Donna Partow

This week we focus on the area of the soul, with special emphasis on the mind and how it impacts our
attitudes and actions.  Begin by listening to the message: "He Restores My Soul"

Following is the transcript from my message.  For the opening, my daughters made a giant paper chain
with black construction paper.  I had a volunteer from the audience come up and i wrapped the
construction paper chain around her leg.  You have my permission to use this wonderful illustration
with your own group !

He Restores My Soul:  Changing Your Mind, Taming Your Emotions and The Power of Your Will 

How many of you like to collect things?

I’ll admit, I don’t collect anything.  I figure if I collect it, it will collect dust.  Sounds like work.  I’m not going
there.  That’s what I was caught off guard, several years ago,  when … the elephants started coming.
Every time I turned around, another elephant was marching into my life. Stuffed elephants, elephant
earrings, an elephant belt.  I wasn’t looking for elephants.  Elephants were looking for me!

Well, I’ve been a Christian long enough to know that maybe, just maybe, God was trying to tell me
something through this parade of elephants.   My first thought was: Go easy on the Oreos.  But I knew
that a God of love would never send a message like that! Then I heard the story of how elephants are
brought into captivity. Have you ever been to a circus and observed a giant elephant with a small rope
around its ankle? Did you ever stop to think, Hey, wait a minute. I’m no zoologist.  But there is no way
that dinky little rope can hold back that giant elephant!  So why is it standing there looking stupid?

Here’s how it works.  First, they capture a baby elephant.  They place a heavy chain around its ankle and
stake the chain into the ground. Day after day, hour after hour, the baby elephant struggles to escape.  
Because deep inside, he knows he was born for freedom.  But his efforts are in vain. He simply cannot
break free from the grip of that powerful chain. Eventually he gives up entirely.  He resolves in his mind
that there is no possible way he can escape that chain. So he relinquishes forever the struggle to be
free.

When his captors realize they’ve GOT him, they remove the chain—so they can use it on some other
unsuspecting elephant – and replace it with a dinky little rope.  But since the elephant never stops to
examine the TRUTH about his situation, he continues to live his entire life in bondage to something that
LITERALLY has no power to control him, except the power that he is choosing to give it in his own
mind.  If that elephant ever opened his eyes to the truth, he could break free instantly.  It happens every
once in a while.  Not too often, though.   All it would take is one little step of faith, but since the elephant
doesn’t believe that, he doesn’t even try.

And so there he stands.  For ten, twenty, thirty years or more.  Under the control of the one who ONCE
held him captive all those years ago.  Controlled by something that literally has no power to control him,
except the power he chooses to give it.

When I first heard this story, a voice cried out within me, Donna, that’s you! You are the big dumb
animal.  You are the one who is allowing your life to be controlled by things that literally have no power
to control you, except the power that you–in your own twisted little mind–are choosing to give them.
So many of us are just like that Elephant.  We THINK we’re still in bondage; we FEEL trapped, so we
never CHOOSE to even attempt to live any other way.

Galatians 5:1:  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, stand firm then and do not let yourselves be
burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Gal 5:1 

This is my friend, ____________.  Like the rest of us, she is a sinner.  Remember, God doesn’t grade
on a curve.  If you break one law, you’re guilty.  A car thief can’t say, “Well, at least I didn’t kill anybody”
and expect to walk free.  No, he’s guilty of the crime he’s committed.  Several years ago, __________
mom called and ____________ told her husband, “Tell her I’m not home.”  Now, that DISHONORED
her mother.  And doesn’t the 4th commandment say, “Honor thy father and mother.”  Okay, so she’s
broken 1 of the Big 10.  She’s fried.  So _____________ is guilty.  
Since anyone who sins is a slave to sin, not only is she guity, guilty, guilty, she is in chains.  (chains) 

Jesus lived a perfect sinless life.  (cross closer to me)  So he is not guilty.  If she asks him to, Jesus
takes her “guilty” verdict and transfers his “not guilty” verdict to her.  (Switch signs)   Her sin is no longer
held against her and she is free to go on with the rest of her life.  More importantly, she is granted
entrance into heaven.  This legal transaction is an established fact.  It’s a one-time event.  When my 13-
old Leah was a little girl, she used to ask Jesus into her heart every single day.  It went on for like a
YEAR.  I finally said, “Leah, I think he’s in there.”  But mommy, how can I know for sure.  “We believe, by
faith.”   Maybe we have some grown ups here tonight who need to understand—it’s a done deal.  You
may not always FEEL like it is.  But it is. 

