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.
Hope for the Future Through Speaking to Dry Bones
Ever since six days of hospitalization in 1997 for a profound depression that had been undiagnosed for at least a couple of years, I have been an advocate for the diagnosis, treatment, and support of those with depression and other mental health challenges. My own journey to healing was accomplished through a growing depth of relationship with Jesus Christ and the counseling of a wonderful Christian counselor. In 2005, eight years after experiencing a psychotic break in conjunction with the undiagnosed depression, I was participating in an online group for people who had experienced a...
A Shared Sermon on Emmaus from Linda C. Loving (2002)
Slow of Heart A Sermon by The Reverend Linda C. Loving April 14, 2002 The House of Hope Presbyterian Church Saint Paul, Minnesota Luke 24:13-35 “All roads lead to Rome,” say some. Perhaps for Christians a better adage is “all roads lead to Emmaus.” Emmaus, that curious place where, according to accounts in Luke and John, disciples encountered the risen Christ, walked and talked with him, without comprehending who he was until day’s end. All roads lead to Emmaus, yet no roads lead to Emmaus. That is, no certain, historical road has been identified, because Emmaus itself has not been...
Secularization and the Perseverance of the Saints
I have continued to ponder Phyllis Tickles' thesis on the 500-year-cycle of transformation of the church....This interview with British sociological academic Linda Woodhead, specialising in the sociology of religion, gives some insights into the last century of changes in religious beliefs, practices, and influence on society. . Woodhead notes: "A significant insight is offered by a Belgian sociologist, Karel Dobbelaere. He made s a distinction between three levels of secularisation. He talks about secularisation at the societal level, the meta level of society; secularisation at the...
Sanctuary, Trust, and Psalms
When Bill and I moved to our present home at Deerpoint Lake in 2005, the verse Psalm 4:8 was stenciled on the wall of the guest bedroom. "In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety." It became a verse that calmed my soul and confirmed my sense of sanctuary in our home, confident that we would live here for the rest of our lives. “Sanctuary” was the word the Lord put upon my heart as I settled into this place. A little sanctuary church window-shaped light catcher came to me about that time and found a home in the sunroom window. It reminded...
In Line at the Banquet
Recently I have been meditating on the Lord’s “banquet” for his children. I had written about my gratitude and joy in being one of the passersby invited in to enjoy the feast after others had failed to respond to the King’s invitation. Once again today the thought crossed my mind….as I remembered a time when the Lord spoke to my heart after a difficult season and said simply, “Welcome to the banquet.” As I remembered that long-ago assurance from God, I had a picture flash in my mind. It was a memory of my Uncle Vernon, deceased now. He was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army, a...
The Apparent Irrelevance of Ordination
After I announced on Facebook this week that I had been discontinued from provisional deacon status with The United Methodist Church people began responding. Some noted that God has something greater planned. As I responded, everyday having the opportunity to see women's lives transformed in Christ through the Titus 2 discipleship ministry is experiencing God's BEST! I don't know how it could get any greater! I get to hear the stories of how God is presenting himself to them through the Word, by God's Spirit, through people, and in their daily circumstances. Today as we drove home from...
Pennies from Heaven
This morning as I put gas in my car, I looked down and saw a penny on the ground by the door of my car. I smiled and picked it up. I had seen this story on the internet in the past and, as God would have it, when I got back to my office this morning a friend had sent it to me in my morning email. There are no coincidences in the life of a child of God. God affirmed his pleasure in the fact of my trust in him in the simple gesture of picking up the penny and thinking of God by reminding me of this story. Enjoy! Pennies from Heaven: I have picked up every penney that I saw in my 77 years and I...
For Those Who Have Lost Beloved Pets
For all of us who have lost beloved pets, this is a treasure! As the author noted, "We don't know who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter department who understands." "Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her tha...t I thought that we could, so she dictated these words: Dear God, Will you please take care of my dog? Abbey died...
Peacekeeping versus Peacemaking Part 1
Some mistake "peacekeeping" with "peacemaking". When issues of disagreement are ignored and hurt is left to fester, the typical response is to slap a lid on it and bury the problem, ignoring the injured party's pain. If that is done by the person/entity with greater authority, that person/entity is practicing "peacekeeping" through assertion of power. Such a practice is comparable to the UN sending in an armed peacekeeping force to restore or enforce peace through might. That is altogether different from peacemaking, which requires parties to sit down, communicate, and actually get to the...
Dreams and Ponderables
Some things I have experienced in my faith journey I believe are because I have been given the spiritual gift of teaching. Those experiences are not part of my own gifting, but the Lord has let me experience them so that I may teach people about them more effectively, with first hand knowledge and experience. What I write about today, though, is something that has persisted now for over 20 years and it seems to have become more refined over the years. While it is a "gift", I believe it is representative of the kind of intimacy that God desires to have with each believer. Many days I...