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.
Original serenity……
O God and Heavenly Father,Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed; the courage to change that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Reinhold NiebuhrAlthough the prayer was originally just the single sentence above, many 12-step programs have expanded it so that it now reads as follows:God grant me the serenityTo accept the things I cannot change;Courage to change the things I can;And wisdom to know the difference.Living one day at a time;Enjoying one moment at a time;Accepting hardships as the...
Some things you don’t forget….
Watching someone close to me struggling with a manic episode has brought back vivid memories of the days early in my own psychosis in 1997. After a week of incredibly high emotionality in which I seemed to be having all kinds of insights and understandings, I suddenly was thrown for a loop by the sensation that the entire universe was attempting to communicate with or perhaps control me. There seemed to be personal messages for me in every print ad, every TV show and ad, every billboard, every conversation. It was the eeriest thing I'd ever experienced. I seemed to be at the center of the...
Acceptance, first key to serenity…..
The more I study various psychology theories and therapies, the more I am inclined toward William Glasser's Reality Therapy/Choice Theory and Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), also known simply as Cognitive Behavior Theory (CBT). I think that the reason I can understand and relate to these two theories is because they have played a role in my own emotional recovery over the last ten years. I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back I can see how my counselor, my pastor, even my Mother utilized aspects of these two theories in relating to me.Case in point, about 5...
Mysticism or mental illness…..
"Mysticism (from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) "an initiate" , μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning "initiation" is the pursuit of achieving communion identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight. Traditions may include a belief in the literal existence of dimensional realities beyond empirical perception, or a belief that a true human perception of the world goes beyond logical reasoning or intellectual comprehension. A person delving in these areas may be called a Mystic.In many cases, the purpose of...
We’ve a Story to Tell……
It seems to be an early morning of hymns...."We've a story to tell to the nations, That shall turn their hearts to the right,A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light, A story of peace and light.For the darkness shall trun to dawning, And the dawning to noonday bright,And Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth, The kingdom of love and light.We've a song to be sung to the nations, That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,A song that shall conquer evil, And shatter the spear and sword, And shatter the spear and sword.For the darkness shall turn.....We've a message to give to...
This is my story, this is my song…..
The title of this post is from an old hymn on the Christian life, Blessed Assurance, by Fanny Crosby (1820-1913).Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of his spirit, washed in his blood.This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long;This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;Angels descending bring from above, Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.This is my story,......Perfect submission, all is...
What do you do…..
In the course of my counseling orientation class, I came across this "Voice from the Field" quote in the textbook- Introduction to Counseling (6th edition) (Kottler, Shepard 2008) page 21...."I do different things on different days. On some days I'm a farmer - I till soil within people so that their own seeds of wisdom can grow. Some days, I'm a one-man rescue operation, carefully moving someone back from the brink of self-destruction. Some days, I'm a one-man band, playing accompaniment for someone who walks to the beat of a different drum. At times I'm a mirror, trying to reflect what I...
Prayer of St. Francis….
First, a bit of history.....The Peace Prayer of St. Francis is a famous prayer which first appeared around the year 1915 A.D., and which embodies the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi's simplicity and poverty. According to Father Kajetan Esser, OFM, the author of the critical edition of St. Francis's Writings, the Peace Prayer of St. Francis is most certainly not one of the writings of St. Francis. This prayer, according to Father Schulz, Das sogennante Franziskusgebet, Forshungen zur evangelishen Gebetslitteratur (III), in Jahrbuch fur Liturgik und Hymnologie, 13 (1968), pp. 39-53, first...
Self disclosure…
In the process of getting to know a new class or group, a teacher often has to be somewhat transparent and reveal things about herself in order to allow the group to get to know her well enough to feel comfortable and open themselves. I have done that a bit as I've been teaching the Friendship Class (our adult seniors) over the last few months.Today our topic was about our responsibilities as members of the church, including the responsibility to correct and encourage one another. I shared with them some of the times when discerning Christians have corrected or admonished me. Like Linda...
Now and again….
I realize that it's been six weeks since I posted. Graduate school has proven to be more time consuming than I had expected and I have been seriously reconsidering whether the time and effort to blog were worthwhile. A Christianity Today online magazine article revealed that there have been more people who have departed the blogosphere than those who are actively blogging today. It is a time consuming venture. And one which, apparently, many have decided is no longer worth the time or effort.Since my years of journaling have been characterized by weeks, even months of lapses at times, I have...