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.
Ask. Seek. Knock. Going Deeper with Christ in the Word
Going Deep with Christ through Bible Study CBB 1-31-19 One of the first times I really had Scripture leap off the page and impress me with a deeper meaning was with the verses in Matthew 7:7 -8: (See also, Luke 11:9-10) “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. This was long before the notion of vocational ministry or seminary were in my mind. It was with these verses that the Lord introduced me to the concept of progressive movement in...
Women Like Us…..A Poet’s Look at Women of the Old Testament
Titus 2 received two copies of a wonderful book of poetry, "Women Like Us", biblically inspired poems about women of the Old Testament. I am so excited to read these beautiful poems by Sharon Sewell of Montgomery, AL. Sharon and I have become acquainted through her church's group that made quilts and blankets for people at Lynn Haven UMC. Sharon and I have chatted and know that we are "spiritual twins by the same Father." She writes: "I loved writing them. Jesus woke me up in the middle of the night sometimes with words pouring through me. If I didn't write them down, I lost the words. I...
When Loving Means Walking Away
One social media post urged readers to “Help others, even when you know they can’t help you back.” I don't expect anyone to help me back when I help them .....but it does make me wonder when someone I'm helping thinks it's okay to play me and other Christians for fools...…. take and take and take, all the while lying and faking how well they are doing while betraying me and others behind our backs. There are so many other places we could be making a difference while such a person is sucking up resources, including valuable time, while even stealing and lying to everyone, using people of...
Know When to Walk Away…..
Thoughts about another year of ministry with women in addiction: What in my demeanor or conversation or stated and lived beliefs would ever give anyone the idea that I would continue to give aid and comfort to someone living a double life of deception, keeping secrets, and being unaccountable to others and ungrateful to God for the time, resources, and relationships extended on her behalf? I'm hoping anyone who knows me would say: "Nothing!" Being a Christian does not mean I will enable you or make it easy for you to live a life that defies the very things to which I am called and for which...
What Does God Require?
I had a conversation with a lady several months ago about seeking God’s will in exploring her own Christian service endeavors and was reminded of Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Our conversation wandered into the area of social justice warrioring by some and I observed that God’s call is to 1.) do justly, 2,) love mercy AND 3.) walk humbly with your God. Too many get caught up in doing justly and loving mercy, but they are committed to doing what THEY THEMSELVES view as...
Loving One’s Self
https://lifehurts.us/blog/2019/01/15/cultural-call-love-yourself-seduction-softer-side-legalism/?fbclid=IwAR156xNcRxW7HXRMQfgVNJjs_8UDmESYu3NSQMdX5ZLDNAmYKExnpSUAROM This link to Holly Stratton’s weblog hit my inbox on a day when “self” seemed to be the theme of the day in my devotionals and reflections. As I think about her points, I’m as cognizant of the need to rest and renew as anyone in the counseling arena and I encourage our ladies to find appropriate self-care strategies, but Holly hits it on the head here when she observes that even that “be good to yourself” approach to life is...
Not Salvation By Works, But Faith Authenticated By Works
Discipleship, mentoring, and attending church services and Bible studies can teach one the knowledge of faith and the practice of faith, but only a personal encounter with the living Christ can authenticate one's faith. And then, only if one accepts and embraces the invitation from Christ. Accepting and embracing means following, obeying, and giving oneself over to his transforming work in her life. This, I believe, is the essence of James' message: "Faith without works is dead." James 2:26 The first work of faith is to move forward from belief to commitment and is evidenced: in baptism,...
Quantum Gender
( 6/7/22- I have attempted 3 times to add some thoughts to this original post. The first time I accidentally started it in a group rather than on my personal FB page which is where I intended to put it. Then two more attempts here within this blog, which is the best place to add a comment, resulted in shutting down of my Wordpress altogether, wiping out the addendum twice. So, I've decided to let it just sit here as it is. 'Nuff said.) I was watching a lecture by physicist Shoshini Ghose on the new science of quantum computing, based on quantum physics. As she explained, quantum computing...
Three Realms of Life
There is more than one kind of death one can experience. There's physical death. But there's also psychological/emotional death when one gives up hope and the will to strive for good and simply yields to life as a victim. Then there's spiritual death when one turns her back on God. Conversely, there are three kinds of life one can enjoy contained within the three realms of human existence- spiritual (human spirit and our capacity in our human spirit to commune with God's Spirit), psychological/emotional (soul), and physical (body). One's will - the capacity for volitional choices, the...
James’ Teaching Parallels Jesus’ Beatitudes
Bible Study on the Book of James: “Straight Talk” (CBByrd November 2014) In the introduction to James in the Wesley Study Bible it is noted that Martin Luther held the book of James in low regard, calling it “an epistle of straw”. John Wesley, on the other hand, regarded it highly, commending it as a “remedy against the general temptation of leaving off good works in order to increase faith.” (Works, June 5, 1741), cited in the Wesley Study Bible p 1552).This tension between pursuit of personal piety (Wesley’s “works of piety”) and the necessity of doing good in the world (Wesley’s...