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.
Resilience In Resistance, Rejection, and Revelation
There was a time in my life, a day, a specific moment when I felt the rejecting and dismissive spirit from some who presumed to judge me without even knowing me. It was truly an experience that felt like an emotional ambush and in my mind I asked God, "What is happening here? This isn't at all what I had been led to expect." It seemed to me that a cloud of spiritual conflict was in the room from the moment I sat down. As soon as I asked, the Lord responded with this Word, "This isn't about you. Watch and wait." I watched and waited through one disastrous encounter after another as the war...
Parenting For Generations To Come
This past week one of our topics in the parenting/re-parenting class for women at Titus 2 was the instruction to teach our children to "suffer well" if we want them to live effectively in a defective world, they must learn this skill and adopt this attitude. Suffering has many forms. It is endemic in life. Jesus told us that we will encounter suffering in life and He encouraged us to allow Him to bear it with us. Jesus did not ask that His followers be taken out of the broken world, but that they be protected from evil and be sanctified wholly-Spirit, soul, and body- in the process of...
The Impact of Mature Love’s Desire
What occurred to me as I reflected on the Holy Spirit story (link below) in The Wake Up Call of Bear and Caryl Mills' witness today was the words of 1 Corinthians 13:13. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.đź‘Ť But the greatest of these is love." What came to mind was the way that even the tiniest seed of faith in Christ can give hope for a future. Hope stirred in us by faith can be lived quietly, privately, expectantly, or even noisily and still not lead to germination that yields stems and shoots, leaves and roots, buds and fruit. One may be aware enough and somewhat attuned to...
Faithfulness v. Perseverance
There is a difference between perseverance and faithfulness. Perseverance implies the presence of resistance and the need for focus and determination of will that can overcome obstacles and resistance. Perseverance is what I would call an "instrumental value", the means by which one achieves a goal. It is part of one's equipping to accomplish what God has purposed. Faithfulness, on the other hand, is a gift of Spirit-filled living, the outcome that reveals the priority and focus of one's perseverance of faith and hope. Faithfulness is revealed in perseverance in even small tasks of obedience...
Time And Time Again God Proves His Lovev
A few years ago as a Titus 2 lady moved out into her own place, I had something in mind that I wanted to get for her  and her toddler daughter. She had expressed a desire for this particular thing. And while it was not particularly expensive or an unreasonable request for one moving into a home, there is a limit to what I can spend out of my own pocket.....and so many other things right now are needed for her and other ladies. This was not a "necessity", so I simply made a mental note to watch for a sale or ask around to see if this might be available through our volunteers or to ask some of...
Year To Year
11/1/2014 Proverbs 2:9-15 So now you can pick out what’s true and fair, find all the good trails! Lady Wisdom will be your close friend, and Brother Knowledge your pleasant companion. Good Sense will scout ahead for danger, Insight will keep an eye out for you. They’ll keep you from making wrong turns, or following the bad directions of those who are lost themselves and can’t tell a trail from a tumbleweed, These losers who make a game of evil and throw parties to celebrate perversity, Traveling paths that go nowhere, wandering in a maze of detours and dead ends Posted in The Confessing...
Florida, Faith and Community
10/20/2016 Titus 2 program director Cathy Byrd received a call today from a representative in Governor Rick Scott's office advising us that Titus 2 has been nominated for a Florida Champions of Hope Award. The awards are presented to outstanding faith-based organizations for best practices, initiatives and innovations statewide. Nominees are recognized for their passion and efforts to the agencies' missions. These awards are presented by the Florida Faith-Based and Community Based Advisory Council in partnership with the Department of Children and Families, Department of Juvenile Justice and...
On “Little Things”
I often remind our Titus 2 ladies that she who is faithful with little things can be trusted with greater things. From Sarah Westfall...... Liturgy of the Little Things the hunt for meaning and the lure of self-importance (plus: an invitation) Sarah E. Westfall 21 min ago Every Wednesday, I went to church prepared. Sitting in the back seat of my parents’ Chevy, my lips moved silently as I rehearsed that week’s Bible verses over and over in my mind. I was careful to get every word right. I wanted my jewels. And I’m not talking metaphorical jewels, but actual jewel embellishments that...
Circles of Love
"We were designed for true companionship based on mutual respect, genuine love, and commitment. This requires not only time and selfless devotion but also transparency--which means being real, even about our faults. Taking such a risk requires trust. Such relationships are well worth the effort." -- Dr. Charles Stanley “I’d rather be known well than well-known.” The essence of communion with Christ and one another….. Love doesn’t dwell in a crowd, but in a circle…… a wedding band, a family circle, a small group of praying friends banded together……
Spiritual Continental Divide
This is imagery worth considering. When we cross the “continental divide" of our spiritual life we will no longer question or doubt God. We may question or doubt our own strength or honesty before God.... I had gotten this from somewhere recently and the imagery was vivid enough to stick well. It may have been from someone that writes with Jennifer Rothschild's ministry??? "Spiritual Continental Divide The Continental Divide is an imaginary, geographic line running north to south, along the peaks of the Rocky Mountains of the U.S. All water or snow landing on the east side of that line flows...