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.
Strongest Prayer
I prayed a prayer very similar to that sitting on a church pew in February 1997. Within weeks my life was in full blown chaos that lasted about six months and became a roller coaster that continued for much of the next 10 years. one thing is clear.... when one surrenders all to God life becomes a magical mystery tour and takes twists and turns you could never have anticipated. You need a lot of faith and a few good friends to get through the tight squeezes. Sometimes it stretches you further than what you think you’re capable of. Then you return to prayer and communion and God speaks so...
The Struggle Is Necessary
People living in a delusion, a deception, need Reality Therapy. And once eyes can see, ears can hear and minds can grasp the desperate condition of their spirit, if they are open to the truth of the reality in which they find themselves we can trust that God will lead them out of their wilderness and into a new way of life. Like the prodigal son of Luke 15, when he found himself in a pig pen, starving, and came to the reality that “ …no one gave him anything..”. That’s a harsh reality, when all one’s lifelines have been spent….. which makes the next sentence particularly poignant …“when he...
Godly Love, Not Human Love
Sow LOVE AS DEFINED BY CHRIST, Reap The KINGDOM OF GOD in the earth. In Matthew 22 Jesus gives a concise summary of the Old Testament Law and Prophets in response to the cagey goading of the Pharisees: 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it:...
Newsworthy: Irma and Dorian…… But Not Michael?
Three years ago H. Dorian was targeting the east coast of Florida.... Three years later now and the topic of the day for me then and now was storms and storm survival and preparedness.... Reporting on Dorian in 2019 .... "Someone on national media noted the difference between recovery in Anquilla and Puerta Rico. It, too, got battered by the same hurricane (Irma) but was back up and running in 3 months (good management) whereas Puerto Rico is still a mess. Same disaster, different outcome. Lessons learned. Again and again. How many times must it happen?,,,,, Also, on national media on this...
Share The Gospel And One’s Life
Three years ago today..... "A little active grandparenting mode for us this week with three teens in the house overnight for three nights and keeping a toddler for two days to help out former students/spiritual children....... transporting to school, cooking breakfast and dinner, putting a little one down for a nap...... I ask these women to be willing to do whatever it takes to get their lives on track and in return I commit to do whatever it takes to support and encourage them in their continued journey in Christ as they nurture their families. It’s our covenant of love in community....
Church Benevolence Practices
From time to time a church needs to revisit benevolence practices, review policies, and update guidelines. Over the last three years requests for assistance to church congregations have increased...... the result of post-hurricane higher power bills, COVID closures and employment setbacks, rising inflation, doubling of gas prices, skyrocketing rents, etc. Many are struggling to make ends meet, especially elderly and single- income family households. Concurrent with these factors, fewer people every year seem to be connected to a faith community or even identify as "believers" in Jesus...
Measured Expectstions
It seems to me that a lot of one's issues with disappointment or unhappiness are the direct result of her own expectations. If we expect life to be perfect and easy, then we are going to be disappointed, hurt, angry, and unhappy regularly. If we expect life to be fraught with challenges and obstacles, we learn to guard our hearts, set appropriate boundaries, and make better choices. We need to gird ourselves for the realities of life. Christianity provides one the way to do that without constructing walls around ourselves that isolate us from one another. I am so grateful for Christ's...
A Prayer for Love
Gracious Lord, bless those whom I love, those who love me, those who love those whom I love and those who are loved by those I love......and especially bless those who feel unloved and those who have not known the truth of the extravagant love you have for us all, Lord. Amen. 8/27/20
Let It All Go
If you let go a little you will have a little happiness. If you let go a lot you will have a lot of happiness. If you let go completely you will be free. —Ajahn Chah Funny how we often don't realize the weight of something we are grasping until we let it go........ Hebrews 12: 1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he...
Personal Best
August 26, 2015 ".....generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal relationships. ...." That's a good start to recovery, I'd say, for some people whose lives have been wrecked by drugs, bad decisions, poor associations, and mental health challenges. That is one of the descriptions on a popularly used mental health assessment. I have used an example with our volunteers of helping people move from what probably feels like -30 to + 40. Is that progress? Of course. But is someone with a relative score of 40 on a scale of 0-100 capable of full life recovery? Probably not....