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.
Trauma, Comfort, Hope, and Peace
There is a lot of conversation around the issue of trauma-informed care these days for counselors, pastors, and others. My own experience of a traumatic event led me to discover some key principles in dealing with trauma in those I counsel. It is always the case that God does not waste our pain and tears, but uses them to bring understanding and the opportunity to serve God and God's people as a result of having experienced it. I am thankful to God for the lessons learned and pray that the healing ministry to which I have been called will be more effective because of them. Hallelujah! There...
Pondering “All Things” …..
One commonly referenced verse is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  What are the “all things” that one can do when in close relationship with Christ?  I would suggest that they are the proclamations, prohibitions, promises, and principles of the Word that Jesus came to interpret for us and show us how to live out daily.  Life in Christ gives one the power and desire to do the "all things" we are called to do in the Scriptures  In John 4 the Samaritan woman revealed her familiarity with the messianic promises when she said, “I know that Messiah”...
Angel of Song- Update Dec 2017
This time of year I wind up doing repairs to some ornaments and decorations that have suffered in storage...... glue, tape, new string or wire, In January 2016 I wrote the story below about a "rescued" Willow Tree Angel of Song who had lost her instrument but nonetheless, had found a place among a small group of angels in my home. This past week in a box of assorted miscellany I found a small silver guitar that apparently went with some small toy of one kind or another. When I saw it I immediately thought, "Hmmmmmm, I wonder if this would fit in the hands of the Willow Tree Angel of...
Too Much Honesty For Some?
"Be careful not to cover up your sins in order to look like a “good Christian.” Without recognition and confession of our sinfulness, we are unable to rely fully on God. It is only with this awareness that we can passionately seek Him, obey in His strength, and confess with repentance when we miss the mark." -- Charles Stanley Working in missions and evangelism with individuals who are frequently at the margins of society demands a certain amount of transparency and directness in order to establish and maintain trust and credibility. For some In other venues, that degree of honesty may be...
Awake from Dying……
There are times when something can really bring life into focus, like awaking from a vivid dream about one’s impending death.  I went to sleep about 8pm and about three hours later I awoke, having dreamed that I had terminal cancer and was facing an unspecified time remaining in “life as it is”.  What was on my mind in the dream was the process of dismantling the Titus 2 Ministry in keeping with the corporation’s” no conflict of interest” clause and tidying up personal aspects of my life that such circumstances would necessitate. There was no sense of distress or alarm in it.  There was,...
Out of Season
There are "seasons" when one teacher seems more attuned to where one is in life than any other teachers. Joni E. Tada is one whose spiritual insights seem to be particularly helpful right now to me, as observed when I read her recent devotional entitled "In and Out of Season" reprinted below. Come along and join me today in the role of mentor and teacher to women in residential recovery. Imagine 5-6 spiritual babies or teens constantly requiring "bread" or "meat" or "water" (image: a nest filled with open mouthed newly hatched or fledgling birds squawking from the moment their eyes are...
Toward Sanctification
David Powlinson is one of the key principals in the Christian Counseling Education Foundation. He counsels and trains Christian counselors. I was reading an article recently on sanctification by him. And noted these observations:   "In my twenties I was primarily changed because failure, guilt, and disillusionment led me to turn from sin to Christ. Birth into a new life, freely-given forgiveness, and justification by faith were truths that caught fire. In my fifties I was primarily changed because darkness, loss, and suffering led me to turn in trust to my heavenly Father. God's presence...
Sticking with the “One Thing”
Years ago, as God began to call me toward a life of ministry, at one point I was praising him in song....I stopped and spoke out of the joy in my heart, "Surely God has created the beauty of this world for his glory and my delight!" In that very moment, he spoke clearly in my spirit and said, "Tell others." It was the first time I'd heard God speak so clearly. I was surprised and wondered what I was to tell, how I was to tell it, and to whom I was to speak. That was 19...97. It would be a few more years and several interim course changes before the way became clear. Today I know what I am to...
Why the Cardinals Come….
Several people, knowing my affection for cardinals, have posted photos of cardinals to my facebook page. I am very fond of cardinals... God used them to speak to me during a difficult time in our marriage. I had a dream early in the summer of 1997. I dreamed I was a bumble bee and Bill was an eagle. I was hopeless and despairing that we were so unequally matched and incompatible. All I wanted was for us to be like a pair of cardinals in my dream. I awoke crying. Bill was with me. He was struggling in our marriage, too, and we were trying hard to work through it all. It would take a few more...
Still Night…..
3:30 a.m. at Deerpoint Lake: The night was so still, even the crickets were asleep. The dogs and I went out for a brief walk in the backyard. I looked at the night sky and wondered if it was that quiet on the hills around Bethlehem the night of Jesus' birth when, suddenly, the heavens exploded with the light and sound of the angels announcing Christ's presence on Earth. No wonder the first words uttered were, "Fear not." How startling it must have been! No wonder the sh...epherds all went as a group to see the child! Who would want to be left alone after such an experience? Did they simply...