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.
The house of grace……
John Wesley had a way of explaining grace to which I, and many others in the Methodist Church, have related. He said that the prevenient nature of God's grace is like like a porch that invites and welcomes us to the door of God's household of faith. The nature of God's justifying grace is like an open door. Jesus is that door. When we accept his acceptance, we know that our sins are forgiven; the guilt of sin is removed by his love as we enter the door. God's sanctifying grace is what we experience as we enter into the household of faith and are welcomed with open arms as family. This grace...
Growing together…..
This past week my husband and I each completed questionnaires on our attitudes toward money as a part of a church class on stewardship that he is co-facilitating. When we'd finished we compared our answers and found that of the 15 questions we'd answered almost every one just alike, which surprised the two of us. We discovered that we're a lot more alike in our thinking than we'd realized.This morning in that hazy moment before full alertness as we lay in bed I said to him, "Happy Day after Valentine's Day." He said, "That is so weird, I was just about to say the same thing to you!" We...
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….
You may remember this line from Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities' and the infamous Madame Defarge's knitting.Today I was given an article entitled "Knitting through Recovery' about using knitting as an experiential method to manage emotions in group therapy. The author describes a program in a substance abuse residential center where participants' knitting led to improved self-esteem, created group cohesion, and fostered connection with community as well as personal creativity.It reminded me of a hand hooked rug that lies in the bottom of my quilt chest. It is brown with orange and yellow...
One more mention….
With regard to spirit, mind, and body.....as I reread Mark 12:30 "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength", it occurs to me that scripture, too, concurs with the order that I suggest we should follow. Following the order here in the scripture, heart and soul are associated with the definition of human spirit, mind is obviously itself, and strength is generally associated with the physical aspect. So..... once again, if we will just consider what the Bible has to say, the proper order of things will be clear. If...
The difference between “you” and “I”
In the Three Springs journal there was a poem, apparently written by a girl in one of their programs that is, I believe, worth sharing with you. It is entitled "You and I"You are stubborn and hard headed.I am understanding and unselfish.You yell and scream and curse everyone.I whisper and compliment everyone.You believe everyone is out to get you.I believe everyone just wants to help me.You try to impress people with your style and class.I impress people by my confidence and intelligence.I love my friends and family.You need help and won't accept it.I want help and believe it's working.The...
Mind, body, spirit….
Interestingly, just this morning, after writing the previous blog entry on "Spirit, Mind, and Body", I was handed a journal published by a mental health care group from Huntsville, Alabama- Three Springs, Inc. Their logo includes this triad in a little different order: Mind, Body, Spirit. It's natural to think that a mental health group would place mind first in the triad. However, if this group purports to be Christian in its emphasis, I would still suggest that their paradigm needs shifting, too. As important as the transformation of the mind is in mental health, it is still accomplished...
Spirit, mind, and body……
Why is it that so many among those who call themselves "spiritual" talk and write about unity of the "body, mind, and spirit"? Almost to a person, when they speak or write of integration of these aspects, of holistic living, they put the elements in this order...... body, mind, and spirit.It seems to me that this is evidence of an unconscious deference to the way the world, and how he who is the prince of the world, i.e. satan, would have us prioritize our lives. I am on a personal campaign to challenge, if not change, that way of thinking.I have written now to several "spiritual"...
A,E,I,O,U…..the importance of the right vowel
Today as I sat in a women's Bible study, based on Paul's confession of his "thorm in the side" in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, in which Jennifer Rothschild talks about "thorns" in our lives and how we respond to them, I was reminded of a song that a friend sang at a retreat in 2002 entitled "The Blessing in the Thorn". The lyrics are as follows: "I read about a man of God, who gloried in his weakness;And I wish that I could be more like him and less like me.Am I to blame for what I'm not, or is pain the way God teaches me to grow?I need to know... When does the thorn become a blessing?When does the...
Going forward…..
The holidays are a blurry memory already. A new school term has begun. The 2008 calendar is already showing signs of wear as appointments have been entered throughout nearly every month's page. The next several seasons' goods are stacked on retailers' shelves (Valentine's, St. Patrick's, and spring gardening). The only thing that has provided a bit of respite in the pace of life for me has been a cold virus. Now that I'm older and not employed full time, I am, hopefully, a bit wiser and have the luxury of being able to actually rest and indulge in some self-care while in the throes of a cold...
Walking with a limp…..
For 6 or 8 years now I have suffered with some foot discomfort from a condition known as Morton's neuroma. It's damage to the nerves in the balls of the feet that is, I'm told, the result of years of wearing high heeled, narrow toed, insufficiently padded shoes. It all came to a point of acute pain several years ago following a weekend at a place where I was on my feet a lot and I wore a little pair of thin, flat (but quite cute!) sandals. I had to have cortizone shots in my feet and now wear much more sensible wider toebox flats with layers of cushioning. There are times, however, when I...