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.
Speaking of trees…..
Recently, I was visiting with a woman about her spiritual growth. She expressed grief over how, in spite of her faith in God, she had repeatedly relapsed in her alcohol addiction. As we talked about her spiritual life, something occurred to me and I shared with her the following information. God uses several images of trees in scripture. One image is that of the stately, solitary "oak of righteousness", growing by the river and putting roots down deeply into the earth. The other is the image of cedars, a coniferous species that, instead of deep taproots, put out an intricate web of shallower...
Only God can make a tree….
From Friday mid-afternoon to Saturday evening, I drove for 16 hours, with a night's sleep and several stops for food along the way to delivering grandchildren back to their parent's care. The drive was mostly up Interstate 65 through the state of Alabama and south Tennessee. As I have observed on several occasions, the variety of shades of green in the spring always delights me. This April excursion was a pure joy as I observed the variety of trees along the roadside. I had heard one time that Alabama enjoys the distinction of having the greatest diversity of tree species of any state in the...
The Way of the Beatitudes….
(This post contains some information from a post in October 2008) For several years I have taught the Beatitudes as a process through which one goes from brokenness to healing, spiritually and emotionally. Since it is my practice to consider the spiritual aspect of a person first, this way of helping a person understand herself and how God is working in her life is the prelude to discussing other aspects of the individual's life. I first came to understand the Beatitudes this way as a result of a period of brokenness in my own life and through my study of the Beatitudes. Later, I read Martyn...
A.S.K.
Matthew 7:7-8 "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." It has always been interesting to me how, when something became a matter of interest and desire to me, eventhough unspoken to anyone, there would always "appear" some book, quote, teacher, or other source that would bring information that addressed the issue in a very prompt, timely, and direct way. There have been times that it has been so promt, timely and direct as to be...
An Easter like none before….
Because of my staff job at a church, there are some Sundays that I don't even get into the sanctuary for worship.....instead I am teaching, counseling, handling an emergency, or looking for a curriculum resource for a teacher or home group leader. Today was not one of those days. There was no Sunday School, so I had the luxury of simply attending worship, and attending worship, and attending worship, and attending worship!Bill and I started with a 6:30am waterfront sunrise service at A.L. Kinsaul Park, hosted by Lynn Haven UMC. About 200+ of us gathered in a gusty, cool morning breeze to...
Assisting in recovery……
When I chose to get state certified as a substance abuse recovery support specialist, I was essentially making two commitments - to develop and maintain a degree of professional competence through continuing education in addiction issues and to be available to those who are making a commitment to achieving sobriety as a supportive resource and accountability partner. In my work at Bethel Village Women's Addiction Recovery Pathways Program I do that everyday. I also do that in my role as a team leader with Celebrate Recovery, a Christian 12 step fellowship that meets at Lynn Haven UMC. But...
Beyond Blue……
It's been a while since I posted on mental health issues. I find that many people in my church and among my acquaintances, knowing of my experience with depression and of my having led a depression impact group for six and a half years, refer people who are needing help to me regularly. Yesterday I received a call from a person with a multitude of issues in life right now. There is not much that I can do, really, to address the specific problems any particular person faces, but I can listen and, as much as anything, that seems to be the greatest need most people have.It's a sad thing, but...
Tick, tock, tick, tock……
After what has been essentially a decade long journey, a good friend of mine finally received official notification yesterday that she will be ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church at our annual conference in June. She's been a minister now for about 4 years. It's been a long road. She and I attended a fundraiser last evening for a local charity and shared a moment of celebration over the somewhat anti-climactic news. We've prayed together, cried together, sought God's will together, and celebrated small victories along the way together. Now, just as she reaches the end of the...
Churches remembered…..
Yesterday I attended a wedding at First United Methodist Church in Clayton, AL, where my family attended when I was a fourth grader. It was strange being there after many years away. I remembered the stained glass windows. I think they are more beautiful now, however, than I remembered them. And above the altar is a stained glass picture of Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.In the spring of my fourth grade year we moved to Shellman, GA, and my parents joined First Baptist Church there. It, too, was very traditional in architecture, including stained glass windows. They give the...
Biblical expressions of the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the Christian faith…..
One recurring theme that I find myself teaching the women at Titus 2 is the Great Commandment - Matthew 22:36-39- "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." We talk regularly about the two dimensions of the Christian faith- the vertical relationship with the Lord and the horizontal...