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.
To Give The Source Of Your Hope
1Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect," “There is an important difference between the common definition of the word hope as a wishful desire for better things and the Bible’s definition: confident expectation of a positive future. The reason for the Bible’s intensified version comes from hope’s basis on the character of God and the promises of God. With that foundation, hope is so much stronger than mere wishful desires.”...
Loss and Lament
Loss and lament bring opportunities to be drawn deeper into the loving heart of God the Father, into the mind of Jesus Christ Man of Sorrows, into the comfort of the Holy Spirit consolation.......who know both intimately. CBByrd 7/19/22
Parallelism in Scripture- Foreshadow and Fulfillment: 8th Day in Jerusalem
One thing that jumps off the pages of Scripture at me from time to time are parallels between OT and NT texts, between different events in Jesus' life........ Consider an event after Jesus' Resurrection, when he appeared to his disciples, particularly the encounter with Thomas: Jn 20:19-31- 19 Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, (which was Resurrection Sunday) and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “Peace be to you.” 20 And when He had said...
Unity of Believers- (Sermon) Mt. Hermon and “8th Day Parallels”
Sermon preached May 16, 2021- Unity of Believers…. at Carillon Beach Chapel We’re going to look at several scriptures this morning. The first is Psalm 133. It is short and evokes some strong imagery: Ps 133- (Summary- Unity among brothers is like an anointing with oil, like dew of Mt. Hermon coming down on mountains of Zion…..) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, Running down upon the beard, As on Aaron’s beard, The oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes. 3 It is like the dew...
Covenant Marriage In Christ
I happened upon a social media post by a young woman who said she is about to get married and bemoaning the fact of how many people had told her, "It is the hardest thing you will ever do!" She said those were not the words she needed to hear.... and I agree. There are definitely moments in some marriages where that feels like the case, but in those moments one has to remember why she fell in love with her beloved, what they are building together as a family, and have confident trust that God will be with them both in the midst of the hard times.... and some hard times will come. But so...
Close Knit Family
A year ago today I was flying home from a trip. We had a little bit of stormy weather just as we were descending into Bay Co. It reminded me of my maternal grandmother, Ludie Belle Baxley Greene. Her son, my uncle, Jeffie Vernon Greene, was an Army 82nd Airborne Master Sgt. paratrooper and did 3 tours in Vietnam in the late 60s, early 70s. The family story was that she always told him as he deployed to “tell that pilot to drive carefully!” I’m not sure Mother Greene ever really understood that he actually jumped out of perfectly fine airplanes for a career! If there had ever been a problem...
Unfinished
(first written 7/18:2017) Love is not about each (or either) partner having a need for affirmation fulfilled by the other. It is about each partner being willing to sacrifice one's own needs/desires for the sake of God's BEST in the well being of the other. I am truly blessed to have a husband who has demonstrated a godly willingness to sacrifice his own needs/desires for the sake of God's BEST in caring for my well being. That doesn't mean I always appreciated that in him. There were times I simply wanted to be pampered, cherished and affirmed by him and have him meet emotional needs that I...
Boundaries Always Result In Confrontation
Wisdom from Dr. Henry Cloud. “The most important benefit of a good confrontation is that it preserves love in a relationship. This may seem counterintuitive to you. You may think, “This doesn't make sense. When I confront someone, they will either get mad or leave the relationship.” This can and does happen. But confrontation was not designed to make someone angry or chase him or her away. In fact, it was designed to do the opposite. The Latin term for confrontation means "to turn your face toward, to look at frontally." It merely indicates that you are turning toward the relationship and...
Steadfast Love =/= Fellowship With God
Wisdom from Dr. Henry Cloud on toxic people: "The Bible often warns us to avoid toxic people, or at least their toxic behavior. God wants us to be very careful to stay clear of people who can destroy the life that he desires to create for us. Listen to the way that King David put it: The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure. My eyes will be on the faithful in...
Admonishing In Love
Wisdom from Dr. Henry Cloud: “Denying our sinfulness is natural. Who wants to claim something that makes us uncomfortable? It's not easy to own. But what about negative feelings that are not sinful -- the ones that result merely from living in a less-than-perfect world or from getting sinned against? What is one to do with pain, grief, anger, sadness or fear that results from a past of abuse? Some in the church say that to still suffer from these things indicates unreported sin. The sufferer is condemned for feeling pain. When we feel hurt and anger over what happens to us, we need to...