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.
Share The Gospel And One’s Life
Three years ago today..... "A little active grandparenting mode for us this week with three teens in the house overnight for three nights and keeping a toddler for two days to help out former students/spiritual children....... transporting to school, cooking breakfast and dinner, putting a little one down for a nap...... I ask these women to be willing to do whatever it takes to get their lives on track and in return I commit to do whatever it takes to support and encourage them in their continued journey in Christ as they nurture their families. It’s our covenant of love in community....
Church Benevolence Practices
From time to time a church needs to revisit benevolence practices, review policies, and update guidelines. Over the last three years requests for assistance to church congregations have increased...... the result of post-hurricane higher power bills, COVID closures and employment setbacks, rising inflation, doubling of gas prices, skyrocketing rents, etc. Many are struggling to make ends meet, especially elderly and single- income family households. Concurrent with these factors, fewer people every year seem to be connected to a faith community or even identify as "believers" in Jesus...
Measured Expectstions
It seems to me that a lot of one's issues with disappointment or unhappiness are the direct result of her own expectations. If we expect life to be perfect and easy, then we are going to be disappointed, hurt, angry, and unhappy regularly. If we expect life to be fraught with challenges and obstacles, we learn to guard our hearts, set appropriate boundaries, and make better choices. We need to gird ourselves for the realities of life. Christianity provides one the way to do that without constructing walls around ourselves that isolate us from one another. I am so grateful for Christ's...
A Prayer for Love
Gracious Lord, bless those whom I love, those who love me, those who love those whom I love and those who are loved by those I love......and especially bless those who feel unloved and those who have not known the truth of the extravagant love you have for us all, Lord. Amen. 8/27/20
Let It All Go
If you let go a little you will have a little happiness. If you let go a lot you will have a lot of happiness. If you let go completely you will be free. —Ajahn Chah Funny how we often don't realize the weight of something we are grasping until we let it go........ Hebrews 12: 1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he...
Personal Best
August 26, 2015 ".....generally functioning pretty well, has some meaningful interpersonal relationships. ...." That's a good start to recovery, I'd say, for some people whose lives have been wrecked by drugs, bad decisions, poor associations, and mental health challenges. That is one of the descriptions on a popularly used mental health assessment. I have used an example with our volunteers of helping people move from what probably feels like -30 to + 40. Is that progress? Of course. But is someone with a relative score of 40 on a scale of 0-100 capable of full life recovery? Probably not....
Invitation To Pray
August 26,2016 An insight and morning meditation shared with me by a friend..... "An individual observed that God "invites" us to pray. It's not a command. When one thinks of the word invite, it is often in a positive sense whereas the word command often carries a more negative, demanding, or an order sense.....a law. Invite is more loving. Command is duty.... It seems that many have that understanding. We miss a blessing when we don't accept Gods invitation. There is something that happens when we pray. The bible talks about that all over the place. When we don't pray or allow others to...
Attributes of Leadership
From August 26, 2016 I am working on a Bible study on the book of Joshua. In doing so, I am reflecting on the leadership attributes that made Joshua great and successful. The Titus 2 ladies shared a devotional from God’s Little Devotional Book (page 198-199). It is entitled, “Put others before yourself, and you can become a leader among men.” Matthew 20:26-27 is the key verse: “But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” It included a list of contrasting descriptions that...
Do Not Forsake Gathering Together…
If you are not meeting weekly ...… with.2 or 3 or a handful of folks together in close, accountable, studious Christian community (single gender) and pondering the principles, proclamations, prohibitions, and promises of God's Word and how to apply it to your lives, you are probably not growing in interdependent biblical community in Christ that will lead to disciple-making and discple-makers who can transform the world and bring the Kingdom of God to bear on earth. How sad for our generation and the generations to come. We are failing to fulfill our mission in the world as believers. I am...
Cherished Gifts
From 2014.... I'm considering gifts today.....some received, some given, some valued, some cast aside. Some gifts are given that reflect the heart of the giver. Other gifts are given because they remind the giver of the heart of the receiver. Think of the most cherished tangible gift you ever received from human hands? What meaning does it have in your life? Is it cherished because of what it is or because of the person who gave it to you? Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to...