When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the eternal one nicklis. Nicklis. Nicklis. Nicklis heartbeat narrator once there was a girl who climbed mountains. I climb because i love the mountains, she said, and i meet god there. Her passion to climb would take her higher and higher. Lygon stevens successfully summited 39 14ers in her home state of colorado. 14ers are mountains higher than 14,000 feet. She also summited denali in alaska, mt. Rainier in washington, and the tallest andean peaks in ecuador. On january 10, 2008, on winter break from college, 20yearold Lygon Stevens perished in an avalanche. While climbing Little Bear Peak in southern colorado with her brother. Swept downhill over 1,000 feet and buried under a mass of snow, she would not be recovered until late june when the snows melted. Her brother and climbing partner, nicklis, also caught in the avalanche, miraculously survived the fall. Though injured, he climbed out, hiking eight miles over 20 hours to summon help. With him he carried two precious possessions their camera and lygons journal. These objects revealed to us not only lygons last days and thoughts on this earth, but also something astounding. Lygons writings unveiled an intensely intimate relationship with her god. Always a shining light for him, lygon experienced a depth and honesty. In her relationship with the lord which even seasoned veterans of faith long to have. For those of us who are still climbing mountains around the world, lygons writings helped us discover who god is, how he works, how close we can get to him, and weve discovered how to overcome the greatest challenge to summit any mountain ourselves, and overcome the limits we place and even nurture in our lives. Im sarah stevens, lygon was my daughter, and this is the story of my family meeting god. In a way we never expected or would have chosen. My destiny, my life, my future, my purpose my choice. You see, theyre all connected. But what i do in order to live in this world, what i choose, is not who i am. I may run with endurance unequaled, or climb with a passion and love matched by no man; but even then, those things are not who i am. By choice, i separate myself from this world, living as a passerby. I can do this because who i am, what i do, belongs to the lowest yet greatest achievement of man to become as nothing to myself that i may, with every breath, breathe the will of god. Sarah on january 10, 2008, lygon and her brother nicklis. Set out to climb Little Bear Peak, a mountain rising 14,021 feet in southern colorado. It is known for being among the most difficult and dangerous of colorados 14,000 foot peaks. Our daughter lygon, age 20, and son nicklis, 23, were on winter break from their colleges. In spite of their youth, they were highly skilled and experienced mountaineers. They had successfully summited some of the most challenging peaks in the world. As parents we had sweat it out on far more dangerous expeditions, so we were not too concerned about them attempting a winter ascent of little bear. During a winter break in our home state, in spite of the challenges of climbing in january. The most dangerous section in the ascent of little bear is known as the hourglass, which is access to the west ridge to the summit. Climbers have lost their lives there. Nicklis we stopped on that ridge. Just a little bit before we had to cross an open snowfield to get to the hourglass, and in that moment is when we had a conversation then about being in gods presence, and how he dwells in the mountains and how much we loved being there, and just how this was where we felt closest to him and most at home, and how we heard his voice better here because we were trained to. That was where we learned how, you know. And then i went ahead and we tried to take a picture of us together, and i think i missed mostly, at least the first time, but took some pictures and then moved on across the ridge. Towards the hourglass couloir there. Once we headed across that open snowfield toward the base of the hourglass couloir there, about halfway across is when the snow broke free. And the sound that is associated with that is a whump. Its when the snow drops a few inches and its multiple tons and tons of snow. All dropping instantaneously about two inches together. It makes a very, very distinct whump sound that mountaineers are very familiar with. And are very afraid of. Makes us. Makes us scared, and so i heard that and it immediately was. I knew it was bad. So once i heard that sound, whoomp, i started. I felt my body start to slide and turn, and then lygon, from behind me. She was six, eight feet behind me or so. She called out, you know, she called out my name and i heard and reached, you know, but it just. Yeah, and so at that point i. My training kicked in, and i started to do all the right things. I was, you know, keeping my feet down. And swimming in the snow cause its very loose and fluid. And so i was doing that backpedaling, that swimming. To keep myself on top of the snow because its better that way. And there was a rock that was up above the surface of the snow that was moving, and so i reached out to try and grab that