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.
Time To Shout
Heard: "Emotions don't make you any less holy; they make you more human." We use emotions to cry out for help, just like Peter, who cried out to Jesus, "Help me!" as he sank in the waves. Calling out for more of Jesus doesn't mean one isn't saved; it means that I know how much I need and am always dependent on my Savior. Shout!. For help, in joy, in praise, in any expression of your affirmation of your dependence upon Jesus. It's not when you shout, what you shout, or why you shout.....it is to whom you shout that makes the difference. (Matt Hagee: Sermon- There Comes a Time to Shout!)...
Eternal Cross
This is a cross made from 2 eights. In my sweet symbolic language with God 8 is the number of infinity, eternity, uncertainty, unknowing, the posture of trust. In the vertical it is in relationship to God. In the horizontal it is in relationship to others. The cross of Christ, symbol of our Christian life, embodies both dimensions. For it to stand, to have strength and integrity, the vertical beam must be firmly in position first, then the horizontal beam will rest on it in its proper position. We are joined together from the time of our profession of faith in Christ, in eternity with God...
Change: New Name, New Light
One often hears the phrase "You look radiant!" in the context of a new bride and groom, a man and woman expecting a baby, or upon holy baptism.... each circumstance having one thing in common.... Changed identity... a bride and groom become husband and wife, a man and woman become father and mother, a repentant soul is born anew in the Spirit . All are the result of God-ordained love given, received, and initiating a new identity. These are expressions of being The Light Of The World. Its Source is the One Who Said, "Let There Be Light!", then created all the good and very good things that...
Cognitive Dissonance ….. Short Take
A significant source of shame and guilt.....it’s called “cognitive dissonance” and it leads to living as a false self. It will cause the vessel of a soul to shatter.
Summer Favorites
In 1978, the summer before Hurricane Fredrick hit the Alabama Gulf Coast in September 1979, Bill and I and our kids vacationed on the lagoon in Gulf Shores at the home of Katherine and R.L. Musgrove, along with their son, Pete, and several other Musgrove family members. We were "adopted" family since Bill and Pete had been roommates at Auburn. While we were there, we crabbed and enjoyed fresh crabmeat West Indies salad that Mrs. Musgrove made. It had finely chopped fresh grown small green onions and was tangy and chilled. I found a new culinary pleasure! Tonight as I strolled through Winn...
Worshipful Worship
My schedule today took me to contemporary worship at 9:30. The sermon was a touchdown, an out of the park home run, a message straight from God's Word to my heart.... It was about something I pray for all the time. Tears flowed. I rarely put on makeup for church anymore and those glory-filled moves of the Spirit that catch me up suddenly in His arms, hugged close to heart, are why. But I stayed for the second traditional service to experience the liturgy- the call to worship, the Apostles Creed, the Gloria Patri, the piano and organ offertory, the Doxology, the candles and cross on the...
Life Change
Four years ago today, on August 23, 2018, I had written about feeling God starting to move or redirect me again.... 2 months later hurricane Michael had ripped our entire community out of our familiar places and routines and set us on a long road to recovery, followed by the fearsome COVID-19 pandemic that hit us on March 2020. My life has changed dramatically CBB 9/17/22
Identity Issues
".....some of the most common problems troubling people today, including identity concerns, attachment issues, and addiction...." This was part of an invitation to a webinar on Christian counseling. "Identity concerns"...when life was simpler and people had to go to work even before they finished high school and were on their own pretty quickly in life, identity issues weren't so problematic. People had to figure out who they were and what they were going to do in order to survive relationally and economically. Erik Erikson's human development schema said that the primary task of adolescence...
Heaven’s Math
In April 1997 during a season of extreme stress, I began what I called my "experiencing"... it was an intense period of spiritual awakening, accompanied by a degree of confusion that got worse until one day it was made clear to me that I was experiencing both holy and unholy spiritual influences. It seemed that God, who was very present with me, was teaching me discernment between the two. It was an education in "testing" spirits in the Word of God and in keeping with what it says about His character to determine the truth and true source. During those weeks I kept feeling pressed by...
Love Or Holiness
When asked which is more important , God's love or his holiness, my response is as follows: God's holiness is a function of His particular kind of love, in my opinion. Even though he loves steadfastly and unequivocally, because he loves, he also disciplines and that means setting limits on fellowship. When we are unrepentant in sinfulness, he will withhold the joy and intimacy of his fellowship and communion until we repent, confess, and are reconciled to him. Love without discipline is indulgence and does not bring holiness. Discipline without love is a legalistic demand that exacerbates...