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.
Jesus Sitting At The Right Hand….
The significance of Jesus "sitting at the right hand of God's throne" means that Jesus' role-as Messiah, Savior, Prophet, Priest, and King - is to fulfill the purpose and will of God, to carry out the mandates, orders, and commands of God. That position possesses the delegated authority of the one that granted it and by having it Jesus is given authority to be the "litmus test" of one's salvation. Does one accept Jesus' authority and role? Does one believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior? Do we understand and acknowledge that his name is to be honored and lifted up?
Choosing Wilderness
)CBByrd 3/19/2022). Even in the wilderness, darkness or midst of battle…… "It's not a dead end if God took you there for a purpose." Character in movie "Unconditional" If you find yourself in any such place, God's redemptive power means it can serve a good purpose. Will I let Him have it for the redemptive purpose He desires? If it becomes a dead end, it is because I insisted on remaining there.
Irredeemable?
Shaming evangelicals……. How recently can one repent and be forgiven by Christ and be accepted in Christian community, given the opportunity to begin living into a more righteous way of life? A minute? A day? A month? A year? 10 years? What measure of time, of "wait and see", of "pay your dues" standard shall we put upon someone? How long were you held at arm's length and scowled at suspiciously by other believers when you believed? Is it possible for a person to change? Isn't that the whole premise of "new life in Christ"? Does that mean one can never lapse into an old habit again? Does it...
REAL Words
"What people are really asking when they're asking if a word is real, they're really asking, "Well, how many brains will this give me access to?" Because I think that's a lot of how we look at language. A word is essentially a key that gets us into certain people's heads. And if it gets us into one brain, it's not really worth it, not really worth knowing. Two brains, eh, it depends on who it is. A million brains, OK, now we're talking. And so a real word is one that gets you access to as many brains as you can. That's what makes it worth knowing.Incidentally, the realest word of all by this...
Purging: Toward Sanctification
Francis de Sales"Purging the soul is a lifetime effort. There is no reason to be upset by our imperfections, for perfection is nothing more than fighting against them. How can we resist them unless we see them? How can we overcome them unless we face them?" Ancient view of our journey in sanctifying grace included three stages- purgative, illuminative, and unitive. They are not linear and progressive. Rather, purgative is something that has to continue all our lives as the Holy Spirit shows us those things in different areas of our lives that need to be eliminated, those temptations that...
Information Is Power
"Limiting information is how one leverages power." quoted from the government consultant who crafted a large government program and later talked about how stupid the American people are and can be hoodwinked into accepting anything if you can limit the information they need in order to grasp the reality of it. Secrecy, non-disclosure of facts, meeting behind closed doors instead of "in the sunshine", lack of transparency and honesty, making the process look overly difficult to understand, either withhold information altogether or "dump" so much that it's impossible to grasp, withhold...
Stranger Danger and Spring Break
Why "no alcohol on beaches" is a good thing during Spring Break….. from a 3/14/2015 post: "I heard about a sad account of a young lady assaulted by two guys with intent to rape her yesterday at PCB. Everyone involved was drinking. She got away but was so shaken by the experience that she caught the next flight home, leaving behind those with whom she had ridden. She did not call the police. So many young people come here not realizing that it is not as safe as they think. There are predatory opportunists in the mix. If you're going to drink stay among "safe", known people. "Stranger danger"...
Shifts: Physical and Spiritual
After attending Seedbed's New Room Leaders Gathering in February, I realized that using the language of "personal surrender" had worn thin with me in talking to adult discipleship students….. The language of "consecration" of self (as we heard so often at Ridgecrest) and of integration of all of who one is "in Christ", (as our little Titus 2 Sunday@5 group of women has been studying in "In Christ" by E. Stanley Jones) is so much more energizing and focuses on an enlarging and unifying view of the goal and process of the Holy Spirit's work instead of a diminishing, suppressing view. We do,...
Reflecting on “Think Again” (by Adam Grant)
Reading Adam Grant's 2021 book, "Think Again.". The book is an "invitation to let go of knowledge and opinions that are no longer serving you well, and to anchor your sense of self in flexibility instead of consistency. If you can master the art of rethinking, you'll be better positioned for success at work and happiness in life. Thinking again can help you generate new solutions to old problems and revisit old solutions to new problems. It's a path to learning more from the people around you and living with fewer regrets. A hallmark of wisdom is knowing when it's time to abandon some of...
Avoiding Compassion Fatigue or “Empathetic Distress”
Adam Grant writes about "empathetic distress", also called "compassion fatigue"……It is common for people to experience, especially those who work in helping professions- healthcare, social services, counseling, ministry, etc. And it also escalates after multiple community traumas, such as was experienced with the disruption and damage of Hurricane Michael and its recovery, followed closely by Covid, then political chaos and widespread economic stressors…… Communities have any number of reasons why mental health and well-being of its population might be compromised. And why its helping...