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.
Persevering Beyond Forgiveness of “Sin” To Repentance and Forgiveness of “sins”
I had written about Judas and his descent into despair and suicide after his betrayal of Jesus and about Peter's response to the same sense of failure and betrayal. When one rejects condemnation from the enemy, embraces the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and feels godly sorrow and repentance, the outcome is dramatically different after moral and spiritual failure resulting from fear, doubt, disobedience, deception, or any other cause. During that same week I reflected of the difference between the two men's responses, the Lord put a big question mark in the forefront of my mind as I sat...
Bill-Home Going
8/7/2020: Our daughter, Charlotte Donlon, is getting out some requested information today. Further details on the memorial celebration service will be available after the weekend. Thank you all for your outpouring of love and comfort to us. Your kind words and stories about how Bill touched your lives are a joy to us in our sorrow! "Cathy Boyd Byrd, Billy Byrd, Joni Byrd, Carol Boyd Andrews, and I are working on plans for an outdoor celebration (with masks required) honoring and remembering Bill Byrd's life. This service will be in the Panama City, Florida area in the near future. We...
Take Down
There are times when one may find it necessary to step into the ring, even if it means hitting the mat after a few rounds......to let those who are unable to fight for themselves and those who are accustomed to taking vulnerable people to the mat on the first ring of the bell know that there are those willing to battle for what's right. It may not always result in a win, but it will force those with the power to exert some effort instead of just assuming no one is watching or will challenge them. Otherwise, there can be a lack of compassion and accountability for doing what's right.
Trusting Healing Faith
"Your faith has made you whole..." Jesus said it so many times in regard to healing...that one's faith has the power to heal, even the faith of one's friends has the power to heal . What does that kind of faith look like? I have observed some things that I am pretty sure are not part of that picture....clutching at specific people in the midst of the trial as if they have the solution; The Lord desires that we should fully rely on him. (Psalm118:8) In the case of awareness of a potential physical illness, not running ahead of even the diagnosis and beginning to plan one's own strategy for...
Double Grief
The Boyd Boys- sons of William Nicky and Annie Elma Boyd- circa 1933. L to R- Cecil (deceased 2003), Hilly (deceased 2013) and Dempsey (deceased 2012). I can imagine them sitting together in the shade somewhere in heaven in aluminum lawn furniture as they did as young adults at their parents' home, visiting with their Mom and Dad right now! What a good time Daddy is having with them! I can hardly wait to be with them some day, too! In a strange display of God's timing, my Daddy, pictured in the center above with his brothers, died seven years earlier on 2013 on the same date, August 6th, and...
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...