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.
Fig trees, Vineyards, Curses, and Parables…..
Just pondering this morning... "The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored" Proverbs 27:18 I have used this article on The Mystery of the Bad Fig Tree by Erin Gieschen as a conversation starter in classes about Jesus’ emotions, particularly his anger, as part of our program’s Emotional Literacy class. But today, as I read this key scripture in Proverbs 27:18, I was curious about whether or not the writer of the article on the mystery of the bad fig tree had included this OT reference to guarding a fig...
“..and you will be my witnesses…”
miniThe following is a compilation of tips for writing one’s testimony that I can attest to and commend to others, having learned and gleaned through the years of witnessing to Christ’s work in my life and helping others develop an account of their Christian witness to share with others. Dear Titus 2 Followers of Christ, I hope that as you have worked your program at Titus 2 and as you have reflected on your life and journey with Christ that you now are eager to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others through the example of your own life. It is a privilege to serve God by showing...
Priesthood
"A sacrament is a sacrament even if the materials are less than perfect. One may prefer the best bread for the Eucharist, but the worst will still serve the purpose. One might prefer, with the ancient directives of the Didiche, to have cold, running water for baptism, but standing water will do. One would be glad to have the best possible priest in every sense of the word standing at altar or font to preside at these sacraments, but we can participate fully in the sacred rites even with a sacramental priest who is far less than perfect." - William Countryman, Living on...
Sent Forth
"You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God has put you there. He has a purpose in you being there. Christ who indwells you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this, and go in His Grace, in His Love, and in His power. Amen" A benediction by the late Rev. Dr. Richard Halverson, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. who was Chaplain of the U.S. Senate from February 2, 1981 until December 31, 1994. Understand that this is a benediction, a "good word", a sending forth for BELIEVERS, indwelled by the Holy...
Avoiding Disappointment
As I have experienced counseling, have counseled others, and have been equipped further for healing ministry I have come to heartily embrace this reality, revealed in scripture and demonstrated through having lived 67 years, that we are to vest our trust in God and God alone. We are to trust God and love and forgive people. In counseling I hear people put significant emphasis on trusting people (or, more often, having been disappointed so often by people they trusted that they grieve not being able to trust people at all.) And therein lies the problem.....disappointments again and again!...
Guarded Hearts
"Lord, teach me to listen. The times are noisy and my ears are weary with the thousand raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to You, "Speak, for Your servant hears." Let me hear You speaking in my heart. Let me get used to the sound of Your voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of Your speaking voice. Amen" (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God) " Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears! A Muslim friend gave me a slim little volume by a Muslim teacher one time and...
Memory: Gingham Dog and Calico Cat
A sweet memory- My Daddy would recite the opening lines of this poem to entertain us when we were children. We knew the story of these two! Bill reminded me today that I must not leave the one-eyed cat, Minnie, alone in the den with the dogs. Lately they've ganged up on her. It reminded me of this poem. Also, recently my Mother found a calico cat and brought it to me as a reminder of this childhood memory. She tells me that now she's on the lookout for a gingham dog. I told her any dog of comparable size would do. I can paper mache' it with the gingham! The Duel...
Prodigal Lesson: Restored to Sanity
Reflecting on a meditation from four years ago…. I had heard James McDonald talking about families...specifically he was referencing Hannah, a grieving barren woman and how she took her pain and pleading to where it belonged..... to God....not to her husband. In talking about the issue of where we take our family problems, including rebellious or unsaved children, he said that without a doubt he believes that God's will is for ALL children to be in heaven with their parents. He referenced several scriptures that assure us that God desires salvation for ALL people. He said he could find no...
Third Heaven?
Morning pondering in the Word…. Since the Apostle Paul references a “third heaven” experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2-5 of such impact he seems to find it difficult to bring himself to speak of it, one would ask, how is it that one can speak of a “third heaven” unless there can also be an understanding of a “first heaven” and “second heaven.” Here’s how God has led me to relate to these concepts as I have pondered this and other Scriptures. . “First heaven”- a state of increasingly transcendent living while still in the physical realm of the earth (i.e., living “in the world but...
“Wisdom Begins In Wonder.”
"Wisdom begins in wonder." -Socrates A few years ago a friend gave me a book entitled "Recapture the Wonder". In it the author invites readers to "break free from the weariness and cynicism of life to enjoy God's amazing promise of childlike joy." I was reading, too, an editor's note in a popular magazine about the same topic in which she invited readers to make a list of things that had filled them with wonder. For me (in no particular order): - the smiling face of a friend's baby granddaughter on social media - the smiling faces of my own granddaughters in the company of young...