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.
Doorways
We can only walk through the doorways that are open, but in the houses that we build, all doorways are open. And if we build them according to the Master's plan they will be open to others, as well. John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Closing the Door to the Past- by Ron Hutchcraft When I was a kid, "Nautilus" was Captain Nemo's submarine in a Jules Verne novel. I knew that because (No, I didn't read it.) Walt Disney put it on TV. Then "Nautilus" became the name of an early nuclear submarine...
Just Say “NO!” To The Lies
Once again today I was in conversation with a Christian who confessed to having felt shame and condemnation over some harsh, hurtful accusations thrown at her by someone who is supposed to love and encourage her. It happens. People in relationships, friends or spouses or other family, can sometimes say things that hurt and make us feel shamed, demeaned, or humiliated. We may hear their words and say to ourselves, "Is that true? Is that how I really am? I must not be what I think I am if this person, whom I love and who says I am loved, believes that about me." And the insecurity and...
Another Testament? Another Religion?
Dr. David Watson, an associate professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary, has recently written that, “through the Bible, God has revealed sacred truth to a community of people committed to living in that truth” (Scripture and the Life of God. Kindle edition, location 180). I am part of that community of people. Some among the progressive liberal leadership of The UMC bishops, agencies, and conferences' leaders, including Rev. Christy Thomas have asked “Do we want a mindless fundamentalist reading of Holy Scripture to be the centerpiece of the Methodist movement?” This is what...
Living and Sharing Titus 2 …..”Encourage and Teach Them”
Today, June 29, 2018, three Titus 2 students joined Bill and me at a reception at The Meeting House at Carillon Beach Community. The reception was a celebration of the success of Carillon Institute’s recent Tour of Homes. They used the event to raise funds for charitable purposes in Bay County. This was the second time the Carillon Institute has done this fundraiser and we were told today that they expect to make it a biennial event. The five featured homes attracted a lot of interest and the fundraiser netted $5000 for charity! Joyce Clark, one of the organizers of the event, called Titus 2...
Miracles Happen Every Day
" If a miracle happened and the problem you have was solved overnight, how would you know it was solved, and what would be different?" This question is known as the "Miracle Question" and is a well-known technique used in Solution Focused Therapy (SFT), developed by Shazer and Berg. SFT is future oriented, goal directed, and emphasizes solutions rather than problems within therapy.” A focus on solutions activates clients’ imagination, trains executive decision-making skills, and encourages individuals to experiment with new ways of thinking and acting to visualize a life without their daily...
The Greatest Commandment
This is the first and great commandment. Do you care? Does it matter in the big picture of your life? What does it say we have to do? 1.) ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart.” What is the character of those who love with their heart, who have given their hearts to the Lord? Thinking of God makes them feel warm and affectionate? They are touched by tender testimonies and kind, reassuring words of God’s love for them? They have received the gift of grace? They are grateful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? They may know God as the sacrificing Savior Jesus Christ and as the loving...
God Is…….
There is an vastness to God that invites us continually to come near and know him better. It is one of the things that delights me.....that there will always be more to know of God. However, as I have discipled others there are some basics that seem to present themselves as most necessary to a foundation of knowing God. They are: - That God is. He is present That God is Good. All that he does will ultimately prove to have been in our best interest. That God is Sovereign. His Sovereignty is absolute, but he will never violate his Goodness by exercising it in a way that harms us. ...
Lessons from Daddy
On Father's Day someone posted a question on Facebook.....What are some things your Father taught you? Some of the things that came to my mind right away were these: How to drive a standard transmission vehicle. How to check oil in a car. How to wiggle my ears. How to bray like a donkey. That a loyal pet is worth tears. How to enjoy peanut butter straight from the jar with a spoon. How to work hard, really hard. That love is defined by what you give, not what you get. How to sacrifice for others. How to accept disappointment. How to die well.
Picture Book Theology and Therapy
Such a range of topics can be covered in a recovery counseling session! I can move from Johari windows to the Apostle Paul's progression of humility revealed in Scripture to reading The Velveteen Rabbit to John Wesley's Holy Club questions! Oh, the places you'll go when God is leading! The thing I love the most is that while I have certain standard activities and topics that I like to cover, sometimes the Lord gently speaks into the situation and says, "Hey, let's do this today!" Some of the holiest moments happen when I scrap my plan and just go with the River's flow! A few years ago at a...
Bilderberger Basics for the Befuddled
Since what I post has pretty well been dismissed, marginalized and censored by social media's Big Brothers on Facebook and Twitter, I feel no risk in saying what I think. So here goes..... I wrote a group of television public service announcements one time in advance of a senate race in Alabama. I had several well known state and local politicians video the PSAs.. In one of them I had written, "Know the influential people in your community". The politician who was to record that PSA declined to say that. He would only say, "Know your elected officials." They do not want people to know the...