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.
Neurobiology and Sin
2/18/2019 i attended a theology and science workshop sponsored by Hope Hull UMC at which Dr. Curt Thompson talked about brain development. He describes the initial neurological development in humans as "reptilian"....it is the basic. elemental "lower" brain stem that controls autonomic reflexes- breathing, heartbeat, etc. and establishes our ability to survive physically. The tempter in the garden is described as a reptile. He appeals to the basic "lower" instincts to survive, to control one's own safety and exercise control over one's self without thinking about it more reflectively or...
Divisive Political Witness
".....while Christ teaches us the value of love over violence, the power of life over death, he never strayed away from necessary conflict. Disciples rebuked, Pharisees chastised, a temple cleared of money changers...these are also pictures of Christ. Sometimes, a political witness is divisive. We must do our best, as a Body, to reconcile when the political things Christ has called us to do cause tension among believers; but that does not mean we can avoid doing them..... When we realize that our own foundation as a community of faith is built on the political, it becomes very hard, even...
Loving Yourself
In February 2018 our pastor preached a series of sermons on relationships. The final message was on relationship with ourselves. The quality of our life is dependent on relationships. We are told to love others as ourselves. We try to hide our lack of self-Love in several ways.....pride ( putting others down, boasting of ourselves), pity ( doing anything to please others and gain their attention/approval), perfectionism (holding unrealistic expectations of others as well as ourselves), punishment ( self destructive behavior). Regarding loving ourselves we are told: 1) There is a proper...
Tested By Fire
1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. This is a rich verse in 1...
When You’re DONE
When the Lord liberates you from something, walk away and don’t look back. But until then, you have to persevere in obedience with the assignment or the obstacle. I haven’t found that persevering is particularly peaceful unless you learn to transcend it and just keep on keepin’ on while staying focused only on Christ who goes before you. “Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.” Set your face. Focus. Do not look to the left or the right. Do not be distracted by the mischief-makers, the plotters, the underminers, or the envious. Sometimes they are what you have to be DONE with.
Butterfly Flown
From a Titus 2 lady who is 3 years clean and employed for the last 2 years in a well paying job she really enjoys.....a Valentine's gift.....A Willow Tree figurine entitled "Butterfly" by artist Susan Lordi .... She saw this and it reminded her of me and her time at Titus 2...… What a sweet surprise! "Butterfly" "When I think of the monarch butterfly, I am reminded of courage and strength in the face of adversity...… a magical metamorphosis....from brilliant chrysalis spotted with gold, the butterfly finally emerges, a dazzling beauty. Delicate and fragile, yet determined and...
Monarch Butterflies And The Transformed Life
These are photos of the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly that hang in my office and that I use with our new students, explaining the process of transformation this way: 1.) egg- like the tiniest embryo of a human, this little egg contains all that it will need to become what God intends it to be. 2.) caterpillar- when it hatches, its sole purpose is to grow... it eats, grows and molts and repeats that cycle until it can grow no more.. As infants, children, and adolescents we do much the same thing. We are nurtured and grow bigger and bigger until our physical size is complete. .3.)...
Life Recovery As One’s Own Exodus Story
The metaphor offered below by my friend, Deborah Ann Holstine, is RICH!!!! It is a beautiful biblical exercise in visioning one’s own transition from victimization and bondage in sin to victorious living in Christ! We use an adaptation of William Bridges’ diagram on “managing transitions” to help women understand how to understand and walk out their life recovery transformation goals. Deborah's metaphor is the Twelve Steps and managing transitions as viewed through the long lens of the story of the people called ‘children of Abraham” ..... the chosen of God. And it includes all of us!...
Talk About “Sassy!”
After I read St. Junia UMC church planter Rev. Dave Barnhart's article on enemies, Check it out at : http://www.ministrymatters.com/preach/entry/8122/the-problems-with-loving-our-enemies?spMailingID=368365&spUserID=Mzk4NTc1NjQyS0&spJobID=280247210&spReportId=MjgwMjQ3MjEwS0 I moseyed over to his weblog that is bookmarked in my favorites now and found this poem. It made me chuckle. I can relate to this, She’s someone I would like, someone I’d entertain in my home and life, like Zacchaeus did Jesus. Someone who, like me, is an EGR for more than a few, but who, nevertheless,...
Learn Wisdom: Different Package, Same Lies
True....But you can always recognize the tempter's "dainty treats" by the ways in which it tempts you: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or pride of life.... the tempter uses different dilemmas but formulates them according to one or more of these same three patterns....again and again. If we're not learning, the problem is not with the tempter, it's with our rebellion against God and our love of sin! 1 John 2:15-17 "!Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust...