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.
Led In God’s Will
"You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God has put you there. He has a purpose in you being there. Christ who indwells you has something He wants to do through you wherever you are. Believe this, and go in His Grace, in His Love, and in His power. Amen" A benediction by the late Rev. Dr. Richard Halverson, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. who was Chaplain of the U.S. Senate from February 2, 1981 until December 31, 1994. Understand that this is a benediction, a "good word", a sending forth for BELIEVERS, indwelled by the Holy Spirit,...
God At Work Through The Unexpected
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. How often we discover the truth of this in the surprising ways in which God works among us! Blessings frequently arise from unlikely circumstances. Margaret Manning makes that point: "Elizabeth and Zacharias were both from priestly lines: Zacharias from Abijah, and Elizabeth from Aaron. The gospel alerts the reader that they “were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of God” (Luke 1:5-6). However, Elizabeth’s barrenness would have called her...
Do As You Have Seen Me Do
I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. (John 13:15 NLT) “What are we to do to fulfill this commandment? One way to answer that question is to consider what makes us feel cleaner and more fit for the Master’s table. When someone takes the time to listen to me, I feel as if my feet have been washed. When I am complimented, my feet have been washed. When someone shares a joy with me, my feet have been washed. When someone values my ear enough to share a burden or confess, my feet have been washed. There are countless ways to wash feet. We need only to begin to notice...
Let It Go
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11.. Jesus points to children as an example of the kind of faith, love, and trust for Father that he wants to see in his disciples. In this example, however, Paul is referring to the ways of childhood as an immaturity to be left behind. It is a way of only seeing and knowing in part, through eyes not yet able to see, ears not yet able to hear, a mind not yet able to understand…… We must leave those things behind so that we can embrace...
Living Sacrifice
A morning Wake Up Call devotional this week focused on Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. People may view a "living sacrifice" as an oxymoron. I would have considered it that way but for having been schooled by the Holy Spirit on multiple...
Focus:What I Know
My God-focus: God's Presence God's Sovereignty God's Goodness Gods Personal & Intimate Care for Me.... (And every other Child of His!) In other words: He is with me. He is able to meet any need. He will do it in the way that's BEST for all. He will be with me, working for me, abiding in me and accomplishing His will through me. Because He loves me. (CBB 7/2/22)
What If?……
"What if we are missing the point when it comes to salvation by grace through faith? What if it is vastly larger than a cosmic (albeit legal) transaction—way more than a mere pardon? What if it is about resurrection from the dead—even before you actually die—and the appropriation of eternal life even before eternity begins? After all, you saw the text. We are dealing with . . . the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. .....Could it be that we have focused so much on sin and salvation that we have lost the bigger story of salvation—of being swept up into...
Follow or Be Led?
This morning as I awoke the Lord put two things before me in the sweet, personal, and intimate way in which He calls me to commune with Him as the day begins. The first was this: 1.) "Follow Jesus who has the mind of the Christ," then 2.) "Be led by the Spirit, who gives YOU the mind of the Christ." I got out of bed, went downstairs, fed the cats, then sat down to look more closely at these two directives, to explore this Word before me. There is a subtle difference between the two. However, it seems to me, as one who believes the Bible and believes in the incarnation of God in Jesus, the...
Dr Timothy Tennent Blog: Fulfillment Series Part 1
Great Read ...... Fulfillment Series Part 1: Adam June 30th, 2023 Gen. 1:26-28, 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-25 "The Old Testament has such a wide array of books, 39, and hundreds of people, events and stories, such that it is not easy for many Christians to know exactly how or where to begin. Most people know the story of Jonah being swallowed by the great fish or David slaying the mighty Goliath. Many will find the familiar strains of Psalm 23 comforting in times of sorrow. But how does it all fit together? You may feel a bit daunted by the Old Testament and not even know where to begin or what...
Review Of The Journey
(On 10/26/22 I sent this to a spiritual director whose counsel and devotional teachings were having a significant impact on my life.) Re: .... awareness, attention in preparation for planting, to secure attunement, attachment, affection, abiding, and abandonment "In Nov 1996 I noticed that as the holidays approached I was finding a prime parking place everywhere I went... calling on client offices in my job, shopping at Walmart, grocery store trips, everywhere. After a week I thought, "This is strange. No way it's coincidence." I attributed it to God's favor, knowing how stressed my...