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.
Philemon: A Gentle and Gracious Persuasion
Last week when I spoke at First Church of God, I opened with reading Titus, Chapter 2. In that chapter there is instruction not only to older women and men to mentor the younger ones (chronologically or in the faith is how I have always chosen to interpret it), there are also instructions to slaves: "9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive." I did not read those...
GO!
In every one of the Gospel accounts Jesus told his followers to GO! Go and make disciples....go and preach...go and proclaim the kingdom....go and bear fruit.... The Gospel is an action-focused imperative to GO. Matthew 28:19: Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Mark 16:15 He said to them, GO into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Luke 9: 60: GO and proclaim the kingdom of God. John 15:16: I chose you and appointed you so that you might GO and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so...
Not Martha Stewart……But You Can Still Be Well Fed
Wednesday as I drove home from a morning trip I heard a snippet on public radio about the book "What She Ate", by Laura Shapiro. https://www.amazon.com/What-She-Ate-Remarkable-Stories/dp/B073FZK55Y The book description offers this: " A beloved culinary historian's short takes on six famous women through the lens of food and cooking - what they ate and how their attitudes toward food offer surprising new insights into their lives." Hmmmm. I've known for years the power of food within families and among friends. It can draw people together. It gives a window into our childhood. But...
Sunrise, Sunset
Our house sits in the midst of a neighborhood with heavy oak cover. It faces east and backs up to Deerpoint Lake to the west. I cannot see the sunrise for all the trees to the east of us and towering over our front yard. But this morning as I left the house about 6:30a.m. I glanced out the back door to the lake and saw a lovely rose-colored hue on the cumulus clouds in the western sky that is our spectacular view. I was a little surprised to see the rose-colored reflectio...n on the clouds in the western sky at sunrise. The old phrase: “Red sky at morning, sailor take warning” came to mind...
Shame Unto Death or Godly Sorrow Leading to Life?
Some topics just keep coming back around in recovery ministry…..issues of shame and how to help people move from shame to godly sorrow so that they can be healed. Two years ago, July 25, 2015 on a morning news show there was a story about a father who had exercised public "shaming" of his daughter who had habitually stolen from and lied to her parents and others. The teen was forced to wear a sign in a public area. Her father videoed it and posted it on Facebook. The discussion on television was about whether this was appropriate discipline. What is the impact on the one who is shamed? Is...
Standing the Coin on the Edge
"Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future but from wanting to control it." Kahlil Gibran Truth can be found in lots of places because truth is truth. I have become convinced that depression and anxiety are flip sides of the same coin.... Depression arises from being emotionally stuck in the past where regrets, resentments, and fading hope reside; anxiety arises from emotionally anticipating a future one can't see and where fears loom large. Living in the present.....on the thin edge between the two is our challenge. That is where Christ invites us to experience the balance...
Prescription for Loneliness…..”Communitas”
"Loneliness is not a function of being alone, but rather, a function of how socially connected you are to those around you." Grace Kim, Architect Kim designs "co-housing", where families live in close community and share a common area for evening meals and activities. Communitas is a fancy social science way of saying "spirit of community." For Kim, the measure of communitas is: How frequently do people eat together? She said that she knows some people in co-housing who have eaten together every single night for the past 40 years. Others have an occasional potluck once or twice a month. From...
Counseling as a Sacrifice to God
7/19/17 I was visiting yesterday with another biblical Christian counselor about the tendency of some people to seek out "counselors" (professional, friends, acquaintances, or otherwise) who will listen to them, affirm them, and tell them what they want to hear. But they are not equipped with the...
Working Myself Out of a Job
I have been pondering again…… 7/19/17 I think I have discovered a spiritual gift that will not exist in heaven! And it is one that has been given to me....in essence, as I pursue it I am working myself and others with that gift out of a job! And as I think about it, there are probably several other spiritual gifts that will have no use there! The spiritual gifts are only intended for this realm, during this time, while people are coming to know the Lord and awaiting his return. But...
Medication Assisted Treatment for Addiction or Faith-Based Life Transformation?
I had written on Facebook about praying on Monday this past week about the two women at Titus 2 and reminding God that he had promised to bring women to us for help. Truth be told, as I prayed about the 2 women at Titus I wondered at the decreased number of applications that have come to us in the last few months. I asked God if he was reducing the number as a prelude to bringing Titus 2's ministry to a close altogether. A flurry of applications a while back all came from a single source and confirmed what I had heard elsewhere.... that there is a coordinated effort (with government...