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.
Putting Thoughts Out There
9/4/2016 I put a number of things "out there" for individuals to learn about....hoping to encourage people to stretch their interest in and practice of their Christian faith. As followers of Jesus Christ, his disciples, we are to be learning and growing in our faith all the time from many sources....scripture, history, current events, science, literature, popular culture, one another, etc.....and observing the ways in which God is at work in the world, celebrating His presence, and joining Him in his work wherever we can. If it's not your cup of tea, that's okay. God will use whatever your...
Unexpected Possibilities
I marvel at the ways in which God reveals his plan in the lives of his people, often bringing entirely new and unexpected possibilities at the vey point one thinks there is no way through a difficulty. Once again today I have witnessed the birth of hope arising out of anxiety and despair in someone's life. One person calls the fortuitous timing of sudden new revelations that completely change the dynamics "coincidence" . Another simply calls it "grace". I will never cease to be amazed at the remarkable ways in which God creates hope and a future out of misery for the faithful who continue to...
September
9/1/2014 Just saw this on friend's page....."September is the new January!" For years my life revolved around my children's school year schedule. The nine months of the school year had its own rhythm. Even now, years after they are no longer in the house, their lives are being dictated by that schedule now and even still, September seems like a good time to start new things.....even if it's stopping some old things!
Ready Testimony
9/1/2014 It's amazing what a little bit of discipleship will do! In a very brief time of working with someone, her faith begins to grow and the Holy Spirit begins to bring forth fruit in a little sapling.....as the fruit grows, others begin to see it and ask questions.. fueling excitement and, even more. fueling a desire to know more of the Word and God's character to be able to tell others even more....What a "victorious" cycle! "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" 1 Peter 3:15 (and it doesn't have to be a 30 minute...
Making Lists
9/1/2016 Well, it's now Thursday and I have managed to get through about 3/4 of the "to do" list I started out with on Monday, as well as a few additional items that got added along the way. Now that Hermine appears to be rolling in our way, other things have taken precedence and the regular weekly "to do" list has been set aside. Thankfully, few things on my list each week qualify as emergencies....just a running reminder that there is always something that can be done while waiting for a student to finish as appointment or while on the way to something or somewhere else! LOL! Even...
Outpatient and Community Care
9/1/2018 As more of our women with children are wanting to stay connected with aftercare of Titus 2 or seeking outpatient care, I find that we are doing more and more extended outpatient case management and counseling. Residential care in an intensively structured Christian environment is not being sought when there are so many short term, 30 day "spa" programs around that accept Medicaid and multiple outpatient Medication Assisted Treatment programs. God is still bringing women and families in crisis to Titus 2, but they are not wanting the structured residential approach to change. Our...
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...