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.
More Praise for Bees
🐝Some interesting facts about bees 🐝 Here are 20 interesting facts about the importance of honey and bees: Did you know that honey never spoils? Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible! Did you know bees are essential for growing many of our foods? They pollinate about one-third of the food we eat, including fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Did you know honey has natural healing properties? It can help soothe sore throats and even speed up the healing of wounds and burns due to its antibacterial qualities. Did...
More Support for Therapeutic Laughter
“Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote, “Humor is, in fact, a prelude to faith; and laughter is the beginning of prayer.”2 Now, of course, many circumstances are not laughing matters; for those, only faith is up to the task. But often, when faced with challenges and even suffering, as those folks fighting cancer knew, a good sense of humor can be key. Laughter can defuse tension in our relationships, release stress, and remind us not to take ourselves too seriously. In the process, it also opens up space for joy! Why not give it a try today? The next time a friend or family member irritates...
Attachment: The Near Enemy of Love
“The near enemy of love is attachment. Attachment masquerades as love. It says, I will love this person because I need them. Or, I'll love you if you'll love me back. I'll love you, but only if you will be the way I want. This isn't love at all - it is attachment - and attachment is rigid, it is very different from love.”Jack Kornfield A “near enemy” is an emotion or circumstance that feels enough like the real thing to be confused with it but is actually rooted in a very different motive or desire. If unrecognized for a lesser truth and embraced as the real thing, it becomes the obstacle...
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Hugh Ross observed: “I’ve been asked many questions about the prophecy in Matthew 2:23, "So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene.'" The apparent problem is that there's no Old Testament text explicitly stating the Messiah would be called a Nazarene. First, having conversation this fulfilled prophecy claim is found only in Matthew. Matthew's gospel is distinct from the other 3 (Mark, Luke, & John) in that it targets Jews & others well versed in the Old Testament. Second, Matthew refers to prophets, rather than a named prophet. If Matthew...
No Faith In People
“There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is...
Against the Flow
Long before The Chosen's signature logo of fish swimming against the flow, I was choosing to swim against the flow that carried many with it…. The more I seek to live in step with Jesus, the more contrary to the world I find myself thinking and going. From 2016 memories: “Years ago I saw this cartoon. It struck me as funny and spoke to me somehow. I clipped it, put it in my journal and I have saved it all these years. The name "Cathy" was my own addition and I reproduced it in powerpoint in order to be able to use it in a presentation. I know that I sometimes swim against the stream, but...
NT Allusions To OT Noted- Article in TGC
𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 When I watch Marvel movies with my kids, we’re always on the hunt for Easter eggs, those glaring references or subtle nods to other Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) properties. Some references are so blatantly obvious that viewers can pick up on the connections immediately. Subtle references often require multiple viewings. Easter eggs are the tissue that binds each Marvel movie to the MCU’s larger story. In a similar way, New Testament authors embedded Easter eggs in their writings. They allude to the Old Testament 3,000 to 4,000 times. For example, the book...
On Accountability
“Might it be time to be accountable to who we’ve become so that we can make ourselves accountable to what we can be? Are we willing to divest ourselves of all the lesser things that we have elevated as greater things and engage in both a pointed and painful evaluation of who we’ve become? And once we’ve done that, are we brave enough to look at the damage that we’ve incurred in the becoming?” Craig Lounsbrough, MDiv, LMHC Although the above quotes were saved on 7/16/2021 this reminder is particularly potent today 7/16/2024, as I have been put in a position of holding someone accountable for...
Wise Words
I gave a devo this morning on 2 prayers in the Psalms-88 & 86. I included something a pastor told me several times…"There are 2 prayers God always answers- for wisdom and for salvation." As I reflected on his words this week, it seemed to me that when one has the presence of mind to call out to God for rescue it is because he has already been given the wisdom of God to know he can't live without God! And here today look at a picture from a friend’s posts!! "But only wisdom can save your life…." ( vs. 13) in Ecclesiastes 7 Makes sense to me and I think Jesus' brother James would agree!...
Family Heritage
Add to "Things I Never Knew" …… My paternal great grandmother, (the Carroll family side) who died when my grandmother and her sister were less than 10, was Cherokee Indian. A cousin has done some family geneology and told me today….Great grandpa Carroll remarried in his 30s a much younger woman, still in her teens, if I recall correctly what I knew of him. His second wife was called "Aunt Arrie" by my Dad and his siblings. I met her one time that I can recall when I was about 3-4. I think Grandpa Carroll and Arrie had a son that my Dad's family called "Uncle Roy". He was a veteran who lived...