rock. When my hand hit that rock i was already moving so fast that it spun me, and thats when i started to tumble. So at that point i was tumbling in the snow, and i lost all sense of up and down and right and left. I was just spinning and tumbling in the snow. And then i felt myself go over an edge into a freefall, and i thought at that moment, i thought, well, okay jesus, here i come, you know, when i wake up from this i will be with you and thatll be okay. Nnouncer when tragedy strikes, deep personal questions inevitably follow why does god allow pain . And how do we move forward in our sorrow . Follow the dramatic story of Lygon Stevens, and how her family found peace with god in the midst of great loss. The time to live is now the legacy of Lygon Stevens. The 90minute documentary on dvd. Is available when you give a gift of any amount to day of discovery, which will help us continue bringing you programs like this one. Nicklis when i woke up on the snowfield, i immediately saw blood on the snow in front of me, and so i knew, because there was blood there, oh, well, im not dead. My Second Thought was, i have to make sure i can move, that im not gonna die momentarily, so i did an initial selfassessment there at the bottom of the snowfield. Sarah nicklis had freefallen 800 to 1,000 feet, and had been unconscious for an undetermined amount of time. In the fall he had suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung, a laceration to his forehead, a dislocated finger and a dislocated knee. Nicklis titanium ice ax, which was clipped into his harness, had the adze ripped off and the pick bent at a 30degree angle. Nicklis then my next thought was, okay, wheres lygon . Im in a place that i can now find her. So thats when i started to. I did a visual search of the debris field first, to look and see if there was any signs of her on top of the snow. Thats when i realized how huge the debris field was, cause it was massive, and there was no visual sign of her, so i. Just out of desperation cause there was no way that id be able to actually find her. But out of desperation i used my ice ax to try and probe for her in the snow after that. Ethan greene well, it was a large slab avalanche. A lot of people think about avalanches in snow as being a bunch of loose particles, like sand rolling down the hill, and we do see avalanches like that. The more dangerous avalanches are what we call a slab avalanche, where a large cohesive block of snow breaks away from the hillside. These are the most dangerous and the most damaging, and thats what lygon and nick found that day. As they traversed off the ridge, out into the bowl, they triggered this avalanche, starting a crack in the snow that ran over a very large area, detaching a large piece of snow with a lot of mass in it, and that rolled down the hill, causing a fair amount of damage, and then, you know, unfortunately, seriously hurting one of the members and killing the other. Ncklis after probing the avalanche field for a long time, i dont know how long that went on, i kinda lost track of time there. Between god speaking to me and my training and all the things that i should do kicked in, it was like, no, i cant sit here. I cant do this. Well both die. cause if i didnt find shelter, i didnt have enough warmth to be able to survive that night, and the only place that i was gonna be able to truly help was once i had a phone. And more people, and we could do a probe line and really search the field. So that meant that i had to get rescuers and get help, cause i wasnt going to find her by myself. So i made the decision then to leave the debris field, knowing that i was probably abandoning her if she was still alive somewhere. She probably wouldnt be by the time i got help cause it was gonna take a really long time. And that was very, very difficult. And so i did then. I had to climb back up. The ridge wed just come down and descend the opposite side. Sarah it had to be the most difficult moment of my dear sons life. I knew how close he and lygon were. To leave that debris field without knowing where his sister was. Would have been an admission of her death to him. Indeed, now his own life was at stake. After reaching their campsite, nicklis would spend a painful night. In the tent they had set up in an Old Log Cabin shelter. He could not lie down due to his punctured lung, and spent a sleepless night trying to melt snow with his body heat for water. So he could have the strength to descend and find Cell Phone Service in the morning. Nicklis so i spent most of the night basically trying to melt water with my body heat, cause i couldnt get my stove to work, and sitting and trying not to go into shock. During that time i saw her journal where she kept it in our tent, and i. Knowing that id probably left her, i grabbed it. It was just a piece of her, you know, i didnt feel comfortable opening it or anything. But just to hold it was. Gave me hope a little bit still, and so i put it in my jacket and kept it the rest of the way out. I sat waiting for sunlight, and as soon as i had light i took as much as i could. I took what i would need. I didnt know how fast id be able to move, if