December 2, 2025

Taking the Old and Making it New: Gabe Tribbett’s Faith Integration Hobby

Written By Grace Theological Seminary

Most people like to avoid home projects. When they see the broken siding, outdated wiring, and uneven flooring, they become filled with dread. For me, renovating isn’t just a hobby; it’s hands-on theology. When I fix things in my home, it’s a great reminder of the God who takes what is broken and makes it new and whole again.

Over the years, I’ve renovated three of my homes, tackled many repairs, and even repurposed old scraps to make into gifts for my family. As I build, I am reminded of how God is everywhere, deepening my love for creating and for our Creator.

There are five truths I’ve found through faith integration in home renovation.

We are Created to Learn

My love for home improvement and fixing began with my dad. When I was about eight years old, I started helping in his business, tagging along with him in the summers. Most of what I learned came simply from watching and working beside him. Later in college, I spent time working for a contractor, putting the things I had learned into practice.

The same approach shapes the way I teach today. In the courses that I teach, I want to walk alongside students as they learn step by step, using faith integration to connect everyday activities to Christ.

I think about teaching much like building a home. You can’t randomly throw pieces together and expect a stable building. Instead, you need a plan, a structure, and a clear order. The same is true when you are forming a biblical worldview, for example. Sometimes old, faulty patterns of thinking need to be torn down before new ones can be built on the foundation of truth. As Luke 14:28 says, “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?”

Our Lives Have Purpose

Some of my favorite projects are ones that carry personal meaning to me. While I was working on a garage renovation, I removed old windows and turned their frames into jewelry racks for my wife and daughter. Another meaningful project was repurposing speaker cabinets into a dollhouse for my daughter and a superhero house for my boys.

From a faith integration perspective, this reminds me that what was once old and broken can be restored and made new. The old window and the speaker cabinets were given a new purpose, much like we are when Christ enters our lives. Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.”

But it doesn’t stop there. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” We are given a new purpose in Christ! Repurposing old and dead things reminds me of what Jesus has done for me. I used to be dead, but now I am alive in Christ.

God is in Control

Of course, not every project goes smoothly. In my first home, I ran into a major sewage problem. Fixing it would have cost thousands of dollars, so my dad and I tried to replace the underground line from the house to the road ourselves.

Here’s the problem: there was no utility information on file to find where the line was. After half a day of working on it and not making progress, we were discouraged. We stopped, prayed, and ate some lunch. By the end of the day, the line was fixed.

Experiences like this remind me what faith integration really looks like, bringing my faith into everyday work and challenges. When I run into problems, I am reminded of the Genesis 3 effect. Sin has affected every part of life, even our work.

I can see how sin affects me as well. My response to discouragement is often frustration instead of patience. There will always be frustrations and setbacks in the process, but those moments have taught me to pause, pray, trust God, and keep going because God is everywhere and sovereign over everything! He is present in every problem or circumstance that we face. We can trust Him in our struggles.

Always Be on Guard

One day, I discovered my toilet had an unsteady foundation. While I was hoping that it was a small issue, I quickly realized the floor under the toilet was slowly rotting away. The toilet had been slowly leaking for months without my knowledge, and the longer it went unnoticed, the more damage it caused.

Sin works the same way in our lives. Left unchecked, it creeps in quietly, weakening the foundation until something gives way. Even though God is everywhere, Satan is also very present and real in the world we live in. As Christians, we need to stay on guard. We have to catch sin in our lives early before it spreads. 1 Peter 5:8 warns, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The Spirit of God guards us against the Enemy and guides us in renovating our sinful hearts (Phil. 2:12-13).

Look Toward the End Goal

Whenever I’m starting a new project, I always have to picture my end goal. What will the finished product look like? What purpose will it serve? Without that vision, it’s so easy to get lost in the mess of tools and materials in the process of building.

In the same way, our lives as Christians are shaped by keeping the end goal in sight. Faith integration means approaching every part of life with an eternal perspective. We are called to press forward, share the Gospel, and finish the race that God has set for us. As Paul writes in Philippians 4:13, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

The world is full of things that won’t last. As said in my last point, sin ruins and destroys. That’s why Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”