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.
At The End of The Day…. Blessed
From 9/27/2014..... "I am one blessed woman.......At the end of the day, this one has been quite happy and productive. I am so grateful for the blessing of family, friends, students, God's call on my life and having the strength and desire to know and follow hard after Him! Yesterday I heard a woman 10-15 years or so my senior, in conversation over lunch, say that she and her husband had just that morning had a conversation about their lives....and were happy to say that they are coming to the dusk of their lives content and satisfied that they have lived in keeping with God's will and have...
Firsts
FIrsts.......Our students experience many firsts....first sober holiday in many years, first experience of feeling God's presence and recognizing the feeling of pure love, first time praying out loud in a group, first time confronting fear instead of running from it, first time admitting to secrets that have caused shame and guilt, and more. For one young lady it's also been the first time experiencing avocado, spaghetti squash, chicken salad, DQ blizzard, Starbuck's coffee, listening to Christian radio, and.......realizing that she has been created and loved by a sovereign God who is...
Little Fires All Around….
From 9/27/2015, after attending New Room.... What I was feeling then and wrote....... “Little "fires" are all around, awakening faith and ministry in many places.....I see them..... below the "radar", making a difference, and I believe that we are moving toward a renewal that will make previous Christian renewals small by comparison.” From 9/27/2020: Reflecting on the 2020 New Room Livestream: "Many more have begun living the Awakened Life, Yes. That was the message of Friday night’s live-streamed conference. It is underway! I can hardly wait to see what 5 years hence will look...
Art Scams…..Uh, “Investments”
From 9/27/21: Funny 🤣….. yesterday in the car I heard Maria Bartiromo doing a segment on the money scam of Hunter Biden’s $500,000 “art” pieces hanging in the White House and scarfed up by Chinese businessmen, the money laundering history of art dealers, and Hunter Biden leveraging his dad’s political position to make money for 20 years which he then split with Joe. It was immediately followed by a Wall Street ad for an art investment fund. I chuckled at the idiocy and irony of it all. It’s been called a “genius” scam. #Bidenart. #Bagman #Laughlife #HideYour$$
This Is My Tribe
9/27/21: This is my tribe….. I cannot recount all the incredible ways in which I’ve seen God move in the last year in Spirit-abiding, in comfort-giving, in provision-making, in protection-covering, in promise-keeping, in vision-giving, in faith-building, in love-enlarging, in wall-smashing, in territory-expanding, in demon-outcasting, in prayer-answering, in intercession-making, in soul-lifting, in mind-renewing, in will-strengthening, in conscience-sharpening, in ear-tuning, in eye-opening, in heart-softening, in hunger-filling, in power-wielding, in home-welcoming, in relationship-healing,...
Love Stuck In Emotion and Behavior
9/26/22 I awakened early and read and listened to the Seedbed Daily Text for today, as I do each morning. https://seedbed.com/wake-up-call-this-may-be-the-most-important-question-i-will-ever-ask-you/# So I wrote an email to JD Walt, as I do some days, rather than bore the people on the Facebook group with my rambling... To : JD Subject: Another important question I ask my discipleship students.... "What does 'love' mean to you? How do you describe it? What does it feel like? How does one express love to another? How does one know she is loved?" Almost always they respond with something...
Traveling Well: Returning Home Transformed
Written 9/24/2016 upon returning from New Room gathering..,,,,six years further down the road, having returned from another New Room, and the journey is still joyful: "I receive a periodical published by Baylor University called "Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics". This month's publication is on the topic of "Traveling Well." The imagery of "journey" and traveling has long been associated with spiritual growth. Christ called discipleship to his teaching "The Way." The introduction to this month's collection of articles says, "As we travel about, we inevitably return home...
Assume Positive Intent
A sister-friend in Christ, Katherine, has a lovely thought on the top of her FB page. It made me stop and think today. Katherine’s header...... “Assume positive intent. Be kind. Learn something new everyday.” I think I’ve worked with addictive personalities for so long and was created by God perhaps with enough space for some larceny in my own heart to anticipate manipulation and deception so as to be able to stay just a half step ahead of most of their antics. It would certainly be nice to live otherwise. Scripture says Jesus knew what was in the hearts of people...... sadly, too often I...
“Good Day” or “Blessed Day”
What’s the difference between telling someone to “have a good day” and “have a blessed day”? Hmmmm...... A good day suggests a desire for another to experience a day with favorable circumstances and a positive outcome. A blessed day desires for another the presence and protection of God upon their activities, regardless of what circumstances come their way. Just pondering........ I think I’d fare better over time, day in and day out, seeking a blessed day over a good day. Good is open to a lot more subjective interpretation than blessed!
Why So Much Creativity By God?
What was the Scripture text for the sermon where you worshipped today? Ours was Psalm 71:12-18 "Do not be far from me, my God; come quickly, God to help me. May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise your more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long- though I know not how to relate them all. I come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone. Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to...