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.
Religion and Spirituality…….Map and Territory
Spirituality and religion are not the same things, but religion can serve a useful role in helping mold and define our spirituality and facilitate spirituality's expression. As William Countryman notes: "Map is not territory." But a map helps one become familiar with the territory. I love one translation of Hebrews that calls Christ the "pathfinder and guide for our faith"....(instead of autho...r and finisher of our faith). Christ's life and teaching defines the territory's terrain and shows us how to adventure there safely and confidently! He instituted the church through his disciples. It...
Depression to the Max
I have been writing, in small doses with short descriptive stories, about an experience that happened after a tumble into depression that went undiagnosed for over a year when I was in my early 40's. After I shared with my doctor that "something just wasn't right" and cried during my annual visit, I was patted on the hand, told that I was peri-menopausal, and told to take Remifemin and Oil of Evening Primrose. A year later I spent six days in a psychiatric hospital and had to take a short-term disability leave from work, engaged in counseling and self-care, to address the depression. It...
A “Come As You Are” Party
Anne Lamott's personal page bio includes this: "Twenty-three years ago a very hung-over Anne Lamott stumbled into a small church and started what was to be a long journey towards sobriety and sanity. There were no instant miracles on that road, but many small mercies that for Lamott added up to a growing awareness of God's grace. She soon came to understand that, to her, religion was a "come as you are" party, with no need to pretend to be anything but your own true self." .......interesting words, "to her, religion was a "come as you are" party, with no need to pretend to be anything but...
Living Out Loud….
Living out loud.....that's what I feel like I'm doing at times. Everyday I have a lot of explaining that I do.....Scripture, biblical principles, cultural deceptions, and why we do what we do in the ministry. I answer lots of questions everyday.....from students, from volunteers, from donors, and more. Being transparent and answering questions is important. Most of the time when the information provided is sufficient, misunderstanding is reduced. But sometimes I don't know what it is that students or volunteers don't know and may need to know. So sometimes I ask questions. Do you understand?...
Brene’ Brown on the Power of Vulnerability
So, I'll start with this: a couple years ago, an event planner called me because I was going to do a speaking event. And she called, and she said, "I'm really struggling with how to write about you on the little flyer." And I thought, "Well, what's the struggle?" And she said, "Well, I saw you speak, and I'm going to call you a researcher, I think, but I'm afraid if I call you a researcher, no one will come, because they'll think you're boring and irrelevant." (Laughter) And I was like, "Okay." And she said, "But the thing I liked about your talk is you're a storyteller. So I think what I'll...
Brene’ Brown on “Why Your Critics Aren’t The Ones Who Count…”
Brene' Brown is a researcher who studies vulnerability and relationships. She has Also addressed selectively allowing criticism to sink in: “A lot of cheap seats in the arena are filled with people who never venture onto the floor. They just hurl mean-spirited criticisms and put-downs from a safe distance. The problem is, when we stop caring what people think and stop feeling hurt by cruelty, we lose our ability to connect. But when we’re defined by what people think, we lose the courage to be vulnerable. Therefore, we need to be selective about the feedback we...
John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer
A COVENANT PRAYER I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering.... Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low by thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. The Covenant Prayer,...
Joan’s Remembrance at Ted’s Funeral….
A friend's eulogy, written for her husband Ted Lovelace, who passed into life eternal December 29, 2014. Shared at his funeral by Rev. Brad McLain, Friday, January 2, 2015. Message from Joan, I want to thank everyone for coming. I know some of ...you drove a long way and it means so much to me to have you here. It shows your love and admiration for Ted and your support for the family. It is impossible for me to describe what a wonderful gift God gave me in Ted. I will always treasure the time we had together. Ted had a special blend of humble strength and a deep love for the Lord and those...
Insight into my Daddy’s Prayer Life…..
Prayer is a valuable practice of personal spiritual discipline and developing one's relationship with God. We teach about prayer quite a bit at Titus 2. Here is a lesson on prayer that I learned this morning:This morning I was reading the day's Proverb and reviewing some notes from the book of James (did you know that James repeats the themes of the Beatitudes?). I reached for a Halley's Bible Handbook that had been my Daddy's. In it was one of his homemade "bookmarks", cut from cereal box cardboard. It was tucked into the chapter on Luke and noted the Lord's prayer in Luke 11:2-4. Below...
Journaling as Means of Grace and a Way to Listen to Your Life
I think, as in this post that my friend, Deborah Ann Holstine shared. a case can be made for journaling......as a means to "listen to one's life" and in doing so, hearing what God has to say.Quote of the Day: If God Speaks IF GOD SPEAKS anywhere, it is into our personal lives that he speaks. Someone we love dies, say. Some unforeseen act of kindness or cruelty touches the heart or makes the blood run cold. We fail a friend, or a friend fails us, and we are appalled at the... capacity we all of us have for estranging the very people in our lives we need the most. Or maybe nothing...