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 Jesus Doesn’t Speak Softly
Jesus' words do not always come to us in seeming gentleness and with hope, but convicting and with warning.......unless we are able to read with hearts that are open to his own heart, with minds that desire to know his own mind. I'm preaching on this text Sunday. Over and over again he called the religious elite hypocrits...... I'm preaching on how the Pharisees lost sight of the promises to and purpose of the Chosen people of God. Part of the covenant was to bless all the families of the earth with the blessings promised to Abraham, but the religious elite wanted a preferential status,...
The Medal Winner Is……..
James MacDonald’s message on 8/2/16 at Walk in the Word” How to live by Faith”, was very apropos, given the Olympics in Rio: Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. It was such a simple illustration. MacDonald detailed the "medal winners" of faith in 2 scenarios: 1. Someone harmed you. Bronze medal faith- Not seeking revenge- not paying evil for evil. Instead, trusting God’s goodness and justice. Silver medal faith- Forgiveness. Write it off. Release the person from debt, nothing required in return. Gold...
Spiritual Disciplines Summary
Christianne and Kirk Squires, in their weekly "Still Forming" spiritual directing online letter write this: "Science is affirming the reality that incorporating consistent sacred rhythms and spiritual practices into our lives literally creates new neural networks in the brain and regulates our disordered energies. Ironically, many elders of our wisdom traditions — including the Desert Fathers, but most importantly Jesus himself — have known this for ages, and without science.... Consistent spiritual practice makes a great difference in our health and quality of life. This brings to mind the...
Trains in the Night…
The trains on the trestle next door run through Birmingham all night long. It was disconcerting the first time I visited our daughter's home and discovered they had built next door to a train trestle. But now it's a comforting reminder that life is going on, that business is continuous, that people's needs are being met even while I am resting. Some time in the night I heard two passing trains mimicking and echoing one another's whistles....a game the engineers play in the wee hours when the schedule is slower and borders on tedium? It made me smile. I could envision the two individuals on...
Watching Grands Grow….
Aren't grands wonderful??? Just love seeing them grow and as grandparents we have so much more time and awareness of the joy in doing that than we did with our own children.....This morning I was driving my grandson to basketball practice and glancing at him as we drove, realizing how tall he's gotten and how his jawline is taking on a more angular look, losing the sweet baby face he's had. I realized how very beautiful this 11 year old's eyes are! I asked him if I would embarrass him if I told him what I was thinking. He said no. So I told him, "You have beautiful eyes, Brady, and they just...
The Depth and Height of Gratitude
Christie Purifoy (in Roots and Sky) writes: "I have always imagined gratitude as a kind of discipline. It is a practice. A choice. I still think this is true. However, I begin to glimpse a long-buried and misguided assumption. I have believed that the practice of noticing good gifts in my life would widen some sort of divine exchange. As if noticing the gifts and giving thanks for them could bring me more of what I noticed." Then her writing....journaling the seasons, and this..in November: "These days are dark, and I sometimes think I glimpse floodwaters rising. Yet because of November's...
The Truth….Here and There, Old and New….The Same
The more time one spends in the Old Testament, the more the New Testament speaks to us more eloquently and convincingly. Jesus was continually speaking the Word of the Jewish people to them……from the Law and the Prophets. In Luke 7, Jesus has just raised a widow’s son from death. Two disciples of John the Baptist (Jesus’ cousin) who is in prison, come and ask Jesus while he is in the midst of healing in a crowd a question from John, “Are you the Messiah or are we to expect another?” Jesus says to them, “ Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame...
Examples From Personal Stories of Discerning Spirits
God gives the gift of discerning spirits to some believers....I have heard a variety of stories from many who have it. Sometimes one sees contortions of facial features when an evil spirit is present. One person actually saw the face of a skeleton on someone. That vision of death on someone was observed by two people at the same time. Sometimes one hears the spirit speaking without the affected person being aware of it. Sometimes one sees a foreboding aura or shadow around a person. Sometimes one feels the hair rise on the neck or arms. Sometimes one feels a strong tightening in the core and...
Discerning and Confronting Evil
I have been a strong advocate for kicking the smoking habit for years. I’ve never been a smoker, but I have had some family members whose health consequences of smoking- emphysema, COPD, cancer, etc.- made me adamant about it not being a part of my own family’s lives. When I began in addiction recovery ministry, I investigated the impact of smoking cessation on successful outcomes for other addictive substances. What I found led me to train with the Bay County Health Department to be a certified smoking cessation class facilitator and to incorporate smoking cessation into the addiction...
Unity: Key to Success at Sharing Ramadan June 30, 2016
Thank you for the invitation to speak about unity……which can be a challenge in today’s world. We are blessed to live in a community where people live together with mutual acceptance and goodwill, affording one another the freedom to pursue one’s financial, educational, social, religious, and other goals. On September 11, 2001 when tragic events unfolded in New York, I was far from home and immediately felt fear and anxiety on behalf of my community and friends and neighbors who might encounter anger. I prayed for our community and set out to demonstrate my solidarity with...