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.
Having Done All, Stand….. Ready….Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God. A Psalm of David- Psalm 27 "When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart." (sung by Babbie Mason) 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? 2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident. 4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may...
Friday the 13th…….Choose This Day
Praying for our nation and world today with Intercessors for America March 13, 2020 🙂Gigi's reminder: Ps 51. Purge with hyssop and be clean; wash and be whiter than snow; create a clean heart and renew steadfast spirit..i.e. environmentally (where I dwell); externally (justify/redeem from without); internally (sanctify/transform from within) Spring Cleaning Time! 😉Mom’s nagging: clean your room; wash your hands; get those earbuds out of your ears and do your homework and get to the supper table. Same Difference? Not quite. But you get the gist, right? #love #spirit #world #redeem...
A Prophecy Held Close
12/27/20- I had written recently about how my life has taken a Naomi-ish turn this year….. widowhood and the struggle over a move. Today I found out it’s about to take another Naomi-ish turn with the anticipation of a great- grandchild due in July. Life has a beautiful way of following a script written by God! 7/26/21- Above are photos of Billy and Joni in Washington, DC with our newest family member, Lewis Evan Wilt who is a month old now. Truly, grand parenting and great-grand parenting are pleasant! There is always more and better that God has prepared for us. There are always...
Interventional Justice and Mental Health Systems
Court is not generally the most warm and endearing place to be. However, there is a courtroom I have come to enjoy....one in which some of the women we serve find themselves participating. It was originally designed to serve veterans with PTSD and other mental health issues who found themselves sideways of the law. It got expanded to meet the needs of other citizens with documented mental health diagnoses who needed more intensive interventions than could be accomplished by simply sentencing them to Department of Corrections incarcerated environments. Our program is given the privilege of...
Water Signs, Jonah, and Repentance
There are moments when the Scriptures just all seem to “fall into place” and you go “Hmmmph, well I’ll be!” Today was one of those days. In our study of Genesis we were discussing Rebekah and Isaac. The author was reflecting on “typology” and how the Old Testament presents us with archetypes that we see later presented in a more perfect form in the life and ministry of Christ. One example was the notion of the Holy Spirit being present “moving over the waters” in Genesis and the Holy Spirit being present in the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Hmmmmmmm…… I have heard over and over again...
It’s All A Test…..
I remembered something I hadn't thought about in a very long time. Years ago I was interviewing for a rather coveted job for those with sales career ambitions. At the interview I was asked to take a personality inventory, which I did. The next day I received a call and was asked to retake the test, that the results had been "ambiguous".....?????? "How does one have an ambiguous personality inventory?", I wondered. So I took it again. I then got another call and was told by the interviewing manager that the HR person had told him after the first "ambiguous" results had scored out, that I was...
Eyes That Search for Inner Soul-Beauty
Reading comments on the post of the progressively-darkening various skin-toned arms that I posted on social media, I was reminded of a time I was confronted with anger when I complimented a young black woman on her beauty.. I have looked at some darker skinned women (and men, as well) and thought, "What a beautiful person!" and even felt moved to say to them how beautiful they are.... but I usually have not. I have been restrained by experiences in the past of being accused of pandering or patronizing when I, as a white person, complimented a black woman. How sad that one would be suspect...
Can All Eyes See? Can All Ears Hear? Can All Hearts Burn?
My husband, Bill, is a kind and generous and morally grounded individual. He has expressed annoyance at times about the way in which David is held up as an example for Christians, given his many failings. And being called “a man after God’s own heart” is particularly incomprehensible to him given David’s adultery, conspiracy to murder, rebellion by his sons, etc. As I have said to him, I don’t think it is David’s sterling character that commends him to God as a man God would love so personally, but rather it is the fact that in spite of ruthless resistance that came against him at times, he...
Telling Ourselves the Truth About Who We Are
Telling Ourselves the Truth about Who We Are The Apostle Paul grew in self-awareness and understanding throughout his Christian journey. 1.) Early on, before his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Rd. - Paul (known as Saul, before his conversion) considered himself a “righteous” man, a committed Jew, whose responsibility it was to hunt down and destroy followers of Christ, whom he believed were blasphemers against God. He believed he had lived his life with a perfectly good conscience before God and identifies himself as a Pharisee. He participated in the stoning death of Stephen, the...
The Reverence Bible: “Lived, Not Read”
Early this morning as my brain began to stir, the Lord put in my mind a one-frame dream/vision of a Bible that said: "The Reverence Bible". I thought to myself, "What is this? I've seen a lot of Bibles, but this is something new." Immediately, I felt the Lord speak into my spirit..... "It is lived, not read." Then I got up and Bill and I tuned into Dr. David Jeremiah for our morning time together. His message was on Hebrews 11... The Faith of Commitment. He said, in part, to notice the verbs attached to each person referenced in Hebrews 11. Their faith is defined by the greatness of the...