id be able to get far enough to get service. Again, the only place i could remember having it was actually at our car, so i took enough stuff that id be able to spend another night, and i left enough stuff that if she made it back to the tent, there would be warmth and shelter and those things for her. So then i. I just. I put on my skis, and i kind of used the sled to brace my ribs a little bit, and kind of leaned back into it and stood up, and then just coasted downhill as much as i could and headed out then that day. And any time i came to any slight uphill, it took me very, very long to get up it, because i just had to. Taking deep breaths hurt and it just didnt happen, so i had to very slowly step and breath and step and breath and step and breath. And i checked my cell phone every five or six minutes trying to see if i had a service, and i Found Service after about a couple of hours. I found some service and thats when i called 911 immeimately, and told them where i was at, where the avalanche was, where i was headed. Then i called my family and told them what had happened. We were. We were in a slide and i. I think we lost lygon. Sarah about 9 00 in the morning, nick and i were in our bedroom when the phone rang. When nick picked up the phone he said hello, lygon. It was her i. D. On the phone. She was the one always calling, always remembering to take her phone, always delighting her dad with the report of another ascent and her wellbeing. But this time it was different. It was nicklis and i heard the word avalanche, and nick dropped to his knees. She had called me when she got down from ecuador, dad, i made it. I knew the sound of that voice and the victory in that voice, so i was getting ready to hear that voice again. And its nicklis. Hey, nicklis youre done early. Whats going on . Nicklis we were. We were in a slide and i. I think we lost lygon. Theres nothing that ive ever experienced that compares with how i felt at that moment. And itll never go away. We were in a slide and i. I think we lost lygon. echoes caution i am weird. I fast because i am hungry. I run because i am thirsty. I die every day because i want to live. I lead because i follow. I give everything away to become rich. I am weak and broken so i will be strong. I see more when my eyes are closed. Im in love with someone i havent seen. I love the unlovely. Im honored when people mock me. I embrace the foolish things to become wise. I will walk wholeheartedly out on any limb he requires, because even if he lets it break, he can teach me to fly nicklis i wanted to get down. I was driven to get down. To reach the rescuers so i could show them on a map where we were. It was the task that kept me moving. It wasnt necessarily reasonable, but that was the thing. That really kept me from just giving up was, i have to show them where she is. I have to show them where she is so they can find her, and so god can make this okay. Because that was my mantra for the whole way out was, god, youre gonna make this okay. God, youre gonna make this okay. God, youre gonna make this okay. And so i got down far enough. I was about a mile, three quarters of a mile from where our car was when there were three men who found me. They had fourwheelers. I heard them coming so i stopped and waited for them. And i saw them and i knew i. I was out, you know. And so i. There was some. Some of the brokenness started to come in then. When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the eternal one dont tell me he has no ears or does not work in the affairs of man. Ann a devastating avalanche, a young woman of faith, and a journal. The complete story of Lygon Stevens is available right now on dvd. In this gripping account, the Stevens Family retells. The dramatic events of lygons death and the grief and questions that followed. The time to live is now the legacy of Lygon Stevens. The 90minute dvd is yours when you contact day of discovery with a gift of any amount, which will help us continue bringing you programs like this one. Nick began to gather. You know, gather men and plot, and search and rescue was bound by their own policies. To not go back in until all conditions were safe and stable. And so i was standing there helpless again. What do i do as a father to get my daughter off the mountain . Announcer discover the struggling faith of a family in grief, and the powerful testimony of gods faithfulness in action. Then god said, what was jobs question to me . What did he ask me over and over, and over and over again . And jobs question to god, in that moment for me, boiled down to, why . Why has this happened . Announcer discover hope in the midst of tragedy, and the inspiring words that a young woman of faith left behind. The time to live is now the legacy of Lygon Stevens. The 90minute dvd is yours when you give a gift of any amount. Join us again next week at this same time for another day of discovery. To find out more, visit us online at dod. Org. Support for day of discovery comes from the gifts of friends like you. [music] you are where you are because of the way you think. And the way youve responded to the way you think. And the relationships youve