#186 It's Not A Restart, It's Refinement

Fire doesn’t just burn; it reveals. Catherine opens a new season by naming the truth many of us avoid: this isn’t a restart, it’s refinement. We walk into the imagery of Zechariah 13:8–9—being brought through the fire—and explore how pressure clarifies what God wants to keep and what He lovingly removes. The conversation is anchored in a personal loss that most can only imagine, and the tenderness with which Catherine tells it becomes a guide for anyone learning to breathe again when life breaks your plans.

We talk about what refinement actually looks like day to day: letting scripture set the frame, telling God the truth without filters, and recognizing that hidden seasons are not wasted. Using the diamond as a living metaphor, Catherine shows how rarity grows in darkness and how clarity increases when we resist the urge to rush exposure. The episode reframes setbacks—a lost job, a relationship that ended, a door that shut—as possible catalysts for ownership, peace, and new assignment. Value often appears where we once felt only loss.

This season is also an invitation to walk together. Catherine outlines a weekly cadence, creates space for comments and conversation, and opens a WhatsApp community for daily scripture and encouragement. It’s a network by design: voices, gifts, and stories woven into resilience. If you’ve been asking whether to start over, consider another option—refine what God already planted and let it shine with greater clarity. Tap play, share this with someone who needs hope under pressure, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next step in the refining journey. Your voice matters—what is God refining in you today?

A journey through spiritual refinement, identity, healing, and growth, learning how pressure produces purpose and reveals the diamond within.

An invitation to come and be a part of what God is building here at God's Diamond Network.  We don't have to go at it alone; this is where we will grow together.

Thank you for listening, and we hope you will return every week.

