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.
Putting It On The Line For Another
From 7/19/2018: Counseling, case management, and advocacy.....knowing which role to take when is a matter for prayer. What some don't understand is that when I stand in the gap for someone, I have spent hours and hours in the spiritual and emotional intimacy of the counseling room with her, hearing and talking about some of the deepest hurts and greatest hopes of the heart. God reveals when her heart is telling the truth. I won't take that kind of stand on behalf of just anyone....but when I do, it is because of a firm conviction that that is what God has called me to do. Yesterday I...
Tree-Speak
7/26/2016 I loved watching a TED talk today at lunch by Suzanne Simard about her 30 years of research in forests in Canada on how trees communicate with one another and transfer molecular nutrients through microrhizzal networks. I'm an arboreal enthusiast, having spent lots of time in Alabama, which has the greatest number of tree varieties in the US. Love, love, love the varieties of deciduous and evergreens I've enjoyed over the years. Turns out that trees are supercooperators, with "mother tree" nodes and extensive cross species underground support structures that nurture...
Grow Through Study: Know God, Know Yourself
Sean Dietrich this week wrote about boiled peanuts. His memoir made me smile as I, too, have stopped many times at roadside vendors and bought a bagful to eat while traveling in Alabama! It also reminded of a talk I gave at a retreat in 2001 that I began with a story about peanuts. As I think about some of those things I've saved through the years, I transfer them here, to a more easily accessible medium to read and think about in the quiet times that mark my life more and more. "I confess I have a real fondness for peanuts. They are, for me, one of the ultimate comfort foods, along...
Holy Spirit Actuation Of The Soul
In writing about spiritual formation under the authority of the Hily Spirit, JD Walt, author of the Seedbed Daily text wrote: "There is a missing middle movement here. It is the Holy Spirit’s work of actuation. This will require the development of the most neglected and, consequently, atrophied muscles of the soul." Amen! Jesus' disciples received three years of instruction, living among parables and examples, and practicing under constant instruction and Jesus' watchful eye to prepare for the move from aspiration/inspiration to activation/application. The Apostle Paul required a time of...
Invitations, Promises, Blessings, Grace and Faith
Question from a friend: God told his people he'd restore what the locusts took and told Job he'd restore his joy and he also made promises to Abraham and Moses and others. Just because he did it for them doesn't mean he'll do it for EVERYBODY.... A lot of people never found joy, never had lives restored and were killed. Is there a book with all the promises of God and do they apply to EVERYBODY that believes? Reply as I considered this question: I understand God's blessings as fulfillment of promises that are communicated to and available to all. Every promise I read has an invitation that...
Godly Sorrow
There was a news story a few years ago about a father who had exercised public "shaming" of his daughter who had habitually stolen from and lied to her parents and others. The teen was forced to wear a sign in a public area. Her father videoed it and posted it on Facebook. The discussion on television was about whether this was appropriate. What is the impact on the one who is shamed? Is it abuse or is it an acceptable "natural consequences" of bad behavior? I have dealt recently with a pattern of lying with some adults. Getting caught and "called out" in community can lead to repentance and...
Wisdom from Dr. Henry Cloud: Emotionally Present
From Dr Henry Cloud Being emotionally present and connected while we are confronting another person is the first essential of a good conversation. It truly requires a work of grace in us. Being present refers to being in touch and in tune with our own feelings as well as those of the other person. This is an important skill, because when we are "there"—that is, emotionally present—we are available to the other person. They are not shut off from us while we are telling them a difficult reality about themselves and the relationship. It is hard for anyone to absorb a confrontation. Presence and...
For Daddy’s 73rd Birthday
73 Reasons Why You Are Special To Me Because you set such a good example as a Father that it was easy for me to understand the concept of God as a Father. Because you woke us up in the middle of the night to give us a drink of water. Because you bought sacks full of Howell burgers. Because you lit the kitchen and bathroom heaters before waking us up. Because you went to church with us. Because you taught us to bray like a donkey. Because you got us Buddy the pony. Because you grieved with us when Floppy died. Because you put twenty dollar bills in the medicine cabinet. Because you...
Formidable Enemies
June 24, 2018 Sermon: “Formidable Enemies” Responsive reading: Psalm 9 Leader: The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. People: Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Leader: Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done. People: For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. Leader: Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in...
Revelation 13-14: The Beasts and Ideological Totalitarianism
Written 7/2/2015: My understanding of Rev. 13:1-14:20: First beast (from the “sea)- represents moral depravity, evil, systems or philosophies of thought -The “sea” is the place of Leviathan- which is fearsome and evil -This beast is fearsome (evidenced by the animals’ appearances) -It is given the power and authority of the dragon (satan) -It enthralls the earth -It is haughty and blasphemous to God -It is allowed by God. -It is all over the earth. Second beast (from the “earth)- arises out of and reflects and encompasses the institutions of man, represents...