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.
Realism, Hurdles, and Hope
I was listening to Mark Pollock on TED talk (he is blind and paralyzed), talking about realism and hope. He shared the story of POWs in Vietnam, relating that it was the realists who were able to persevere and who eventually came home. The optimists kept setting hopeful, optimistic timelines and expectations ("by this Christmas"...."maybe next Christmas"..... only to be disappointed again and again, eventually despairing and giving up, usually dying in their cells. There comes a time when optimism has to give way to realism. And looking at the realistic facts helps us accept what we cannot...
Quibbling and Questions
There was a time I was a quibbler....I quibbled about perceived contradictions in Scripture. I quibbled over words.....and over tones and implications that I could have little way of discerning from words alone. I pecked away at the texts to try to figure them out to make sense, given my own experience, reason, and tradition. Then one Sunday sitting in church, as our pastor preached on Romans, I surrendered the need to know everything about the Bible. I prayed as I sat in the pew: "Lord, I'm not sure I understand the impact of this, but I'm just going to ask you to show me what you need me...
“People of Faith”…… A Meaningless Phrase
Every person has a “measure of faith”. Faith is a human capacity to believe in something, anything. It is the object of one’s faith, the thing(s) in which one believes that define and mold one’s faith. We are all “people of faith” in something. Some objects of faith are more enduring and trustworthy than others, however. What does one do when the object(s) of her faith prove to be fallible, temporary and untrustworthy? Romance, wealth, intelligence, looks, health, a person, a sense of personal strength and invincibility, or a personal belief system? An emotional emergency often ensues. But...
Rethinking “Benevolence”
Adam Grant: "Generosity isn't saying yes to every request. It's helping when you can make a unique contribution." "Generosity isn't sacrificing yourself for others. It's helping when it won't exhaust you—and when it energizes you." (Although there may be times of broad-scale emergency or disaster when what is required will exhaust everyone....as in a hurricane or other disaster. But as a rule our generosity should be able to be part of our daily lives, make a difference for others, and not demand so much of us that we are unable to continue being available to others in a sustainable way..)...
Follow the Entire Instruction…….
I had a conversation with a lady this week about seeking God's will in exploring her own Christian service endeavors and was reminded of Micah 6:8 - He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Our conversation wandered into the area of social justice warrioring by some and I observed that God's call is to 1.) do justly, 2,) love mercy AND 3.) walk humbly with your God. Too many get caught up in doing justly and loving mercy, but they are committed to doing what THEY THEMSELVES view as the...
Spiritual Posing
"Falling and getting back up because The Lord chastens after one of his is one thing but spiritual posing is another." This is an interesting comment this week by a person who is doing some deep work in spiritual journeying. It points to an understanding of Jesus' story of the Pharisee and the publican and their respective prayers. Luke 18:9-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB) The Pharisee and the Publican 9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a...
He Knows My Name
What's in a name? To call one by his or her name is a gift. It reveals a condition of familiarity, of knowing, of caring, of being in relationship with another. Our name is important to us. To have our name called by another means that we have value to others, as well. Yet the Bible contains a number of stories about unnamed women, as well as about unnamed men. Among them are….. the Samaritan woman at the well the Syro-Phoenician woman the woman with an issue of blood the widow with the single coin the woman caught in adultery the demon possessed man in Gerasene the rich, young ruler the...
Gift, Gifts, and Giver
Gifts and giving are regular topics that come to mind. I have written about them often. I don't think of myself as a particularly generous person and giving gifts is not one of my strong suits. In 1992 at a retreat this little sign was on ythe headboard of my bed. I don't think I had ever thought of myself as a "gift". The little sign must have touched something deep within me, as I took it with me when I left the retreat and put it in my Bible where it has remained for the last 25+ years. I come across it from time to time, reflect on its message and wonder at times to whom I am...
360 Degree View
God is very clear in the ways in which he gives direction...… when he chooses to close a door or redirect a path it's hard to miss the signs if you're listening and watching at all! Sometimes he keeps you in a hard season or circumstance longer than is comfortable, or even understandable, because there is something REALLY significant he wants you to take away from it. And even in THAT, you will know what it is you needed from that experience when you are released to move forward again. I've had more than a few redirects over the years...… But getting to the place where one knows that...
Priorities, Plain and Simple
I have decided that my priorities are very easy to discern these days. Go to as few meetings as possible. Pray with anyone anytime. Trust God to provide what’s needed. Spend oneself on behalf of others. Smile at children and call them by name. A whole lot of things I was doing bore no fruit ...... like trying to change people’s minds, trying to get people to attend and get involved at church, trying to tell people in agencies associated with governments of man why Christian discipleship faith-based recovery is valuable. I accept that at 641/2 I am viewed as largely irrelevant and past my...