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.
The Law That Gives Freedom
James 2:12 "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment." ….."the law that gives freedom..." It is the Spirit of the Law as Christ taught, that gives freedom, not the Letter of the Law, as practiced by the Pharisees, which pins down and punishes people who don't know better. The Spirit of the Law is truth and mercy and calls us to a higher standard that considers how godly agape love interprets it. Mercy in judgment, which will be shown to...
Blessings of Song
Oh, how I have learned this. I am grateful that God has put a song, in fact, many songs in my heart! I sang in one church choir after another most of my life and for two years as a tenor with the Sweet Adelines. I can carry a tune reasonably competently. And I can even enjoy the "joyful noise" of those who, as my Daddy would have said, can't carry a tune in a bucket. He used to say he might be guilty of a lot of things, but singing too loudly in church wouldn't be one of them!
Mini-Sabbath Celebrations
From 10 years ago today....1/11/2013 "Today I am not going to post a case management note. I am not going to read an article or book on theology or recovery. I am not going to look at the calendar. I am not going to call the office to see what's going on. I am not going to write an incident report or type a letter. I am going to enjoy being at home.....exercising my domestic skills and listening to my favorite music and spend some additional unrushed time talking with Jesus while I enjoy the smell of lemon cleaner and the feel of freshly laundered linens and the sound of a paper towel...
Sheep and Broken Legs
I've had these sweet little handmade sheep for 10-15 years, ordered from a catalog. One of them (the one scratching his ear) got dropped and lost a leg. I went to Hobby Lobby Saturday and got some modeling clay to implement a sheep leg healing! Ha Ha. The new prosthetic leg has been molded and attached to the wire "bone" and will dry overnight. Now I have to learn how to match matte finish watercolor paints. Then I can get him back up on his feet. Sheep with broken legs are a theme in my life....I have written in the past about my MIL's nativity set that I inherited after her death. It has a...
Prayer and Fasting
In an early morning conversation today about prayer some of us committed to fast and prayer for an issue that was before us. Interestingly, tonight as I reviewed previous years' posts, what had I been contemplating 4 years ago? From 1/10/2019 "Beautiful reflection by Niki Scheilz Nordquist: One of the reasons I think prayer and fasting are so powerful when combined is that together they activate a chain reaction where we see God’s kingdom manifest on earth. This sequence is what I call agreement…alignment…assignment. When we come into agreement with God, we are aligned with God’s perfect...
Paradigms and Assumptions
The paradigm drives the conclusion. The starting assumptions are the basis for the beliefs. In evolutionary theory, Darwin started with another person's theory, a geologist's theory of how long it would take for certain rock formations to occur. That was the start of the "ancient earth" paradigm that gave way to Darwin's "natural selection" evolutionary theory. If the underlying assumptions are wrong, as modern geological evidence is suggesting, everything built on them becomes questionable at best, and is toppled entirely when the body of evidence begins to bear down on those speculative,...
“When I Was A Child…”
A child's thinking: My Mommy (or Daddy or sister or whoever) doesn't love me (in the self- gratifying way I want to be loved.) Therefore, I must not be good enough....(or smart enough or pretty enough or strong enough or ……. just enough.) A mature adult's thinking: I am enough. I am loved by God and can live happily knowing that I am important to God and to those whom God puts in my life for this season and purpose now. 1 Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became an adult, I did away with childish things."...
You Are Not Your DSM Label
Many times on applications to Titus 2 I see mental health diagnoses written. I hear others speak of diagnoses of children, spouses, friends..... I have a masters degree in counseling and psychology and I understand the use of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition ... DSM-5.... and the need of the mental health community to categorize and systemize observed behaviors for diagnosis and treatment. But God has a system and categories, too, for defining his cherished children. While the DSM views individuals through the lens of pathology, of brokenness, of...
Turning Around
I've always loved this story of how pilots out of Eglin use the Blue Lake crosses as a landmark! And how once, when they were turned out to conserve energy and money the Air Force contacted Blue Lake and asked that they be turned back on, reportedly even offering to pay! By Walter Matthew Albritton 1/1/2016 Turning Around Point: There's a great story about the two crosses that are lit up every night at Blue Lake camp. Because these crosses can be seen at night from the air they're the turning around point for Air Force jets flying out of Eglin Air Force Base. In 2017 Jesus Christ can be...
To My Dearly Loved Child….
1/5/2014. By Joanna Lynn, Criwned With Beauty Blog My dearly loved child, You are so precious to Me and I love you more than you can ever realize. I want to be a part of everything in your life. But I love you so much that I allow you the gift of deciding what you will do and who you will follow. I will never force you to follow Me. That wouldn’t be love. Even before you come to Me, I love you. I’ve provided the Way for you to be with Me forever through My Son, Jesus. When you accept Me into your life I adopt you into My family. When you come to Me, I will guide you in all you do and I will...