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.
The Ill-(de)lusion of Self-Control
“William Willimon: ….the Trinity teaches us the joy of living our lives out of our control. In his resurrection, Christ forever defeated our fantasies that life is under our control. Stanley Hauerwas: Of all the ministerial practices, pastoral care may be the most corrupted by the modern North American psychological culture’s promise of self-control. People are encouraged to believe that the purpose of being born is to be free to self-construct your life as you please.” (From a conversation at ChristianCentury.org. 7/27/21) Cathy’s take: When I teach the fruit of the Spirit I tell recovery...
The Divine Dance
I received a new newsletter today from Jordan B. Peterson and found his introductory topic interesting. Here is the newsletter link and the text of the brief article that caught my eye. Mondays of Meaning - New Newsletter (mailchi.mp) Jordan B Petersen - On Determinism and Free Will "The argument "determinism vs free will” has been raging for centuries. This means that there is probably something wrong with the manner in which the question is posed (“do human beings have free will, or are we deterministic, driven purely by causal factors beyond our control?”). It is very frequently the...
“What Do People See In Others?”
I have an acquaintance who has a very childlike-faith. It is rather extraordinary considering the trauma experienced by this person in life. This person has a particularly sensitive awareness of the spirit realm and has been harassed by several demonic spirits that have been described to me in very specific terms regarding their appearance, smell, actions, and situations under which they have appeared over the course of this individual’s life. The individual was even able to sketch out roughly what they looked like. We have talked about specific fears, experiences, feelings,...
The Economy of The Kingdom of God
October 14, 2020 On filthy rags…. A bit more in-depth than a typical homily on "filthy rags"...... A theology that expects salvation to arise out of works, as is promoted by some social justice warrior evangelicals, will not convert people. That doesn’t mean that such good works aren’t useful. They are. They just won’t lead to salvation. Here’s a little illustration for you. Read Jeremiah 38. Jeremiah is thrown into a cistern with muck in the bottom after running into problems with the locals. The Ethiopian Eunuch petitions the king to allow him to give Jeremiah...
Christ’s Spirit
Christ’s Spirit 6-23-21 CBByrd Thoughts this morning….while Jesus in human flesh walked among men he both had the Father’s Holy Spirit and could recognize the Spirit when the Spirit came upon others… as he did with Peter at Caesarea and others whom he healed, saying “ your faith has made you whole” since their faith in Jesus could only have happened as a result of the Spirit coming upon them, too. In each case those individuals had been given the power by the spirit’s presence in them to recognize the Christ in Jesus. After his resurrection he had authority to not only recognize...
The Grace of John 3:16
The Grace of John 3:16 CBByrd 6/23/21 God’s Prevenient grace ….. that loving regard God had for me before I even came to realize how much he loved me, simply because he created me and knew me before I was born. John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world……”, all of it, even me…. “ that he gave his only begotten Son”…… Jesus Christ, the one whose sacrifice provided the means for all people to be restored to fellowship with God….. “that whoever believes in him shall not die but have everlasting life,”…… from the moment of my profession of faith and into all...
Flawed Instruments
Flawed Instruments 6/23/21 CBByrd I am such a flawed instrument of your love and grace, Lord…….. like David, in 2 Samuel 6. There are so many things here to observe about David that are unbecoming…. After he defeated the Philistines, he went marching off “as to war” to regain God’s Ark in Judah but God certainly didn’t need David’s 30,000 elite soldiers. God was capable of bringing his ark out of any place he chose, any time he chose, by any one he chose….as observed in 1 Samuel. Recall that those among Israel’s enemies who captured the Ark were stricken with sores and illness,...
Not So Christian Practice of Meditation and Mindfulness
I receive an online newsletter called “Sounds True”. I look at it from time to time to get the drift of what’s being peddled by the popular culture as “Truth” to ears that want to be tickled…… today it offered a free video by a renowned Zen master called Thay on mindfulness as a means to being present to others. He said that the object of meditation is to connect mind and body so that one may be fully present to those we love. Most all of these online pop psych newsletters or blogs are marketing ploys to sell you someone’s idea of the best new way to solve whatever problem you have….....
Delight In The Lord And He Will Give You The Desires Of Your Heart…… Lessons From Pursuing Clergy Status
3/12/17 by Cathy Byrd Some know that I received a second letter of discontinuation in as many years by the Board of Ministry of the Alabama West Florida on 3/8/17 after having gone once again before them to request ordination as a deacon. A number of people have sought to know "where I am" in my heart with all of this. I recognized in February 2014 in my first interview for ordination that chances were slim to none of me ever being approved. After last year's discontinuation I did the hard work of grieving the reality that it was not likely to happen. I have sought to work...
Why Must a Whole Family Die For One Man’s Disobedience?
In an online discussion about a summer reading group on the Book of Joshua, one mother asked how to address a child asking questions about why all of Achan’s family had to die because of him covertly keeping booty from the Jericho campaign as the Hebrews began to take the Promised Land. I really appreciate a mother’s concern about how to teach her children stories from the Bible in a way they can understand. I prepared a group Bible study on Joshua in 2016 when I was preparing for ordination as a deacon. From a study I did on Joshua in 2016..."First Assault on Ai- The story of the...