built around you. And the real desires and goals that you have in your life. If you want life at its best, its a road you travel, following jesus christ savior, lord, master and guide. Announcer today on in touch, the road to life at its best. And jesus came up and spoke to them saying. [music] baptizing them in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. Teaching them to observe all that ive commanded you, and im with you always, even to the end of the age. [music] only jesus is my refuge. He is my hiding place. He has been my soul sustainer. I am safe in his embrace. Only jesus love is constant. Hes an ever faithful friend. Hes my highest inspiration. I need nothing more than him. Only jesus. Only jesus. My one desire, only jesus. All my worship, all my praises, all that i live for, only jesus. Only jesus will i worship, my heart has just begun to sing unending praises to an audience of one. Only jesus will i follow. I have no higher call. I owe him my allegiance, only jesus is lord of all. Only jesus, only jesus. My one desire, only jesus. All my worship, all my praises. All that i live for, only jesus. I want to give this life i live as a sacrifice of praise. For jesus, only jesus. Only jesus, only jesus. My one desire, only jesus. All my worship, all my praises. All that i live for, only jesus. Only jesus, my jesus. All my worship, all my praises. All that i live for, only jesus. My jesus. My jesus. [applauding] our life is like a road we travel. And for some its a very long road. For other people its a short road. But for some people, for example, its very difficult. Very demanding. Sometimes very dangerous. For other people, you may say, well they look like they have it all their way and everything looks so easy. Remember this. In every life theres trials, theres disappointments and theres hindrances and heartaches and oftentimes pain. Nowhere in the bible does it say life is going to be easy. God never says that. He makes many wonderful promises but he never says anything about it being easy. And so what we have to decide is this. We have to decide what we want life to be like. You say, is it all left up to us . No. I want you to think about this. Before you were ever born, god knew you would be born and he had a plan for your life. In fact, he says, in ephesians chapter one that god chose you and me before the foundation of the world in christ jesus. Every single believer. You said, how can that be . Do you know what . Im glad i dont have to understand everything god said. I just have to believe what he said. And that no contradictions in the word of god, not a single one. So what i want you to see is this. God had a plan for your life from the very beginning. You say, let me tell you about my life. Anyone of us could say that. Anyone of us could talk about how good it was in the beginning or how bad it was or how bad it became or how good it became. All of that could be true. Understand that. The truth is, we understand that he intended to be the guide in the life of every Single Person he created. So lets forget about everybody else for just a moment and think about you. When god created you, he created you for a purpose. He had a plan for your life. You say, he must have messed up on my plan. No. He didnt mess up on your plan. See, were the ones who mess up the plans. Because we dont understand, or maybe we learn a little bit late in life what its really all about. He has a plan for your life. I can tell you this. Its a good plan. Its a good plan. Now, we dont always think its good because it doesnt exactly turn out the way we want it to turn out, but its still good. And that is for those of us who are believers. If youve never trusted jesus christ as your savior and youre going through heartache, pain and suffering, we understand that. If youre a believer and youre going through heartache, suffering and pain, understand that. Because he never says it will be easy. What i want you to see, he has a plan. Number one. And secondly, hes promised to guide you through that plan so that your life can be the best that god intended for you. Now the first thing comes to mind is, what about all the years i messed up and wasted . Gods a forgiving god. Heres what he does. When a person comes to know christ as their savior god wipes away the past. He wipes it away. He does not hold you responsible for what hes forgiven you for. There are times in our lives when we look back and say, i wish that, i wish this, i wish the other. I understand that. He forgives you. Youve got a clean slate. You start out with him. Once you begin with him, heres what he does. He begins to work out his will in your life and his plan in your life. From that point on. Hell make it the best that holy god can make it from that point on if you will trust him. And if youll let him be your guide. So i want to talk about this whole idea, the fact our life is like a road. And for us to follow that road, to follow his road is always the best choice. I want you to turn to a small passage if youll look in proverbs chapter four for a moment. And i want us to begin in verse ten. And just verse ten through 13. Listen to what solomon writes here. He