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.
Go, Tell
Our pastor pointed out this week that the shepherds....considered "low lifes" in the culture of their day.....were the first beyond Jesus' family to hear the news of the newborn Messiah. They hurried and found him lying in the manger. It is notable in Scripture, too, that women, a culturally repressed and disempowered group, were the first to receive the news of Christ's resurrection. With each of these events, they ran to tell others. The Samaritan woman at the well, another person of apparently low community standing for still other reasons, when she came to the realization of who it was...
The Taste of Christmas
Last night, with a cup of my favorite hot tea, I enjoyed the last few fruitcake cookies (and crumbs) from a batch sent to us by my Mother. I parcel them out a few at a time throughout the holiday, to savor as long as possible. It is a gift to her children's families that she has done each year around Thanksgiving for many years. Imagine how many cups of fruit and nuts are required for four families....how many cookie sheets in and out of the oven! Thank you, Mother, for a tradition that makes the season especially merry!
Thoughts on The OA
Bill and I are binging today on a TV movie series, The OA, described as a "spiritual thriller". In it there's a lot of speculation about Near Death Experiences, "NDE", with an obsessed psychopathic scientist holding a group of NDE survivors prisoner as experimental subjects. One of them figures out a way to out-smart the scientist and gets away after seven years in captivity. They seem to have one thing in common- each has a strong will to survive and each appears to have made a choice to return to life in the midst of their NDE. At a time when I was very emotionally traumatized and...
Cookie recipes from Neighbor’s Cookie Swap
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls 2 c. confectioner’s sugar 1 c. peanut butter ¾ c. graham cracker crumbs ½ c. softened butter 2 (1 oz.) squares of unsweetened chocolate 2 ½ “ square of paraffin Combine first 4 ingredients. Roll into ¾” balls. Chill. Melt chocolate and paraffin in a double boiler. Dip balls. Place on waxed paper. Makes about 60 candies. Date and Nut Balls 1 stick margarine 1 c. sugar 1 pkg. of dates, cut up 1 Tbsp. milk 2 c. Rice Krispies ½ c. chopped pecans Coconut or powdered sugar Combine margarine, sugar, milk, and dates in pan...
Life from the Backside of 60
Life from the Backside of 60 There is a meme that was making its round on Facebook that went like this: “In your 20’s you are annoyed that others talk about you. In your 40’s you no longer care that others talk about you. In your 60’s you realize no one was ever talking about you.” It is a fact of life that as one moves through the decade of her 60’s life takes on a very different air. For some, symptoms of chronic diseases make life gradually more stressful and sedentary. The frequency of doctor appointments and the number of specialists one must consult increases. Eating out...
Compassionate Detachment
"Compassionate detachment is the ability to be present with a person while remaining separate from the outcomes of their predicament." Last night at Depression Impact Group (D.I.G.) we talked about dealing with emotions when a friendship ends....based on Christianne Squires' post this week about "welcoming prayer". Christianne found herself suddenly dealing with grief, humiliation, and other negative emotions triggered by encountering someone she had lost as a friend due to circumstances beyond her control. She writes that when she realized how she was ruminating on the past and feeling...
“..I’m Calling from Gov. Scott’s office…”
October 20, 2016 Imagine my surprise: "Rev. Byrd, I'm calling from Gov. Scott's office......" This is news shared with Titus 2 board members and instructors! The faithfulness you all have shown has helped make Titus 2 something to be proud of and given us a broader "territory" to share the power of faith-based life recovery! Titus 2 program director Cathy Byrd received a call today from a representative in Governor Rick Scott's office advising us that Titus 2 has been nominated for a Florida Champions of Hope Award. The awards are presented to outstanding faith-based organizations for best...
Narrative and Active Listening
"The truth of personal narrative is that being human can seem like an exercise in futility, sometimes right up to the last breath a person draws. The truth of personal narrative is that, no matter how compelling the story, no matter the suffering it entails, no matter the size of the audience gathered around the platform, watching, the story itself is not enough. Our own personal narrative fails to be illuminated when we remain trapped inside it. Yet here we are, all of us trapped on the internet, talking at once, telling our own story. It is not enough."...
Arks and New Beginnings
When a group of people attend a ministry conference, the conversations during breaks or over a meal are likely to include discussion of theological insights gleaned from the conference sessions. Such was the case Thursday. I was sharing lunch with a pastor and we were talking about our respective observations about some of the conference speakers’ key points. My lunch companion and I began to talk about connections in Scripture that were new insights for us. He shared a personal observation that Moses’ straw basket bed is a type of “ark”, as well as Noah’s stringently constructed wooden...
Praying for Charlotte….Lord, Hear Our Prayer
Those who forget the lessons of the past, or those who never learned them, are doomed to repeat them. I saw a photo meme tonight on Facebook that said, "If you blame Obama for our racial divide, hit LIKE." I didn't hit LIKE. I don't blame Obama. And I'm not sure what we have is truly a racial divide. Race has been, and continues to be, a source of conflict for some. It is not for me. I think expectations for racial harmony that were thrust upon Obama as president that were predicated simply on his race, were unrealistic from the beginning.....for several reasons. First, it was...