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.
Women at the Well
Cousin Victoria Baxley and me ( in the bandana skirt and top) drinking from aluminum dippers at the well pump of Antioch Primitive Baptist Church in Barbour Co., AL about May 1963.
‘Tude
"Lock your wheels down and put on your 9mm girdle! And walk like you own it!" Quoted from a post by a friend who is a private investigator in a major Southern city. She was commenting on having to be in a rather unsavory area of her city..... I had heard a journalist talking to a criminal who preyed on women. The criminal said he looked for women whose posture and demeanor suggested weakness, fear, and compliance. When facing the risk of spiritual assault (and don't be naïve....we all do! satan IS a criminal who targets not only women, but all, especially any who walk tentatively, doubtingly...
Vineyard Parallels
Studied Isaiah 5 as part of a study of the book of Isaiah using Dr. Sandra Richter's materials...Isaiah 5 is the parable of the vineyard and we were comparing it to Jesus' parable of the vineyard in Matthew 21. WOW! At the end of Matthew 21, we read the reaction of the Pharisees, who would certainly have known the Isaiah scripture as they listened to Jesus' "variation on the theme". Verses 45-46 tell us, "When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them. They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people...
Without Equal
I saw a post on Facebook by a friend referencing her "favorite daughter". I smiled, as I know she only has one daughter! Then I remembered another post on fb a few days ago, allegedly a mother's post that went like this: "My children argue about which of them is my favorite. That's ridiculous! I don't really like any of them!" Ha ha! The things one can observe in this venue often amuse, but sometimes the humor is in the fact that the posts reveal so much truth about the human condition. We have to laugh at it, otherwise we'd all be despairing and without hope. Thank God that there is hope...
Sleep and Ash Wednesday Reflection
I love reading Jill Carattini's devotional from Ash Wednesday of 2014 and her reference here to Lauren Winner, another thought provoking writer: Sleep and Ashes The Christian Vision Project was an initiative that began three consecutive years with a question. The aim was to stir thought, creativity, and faithfulness within the Christian church around the subjects of culture, mission, and gospel. In 2006, project leaders asked a group of Christian thinkers how followers of Christ could be countercultural for the common good. Their answers ranged from becoming our own fiercest critics to...
Creative Arts Joy
3/5/16... A dance recital photo was posted on social media of the daughter of a friend. I can so relate to her feelings of joy in watching her child dance. Our daughter Charlotte danced from the time she was two and on into her college years. I never could quite understand how someone so beautiful, graceful and gifted could have come through me, as I had none of her grace and beauty. I was in awe of her. I had felt a similar awe as a 4th grader watching a cousin of mine, Gail Boyd Cooper, dance in a recital one time. I don't think it was jealousy. I think it was appreciation for the work...
Anticipation
From 3/5/20 Whelmed.....to submerge, engulf, overtake utterly John 21:25 25Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. It's been one of those weeks.... So many things have happened that border on or outright fit what can only be described as miraculous...wondrous...awesome... beyond explanation.... that I just can't even write them all down. It makes me completely understand John's words in this verse. And it's not even particularly to me. for me. or about me. It is...
Dreams of Family
Journaled: "March 5, 2021- Yesterday I spent time framing some of my favorite pictures of Bill and of the two of us. It was a sweet, comforting time of remembering our life together over the decades. As a result of such consoling activity, my reward was a sweet dream of Bill's presence with me. He and I and Charlotte Ann were sitting on the ground together in the shade It was so real. we talked and laughed together. Fast forward..... I felt Bill lying in the bed with me and felt his hand resting on me. It was SO real! The brain is a fearfully and wonderfully created- and creative- power!"
On Call
when o worked in a hospital laboratory I took on call duty every third weekend. It could be frantic depending on things that happened... I spent a lot of time driving back and forth responding to urgent demands. That seems to be part and parcel with ministry, too. What a night.....after the fire scare at Titus 2, a family member out of town spent hours communicating with and ministering to someone intent on suicide, and I was contacted about 3:00am while sitting up reading by someone who'd been in our LHUMC CR group years ago and lives out of town now. The person is over 5 years sober but...
Saying “No”
Having made some decisions about priorities and use of time in my life, I am busily unsubscribing from a number of regular contributors to the spam in my email inbox and the glut of trash emails. I had kept a lot of them active and would scan them to see if there was anything I might want to read/keep. I've decided I have quite a number of resources already on hand and with the ease of Googling, anything I come across that I might want to research I can do so. Bill can set me up an RSS feed for topics I want to watch. As much as I dislike technology changes, I think this is one I need to...