says, hear my son and accept my sayings. And the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in up right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded. And if you run, youll not stumble. Take hold of my instructions. Do not let go. Guard her, for shes your life. Now look at this. He says, first of all, were to hear. Theres a lot of people who hear but dont do the rest. Hear my son and accept my sayings which is his way of saying, what you hear of truth, when he says accept it, that means make application in your life. And the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom. That is, thats the only way god directs. He directs us wisely. Sometimes we dont think maybe its wise but he knows that it is. Ive directed you in the way of wisdom. Ive led you in up right paths. He says when he guides us, he leads us in the path thats best, right, good, that fits his plan for our life. When you walk, your steps will not be impeded. That is, hell remove those things that hinder us. Sometimes we have hindrances in front of us we think really will make us stumble but he knows how to remove those. If you run, youll not stumble. Sometimes we think weve stumbled but it may be a difficulty he allowed in our life that he wants to teach us or prepare us for. When he says take hold of instructions, grab it, grasp it, hold it tight. Be serious about it. Do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. So, the implication here is god has a plan for us. Hes a god of wisdom. He has the best plan possible. And what we want to do is to follow that plan. And in order to do that, what we have to do, we have to begin deciding this question. Who is going to guide my life . Hes going to guide your life . Jesus christ is the faithful guide. You remember what he said, we quote this verse often. He says, i am the way, the truth and the life. He is the right way, hes the best way, hes a planned way and you cant beat his way. All you have to do is look around and see people who have ignored christ in their life, who are ignoring him, and who have decided theyll live their life the way they choose. And whether theyre motivated by money or motivated by popularity and prominence or prestige, whatever it might be, the issue is, who is guiding your life . And i would ask you to consider that personally at this moment. Who is guiding your life . You say, im a christian so i guess jesus is. Not necessarily. Because youve been saved doesnt mean hes guiding your life. Thats a deliberate decision you have to make that jesus is going to guide my life. And im going to submit to his guidance and his direction. If hes guiding your life, you can just mark this down. Its the best path you can travel. Its the best road you can travel. You may say, well, if its all that good, why am i going through such difficulty and hardship and pain . Because, oftentimes god knows it takes those difficult hardships, those painful trying times to do what . To make of us the person he wants us to be. To build character into our life. To make us an example of what god is able to do in a persons life who goes through those trying times. Do you remember what he says in romans 8 28. He causes all things to Work Together for good to those who love him. He didnt say except pain, heart ship, difficulty, disappointments, all that are part of it. Jesus didnt escape many of the hardships. His disciples did not. Why should we think we should . Being our guide hell lead us in the right way every single time. Its interesting people will quote the 23rd psalm. And if youll notice how many promises he makes in that psalm. About guiding us and leading us and protecting us and so forth. And heres the mistake people make and i was talking to somebody this week and it brought it to my mind. This lady was questioning whether she believed in god or not. I know she did believe in him. She questioned whether god loved her or not and on and on and on she went with all these questions. Why is god allowing these things to happen in her life . So i began to listen to her tell me what was going on in her life. And it was one act of disobedience after another. One act of sin after the other. I said, wait a minute. Youre expecting god to be this loving, kind, sweet god who gives you everything in the world you want and just meeting all your needs and youre living in continual disobedience to god. Hes trying to lead you as one of his followers and has it dawned on you that god is allowing you to experience what you have chosen . When you choose disobedience, you get what disobedience brings. Hes a faithful, loyal, loving guide. Which means that you and i do not have to depend just upon our wisdom but upon his. And hes willing to lead anyone who is willing to be led. When you notice in this passage he talks about either walking or running, either one. But it all begins with him. So i would ask you this morning, who is guiding your life . You say, i am . Is that really true . Are you listening to other people . Are you listening to their opinions . Are they making suggestions to you that youre picking up on . Are they putting pressure on you to make a decision this way, that way in your