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.
Principle of replacement…..
I have heard before that one can't simply remove oneself from sin or push away from evil. It is necessary to replace the sinful behavior or beliefs with others that are more valuable or good. Christ's parable of the man cleansed of an evil spirt suggests that this is the case, too. The spirit returned and found the man's soul swept clean and empty. Absent anything beneficial that had taken its place, the evil spirit simply returned, with a team of cohorts, so that the man's condition, in the end, was worse than before. Today in our women's Sunday morning study, we were talking about the 7...
Knowing what one believes…..
Arminianism's chief tenets: (John Wesley rejected Calvinism and embraced Arminianism)1. Humans are naturally unable to make any effort towards salvation. 2. They possess free will to accept or reject salvation.3. Salvation is possible only by God's grace, which cannot be merited.4. No works of human effort can cause or contribute to salvation.5. God's election is conditional on faith in the sacrifice and Lordship of Jesus Christ.6. Christ's atonement was made on behalf of all people.7. God allows his grace to be resisted by those who freely reject Christ.8. Believers are able to resist sin...
Privileged to speak….
I have been invited to be the keynote speaker for a spiritual enrichment retreat next March. Though it's over eight months away, I have already had to put to paper an outline for the weekend's messages on rather short notice. It's not as hard as one might imagine. I have begun to observe in myself a pattern of certain themes that are repeated again and again in my teaching, all of them having been arrived at through a combination of study, illumination, and hard won experience. Now that I'm discipling women in an intensive type program that has complete turnover about every four to six...
Grace, grace, God’s grace……
"The one (justification)implies what God does for us through His Son; the other (sanctification) what He works in us by His Spirit." John Wesley Righteousness. How it comes to be, if at all, is amazing. Covered, as with snow, by the imputation of Christ's righteousness upon me. Imbued, as wool is white, through and through by the impartation of His righteousness in me. Let it be unto me, complete, as God desires. CBN 7/14/10
Nothing is too small for God’s interest…….
I have written several times about shoes. This past week I had to face the fact that a favorite pair of slide-on sandals needed to be relegated to "junk-shoe-kick-about" status or thrown in the trash. They had been a daily and Sunday all purpose shoe. So I reluctantly put them by the washing machine in the laundry area to use when I need something on to take out the trash or walk to the mailbox. And I set out for the mall to look for a replacement pair, realizing that I would probably have to accept something less in terms of preference and something more in terms of price. I expected to...
Wonderful Counselor…..
I have always loved the section in the Hallelujah chorus that quotes Isaiah 9:6b "And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." The way in which it is sung suggests that "wonderful" and "counselor" are two different names, but as one reads the punctuation of the text in the New American Standard Version, there is no comma and so it is read "Wonderful Counselor". I had framed a small prayer and put it on my desk when I began in counseling a couple of years ago. It beseeches the Counselor to be present in the words that one...
Watching God work……
I have often been surprised by the way in which God works things out. There are times when His way is so unexpected. That has been the case recently as I have watched Him work out discord between two people. I knew that I was not in any way to be an instrument of reconciliation in the situation and had some time ago given it over entirely to God, knowing that if reconciliation were to happen, it would absolutely have to be by His hand and according to His timing. It is such a privilege to see God work in the situation, and within some of the most unexpected circumstances, little of which...
Foundations class……
Saddleback Church has published a DVD curriculum called Foundations. It's 11 DVDs with 4 sessions per DVD on various basic Christian doctrines. I am enjoying facilitating a class that is using the curriculum. Most everyone is a new Christian and they are really in need of these basics of the faith. Such a simple concept. Such a rich resource. I wish I could interest more people in it.
Living like there are unlimited tomorrows….
At 56 years old, I'm living my life and making plans as if I have plenty of time to realize the goals I'm setting. Just a few days ago I was talking to my husband about something in our home that we'd had a while.....25 years to be exact. As soon as I realized that and considered how quickly those 25 years seemed to have passed, I thought about where I might be 25 years from now......at 81 years of age. I teach a Sunday School class where many of the members are over 80. They are active, cheerful, vital people.This week our ladies at Bethel Village will be hosting a lady, Vicki Dees, also in...
Universe expanding…..
I've read before that our universe is in the process of expanding, everything moving outward from the center and enlarging all the time. Now I have a close, first hand experience of that myself.Just over a week ago our son and his family moved from thirteen hours away to just across the street. It is a dream come true! And all of a sudden our lives are very much enlarged with the prospect of more expansion all the time! I find myself noticing things more.....the fruit juice pops on the end cap at the store that suddenly will be eaten at my house. I never would have noticed those before or...