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.
Selfies Linked to Mental Disorders
There are more and more articles showing up about disorders that are manifested in obsessive and/or inappropriate "selfies". Notice some of the comments at the end of this article. This one in particular resonates with my experience: “The Article implies that if you are mentally healthy you will not suffer. the Selfie Syndrome. They say Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) works for. this... but only for certain individuals. 80% of individuals NEVER. recover from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) or Borderline. Personality Disorder (BPD) and the Root Cause for NPD or BPD is a. mutilated or...
Mining with Integrity the Dark…….Self-Discovery
Excerpt from today's Ravi Zacharias Ministry by Jill Carattini, courage for living into who we are, the one God created us to be:"The pull toward self-reflection is clearly a trend among us. Spirituality, self-help, and memoir are all categories that continue to reach bestseller lists, while the pursuit of self-expression continues to lure us into self-absorption. There is reason to be concerned by the compulsion toward self and the privatizing of categories surrounding the... individual. Likewise, there is still promise in a community of people willing to truly face themselves. The current...
The Necessity of An Enemy
Sometimes one has enemies; other times one is viewed as the enemy by others. Rev. Ron Carpenter has written about the necessity of enemies in a book of the same name, “The Necessity of Enemies.” He shows how individuals not only survived attacks of an enemy but, by trusting God’s good plan and redemptive power, were able to thrive afterward. Some biblical examples of the necessity of enemies to which he points are these: “• It was Potiphar’s wife, through her false accusations, who sent Joseph to prison and ultimately opened the door for him to become a prince (Genesis 39). • It was...
When Failure to Understand Mercy Leads to Wrong Expectations
March 7,2015 Reflection on Love Worth Finding Devotional on mercy: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Matthew 5:7 Those who have received mercy are those who show mercy. And those who show mercy will be those who continue to receive mercy. Showing others mercy isn't just sentiment or softness. It is sympathy that serves. Jesus doesn't merely save us from something, He saves us for something. He wants to express His life through us as we serve others." In other words, there is an expectation that mercy will lead to transformation, demonstrating that repentance and...
Evangelical Hubris…..Building a Church, God’s Way or Our Way?
A word one seldom hears...."ecclesiology"..... what we believe about "church"...This article from Chuck Colson Center for Biblical Worldview sheds some light. Evangelical Hubris by T.M. Moore 3/2/15 Chuck Colson Center for Biblical Worldview And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” Mark 7:9 Profitable? The Scriptures teach that the Bible is “profitable” to prepare those who rely on it for “every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). Would we consider that the work of building the Church a “good work”? After all,...
Be Careful About Whom You Quote in Your Internet Posts….
This is another commonly referenced internet quote from Dr. Bob Moorehead’s “Words Aptly Spoken” is this: The Paradox of Our Age By Dr. Bob Moorehead The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend...
The Gospel According to the Internet…..Check Out What You Read
A friend sent this to me and asked for my opinion. "Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin? This is one I can honestly say I have never seen circulating so; if this touches you, you may want to forward it. Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this.... ... The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes. Early Sunday morning, while it was...
Taking Tests…..
Today I remembered something I hadn't thought about in a very long time. Years ago I was interviewing for a rather coveted job in sales career ambitions. At the interview I was asked to take a personality inventory, which I did. The next day I received a call and was asked to retake the test, that the results had been "ambiguous".....?????? "How does one have an ambiguous personality inventory?", I wondered. So I took it again. I then got another call and was told by t...he interviewing manager that the HR person had told him after the first "ambiguous" results that I was either under a...
How We Think….
"Enough!" A word expressing a posture of satisfaction, contentment and peace? Or an exclamation expressing exasperation and wanting something about current circumstances to end? In which place do you find yourself today?Yesterday I was talking to a friend about a couple of other words which, depending upon their context can have opposite meanings or implications. One was "boldness". In a biblical word study I discovered that in some contexts "boldness" implies arrogance, defiance, brashness, pridefulness, and a host of negative connotations. However, once the Apostles experienced Pentecost,...
Rescued from “Closet Emergencies”
What does the phrase "closet emergency" bring to your mind? Maybe needing new attire for a special event or an overhaul of wardrobe color and style? Well, for... John Brewington, who has reinforced a number of closets for women in recovery at the request of Cathy Byrd, he knows exactly what it means......and what it needs! Additional brackets, longer screws, shelving, sturdy rods, and locating wall studs! John rescued two Titus 2 students from another "closet emergency" yesterday when they walked into their room and found all of their hanging clothes lying on the floor of the closet and...