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.
“When you pray…” Jesus’ Teaching on Prayer
What we can learn about prayer from Jesus’ statements on prayer……and from his example. 1.) Prayer is expected of believers. Jesus prefaced his instruction on prayer with the words “When you pray…”, not “If you pray…” 2.) Matthew 6:5- Do not pray in order to impress others in public venues. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." 3.) Matthew 6:6- Pray privately in your own private and prepared space and commune one-to-one with...
When Prayer Becomes Magical Thinking……
Hard word: Telling someone that their prayers for discernment are pointless if they are not committed to spending time in the Word of God connecting with the touchstone of truth and instead are thinking that such wisdom is going to just arise out of their own reason and experience because they have professed faith in Jesus Christ and are content to listen to someone else talk about truth. We live in too relativistic a culture to trust someone else's interpretation of truth. Go to the source or quit pretending that truth is what you really want. Prayers themselves are not pointless, but if...
Boundaries and God….A Recurring Theme
God is the Boundary Originator and the Final Boundary.... the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega.... Adam and Eve had freedom within a broad range of options with minimal restrictions...God IS the Original Boundary-and- Boundary-Setter and mankind....well, we push envelopes, press limits, stretch truth, and bust boundaries. Cloud and Townsend enumerated a descending list of authority or accountability to which individuals must relate. Expectation of personal responsibility and risk of serious consequences for failure to respect limits, accept boundaries, or abide by "no" increase...
Methodist Bishops Drag Along on The Way Forward
The Committee on the Way Forward, appointed by the Council of Bishops of The UMC has made its first report to the COB. It outlines 3 possible models: Leave the Discipline as it is with an emphasis on accountability. Change the Discipline to allow full inclusion of LGBTQ individuals while protecting the rights of those who object to same sex marriage and ordinations. Both of these models are likely to result in denominational divisions in which dissenting churches will be given a graceful way to exit the church, they say. The third model attempts to define unifying features of shared...
A Teacher’s Got to Teach…….Christian Education
Today I taught the first lesson in a new series called "Christians Growing Christians: Practical Lessons in Christian Living and Discipleship" at one of Lynn Haven Church's adult SS classes at 9:30. It is designed to equip Christians to engage in conversations about faith, its role in our lives and culture, and knowing basics of faith development from a biblical worldview. Our discussion today included: Growth is God’s Design for humankind. The human condition- What it is, how it impedes our growth. Growth is a clear expectation of Scripture. Ways of thinking about growth scripturally. -...
Hearts and Stars……
On the night that I first saw Bill Byrd, I was picked up at my dorm by one of his fraternity brothers and was escorted to a social event on Auburn's campus for those of us who were candidates for sweetheart of their fraternity. As my escort and I walked down the steps at the end of the walkway toward the car in front of the dorm, I saw a shooting star arc across the sky and thought how auspicious that seemed for that particular night. Twenty four years later our son had been dating a young lady for a couple of months when they called to us they were getting married. She asked me to come to...
Hiking Pike’s Peak In Flip Flops
Sometimes as we talk in counseling about the ways in which God has been present to us, I discuss with the women the concept of the “continental divide” of our faith…..that epiphany moment following an uphill journey in search of sufficient evidence to overcome one's doubt that God is present, good, sovereign, and cares for us personally. It is that moment at which we finally take that leap of faith and begin to know and live into the assurance of our faith, regardless of how things around us feel. I was discussing this concept with a woman recently and she asked if she could tell me...
Not Everything that Sounds Good, Loving, and Biblical Is
The article referenced below on “The Platinum Rule” is interesting, but I don’t find it particularly helpful in light of the current situation within many contexts- churches, workplaces, and communities. For merely superficial, casual associations or when traveling among diverse cultures, it seems fine. For a church, it seems, saccharine sweet and unhealthy. It does not ring with the strength of truth. It is not biblical, but it is typical of our culture's distortions of God's Word. This is an interesting perspective on rules for human relationships. This platitude states...
500 Year Cycles in Church History Observed
From Dr. Timothy Tennent of Asbury Theological Seminary: An examination of church history reveals that the church has faced a major crisis roughly every 500 years. The first was in connection with the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. and the struggle to eradicate Arianism from the church. It was the fight for high Christology and full-orbed Trinitarianism. That victory led to a massive growth in the church and the first signs that we were going to become a global movement. A little over 500 years later the church had another major crisis known as The Great Schism (1054 A.D.) which tragically...
Talking About “Sin”……NOT!
When a Christian talks about sin, one can sometimes see the eyes of people glaze over.....It is not a topic that endears one to others. However, recently our Titus 2 ladies began a study of "40 Days of Love", The Relationship Principles of Jesus, with a ministry friend and mentor. When we talk about sin in the context of relationships and how it impacts our relationships, it is perhaps more easily understood and more acceptable as a topic for discussion...... Talking about sin without using religious language (from billmounce.com) "We have been talking about believing in God, and...