I dunno, to me Grace means forgiveness for past wrongs, not carte Blanche to do whatever you want. "Go forth and sin no more," and all that.

A persistent block vs. calling up energy for magic, I'd say.  Superb at least, possibly Fantastic or higher.

Maybe go up by numbers with a "mystical" significance?  1, 3, 7, 12, 40...

Chicks Dig An Eyepatch

A quick sketch on a character who caught in my mind

Timmy Layton (Chest deep)

High Concept: Gamer Geek and Half-Elf Mage
Trouble Aspect: Life Isn't Like DnD.
Other Aspects: This Is Just Like DnD!, I Saw This In A Movie Once, Skinny And Quick, The Dice Gods Are Fickle

Peak Skills: Conviction, Discipline, Investigation

Powers:
Inhuman Speed
Glamours
Channeling (Spirit)

Stunts:
Listening

I disagree about *never* being used against them.  If that were the case,. the PCs would never get to use an enemy's +0 Catch against them, either.  I'd say that the Catch should only *exceptionally rarely* come up against the PC - say, only once or twice, and only in major climactic battles.

Both the answers depend, at least partially, on the GM and your gaming group.

Per the Rules As Written, you can only take Refinement once as a Focused Practitioner.  On the other hand, some might rule that that only applies to starting refresh, and that after the game starts you might be able to continue to Refine your abilities. 

Regarding the Laws, I'd rule that it's not the style of magic that matters, but the entity performing it.  An inhuman being performing magic won't need to worry about Lawbreaking, just as it won't need to worry about hexing technology.  As a human, however, you have a soul that can be corrupted by what you perform with the magic. 

Or, to go at it from another direction, sponsored magic isn't a different kind of magic altogether.  it's just a different power source that you then use to power your mortal magic.

There's usually a game or two being put together in the DFRPG Play By Post section, if you're willing to be patient until a recruitment thread comes up.  Forum-based play-by-post gaming is slower than tabletop, but it does the job. 

As for where to start/what you're doing, how do you mean?