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.
Holiness and a Mont Blanc pen…..
A couple of years ago a friend gave my husband and me really nice Mont Blanc pens. Bill's is a ball point pen; mine is a cartridge fountain pen. I enjoy using it and generally keep it clipped inside my journal. Several days ago, I apparently left it lying on the table beside my chair, next to the journal and one or both of our kittens, now dubbed Dora and Diego, got it and managed to loosen the cap from the pen. Thankfully, there was no damage to the pen and no ink leaked out, but the cap was lost. I searched and searched all over the den, fussing and fuming all the while, angry at the...
Leaping or plodding…..
In recent months, as I completed graduate school and UMC certification studies and sought employment opportunities, I had been feeling a nagging impulse to take the next step in the UMC church toward a local pastor license as a means to being legitimately entitled to counsel with some official pastoral authority. As I talked to members of the district board of ministry, I was advised to consider ordination as a deacon instead. When I looked into it, it seemed to make sense. So I met with the district board of ministry and advised them of my interest in pursuing ministry as an ordained...
Lambs and broken legs…..
In my job I work with individuals in substance abuse recovery. While in the program they take several classes on spiritual topics from books that are familiar to many - Purpose Driven Life, Crown Financial, Changes that Heal, Boundaries, etc. Several of them are currently in a discipleship class called "Sheep to Shepherd". As I talk with them about what they are studying in various classes, I have been impressed how almost to a person, the ones in "Sheep to Shepherd" mention, almost immediately, the reference in Psalm 51:8, "Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed...
The old fashioned way……small delights
When I was a child, if a part of a piece of equipment broke, one sought out a replacement part. One didn't have the financial luxury to simply replace the entire piece of equipment. Increasingly, it appears, our culture has developed a "disposable" mindset. If anything goes awry, just junk the whole thing and buy a new one. So why does this come to mind?I have a Westbend slow cooker that is a four piece unit- heating base with power cord, retangular metal cookpot, and a top. I inherited the cooker from my mother-in-law. It was already well used by the time I married into the family in 1972,...
The church’s two spiritual constituencies….
Over the last couple of years there has been ongoing conversation among leaders in our church and with the pastoral staff about striking a balance between the needs of those among the ranks of "seekers", nominal Christians, and new Christians in our church and those seeking more substantive discipleship-rich content in preaching and other programming. This week I had the opportunity to counsel with a member who found herself feeling "left out" and unconnected in worship because, as a rapidly growing, Bible-focused disciple, she is finding few venues within our congregation that are meeting...
Lights on the eaves……..
I just returned to this blog site after a brief (?) break and realized it's been 10 days since my last visit. Wasn't yesterday New Year's Day? Each week seems to fly by. A new job must have something to do with that. Every day is so full. I have to keep lists of my daily activities to be done to assure that I don't overlook something critical. Will it ever be routine? I sort of hope not. Friday, January 9th, we received a Christmas card that finally found its way to our mailbox from Texas. Even late, it was still very welcome and brought news of friends from whom we hear only once a year....
An engaging suggestion……
For years I have saved one year's Christmas cards until the next year. I take them out right after Thanksgiving and review them once again. Then I make my card list for the current year and begin writing. After the holiday I take the prior year's cards, cut them up, saving appealing pieces of cards that can be used for bookmarks or other crafts. I also put away the current year's cards for next year's review.Yesterday in the final Upper Room devotional entry for 2008, I read the title "Prayer Cards". Upon reading the day's devotional I found that the author's ritual is far more useful and...
Spiritual life…..
One of the things I love about my new job as program manager of a women's Christian residential substance abuse recovery program is that I get to teach adults at a very fundamental level and watch them progress in their spiritual journey over a rather intense 6-12 months.We use Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life as an introductory text to spiritual living. This week I have been introducing them to S.H.A.P.E (spiritual gifts, "heart", abilities, personlity, and experiences- the aspects of each disciple that makes her unique and capable of being used in her particular place by God). We actually...
Marking time…..
I started this weblog in July 2005. With this post, I mark the 150th post. I'm not a particularly prolific blogger.....just a few times monthly, as the mood and urge strike. I've learned to exercise more discretion in the things that I make public, probably a good thing. On the other hand, I believe that being willing to be transparent and vulnerable is a good thing and sets a good example for others. It enables us to reach deeper levels of communication in relationships, even though it can be painful at times as we risk being misunderstood or rejected.This week I talked to several people...
Christmas parties…..
It's interesting that, this time of year, you can take almost any group of people with a Judeo-Christian background and put them together, add some Christmas traditions, and have a party. The case managers at the Homeless Day Resource Center pooled their talents and put together a nearly spontaneous party this afternoon for the clients. One brought her keyboard, another her piano books of Christmas carols and photocopied song sheets, another her pastor-husband and funny Christmas hat. Several brought games to play. There were ice cream treats, peppermint candy canes, and chocolate candies.We...