BTW, there is no other way to get rid of that “not guilty” verdict.  No amount of church work or
volunteering or special prayers will get rid of it.  You must exchange your verdict with Jesus.  
If we go back to our analogy of the elephant.  If you have NOT made this exchange, you are still in
chains and you are not going anywhere……at least not anywhere you’d WANT to go.  But if you have
been party to this legal transaction, the chains have been removed.  (remove) Jesus has set you free.  
One day, _______ will stand before God.  And the Bible says, since she was declared NOT GUILTY”,
she will be instantly transformed into the likeness of Jesus.  Never to sin or suffer again.  Won’t that be
a great day? 

Now _____ will walk off this stage never to sin again………

How many of you honestly believe ___ will never, ever sin again?  What’s the problem?  Jesus broke
the chains.  He set her free from the POWER of sin.  Just like he set you and me FREE from the
POWER of sin.  So why do we keep on sinning?  That’s the question!  What is the answer?   In between
those 2 instantaneous events—the day of our salvation—and the day we stand before God in
heaven—–we are stuck here on planet earth.  A sin-infested jungle.   Even though we are no longer in
chains—the dinky little rope remains!   Remember: the rope represents living your life controlled by
things that have no power to control you EXCEPT THE POWER YOU CHOOSE TO GIVE THEM.   And
since you are a human being living in a sin-infested jungle–it is INEVITABLE that you will choose—to
one degree or another—to live your life controlled by the demands of what you think, feel and choose.
Now, Christians tend to respond to the cross in two very different ways.  I want to paint the extremes and
then, we want to find a HAPPY MEDIUM somewhere in the middle.

At one extreme you have Legalism.  Legalists look at the cross and think, “Too simple.  It needs a little
more umph.   Let’s add something to it.”  So they add a bunch of manmade RULES about what you can
and cannot do, what you can wear and what you can watch, how to fix your hair—or how NOT fix your
hair, as the case may be.  Then they hunt through the OT, picking and choosing which laws and rituals
they want to abide by—which completely misses the point of the cross.  So even though Jesus set their
spirits free, they live their whole life enslaved to their list of rules & regulations.  
Are Legalistic Christians happy?

I don’t know.  They don’t SEEM very happy.  In fact, they seem MAD all the time.  They certainly do a
remarkable job of making everyone around them unhappy.  Several weeks ago, I was chatting with a
new acquaintance—not a Christian, but apparently his brother is a very legalistic Christian.  This man
and his wife agreed to babysit his brother’s children for a few days and he said it was just MISERABLE,
because no matter how they tried to entertain these kids, “We’re not allowed to do that.  We’re not
allowed to go there.  We’re not allowed to buy that.”  It wasn’t like this man was trying to get the children
to do something wicked or criminal, just typical kids stuff.  But they had a RULE for everything.  They
forgot the most important rule, which is “Be GRACIOUS when you are a guest in someone else’s
house.”  The man said he’d never been so happy to see a group of children leave.  
I used to be EXTREMELY legalistic.  Extremely legalistic.  I was also extremely PRIDEFUL and very
miserable.  I’m much happier now that I’ve found a happy medium.

I like the way Charles Spurgeon put it, “Love God and do whatever you want.”  Of course, people take
that to the other extreme.  What I would call “License”  or to use an archaic term, licentiousness.  
Worldiness, if you will.  Such Christians look at the cross and think, “Cool.  I pray the prayer and I’m
good to go.  I can just do whatever I want cause I’m going to heaven anyway.”  I can watch R-rated
movies. I can steal office supplies from my employer.  I can cheat on my taxes.  I can gossip my head
off in the name of sharing “prayer requests.”  I can do whatever I want.  God will still love me.  
That’s true.  God’s love for you is absolutely unconditional.  You didn’t earn his love……and there’s
nothing you can do that would make God stop loving you.  That’s not at issue.  Are “licentious”
Christians happy?

