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.
Henry Cloud on Boundaries
From Dr Henry Cloud "Being emotionally present and connected while we are confronting another person is the first essential of a good conversation. It truly requires a work of grace in us. Being present refers to being in touch and in tune with our own feelings as well as those of the other person. This is an important skill, because when we are "there"—that is, emotionally present—we are available to the other person. They are not shut off from us while we are telling them a difficult reality about themselves and the relationship. It is hard for anyone to absorb a confrontation. Presence...
Poetry As Prayer
Writer Sarah Westfall writes about praying through poetry: "In the thick of 2020, I found it difficult to pray. Words with God did not come easily, stalling and falling short each time I tried to gather them together into sentences. And while I knew God is in the silence, it was as if my soul was searching for something more, something on the other side of the fog that had settled in my brain and body. That’s when I began to write poems. Early in the morning, I sat in the quiet and let my senses ground me in the moment. I named what I heard, saw, smelled, and felt, letting the cadence of the...
Discipleship or Counseling?
At one point a young husband reported that his wife, who was seeing a Christian counselor at the time, was benefitting from what had become more of a discipleship relationship than a therapeutic counseling relationship. I realized that my years in relationship with a Christian counselor were much the same thing...discipleship. This was once widely done in extended families and community churches where aunts, cousins, grandmothers, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, pastors' wives, volunteers, and others fulfilled discipleship roles in younger women's lives. Today we have paid...
Documenting Irony and Humor
From 7/23/2021 Irony and humor…. As I scrolled tonight I saw a report of a recently discovered secret library of 84,000 manuscripts uncovered behind a wall in Tibet going back a 1000 years …. Followed immediately by this ad: “The Dos & Don'ts of Records Retention and Destruction” Critical information on what to keep, what to eliminate and ways to avoid legal risk One Hour Webinar by Pryor Learning No one could plan such oddly ironic juxtaposed content….
A Car Story
A car story: A good quality used vehicle was purchased at a very affordable price, no longer needed by its known and trusted owner of 5 years and offering some advantages to its new owner. All service record history was provided. It had a small insignificant part on the gear shift handle that needed to be replaced. Replaced by the dealer, it cost 3x what had been "guess-ti-quoted" by the service department rep, leaving a really bad taste in the new owner's mouth (and an earned distrust for dealer repairs on that make/ model locally.) While there this same rep said the engine was making a...
To Be Known and Loved
"To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything." -Timothy Keller Authentic confessional community in Christ's Body means we can - Know and be known - Love and be loved - Admonish and be admonished - Celebrate and be celebrated - Serve and be served..... We can be vulnerable without fear of rejection, make mistakes and be forgiven, and know the security and safety of belonging to and becoming community in Christ to one another...
Reframing Family
From 7/22/2021.... Time spent in conversation and prayer with a distraught young lady helping form a healthy, mature reframing of her assumptions about life and changes in the way she views herself and the relationships in her life.” Dealing with flashbacks of childhood trauma can be brutal…..but dealing with the past feelings and refocusing on the very different circumstances and future possibilities now in order to let the pain of the past go is hard and sometimes slow work. Thank God for our comfort in Christ! “Family system therapy from an Adlerian perspective asserts that "human...
Fear God
From July 23,2021: “FEAR GOD AND YOU WILL FEAR NOTHING ELSE,” GOV. RON DESANTIS I’m always surprised when I discover that many Christians don’t understand the biblical call to fear God. It doesn’t mean quake and quiver with trembling anticipation of being struck by a lightning bolt or being sent straight to hell if you mess up…… it means revere, honor, trust, listen with respect, and obey God. He created us… He loves us. He will discipline us at times, but He does not punish His children.
Learning To Have Difficult Conversations
Wisdom from Dr.Henry Cloud: “Learning to have a difficult conversation helps you solve problems. Now, this seems obvious, but it's an important benefit of confrontation. Boundary conversations are geared towards addressing and resolving an issue that is keeping two people apart or is hurtful to someone. When things work well, a problem is solved and you can move on in the relationship. This can apply to all sorts of relational problems: your date's sexual advances your spouse’s fiscal irresponsibility your boss’s unrealistic demands The world just works this way. When you expose problems to...
Silver Anniversary Remembered
26 years ago today-(July 22,1997) This was our 25th wedding anniversary, celebrated at my parents' home in Georgia, near Newnan and Peachtree City...with our sweet little rescue terrier mix, Abby. The fact that we made it through that particular year was truly a gift from God as it was the most challenging year of our marriage. Bill died Aug 6, 2020 just 15 days after our 48th anniversary. I am so profoundly grateful to God that Bill had a deeply personal relationship with Christ. He was in a small group with other men all those last 29 years, too, after our lordship surrender of our...