He shows no partiality. If she is a Christian and loves the Lord, then He will use this to help her know his will...