No.  They’re wracked with guilt and an uneasy feeling that, even though they’re “getting away with
something” because Jesus is their “free ticket to heaven”– deep inside, a part of them knows, “I’m
meant for higher living.”  Their SPIRIT groans in the face of all that sin.   
We need to find a HAPPY medium.   We are not under law but under grace.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to
sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Romans 6:1-2

The happy medium is found in 1 Corinthians 6:12:  `Everything is permissible for me’–but not
everything is beneficial. `Everything is permissible for me’–but I will not be mastered by anything"
I am free to watch trashy television shows, but are they beneficial to me? Does my doing so line up with
Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–THINK about
such things"?

I am free to smoke, drink, and eat Oreos all day long. But are these things beneficial? Do they line up
with 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor
God with your body"?

Do any of these, and a thousand other things we are "free" to do, line up with Colossians 3:2?  Set your
MINDS on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in
God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in GLORY.  
From now until the day we appear with him in GLORY, we have one primary PURPOSE.  We’re meant to
GLORIFY God.  Do you know what the word Glorify literally means.  It means to give an accurate
reflection.  Our task here on earth is to show the world an accurate reflection of what God is like.   To
show them, through our lives WHO God is.   God has made it possible for us to enjoy heaven in
heaven, but he has also made it possible for us to give the world an accurate reflection of who he is by
enjoying a little bit of heaven down here on earth.  He does that by RESTORING your soul.  When we
speak of the soul we are referring to your mind, your will and your emotions.  In other words, what you
think, what you choose to do, and how you feel.  What you think, choose and feel.
David wrote in Psalm 23,   “He restores my SOUL.   He didn’t say, “He burdens me down with rules and
regulations.”  He said, “He restores my soul.”  He didn’t say, “he turns me lose to get into all kinds of
trouble.”  He said, “He restores my soul”

Psalm 23:3:
“He restores my SOUL.         He guides me in paths of righteousness        for his name’s sake.”

God restores our soul, so that we can LIVE RIGHT for his name’s sake.  What is his name?  His
reputation.  What’s at stake in your life is NOT your eternal destiny.  That’s settled at the cross.  What’s
at stake is God’s reputation.  Whether or not YOUR LIFE will give the world an accurate picture of the
God who so freely gave his life for you.  Listen to the way the Amplified Bible expounds Ps 23:3.  
He refreshes and restores my life (my self); he leads me in the paths of righteousness (uprightness
and right standing with Him—NOT FOR MY EARNING IT, but for His name’s sake.) 

I love the words that Elizabeth spoke to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  She said:
Blessed [happy, to be envied] is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be
accomplished!”
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.   Luke 1:45-47

How many of us here tonight need God to restore our minds.  The pollution, the garbage that our
society—especially the media spews out.  Our culture is like a raw sewer.  I need God to restore my
mind.  Make it pure and clean again.  Jesus, restore my soul.

How many of us here tonight need God to restore our WILL.  Our determination to live the way we know
we ought to live.  the greatest power any human can possess—through the enabling of the Holy Spirit—
is the power to do what you ought to do, when and how you ought to do it, whether or not you feeeel like
it.  So many people today, even Christians, are weak-willed.  Funny, we call a child who wants his own
way “strong-willed.”   That’s not strong-willed.  Anyone can pitch a fit when life doesn’t go their way.  A
strong will says, “Not my will, by THY will be done.”  That’s strength.  But we can’t have that kind of
strength unless God restores our will.  Jesus, restore my soul.

How many of us here tonight need God to restore our emotions.  Oh, the damage that’s been done to
women in our culture.  The abuse.  The neglect.  The hurt.  So many women in turmoil.  Depression,
anxiety, bitterness.  Emotional pressure of always feeling you’re not good enough. “I’m too fat.  I’m too
old.  I don’t look like the women on the cover of the magazines.  I’m a failure as a mom.”  Our emotions
are haywire.  Oh, Jesus, restore my emotions.  Heal me and I will be healed.  Restore my soul.  
Perhaps more than any other area, the battle to Restore our Souls is waged in the mind.  Remember
the elephant?  What held him back was not the rope, but his own mind.  He believed he couldn’t break
free and that belief became a self-fulfilling prophesy.  If you think you’ll never change, guess what?  You
never will.  You’ve got to change the way you THINK. 