Transcript

Welcome Back & Opening Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Hello, hello, and welcome back. Welcome back. I'm so so excited to be before you one more time. Yes, I know it's been a while, it's been a couple of years, but it is what it is. You hear what I'm saying? When God is in control, uh, He absolutely has control. And so, my name is Catherine. Again, I'm back. I'm I'm back once again to continue what God started. Hallelujah. So, before we go any further, let's go ahead and pray. Father, I thank you so much for this day. Thank you, God, for allowing us to come together to get into this topic, into this word, into this season uh of refining. God, I just pray in the name of Jesus for every ear and every heart that is here that is able to receive what it is that you have uh brought before us. I pray in the name of Jesus, use me to your glory. I pray the blessings of the Lord will be upon each and every one today, God. In the name of Jesus Christ, I do pray, amen, amen and amen. Hallelujah. So as we jump in, I just want to uh share with you in this season what it is that God is doing. There is a call to refine, and so as we go into this season of God's Diamond Network, we are uh really focusing on again referring refining. I know you heard it as I was praying. I know when I left off on the last time I was here was back in what was it, 24 last episode I put up in 24. We had transitioned into learning to live in truth, and now we're back again with God's diamonds in the rough, and really it's not it is that, but it's not that. We're really focusing on the network part of God's diamond, and so as we journey through this year, it is gonna be God's diamond refining process, yes, God's diamond refining process. I that sounded like a tongue twister, let me say it slowly. God's diamond refining process, 2026. And so as we go about this, today's focus is gonna be this is not a restart, it's refinement. And I really want us to dig in and find out like what does it mean? Because we know that the process of a diamond is all about pressure and being able to endure the pressures that life brings to it. I say to it because again, we're referring to the diamond, and we are diamonds, and the thing that we need to realize and should realize by this point, if you've been following for any number of time, is that you know this life is a process, and we're gonna have to endure a lot of uh pressure, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of things that we cannot see, moments of darkness and obscurity, just so much. And as we go through this year of refinement, I will definitely be sharing what has happened over the past year and a half since the last time we were together. Because it has certainly been a year and a half of trials and tribulations. I did not think I would this would come back, I thought it was in retirement, and it just goes to show that once again our plans are not his, his ways are above ours, and so he there I am or here I am, ready to serve in the capacity that God has put before me. And so, as we journey on, I would I want to talk about this word refinement. Webster's dictionary would call would define refinement as the process of removing removing impurities or unwanted elements from a substance. That's what refinement is about, and so at the end of the day, when we're looking at refinement, we want to make sure that we understand that things are going to be moved and shifted. Okay, I pause intentionally. The scripture that is attached with this month because God has given it to me to move about through the year month by month with a different area of focus. But the primary focus is refinement, and so on this month, we're gonna be really tapping in into Zechariah 13, verses 8 through 9. And just quickly, I'll just go ahead and read that. Verse 8 says, It shall come to pass that in all the land shall, or excuse me, and let me start over. The devil is a liar. Y'all heard me. Y'all know, y'all know I'll say it anytime. Look, it said, and it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord. Okay, so we have the Lord talking, he says, Two parts therein shall be cut off and die. He says, but in the third shall be left therein. So what do you mean? He says, There's gonna be a portion where it's not going anywhere. Hallelujah. And I would dare to say, the one, the portion that's that's left in place, it's gonna be us. Do you hear what I'm saying? He says, and I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined. I'm just gonna pause right there because again, throughout the month, we're gonna focus in on this particular, these two verses. Okay, so today we're gonna talk about how it is that we will be refined as silver is refined. Hallelujah. What has happened in your life lately? I want you to just take a moment and kind of look at what is happening and and begin to just take a moment and kind of look at like, was all of it necessary in in regard to where I am right now? Hallelujah. Because what we don't want to do is forsake what God allows in our life. I know we want it to be easy. I know you want it to be easy. I do too, but the reality is that it is not. Now, since the last episode, I want to, I really want to share a very personal journey. Well, not even a personal journey, but I want to share with you one of the one of the scariest, hardest moments of my life. Yes. And it happened on October the 28th. Actually, October the 29th was when I found out. And I share this so that you understand. I I get what it means to be up under pressure and to continue to go on anyhow. Now, if you didn't know it, my if you didn't know it, I lost my son on October the 24th. I mean, October the 29th. I found out that he had passed. October the 29th, 2024. Now, the last episode I put up, I believe it was October, like the 24th. So a couple days after this, what I thought was retired, I found out that my son had been shot and killed. And you can imagine um how it affected me in such a way that like I was to be honest, I did not couldn't see clearly. Focus in on that particular word supposed to do. And I believe personally that we tend to move in in a fashion that says, I'm supposed to do this. Well, of course, everybody grieves at the loss of somebody that they loved. And obviously, that was my son, he passed. It was 25, he was 25 years old. Not too long, had his birthday, September the 30th. He was my oldest child, my first child, the child that made me see what it looks like to be a mother. I tell you, it is nothing but the grace of God that I still am able to stand and continue to move and talk about it. You know, as soon as it happened, immediately after it happened, I I went through I can't even really describe what I went through in the moment. I know I was initially it was a shock. I was like totally shocked, and it was I was so shocked that I I didn't even bear any tears when I first was told that he had been shot and he was he was dead. I don't like that word, but he transitioned to be with the Lord, and and I feel like what made it made it even worse is that he laid in his backyard for at least a day. Based on the amount of decay or decomposition of his body, he had been there all night long. And you can imagine as a mother. You wonder, you wonder what his last thoughts was. If even he cried out for you. If he I mean we watch movies all the time, but you know, I it was cold. You know, I I envisioned his body laying there all night long. I I just I had those moments for the first for the first, I would say nine months, every month, about the same in the same week that he passed, I had these moments of just unrest. And you know, I I was just like at one one of those months, God kind of had me focus in on that time period of all day from the last time that he was saw, seen to the time that he was found. How? I don't understand how, but my point in bringing all of this up to you is that it was one of the hardest, it was the hardest moment of my life. But you still hear my voice. I'm still here, I'm still here, and what I want us to realize is that, and what I want you to know is that I will come back to this quite often because it was, it really has become a defining moment of my life. Death has truly come out of life, or wait a minute, life has truly come out of death. Let me say that right. I'm gonna say that again. Life has truly come out of death. One thing that I have come really in face to face with this time, and the reality is that we cannot and we should not waste the time that we have been given. And so we circle to this process of refinement, it is the process of getting rid of impurities, getting rid of things that are in our lives that God says it's time to let that go. There is an appointed time for everything. There's a time for us to be born, and a time to die. And I know that we oftentimes forget that death is a part of life and we take it for granted. The people that are in our lives, we take it for granted, the things that are in our life, we take it for granted, the blessings that we have, because we even got we get comfortable, Jesus. We get comfortable. So today I I ask you, and just pausing quietly for a moment, are you taking advantage of what God has given you? Are you appreciative of the time that you have been given? Are you at peace with what God has removed out of your life? Jesus, I want you to really just take a moment and really think about where this applies to you. Now I shared my personal something that's very personal and sacred to me. I shared it with you, and I will continue to share it with you. Those moments that really have shifted my mindset have shifted my heart for that matter. You have had that moment. This is where you gotta get vulnerable and transparent with God, so that that diamond that is within you is able to shine, even though it has been through hell and back. Do you hear what I'm saying? The the reality that you can make it back from out of the pit, that is one thing, that is one big, big reason why you should be shining as a diamond. Look, one thing we've learned over doing God's diamond in the rough is that diamonds, real diamonds, and diamonds that have been properly taken care of, they they are uncut. They are rare. The the more unusual, the more, the more, the clearer it is, the more valuable it becomes. Do you understand what I'm saying? So the more it stays hidden out of sight from the hands of humans, the more it stays in darkest, darker and in the darkness, and the longer it stays there, the more valuable it becomes. So, what in your life? Because this is our personal take, what in your life have you looked at and you dismissed? But that was the thing that brought value. Jesus, that's a word, right? What is that thing that has brought value that now that I look at it again and I think about it, was it somebody leaving your life? I didn't say in regard by death, I'm talking about somebody leaving out of your life. Was it the job that you lost? Whereas at first I was angry because they got rid of me. But now I can see it was a blessing because now I own my own business. Do you hear what I'm saying? This is what I'm saying. Like we can look at it in the beginning and forsake it. We can be angry, we can be upset, we can be broken. But there's a song you say, I've been built from broken. Come on, somebody. There is somebody that is hearing this that has been built from the broken, that uh life has come out of that death, and it don't have to be physical. It can be an express expiration of something that was in your life and no longer is. And look, he gives us a piece of surpasses understanding and timing. God's timing is perfect timing. God is the creator, cure the creator and orchestrator of revelation. Do you hear what I'm saying? Privately, he will make you understand, he will give you clarity, he will give you the thing that can only be given to you by his revelation. But it starts with the word of God. Jesus. This is the one thing I did not do before is ask you to share with me your thoughts. Now, there are many ways that you can take a listen to this, to this episode, and whether it be Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, but I don't know how you're taking a listen to this, but however you're taking to this, where there's a place where you can put comments, I want you to put your comment there. Now, whether it's one, two, a thousand, two thousand, I don't, it doesn't matter. The one thing that I want to do is be Able to engage with you, hallelujah, in this season, because refinement is a sacred thing, because I just believe that we need somebody that can walk alongside with us to make it make sense. Hallelujah, because hallelujah, because it's hard, it's not an easy thing. Amen. It is not an easy thing to be willing to go through the mire, the muck, and the and the and the and the pain and the suffering and all of those things that typically cloud our judgment, halt our movement. Does that make sense? Hallelujah. Now, look, I'm one of those, if you've been listening any number of years, then you'll understand that. You know, I'm very personal and I my heart, I put my heart on my shoulder when it comes down to being there for the people. Hallelujah. I want you to gain value from this. I want you to tell your friends, your parents, the people that you care about, tell them about this podcast. Because it's truly here to help. I don't gotta convince you. People can talk a good game, but can I show you? Can I show you? I hope you'll subscribe or whatever it takes for you to follow, follow our this podcast. You might hear Michael from time to time here, but primarily you're gonna hear my voice as I am going through in this season. This season is a very special season, and God has revealed that to me. That this is a very special season for everybody who decides to follow and be here every week. Every week, Fridays, I'll be putting out a new episode. My goal is to put them out by 3 p.m. I mean, not 3 p.m. I'm sorry, 3 a.m. That is my goal, and my only hope is that it aligns with what the spirit desires to do. Hallelujah, because what I don't want to do is get in the way of what God wants to do, but that is the plan thus far. Um, I want to encourage you to join my community on WhatsApp. Yes, you could do that, just look for God's Diamond Network, um, and you can get in. And when you come into the community, you're gonna get a scripture, a motivational word, um, on a daily basis. This is the same community where um I will also be doing different giveaways and and things of that nature because um another thing that came out of my son going home to be with the Lord was you know, I wanted people to remember him. LLT PAL LLT. That's what I want. People wanted people to remember him by then. I mean, at the time, and also he gave my ministry an acronym for Hope, Hold On Pain In. So that was, you know, my whole thing was making sure that he's remembered because his life was taken so suddenly and tragically, and so therefore, I went in, went all in to get everything, all the equipped and that equipment I needed to do shirts, cups, and anything else. So I'm gonna use that here to be a blessing to the body of Christ in every way possible. Hallelujah. God don't do nothing by accident. Do you hear what I'm saying? He works it all for our good. Hallelujah. So please join the community on WhatsApp, and I'll have announcements and all of this stuff going on. And what else is happening? I have a travel business, I'm helping people to start their own travel business. I can book travel, like it is so much going on, and I praise God every day that He gave me God's diamond network because it's a network of things and people coming together for the glory of God, that we all are able to see the diamond that God sees. Matter of fact, not just what God sees, but what God put in us, that we value, we are looking at the things that we've been through and saying, Yes, God, I don't forsake it. Yes, God, thank you for that trial. Thank you for the tribulation. Hallelujah. That's where he wants us to get to. I truly believe that with all of my heart. That is where he wants us to get to, to get to the point where we understand that his plans are better than ours. That the things that happen in our life, it ain't necessarily because we did anything wrong. But we gotta go through it so we can be a testament for somebody who's going through it, and they can see, hey, they came out and so can I. Hallelujah. Come on, somebody. That's my heart, y'all. That's my heart. I hope that everybody got what it is that God desired to give them on today. Hallelujah. I hope that I have been an encouragement to you because that is my desire. And I'm getting ready to pray. Messing with my mixer here. There you go, transparent. You heard what I'm saying? This ain't no pretend. I'm just authentic as can be. Hallelujah. So let's go ahead and pray. So, Father, I thank you so much for every heart that you brought here. I pray in the name of Jesus, Lord. You just have your way. I just give you all the glory and all the honor because you're just truly good to each and every one of us. I pray, God, that this season in this podcast, God, will be one that cannot be forgotten. I pray that hearts and minds and lives are impacted in such a way, God, that people can see you because it's all about you. Have your way, use your servant as you will. I give you glory, honor, and all the praise in Jesus Christ's name. We do pray. Amen, amen, and amen. Thank you so much for being a part of our broadcast today. I certainly do appreciate, I certainly do appreciate it. Because remember, this is not a restart, it's refinement. God is gonna do some great things from this day forward. Hallelujah! So many blessings and so much love from me to you, you all. You have a great day. Make sure you tune in next week as we journey into our next topic, which is going to be why God refines what he values, why God refines what he values. I am looking forward to it, and I hope you are too. Have a great day, and we'll see you on the next time.