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.
Prophet-able Fun or Fact?
You might be a prophet if... You’re combative. A prophet insists on battling bunkum and speaking truth to power with zero regard for honorariums or a Dove Award for being Prophet of the Year. You tell the hard truth in tough love. You weep before you whip. You fight the fog of falsity that envelops us all. You love candor and hate duplicity. You excel at being blunt. You have a well-developed BSDetector when it comes to unbiblical church stuff. You’re more like a Full Metal Jacket drill sergeant than a Mr. Rogers. You’re not so much into predicting the future. Your interest lies in getting...
In Dark Nights
I visited with a person who is in the midst of what was self- described as a “dark night of the soul” with depression and some health problems. I was reminded of something that I was told years ago by a pastor in a time of “darkness”……He said, “Go into the grave. Die to yourself. It is better to be in the darkness where God is than to be in the light where he is not.” I learned then that dark nights will come and go, but God is always with me. I must walk by faith, especially when what I can see in the light makes no sense at all.
“All Sin Equal?”
If all sin is equal……. “Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” Jesus’ own words. He also didn’t prescribe a millstone for just anything. (@seantology on Twitter) Sexual sin against children is right up there with premeditated serial murder…. anyone who uses scripture to excuse it is engaging in religious abuse, as well. And those who watch it for entertainment risk completely anesthetizing their conscience beyond redemption. Just sayin’….. For what it’s worth.
God Laughs
As I reflected on how much importance April 1st has had on my life and reading and hearing so many funny April Fool's Day jokes and pranks yesterday, it occurred to me how apropos this little sign truly is that is sitting on my dining table, not only for my little family, but for all of the Jesus tribe!! I can imagine God chuckling at the ways we amuse ourselves and delight Him! I have heard God laugh in prayer…. only once, but it was enough to give me relief that God has a sense of humor. When I saw this little painted clay sign about prayer, it made me smile to think how my prayers must...
Beagle Daisy
3/29:2017 Bill observed a scene in a TV series in which one character after being jailed unjustly and released said, "Sanity was touch and go there for a while." He laughed and said, "I can relate. Here I am 6'5", 250 lbs. and I have felt totally buffaloed and controlled at times by a BEAGLE DOG!" Ha Ha! Sometimes Daisy is so sweet and other times she is just off the chain! There are moments I wonder if we can hold out until she gets old enough to not be so rambunctious.
Boundaries and Differentiation
The importance of establishing healthy boundaries and a well- developed, positive, values-based self-identity when dealing with dysfunctional family members: "The core of Murray Bowen’s articulation of Family Systems Theory is the concept of differentiation: “Differentiation refers to how one functions in response to one’s level of anxiety” (John L. Winek, Systemic Family Therapy: From Theory to Practice, Sage Publications, 2009, 83). In other words, differentiation is the ability for an individual to respond to either external or internal situations without succumbing to emotional pressures...
Visit With Mentor
From 3/29/15 my journal: "I had the opportunity to visit briefly with a former mentor who now lives a good distance away. I was giving an update on the Titus 2 ministry and I said that my call is to minister to the "ones" and "twos" and "threes" to a depth and over enough time to have reasonable assurance that the seed of the Gospel has taken root and they have learned to walk in the Spirit as maturing disciples. He expressed the opinion that such ministry is really the way all meaningful spiritual transformation occurs. And also said that while professions of faith are good, The real proof...
Married Student Life
3/29/2022- ....driving to the community dumpster and bank of mailboxes at 8:30 pm to drop off garbage bag and retrieve mail….As I drove there I realized it was 1972, 103 Beech Street in Auburn, AL, the last time we lived in high density housing. Retirement at Waterfall Townhomes, however, compared to married students housing at college is a good bit more spacious, stylish, personally accommodating, and is absolutely free of roaches!!! The comparison between the two housing complexes 50 years apart made me smile. We were happy as newlyweds there and then….
Adding Abigail
https://disciplerofself.com/women-in-ministry/bathsheba/ I had previously written about Bathsheba and Eve, in discussing their roles and those of the men associated with each woman in the sins committed by each and who, in God's opinion appears to have been held accountable. There is an interesting story in 1Samuel of another man and woman. Abigail and Nabaal... 2 A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal and his wife’s name...
Gathering With The Saints
From 3/28/21.... I come to gather with the saints on Sundays….. that is what followers of Christ are called in Scripture. I come to encourage and be encouraged. I come with my Bible in hand and a highlighter and pen. I have something in hand to jot down notes and thoughts that God stirs in my mind and which I am likely to reflect on further in the week ahead. I expect the God of Heaven to speak to me…. in his Word, by his Spirit, through his people, and in the circumstances of the moment. He does not fail me! When the fire of his Spirit sweeps through our congregation with power snd might,...