Romans 12:2  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will. 

Thoughts lead to Attitudes & Actions
Attitudes & Actions lead to Reactions
Reactions lead to Emotions
Emotions lead to Beliefs
Beliefs determine who you are
Who You Are leads to Thoughts
And the Vicious Cycle continues

Oswald Chambers  observed:  “Our stamina is sapped, not so much through external troubles
surrounding us but through problems in our thinking.” 

In particular, you have to change the way you think about yourself.  I know we’ve talked about this before,
but it is SOOOO important.  Let me ask you something:  How would you FEEL – emotionally—how
would you FEEL – if the most important person in your life constantly said OUT LOUD to you the things
you say to yourself?  Half of you would be in the fetal position, unable to function.

We constantly tell ourselves ROTTEN things about ourselves, then we wonder why we FEEL
depressed.

William Backus, author of Telling Yourself the Truth :  “Your internal monologue is the never-silent
stream of words or images running through your head night and day, the automatic thoughts that
habitually pop into your head unbidden, generated automatically from your beliefs….  We can KNOW
scriptural truth, yet still allow ourselves to be [negatively] influenced by untrue self-talk.  All too often we
make ourselves miserable and keep ourselves miserable by listening to a nonstop stream of inner
nonsense [and self-defeating self-criticism}.  The cause of our emotional ups and downs comes from
within us—not what happens to us, but what we tell ourselves as we interpret what’s happening to us.
What we tell ourselves determines the quality of our lives.” 

The truth is, people ruminate upon the same handful of topics day after day.  We are creatures of habit,
even in our thinking patterns.  What are your Top 5 Mental Topics.  Pay attention this week.  Then ask
yourself: is thinking about this stuff HELPING me……..or dragging me down.  The awesome thing is,
this fact—that we tend to think about the same handful of topics all day long– can work in your favor!  
The key is to choose the right “handful of topics” to focus your repeated attention upon.  Rather than
focusing on everything that’s wrong with you and your life, think about God’s God’s love, mercy, grace,
kindness and provision for you.

Some of you have a loooooooooooong history of attracting “the wrong kind of people” into your life.  
Whether it’s the wrong kind of friends or the wrong kind of boyfriends.  The theological term for such
people is RATS.  From the Latin, Rottenous Ratinous.  Some of you find yourself in one rotten situation
after another.  One disaster after another.  Until recently, I described myself as “a weird experiences
magnet.”   People were constantly taking advantage of me or I’d get embroiled in one mess after
another. The theological term for such situations is also, conveniently enough, RATS. 

And we think the problem is the rats.  It’s that rotten boyfriend.  That rat.  We’ve got to get rid of him, so
we fight him off with a stick.  And guess what?  Another one just like him comes crawling out of the
woodwork.  Did you ever notice that.  Or we’ve got a RAT for a boss.  Or everywhere you go, you wind up
with a bunch of conniving rats for co-workers.  So you have to keep changing jobs to get away from the
rats.  Or maybe there are RATS at every church you attend, so you have to keep changing churches.  But
no matter where you go, a new batch of rats are waiting for you.  Am I right?

Maybe the rats in your life are financial setbacks.  Or chronic health problems.  You are just constantly
fighting or fleeing those rats.  Interesting, rats just love prison cells.  Rats just love prison cells.  They
love a person in CHAINS.   In fact, whenever I think of rats I think of dungeons — someone in chains,
helpless against these rats.  I don’t know what your own personal rats look like, but I have a feeling you
do.  Could be in the area of men, money, whatever.

You know, every once in a while, someone loves you enough to serve it up straight.  A pastor friend of
mine, Mike Mugavero from Texas, did that for me some time ago.  I was sitting at his kitchen table,
pleading with him to help me fight off all these rats.  He looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Donna, if
you get rid of the garbage……the rats will leave.”
If you get rid of the garbage, the rats will leave. 

