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.
Feeling Like Nicodemus………Or Pulling One’s Self Through a Black Hole
Absolutely, one of the most wonderful things about my life is sitting in my office with a student and watching her begin to open up, a tiny little crack forming in the hard shell around her mind and heart, as we talk and I share Scripture, respond to her questions, teach her about the process of spiritual formation and human development, describe the ethical basis and values of our program, show her the humanness and divinity of Christ and the virtues he exemplifies in the Gospels, teach God's ways of working among his people and how change occurs and progresses as one yields to the...
Seeds Landing On Rock
"I believe almost any tree can grow out of a rock, given the right conditions. I've certainly seen enough of them. In my part of the world, I've seen just about every type of tree doing this. Generally the seed must find a little nook to become established, with water and a little soil. The root will break the rock apart, allowing the root to find the soil underneath or behind the rock." Joy Keiffer, author of The Garden Journal .................................................................................. Sometimes I feel like an arborist trying to cultivate fruit trees in rock. Or...
When Your Child Asks About Family Heirlooms
Question from my 42 year old daughter: I'm wondering if you can help me with in the next couple of days. I'm working on the essay I started a couple of years ago about the quilt Granny Boyd made that you gave me. I know you don't know much about the quilt. Can you tell me a bit about Granny Boyd? What are your memories of her? Do you have any memories of seeing her working on quilts? If not, what memories do you have? I recall seeing Granny Boyd quilt regularly. She and her sister, Oma Carroll Threatt, quilted often at Granny's house. ...
Tourists, Adventurers, and Pilgrims
When I began teaching the Bible and biblical principles to adults, I would tell class members that some people approach their faith journey as tourists on a group excursion who trust others to set the agenda, select the sites, and determine the schedule. The only information they get is from the perspective of the person they have trusted to guide them. Our class would be for adventurers…..those who are inquisitive enough to set off on their own and discover the byways untraveled by tourists. They would discover the local color and interesting stories told by native people who know the...
Hitting Bottom
“I Pity the Fool” Cathy Byrd 9-10-17 In their seminal book “Boundaries”, published 25 years ago, Cloud and Townsend listed the ever-broadening, socially-expanded opportunities one encounters in life to learn to accept “no” from others that arise as one grows and puts up resistance to setting and respecting boundaries. It goes something like this, if I recall correctly. Parents and other caregivers Siblings Peers Teachers Spouses Employers Socially significant connections Health Law enforcement, courts, judicial system I will double check this list when I have access to my book...
Precious Tears
"Jesus wept." (John 11:35) "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb." (John 11:38) These little verses come in the midst of the story of Lazarus' illness, Jesus' delay, Lazarus' death, Martha's and Mary's response to Jesus' arrival, and Lazarus' resurrection. As the Titus 2 ladies and I talked about Jesus' humanity and how he expressed human feelings, we discussed this story. What is it that Jesus likely felt? Why the tears? Was it grief that his friend had died or that he was about to call his friend back from the joy of peace in eternity to re-enter what would be a life of...
Measuring Down With the Gospel
Devotional time this morning..... Someone told me one time that we give as much of ourselves as we can understand to as much of God as we can understand. When we grow in Christ, knowing him and making him known, we come to see and know ourselves with greater clarity, too! I love the Seedbed resources that I get that nourish my daily walk with Christ! This one is soooooo true....to live the Christian life is to "measure down." The Apostle Paul, in his pre-Jesus life, considered himself quite highly - a righteous Jew of unquestionable pedigree and a Roman citizen with status and access, too!...
No Room At the Inn……
Today I heard at Catholic Charities and confirmed with a call to Bethel Village that the women's emergency shelter function ls closing at BV in 3 weeks or less. That will create quite a burden on other ministries in town and probably on law enforcement and Life Management services, too. I’m wondering if men's emergency shelter is closing at PC Rescue Mission, too. Anyone know? As weather turns nasty and cold this will be especially difficult for some. And if the men's shelter function is not closing, how does one justify keeping shelter for men and none for women and families?? It seems...
Isn’t It A Wonder…….
"Wisdom begins in wonder." -Socrates A few years ago a friend gave me a book entitled "Recapture the Wonder" by Ravi Zacharias. In it he 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 lately. 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...
Thinking about Contentment
Contentment- 1Timothy 6: 2-10 These are the things you are to teach and insist on. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain....