Welcome!
Meet Abigail
I'm so glad you're here! I believe God has something for you - not answers that eradicate the hard questions, but a Person Who meets you in them.
Growing up as the oldest of seven kids in a Christian household, I learned early on the importance of faith and family. Both have been the pillars I've leaned on throughout life, and the anchors I've made my own, shaping how I see the world and how I serve others.
A few years ago, I traded Southern California beaches for Middle Tennessee hills, and my heart never looked back. Although the ache of missing my family so far away will always be there, it is bearable for the sake of experiencing the peace and the joy that comes with following my Savior wherever He leads. I've watched Him sustain, provide for, and prepare me in ways I've never expected.
I started Refining Gold Ministries out of the conviction that suffering doesn't have to pull us away from God - it can be the very thing that draws us closer to Him.
Thank you for discovering with me the goodness and faithfulness of our God.
If you had asked me three years ago if writing a book about suffering was on my bucket list, I can assure you it was not. I didn't set out to write this book because it's a comfortable topic - I wrote it because I believe God wants to use what He's taught me to encourage other believers. So many of us have been handed shallow answers when pain hits - answers that, although often true, don't hold the weight of real grief and heartache.
One of the most encouraging (yet heart-wrenching) verses I have come across in Scripture is Isaiah 53:3 where Jesus is described as "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief". In a world where disappointment, disease, death, and sin runs rampant, who else can offer comfort and perspective like a Savior Who fully understands the breadth of human emotion?
As a fellow believer who has experienced her own share of pain in this broken world, I am here to tell you that the fire is not the end of the story - that God is present in it, purposeful through it, and is refining you for your good and His glory. I don't write as someone who has all the answers, but as someone who has witnessed the faithfulness of God in the middle of the pain, and wants you to see Him do the same in yours.
My prayer is that suffering would not be a barrier to faith, but instead strengthen and refine it - like gold that only grows purer in the fire. That's the purpose of this book: not to explain away pain, but to walk with you through it, toward the purity and closeness with God that only the fire can produce.
The why behind the book:
Tinkering with old film cameras
most often found:
Anything with peanut butter!
favorite dessert:
I can lick my elbow. Does that count?
hidden talent:
Dr. Pepper
Beverage of choice:
All the Star Wars movies once a year
Binge watches:
Meet Joanna ⟶
Handsome husband to Jo (who is, in fact, writing this bio) and our studio manager, Chris is a numbers geek who thrives on spreadsheets and Dr. Pepper. We'd be completely lost without him!