Sisters, some of you have been fighting the wrong enemy all your life.  You thought the problem was the
rats.  You thought the problem was out there.  The problem is right between your ears.  We have met
the enemy and she is us.”

Ironically, the best way to get rid of the garbage is NOT to focus on the garbage.  (take it out one piece at
a time and study it)  If that approach worked, I would be Mother Teresa by now. Trust me, it doesn’t
work!  The way to transform your mind is NOT by concentrating on ridding  yourself of the garbage you’
ve been fed over the years and the negative thinking patterns that have held you captive in the past.  
Instead, deliberately turn your attention to the positive—and I want you to be very aggressive about it.  I’
m not talking about becoming a Pollyanna or wasting your time on wishful thinking.  No, I’m talking
about re-programming your mind with the truth of God’s Word.  Jesus said, You will know the truth and
the truth will set you free.  This is how we loose the power of that dinky little rope.
I once heard someone say what most of us need is brainwashing, using God’s Word as the soap.   
Here’s how Webster’s Dictionary defines brainwash: “to teach a set of ideas so thoroughly as to
change a person’s beliefs and attitudes completely.”  Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?  Maybe it’s time
for you to get serious about washing your brain. 

Slippery rope is easier to escape !!

Remember, yo mama used to “wash your mouth out with soap.”  Our mouths aren’t the real problem.—
they are just a SYMPTOM of the problem.  The problem is our soul.  That’s why God wants to restore
your soul. 

I’ve included an Affirmations List in the back of your book. You can read them over, but frankly, it won’t
do you one bit of good.  You have to recite them aloud, over and over and over, until they begin to
transform you from the inside out.  As you fill your mind with the truth about who God is and all the good
things he has done in the past and all the good things he desires to do in the future, the negative—the
garbage– will eventually get washed away. 

And when you get rid of the garbage, the rats will leave.

God wants to restore your soul : your mind, will and emotions.  I want to turn our attention to restoring
our will.  We’ll get to emotions in the next session.

Whether you like to admit it or not, who you are right now is largely the sum of the daily choices you’ve
been making for many years.  Now you might argue that OTHER PEOPLE’s choices have shaped your
life….but I would argue that YOUR REPONSE to other people’s choices is what has shaped your life.  
So the ball is still in your court.  The good news is, as you begin to make different choices, God will
restore your soul.    God’s command, “Choose ye this day,” applies to the people you allow into your life,
into your home, onto your TV and computer screens.  It applies to the way you spend your time, the food
you put into your mouth and the way you spend your money.  God sets the choices before you, but you
must make the right one. 

Throughout scripture, God tells us exactly what we need to do and how we need to live IF we want to
enjoy his best for our lives.  He will love us UNCONDITIONALLY whether or not we choose wisely; but
he will not alter the logical consequences of our choices. 

I shared with you in a previous session my frustration with God because I had prayed the Prayer of
Jabez.   I asked God to expand my territory and the only thing that seemed to expand was the size of my
thighs. 

You may remember, I was driving in my car, banging on the steering wheel as I cried out with the words
of Esau.  "Bless me! Bless me, too, Father."  I didn’t tell you the rest of the story.   “Bless me, me too,
father,” I cried.  And God whispered, "My child, it would be a whole lot easier to bless you if you would be
obedient."  I stopped banging the steering wheel and looked up.   Behold—-The Dairy Queen! So I
started thinking about the Dairy Queen. I imagined a couple scenarios.

Scenario #1: I’m driving along with my two little girls in the back seat. They are kicking and screaming at
each other. She’s looking at me.  She’s breathing my air.  Can I pull into the DQ at that moment and
give them a reward? I mean, just as a responsible parent, is that a wise thing to do? Of course not.
You’d be surprised how many women get that one wrong.  The correct answer is No.
Scenario #2: The kids and I have been out running errands all day, and they have been perfect little
girls. They’re in the back seat singing, “There’s no mother like our mother like no mother we know.”    I
think we’re getting some ice cream. 

