Refine, Refinish and Restore

Refine and Refinish Me Oh God Photo Credit: Creative Commons

I was raised in church.

My heritage is generations of men and women called to minister, to teach, and to share.

I was taught to be mindful of what others thought. To mind my P's and Q's.

I feared missing the rapture and felt constantly torn between who I was and who I was expected to be.

I had moments with God. Glimpses of Grace. Touches of the Divine.

Encounters that shook me to my core. But we were like star crossed lovers, God and I.

Our timing seemed to be off.

I knew I was called, but I thought that meant I had to become another person.

The person I was? Not good enough.

The person I was? Too loud, too brash, too impulsive, too much of a tomboy.

There were moments I let hurt and offence rule my mind and soon I was taking the reigns away from God and living for myself.

Engulfed in self, I erred. I strayed. I walked away.

When my life fell apart I saw that as proof that God did not care- I used our distance as permission to spiral out of control. I was angry. Mad at God.

I was lonely and I had no idea how or if I ever wanted to reach out for God again.

But God, in His love and mercy was never far away. He sang His songs of Love over me. He called to me like a lover. He wooed me, seduced me with His faithfulness.

I repent. I cry. I surrender. I run back to my Father's arms.

I have moments with God. In the mornings my joy is full. His mercy is new.

I have peace. I do not fear missing His return because I feel Him now.

I begin to wake up. I begin to see He makes me new, refines and refinishes me like a fine piece of furniture. He brings out the grain that was there all along.

He shines me. He polishes. He favors me and sets me on display.

I am called, but now I know it is as easy as following my Love's voice: I know His voice and it is sweetness to my soul. I am who He made me to be. We are perfectly compatible. I trust Him.

Church is not the focus. People's opinions do not matter. He matters. I want my heart beat to be His Heart's Beat.

I want to be Me.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Do not try to be anyone other than who you were designed to be. As we reach out and receive God's endless love and grace, we are changed: refined, refinished and restored. The same, but made new. Glorious and Perfected in Christ. 

What is your story? Leave your comments below.

Why We are Called to Love

Carelessness Has No Place in the Body of Christ

Christians cannot live carelessly. Living by happenstance and circumstance is not the way for us as believers. Jesus said that trouble (happenstance) will come in this world, but He had overcome the world.


Carelessness is really apathy, and Webster’s online defines apathy as “lack of feeling or emotion, lack of concern: indifference.”


Living a careless life, an indifferent life, is in direct conflict with God’s overall plan for us.

God’s Plan:

His plan is that no man should perish, that all would come to Him, and He needs us to actively show the love of Christ to the world so that the world would be drawn unto Him.


Matthew 5:14 says “You are the light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid!”


Where there is light, there is no darkness. Where there is light there is life. Where there is light, the Father of lights is there. We are the City on a Hill; we are the light of the world. If we do not shine, if our light dims, darkness and death will fall. Dank death will rain down and what Jesus did on the cross would be for nothing.


Luke 1:9 says Christ came for this purpose: “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Our Purpose:

As Christ followers, we are supposed to carry on where Christ left off.


If we do not see the orphan, if we walk past the widow, if we do not feed the hungry and we do not share our cloak with someone who is cold, how can we say we walk and abide in the love of Christ?


We cannot stand by and watch the world perish. We must be more attentive and live with purpose, not carelessness and apathy.


Sister Teresa said this:

“Do not think that love - in order to be genuine - has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”

We are supposed to get full of love, and grow mature fruit so that we can empty our lives and our love into other people. To do this is the law of Christ: Love one another!

Call to Action:

Has someone shown you genuine love before? Share how in the comments below. 

Now, find a way to pass that love along to someone new - who needs it just like you did – and who through that love will see Jesus in you.