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.
I Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed on Jesus….
I have written in the past about early mornings when I have clearly had the Lord speak to me through Scripture or during prayer or just had a thought that was firmly persistent in my mind upon awaking. Sometimes such thoughts have been about things that were not even on my radar screen, but seemed to come out of the blue and caught me by surprise. Sometimes it has been a song that is firmly planted in my consciousness as I awaken that speaks to me. For years, as I have taught or led groups in Bible study I have maintained that I am not so much "teaching" as simply sharing what the Holy...
The “Greater Yes”
March 30, 2015 Over the weekend I had written about the “no’s” that are sometimes necessary in one’s life. On Palm Sunday, spiritual director Christianne Squires wrote about our “greater yes”. Here is her Sunday email newsletter, A Cup of Sunday Quiet: “I'm thinking this morning about those invitations in our lives that ask for our "greater yes" — a greater degree of focus and commitment that often includes sacrifice and saying no to other things. I'm wondering if you have such an invitation in your life right now. It's perhaps appropriate we consider this question on Palm Sunday, a day that...
Saying “No”…..
A few weeks ago I was asked to do something as a counselor that would have challenged and stretched me greatly. It was a counseling challenge on several points. I was not afraid of the challenge itself, although the circumstances were quite a bit out of my general experience, and even represented some circumstances that many people would absolutely have avoided at all costs. There was a sense that, if I took it on, I would be able to accomplish helping the individual with necessary goals. Her past was riddled with some issues that had definitely required the Lord's forgiveness and...
Reprise…..from July 23, 2005
I realized that I have writing in a weblog format for nearly 10 years. In going back to some of my early posts, I thought it might be interesting to share some of them now......This is one I on which I got a recent comment. Thou preparest a feast in the presence of mine enemies…. To call individuals ‘enemies’ may be too strong a word, but there are certain people with whom one fails to connect and with whom conflict, outright or beneath the surface, exists. I have had an interesting experience lately. For some reason, I have had information become known to me in unexpected ways and from...
“It Is What It Is”…..Facing Reality
"Comprehension involves our ability to find patterns, consistency, and significance in the events and experiences of our lives." Mike Steger To have the ability to comprehend the patterns evidenced in one's life, to observe and embrace the fact that there is consistency in the ways in which we think, make decisions, and behave (and be willing to change the way we think, decide and behave when we can see that our patterns have been unhelpful), and to see the significance of events and experiences of our lives requires that one be well grounded in reality. "Wishful thinking" or "magical...
Building Meaning In Life…….
Building Meaning in Life: Personal Reflections by Ben Dean and A Postscript On Why It Matters To Us Here at Titus 2 Ben Dean, a positive psychology proponent and life coach writes, “Life coach Mike Steger has written that meaning in life includes two central components: comprehension and purpose. Comprehension involves our ability to find patterns, consistency, and significance in the events and experiences of our lives. Purpose refers to highly motivating, long-term goals about which people are passionate and highly committed. I know for me, there have been a few times in my life when I...
For Lent Give Up Going to Church?
In the March 24th edition of Ministry Matters, Rebekah Simon-Peter suggests that for Lent we give up going to church. She says, “The biggest reason I am suggesting to give up going to church has to do with the meaning of the word church. Church is drawn from the Latin ecclesia and the Greek ekklesia. It’s where we get the words ecclesiology and ecclesiastical. Rather than refer to a building, biblically speaking, it means a called out people of God. Just as Jesus called Andrew and Peter, then James and John to follow him, so in a sense all followers of Jesus are called out too. The point is,...
It is what it is…..
I was talking to a counselor recently and we discovered we both have the same little plaque prominently displayed in our respective offices: "It is what it is." That is a phrase that I have been known to use from time to time with individuals who have had difficulty dealing with the reality of their lives. Yesterday I heard on Family Life Radio: "Expectations - Reality= Disappointment --> Bitterness" . When one is stuck in unrealistic expectations about life, about othe...rs, about themselves, about God, about........you name it........she may become bitter and resentful, bemoaning the...
Unstuck
There are times that entire families, multiple generations get "stuck" due to an event or circumstances that set like concrete around them. Bereavement or the grief of other devastating losses can precipitate the "stuckness". Some things that can contribute to the stuckness are avoidance of the issues, deferring to the emotional instability or control of the most stuck person, secret-keeping, eggshell-walking, power plays, emotional distancing, guilt, shame, attempts at protecting one another, etc. When, however, even one person in the family dynamic begins to see the problem and brings...
Unbelief Does Not Negate God’s Promises…..
Seen: http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2014/12/14149/ “Seven Things I Wish My Pastor Knew About My Homosexuality” This article offers a minority perspective, it appears…..from one who has lived a homosexual life and still, at times feels its pull, but has chosen a lifestyle that she believes honors God’s choice for herself and for humanity, as taught in Scripture. Observations in social media and elsewhere have been that issues related to same-sex marriage and ordination of homosexual clergy will be among the most debated and potentially divisive conversations at next...