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.
A “Theology of Weakness” ……
I teach a lot about brokenness, the role of suffering, the human condition, helplessness, etc. In working with women seeking addiction recovery and homeless families, that is a lot of what I see. Helping them find hope again can be challenging. There is no better place than the church for the journey to restore hope and find healing to occur. But people have to feel at home among other broken people who have been redeemed....otherwise they just feel like damaged goods in a china shop. We do a disservice to hurting people when we fail to be honest about our own challenges so that they...
Wise Counsel…..
Most of us have friends with whom we share intimate aspects of ourselves. Some of us have prayer and accountability partners with whom we meet regularly to be scrupulously open and vulnerable. Some of us have coaches who give us technical instruction and motivation in particular areas of our lives. Some have spiritual directors with whom to explore God's revelation of himself, his will for their lives, and their response to God's call. Some have counselors who listen attentively and ask questions to challenge perspectives and help identify obstacles or blind spots and how to move beyond...
Staying at the Table….
"Staying at the table".......a phrase I heard years ago with regard to Christ's patience with his disciples, even the one who would betray him, enduring their lack of understanding but knowing that they would eventually see the reason for all things. He continued to teach and model to them what was expected if they continued to follow him...his humble washing of their feet comes to mind....and even when they made rash and uninformed decisions, as Peter did in pulling out a s...word, cutting off an ear, and even denying knowing Christ, he persevered with him. Not just persevered, but redeemed...
A Lesson on Boundaries and Work from Jethro and Moses
Exodus 18: Lesson on Moses, Jethro, and Boundaries in Leadership/Work For years I have taught Boundaries class from the book of the same name by Cloud and Townsend. In Chapter 11 on Boundaries and Work, there is a reference to Exodus 18 and the role of Jethro in helping Moses be more effective in his work as the new leader of the Hebrews after their departure from Egypt. Today, once again, I led a group of women in discussion of this chapter in Boundaries and the chapter in Exodus. After we have talked about the lesson reading and reviewed several handouts about issues of God’s...
Purge me with hyssop……
Written January 20, 2015 Sometimes one feels God’s presence in a very palpable way. I had been introduced to healing oils of the Bible through a class with Mary Brewington, a Young Living Oils distributor and instructor. Tonight I worked with a young lady on Steps 6 and 7 of her Twelve Step program. The Scripture for Step Seven is Psalm 51: 7, 10 “Purge me with hyssop, and I will be clean; cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow…..Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” We had talked through the key points of willingness to be changed, surrender of...
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,...