Do I love them any more?  No.  It has nothing to do with whether or not I love them.  In fact, the reason I
wouldn’t buy them ice cream when they were acting like lunatics is because I DO love them.  I love them
too much to encourage behavior that’s ultimately going to destroy them.
The only reason they get the ice cream in Scenario #2 is because they have put themselves in a
position where it is easy for me to bless them.  
One of the saddest verses in the Bible is Heb 12:16-17. 

See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance
rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was
rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.
Esau thought he could live for the moment, controlled by what he “felt like” at the moment……. and not
pay a price for it.   So many of us live like Esau.  Phil 3:19 describes us this way:
Their god is their stomach. (phil 3:19) 

We live our lives controlled by the demands of our wants and desires.  What I want right now.  That’s all
I care about.  Yes, we are free to make our own choices, but let us never forget: first we make our
choices, then our choices make us. Invariably those verses in Scripture that proclaim our freedom
simultaneously warn us about the principle of Sowing and Reaping

And now, sisters, the moment you’ve all been waiting for.  The return of the Wand.  
If we want:                                        Then we must:
Power                                                         Pray
Peace                                                         Trust
Wisdom                                                        Study God’s Word
Emotional Healing                                 Forgive others and repent of sin
Joy                                                                Be grateful
Health                                                         Care for our body
Financial security                                        Tithe
Victory over sin                                        Establish accountability
Abundant life                                         Walk in obedience

You see, God’s love is unconditional but his promises are reserved for those who choose to be
obedient.  Again, God’s love is unconditional, but his promises are reserved for those who CHOOSE to
be obedient.

God has set our SPIRIT free –that’s an established fact.  A done deal.  But if we want him to restore our
soul, we’re going to have to cooperate with him.  Chuck Swindoll once observed: “We reap what we
sow, forgiveness notwithstanding.” The good news is this.  As you begin to Sow differently. You’ll Reap
differently!

As you allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and strengthen your will, your life will gradually begin to
improve.  Not overnight, but it will happen. 

Sisters, I’m not here to pitch a pity party.  But in order for me to glorify God—to portray an ACCURATE
REFLECTION of the God we serve– there are some things about my life I feel compelled to share.  
When God saw that I had come to the end of myself…….and was ready to cooperate with him as he
began doing a serious work of restoring my soul, he led me here to Word of Grace.  I am so thankful.    
God also directed me to someone who specialized in helping women recover from the specific trauma I
had endured—a professional who’d spent 20 years working with women like me.  He told me “I was
the most severe case he’d ever seen.”  I don’t say that for dramatic effect.  But I’m telling you:  I was an
absolute wreck.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, in every way–I was a wreck. I don’t say that to illicit
your pity.  I don’t WANT your pity. 

In fact, I don’t want anything.  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  Or Donna’s translation.  The
lord is my shepherd, I’m not missing out on anything.  I share this ONLY because I want you to know
that if God can restore ME, there is hope for every single woman in this room. 

He is leading me beside still waters.  He’s making me to lie down in green pastures.  He is setting a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies.  Where are our enemies by the way?  Are they up in
heaven?  No, they’re right here on earth, aren’t that?  God says he will prepare a table—a symbol of his
abundant provision, of his absolute care for you—he will prepare a table before you in the presence of
your enemies.  And the whole world will see what God can do when he RESTORES your soul.  But you’
ve got to cooperate with him.  You’ve got to think different thoughts.  And you’ve got to make different
choices.  God will handle the rest.

When we began this evening, I said some of us are like that Elephant.  The big dumb animal held
captive by something that literally had no power to control it except the power he chose to give it.  The
Bible compares us to another animal.  It says we’re just like sheep.  And Jesus is our good shepherd.  
What do we know about sheep?  They are “prone to wander.”  But the good shepherd, goes and finds
them.  Brings them back into the fold.  Leads them besides still waters.  Makes them lay down in green
pastures.  Have you wandered?  God wants to bring you back.  He wants to restore your soul.  He wants
to lead you in paths of righteousness……for his name’s sake.  So YOU can show the world an accurate
reflection of the God we serve.