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.
Priesthood: Believers, Pastors, Christ
"A sacrament is a sacrament even if the materials are less than perfect. One may prefer the best bread for the Eucharist, but the worst will still serve the purpose. One might prefer, with the ancient directives of the Didiche, to have cold, running water for baptism, but standing water will do. One would be glad to have the best possible priest in every sense of the word standing at altar or font to preside at these sacraments, but we can participate fully in the sacred rites even with a sacramental priest who is far less than perfect." - William Countryman, Living on the Border of the Holy...
Know Yourself. Know God.
Wisdom shared with me years ago said, " We give as much of ourself as we can know to as much of God as we can understand." It challenged me to engage in an inner journey of self discovery and a deep and broad and high and far-ranging search to know God "Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people." - C.G. Jung Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.....Matthew 5:7. Christianity is the only faith, the only religious system that teaches that the human condition is marred by damage done by humanity's willful nature that leads to...
Awakening To The Image of God
In each of us lies the image of God ….. Christ himself awaits revelation and the fullness of God’s glory within my own spirit. Can I provide fertile soil and cultivation for The Vine that my life might yield fruit??? As God desires, may I be sown….. C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory, 1949): "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.... it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.....your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses, for in him also Christ lies hidden - the glorifier...
Childhood: 4th of July
It’s a southern thing….. I remember my Dad and uncles shooting fireworks with all the kids on the front lawn at my Granny’s house, out away from the house near the road. It was exhilarating, terrifying, and the epitome of risk-taking for a bunch of little grandkids screaming and running from the noise and sparks, finally brave enough at the end to hold a sparkler! M80s, screamers, colorful bursts, ropes of firecrackers, falling stars…… it was magical and a bit majestic for us to celebrate our country’s birthday that way…….
Noah: A Man Who Met God’s Requirement
7/3/22 Today our pastor continued a series entitled "Timeless Bible Stories." The featured story was of Noah and the ark from Genesis 6:9-8:14. The major points of the story are familiar to us but there are some subtleties that struck me today as we read and heard Craig Carter's message. His sermon notes printed in our worship guide are shown in this photo above, with my notes scribbled on it at the end of the hour. There were so many additional thoughts that zoomed in from other Bible scriptures as he preached. I felt like I was all over the place as I thought about Noah. I had written...
Secret Sign
An excerpt from my sermon entitled "Ebb and Flow, Come and Go, To and Fro": The sign of the fish is a symbol that Christians have used since the time of the birth of the church, during times of persecution and in times of celebration to represent the coming together of believers. When discretion and caution were required one person would draw an arc on the ground. If the other person was a believer as well, he would respond by drawing the reversed arc, resulting in the sign of the fish….the ichthus…..The letters of the word "ichthus" in English are translated as "Jesus Christ, Son of God,...
God’s Word: A Sword, A Sickle, Or A Plowshare
From July 2, 2017: "On March 20,1997, as I drove home from a work appointment God directed my attention to this field, freshly plowed, along the roadside of Highway 231 South, just north of Cottondale. As I glanced toward it, God suddenly spoke in my heart, "This is you." It was so clear and piqued my interest. When I got home I read a number of scriptures about ploughed fields, the land, etc. 1 Corinthians 3:9 says," For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building." It doesn't get much clearer than that! The next day I drove back there, stood on top of my car,...
The Battle Is Real
When we have done what we believe God has led us to do, sometimes the best thing remaining for us to do is leave people in God’s hands rather than pull them out of situations where he has let them go…..some may misunderstand this, but we at Titus 2 Partnership, Inc., a Ministry For Women, believe that those who seek life-recovery at our ministry are brought to us by God. As God told me years ago, he simply asked me to get up each day and seek his will and he would bring them to me. I have trusted that and continue to do so. 7/2/22 CBB Shared from Facebook. Author: Kimberly Henderson,...
On Fulfillment OF The Dream
I had a dream. But it wasn't one I dreamed last night. It was one God buried deep within me, like a treasure hidden in my soul while I was being knit together, formed in my Mother's womb. It found its way into my consciousness in 1997, when I was 43. It was so big and so audacious and so beautiful that my heart and mind nearly failed under the weight of it. But there it was. I whispered it to a doctor in a psychiatric hospital when the weight of its growing presence inside me would have seemed to take my breath away. But before it could, God had taken me aside and spoken quietly in my...
Locked Gates or Open Minds
The meme above is from a beautiful second cousin of mine in Oklahoma... Robyn Baldwin Langston From thoughts in my own journal 12/13/03: .....I was in prayer for a weekend retreat and as a part of my prayer time, I re-read the story of the walk to Emmaus. When I got to the end I read “He opened their minds to understanding the scriptures” (Luke 24:45) and suddenly I thought an open mind is not a bad thing if it is opened by Christ for a specific purpose- to understand the Scriptures. "An open mind, in questions that are not ultimate, is useful. But an open mind about the ultimate foundations...