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.
All In: Suffering
Simply admiring Jesus and being a member of a church does not constitute being a Christian. It is obedience in following him that defines a Christian. Francis Chan told of one leader of a group of underground house churches in China who said that Westerners seem to view sanctification as a life-long process of deciding what and when one will surrender bit by bit to Christ. In the persecuted church surrender of all to Christ is a prerequisite that is fulfilled immediately...….. and may cost one everything, including life itself. Jesus does not desire martyrs who seek suffering. He desires...
Accountability Vs. Blaming
This was from six years ago...... I’ve had this almost exact conversation more than a few times. “Last week I was talking with someone who had experienced disappointment in some people because they didn't let her do what she wanted. They held her to a covenant agreement and she was required to accept some undesirable and chafing consequences for having violated it. In venting her anger to me she said, "This isn't godly. It's unfair. God doesn't show favoritism." This last comment was intended to show how some others had not gotten consequences for the same behavior when she had. I said to...
Life Challenges Per Decade
A memory from Mar. 27, 2014: “May 1983- 2 couples died in a plane crash near Montgomery, AL in route home from a vacation.....Gloria Galloway was one of those people. She was a classy and kind lady, someone I admired. She and Michael left behind two children. Those of us who knew and served alongside Gloria in local civic activities experienced heart ache for their and our loss. I was 29 years old. I have often said that was one of the worst years of my life....not only for her death, but a multitude of other things that were going on. Until this last year I don't think I've had but one...
Signs Of Maturing
Io accompanied a friend who needed some assistance to a doctor visit with a female dermatologist this past week. My friend had a few skin lessons that concerned her. The doctor looked them over and treated two with nitrogen in places where clothing irritates them. For several others the doctor called them "maturing skin spots." My friend and I both laughed and we teased the doctor a bit about avoiding age discrimation with the delicate change in terminology from "age spots" to " maturing skin spots." She said, "Well, no one wants to hear "it's just an age spot!" We laughed and agreed. I...
“What Do You Do With A Diagnosis?”
Inspired by Bibical Counseling Coalition's "What Do You Do With A Diagnosis?", this is what we do at Titus 2 Partnership. Biblical understanding of one's true identity in Christ constructs a bridge from an individual's identification with a psychiatric label (“I am bipolar,” or “I have bipolar”) to “I am a child of God indwelt by the Holy Spirit who is struggling with bipolar”. Physical symptoms and root heart issues often arise from a host of broken, dysfunctional, even......let's just say the word!)....sin patterns that are endemic in a world that falls far from any ideal of wholesome and...
More Than A Building…
I arrived early at my church one morning this week. It was quiet; staff members had not yet arrived. I sat on a comfortable sofa in the carpeted entry and just listened. I realized that even "quiet" isn't silent. The renovated building has a life of its own. Locks engage and disengage on a timed schedule. Systems run on power generated elsewhere and emit a low, barely audible vibrating hum that is almost more felt than heard. I had walked around the building earlier in the week and noted the multiple large utility boxes that control its power on the south side of the 60,000+ square foot...
Comprehending Patterns In Reality
"Comprehension involves our ability to find patterns, consistency, and significance in the events and experiences of our lives." Mike Steger To have the ability to comprehend the patterns evidenced in one's life, to observe and embrace the fact that there is consistency in the ways in which we think, make decisions, and behave (and be willing to change the way we think, decide and behave when we can see that our patterns have been unhelpful), and to see the significance of events and experiences of our lives requires that one be well grounded in reality. "Wishful thinking" or "magical...
Hearts and Habits
How Christ changes the heart: Conviction -> Repentance ->Forgiveness -> Redemption -> Righteousness -> Worship -> Service. CBB 3/27/22
Mug Love
It's the little things! A friend had given me a gift of a nice thermal coffee cup. ( Thank you, Tommy Tew! ). He had seen my post on how many times I have to microwave a cup of coffee before I finish it. It's solved that problem. Bill was so impressed he decided to get himself one. Now when we have the luxury of a lazy morning we can get through an entire cup without a re-heat! Ha ha! Porch or patio time is uninterrupted. Life is good! 4/27/17
Spirea Van hootii …. Resilience
Just yesterday I had noticed the first white blossoms of Bridal Wreath around town. They make me smile. Anytime my Daddy saw them blooming he would say their scientific name.."Spirea Van Hootii"... According to Mother, it was the only blooming plant he could identify and he liked saying the name. From my post-hurricane notes: "When our backyard fence was destroyed by Hurricane Michael and fallen trees and that further done when the tree debris removal was done, three bridal wreath shrubs were destroyed, too. A few stalks of one bush made a valiant comeback and was transplanted to a...