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.
Always Remembered….
From August 6,2020 Evening announcement: Bill Byrd, my beloved partner in life and ministry, quietly and gently surrendered his spirit and soul to the loving arms of the Lord at 5:00pm today. Very peaceful. His children and grandchildren gave him a tender send off with prayers, scripture and singing by phone while my sister, Carol Boyd Andrews , and I stayed by his bed at Gulf Coast Medical Center ICU. He is greatly loved and will be missed by many. As Carol and I talked today there have been a number of indicators for quite a few months that Bill was readying himself, and me, for his...
Remembering …… Two Years After
A memory from August, 6, 2021, the first anniversary of Bill's death; This was our little Daisy beagle. She was adopted by our daughter’s family in 2014 and was about 3 years old, having been rescued in Mississippi by a beagle rescue organization. They brought her to live with us shortly after when they realized she was too much for their son’s allergies When Bill died a year ago today after 11 days’ hospitalization, I realized I could not keep all of our 3 dogs and 3 cats. Thankfully, our grandaughter’s in-laws in Baltimore are dog-loving people. They kindly took her into their...
Hope In Undeserved Mercies of a Loving God
Excellent thoughts for those counseling individuals grieving a loved one without confidence of the deceased’s eternal condition- From Biblical Counseling Coalition: “Wise Words for Vulnerable Times ……… I’ve been reading the rich, pastoral letters of John Newton. I recently came across one where he offers his own thoughts on the question of how we relate to the passing of a loved one where there is uncertainty as to their final spiritual destination. In his role as a parish pastor, Newton officiated the memorials of everyone in his town, whether they were confirmed members of his church or...
Parenting Reflection
This is so true! I am at times dismayed by the behavior of some of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are so enamored of the culture of this world that they dishonor our Father, whose Word calls us to a different standard. From Dr. Maxie Dunnam's Facebook Status: Shane Claiborne is one of the most challenging, conscience-pricking Christian communicators I know. He tells of reading about an interview with one of the social psychologists who pioneered the movement of “handsoff ” parenting, insisting that our children do not need discipline. These scientists insisted children needed freedom,...
Suffering and the Character of God
Joni Eareckson Tada makes a point here about the role that suffering can play in our lives. A pastor friend had done his doctoral paper on how suffering brings people to God. While I don't believe God BRINGS the suffering, I do believe that there is plenty of it in the world due to the brokenness from sin and our own selfishness. And God will allow it to be a tool to prune us, reset our priorities, and lead us to himself. "Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being." Proverbs 20:30 The first time I read this verse, I cringed. It brought up contorted images of the...
Memories of Trains
I spent most of my school years living just a block from a train track... We didn't have lot of trains running through our small Georgia town, but it is still memorable. There was an afternoon train I recall Snd the engineer would through wrapped small candies out to kids who might be standing close by watching it pass. Our daughter and her husband built a home alongside a much busier track in Birmingham, AL many years later. The trains on the trestle next door seemed to run through Birmingham all night long. Some were Amtrak passenger trains. Others were cargo. It was disconcerting the...
Asking to Listen With A Heart Like His
Listening. It is a special gift that the Holy Spirit gives when one asks God to let you serve his people with a heart like his. . It is not always done with the ears. It is done with the heart. One can hear things with the heart.... and the eyes.... that the ears will miss. It takes a little more effort and time and leaning in to a life. It can be exhausting. And sometimes you have to walk away and ask God, "Did I hear that right?" But when God nods and you know that you have heard a whispered secret that needs to be given voice, you may need to call everyone to attention, tell them to be...
Redemption’s Blessings
Joni Eareckson in 2017 observed the following about her devastating accident that had left her paralyzed for 50 years: "God allows all sorts of things he doesn’t approve of. God hated the torture, injustice, and treason that led to the crucifixion. Yet he permitted it so that the world’s worst murder could become the world’s only salvation." Charles Stanley in his book "Facing Adversity", talked about Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' that kept Paul humble. He added that it additionally may have kept Paul from burning himself out! How likely is it Paul would have taken the time he did in places...
What To Do With Shame
Feeling shame, in and of itself, is not bad. In fact, as Dr. Sally Satel notes in this brief excerpt from a longer interview, shame is a good indicator of an active conscience. What we do with our feelings of shame divides victims from overcomers. Victims allow their shame to morph into additional feelings of condemnation and try to hide it from themselves and others to avoid dealing with it. They run away from it or cover it up....oftentimes with substance abuse or other self-destructive behaviors. Overcomers acknowledge the behavior or beliefs that led to feelings of shame, take those...
Abuse of Girls and Women
The lie men tell little girls when they are grooming them and earning their trust and loyalty: "You didn't do anything wrong." And when an abusive controlling 'boyfriend" turns his "girlfriend" into his pimped out asset and tells her "It's just sex. You didn't do anything wrong. It doesn't have anything to do with my love for you" to make money off her.. And what Epstein told Maxwell as he had her prep young girls for happy hooker duties for his rich clients, "You did nothing wrong." You were just being dutiful and meeting the needs of your man, being a good little girl, doing what you're...