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.
Love Overcomes
Procrastinator's hope: "The nice thing about things that are urgent is that if you wait long enough they aren't urgent anymore." Amos Tversky, psychologist It is interesting how, when life goes off the rails, one can completely disengage from significant things like fines that are due, deadlines for case plan requirements, probation appointments, judge's orders, etc. There is a sense in which, once hope is lost and the motivation and means to address urgent matters slips away, nothing apparently matters any longer. As the women we work with discover, though, ignoring such matters does not...
Christian Spirituality or Feel-Good Syncretism?
Several people attempted to convince me of the value of the Enneagram in counseling 20 years ago. I wanted nothing to do with it. A spiritual friend I see occasionally lives and breathes its principles. For years I had heard nothing about it from anyone, with absolutely no regret for it not being a part of my life. Then this week it has shown up in several lines of sight, including the article referenced by the link below from World Magazine . The article is not promoting Enneagram. Author Russell St. John observes: "A search on the website of Christian Book Distributors yields more...
Life Patterns…..Repetitions of the Same or Growth Into Larger Purpose
Life today is so much more peaceful, calm, and joy-filled than it was a year ago and in the 4 years prior to that. So many life changes converged in that season of my life, from the time of the start of our home addition and my Father's death in 2013 to the end of my pursuit of deacon orders in The UMC last June. I could not adapt to all of the changes, losses, and challenges at once. My resilience was less than I had realized. I remembered, however, another similar time in my life as I approached 40, 20 years ago, when I went through a similar transition. That was a period of several years,...
Crossing Disciplines- Psychoeducation Tools in Recovery
Rubye Payne began training educators on the "hidden rules of classes" in her 2001 book, Bridges Out of Poverty." As one considers these generalizations regarding socioeconomic differences about use of money, relationships, work, recreation, and more, individuals' world views can be observed and discussed. Education, counseling, and other goals can be established to move them toward more productive and stable world view postures and living out of transformed values. . For many in life recovery, it is not just about substance use education and medication, it is about a transformed way of...
“How Does Titus 2 Select Its Students?
A visitor to Titus 2 was interested in our process of receiving applications and screening prospective students. I told her about the various ways that women are referred to us- by detox units, hospitals, pastors, family members, case managers in various social service agencies, and through acquaintances or former students. With each one who comes, there is a sense on her part that God has been present in her finding her way to us. I showed the visitor the application, interview, and intake paperwork. She asked, “How do you know when someone is ready for recovery?” I told her that we are...
God Speaks
Hearing God in our spirit or in our mind or through the wisdom of godly counsel is the privilege of being a child of God..... God equipped us with the capacity to hear from him through a variety of ways. I have heard from God through dreams, sudden "knowledge" that I had no reason to know, through thoughts suddenly in my mind that I did not will and which address questions I have put before the Lord in prayer, through the counsel of godly people in my life, through the Spirit's illumination of Scripture as I read the Bible, and yes, by a clear voice in my mind that spoke with authority and...
Concealed Weapon
All the conversation in the most recent news cycle about failure of courage on the part of some who hid instead of defending our children reminds me of times when I was deciding whether or not to apply for a concealed carry permit at a time and during circumstances in which I believed there was a real potential risk to me and others. Would I take the life of someone threatening me ? Threatening those I love? Threatening those for whom I was responsible? Threatening unknown indefensible innocents? Threatening random strangers? What could sacrificing my own life without any effort to confront...
Seeing Through a Glass Darkly
Two years ago the Lord directed my attention through several devotionals, sermons, and events to the topic of “pruning” and “wood” over about a three week period. It was so frequent, pointed, and obvious that I could not miss all the references that were piling up around me. And the context was generally in reference to “dead wood”, which seemed a little bit ominous at the time. However, living under large old oaks, I am aware of how necessary such “dead wood” pruning is from time to time. During the latter part of those weeks, I was surprised to hear that my two brothers had been to a...
“Where in the Bible Did Jesus Say…..”
I am apparently a safe and quick reference resource for some people who need a ready answer to something they remember from Scripture but may not have a Bible close at hand or may not be adept at use of Bible search applications or concordances. I am happy to fill that role, especially if I happen to be close to my desk or a computer where I can access the concept, quote, or chapter and verse they are seeking quickly, too. Sometimes the question leads to more in depth discussion to assure that we have the right verse for the moment's application and the verse we've identified is...
Eagles Raised in Barnyards
I enjoy eagle stories...(imagine that...a Byrd who graduated from Auburn University!) and this blog is a keeper! Are you an eagle raised in a barnyard? By Patricia Holbrook Atlanta Journal Constitution 10-28-17 A farmer was walking by a field one day, when he spotted a small bird on the ground. While carefully approaching, he realized that the baby bird was an eagle. Excited about his find, he brought the eagle to his barnyard, where soon it started living and behaving like the chickens. Several months went by when one of the farmer’s friends stopped to visit. While observing his...