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.
Time away from interruptions
I am on a personal retreat at Blue Lake Camp in the Hospitality House, a small personal space for pastors and others to use for quiet time alone. I needed some extended uninterrupted time to work on a Bible study for deacon ordination requirements. It's very low tech so, I had to go to the main office at Oakwood Lodge to access the internet to download Conference guidelines (which had gotten lost recently when Bill had to update and clean up my computer) and to do some additional work on the study while looking at a different view of the lake. Total hours invested so far in...
Silent Retreat
Listen. To the throbbing soles To the peeling cuticles To the coarse heels To the jagged nails.Listen. To the flaking shins To the aching knees To the swollen knuckles To the painful shoulder.Listen. To the furrowed brow To the chapped lips To the raw cheek To the straying eyebrow..Listen. To the tight scalp To the tense...
A Summer of Loss
This summer has been a difficult one for my family. In the spring, my Mother and Father, after much encouragement by me and my siblings, decided to sell their own home in another city and move in with my husband and me. We began work on an addition to our house for them while they moved into a small guesthouse 15 minutes away after their house sold in an incredible 5 days! The move was hard. The process of starting the construction was hard, as it has rained almost daily all summer, flooding at times. But the hardest thing was that on June 18th, just three weeks after their move here, my...
One After God’s Own Heart…….
Today I was teaching a class from 1 Samuel 22-23. This is the point at which Saul has allowed his jealousy and paranoia to overcome him and he has begun his persecution, indeed his murderous rage against David, and David is on the run from one place to another. Sometimes, in his flying by the seat of his pants, David engages in deception (The Gath king, the priest Ahimelech, and others). His deception ultimately gets Ahimelech, 80+ other priests, and all the residents and livestock of Nob slain by Saul's henchman, Doeg the Edomite. As I 'm reading this I'm thinking, "This is a man after...
Generations to Come
Sermon at LHUMC- 5/12/13 May 12th Seventh Sunday of Easter (Mothers’ Day) Title: Generations to Come Gospel: John 17:6-26 (Unity) “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. “I pray for them. I do not pray for the...
Justification and Sanctification
Week in and week out, I teach and explain and attempt to live out and seek to inspire others to live out sanctifying grace in their lives. This devotional does a good job of explaining justification and sanctification.Joni, Eareckson Tada's devotional today: Justified and Sanctified "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law." Romans 5:28 "What good is... it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well;...
It’s a Hardknocks Life
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4Joni Eareckson Tada, noted Christian speaker and. certainly one who has had a difficult time in life, writes about one of the harder aspects of being a devoted follower of Christ in this devotional on February 27, 2013: Did you Know What You Were Getting Into? "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering,...
Preach it……
I have made it clear to everyone since I began my candidacy for deacon in the United Methodist Church that my sense of my calling does not include preaching. I am a teacher and counselor. Evenso, as a part time staff member at a large church, I try to be cooperative with whatever is needed. And I am finding that occasionally I am requested to stand in for senior staff in our smaller traditional Chapel service at 11:00am on Sundays. So far I've done it three times, and it has gotten easier each time. The pastor who assigns me had told me that he would give me...
God Sings
"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV) I love music. The music of Christmas this year was wonderful. A number of people joined our choir just for the holiday season and, if I do say so myself, we sounded good! We even sang the Hallelujah Chorus for our Christmas Eve “Eve” music program. Music has the power to transport me into...
Life Laboratory
I have been puzzling, struggling, and picking away at a problem for a couple of months. But life was so busy throughout Advent, I didn't have the energy or the time to work through it. I did seem to find snatched moments to stew about it. Finally in the last week, I've gotten some clarity about the issues involved- both the circumstances and my reaction to them. And ultimately realized that the harder of the two to deal with was my reaction- discoveries about myself, my assumptions, and my needs.I talked it through with a couple of godly people who are a...