life. Are they saying to you if i was you, heres what i would do . Usually when someone tells you that, put stoppers in your ears for the simple reason theyre not you. They dont know the will of god for your life. Therefore, you have to decide, who is going to guide my life . You say, i guide my own life. No. Do you know what . None of us are capable of guiding our own life wisely. Either we let the Lord Jesus Christ to guide us or well head out in the wrong direction. The road we travel will be the road you see many people traveling which ends up not only in difficulty and hardship and pain, but for many people a disaster. For many people its a disaster. Its a route theyve chosen. Theyve chosen to disobey god, ignore the word of god. Theyve chosen to do it their own way. And the reason they are where they are is because of choices they make. Somehow we live in society where we think theres no consequences to disobedience. Theres no way you can violate a principle of the word of god without suffering. Every single one of us believes this. You reap more than you sow later than you sow except me. Thats the way they hear that. Except me. No. Every single one of us reap what we sow, more than we sow, later than we sow and its a lie theres no consequences to sin people gravitate to. When i ask you about guide, i ask you one more time, who is guiding your life . Well, if you choose jesus to guide your life by receiving him as your personal savior and following in his way, listen, the best life god can provide for you, hes in the process of working in your life. You cant pick out your life in one particular time and say where was god here . Where was god there . Oftentimes in those difficult times he is there so absolutely present working through situations and circumstances to make you the person god wants you to be. But the issue is, hes the guide. Now in order for me to listen to my guide and to follow the right road, ive got to think right. And to think right, ive got to have a clear mind. And the only way to have a clear mind is to have a clear heart. If your heart is not clean, listen, your mind is not going to be clear. And if its not, youre going to miss out on some very important things. For example, when you and i think the way god thinks, were thinking the right way about things. Well have a discernment to know not only what is right and wrong but whats good, whats best. Listen. What is the will and purpose and plan of god. Hell give us understanding. Well begin to see things the way he sees them. Well interpret life from his perspective not our perspective and well not have our minds clogged up with the things the world has to offer. Think about this. The world has lots of suggestions, lots of pull, lots of temptations. Everything looks good. Everything, everything is pictured if you only had this and only had that and if you could just enjoy this. Thats what the world offers. Heres what we do. Look around and see what happens to people who follow that leadership and who follow those kind of suggestions. Many people would give anything to go back and start all over again and say, if i had. If i had just listened to this and if i had listened to that. If i had done what he said and she said and if i had just done what god said. So i ask you, who is guiding your life . And do you have a clear mind that you can think the way god wants you to think about your life . That he is your guide. Only he has the wisdom to know how youre to walk. You see, heres the thing about it. God knows what you want. He knows what you love. Listen, he knows what you would do if you knew what he knows. And hes willing to show us so clearly if were willing to listen. But if my heart is not clean, if my heart is not clean, then my mind is not going to be clear. And im not going to think right. And im going to suffer the consequences of not thinking the way god would have us think. Its interesting what paul said. Paul said, he says, we have the mind of christ. That is, when you receive jesus christ as your personal savior, listen, we have the capacity to think the way he would think if he were in these bodies of ours and he was living in these circumstances you and i are living in. In other words, we can think the way he would have us think. And the wonderful thing is, hes given us his word. So that any question we have about life, any decision you and i have to make, theres an answer in the word of god. Theres no contradictions in the book. Think about this. Think about all the millions and millions and millions of books there are in the world. Manuscripts, books on top of books libraries on top of libraries. You can throw every single one of those books away, listen, you can throw every single one of those books away. If you kept this one, what would happen . You would have all the knowledge and wisdom you need to live a godly life. Thats how powerful the word of god is. Thy word is a lamp to thy feet and a light to my path. He says, our times are in his hands. Teach us the way he should go. You and i should make the best of our life if we follow our faithful guide who is jesus who is willing to show us his way and his will. We must set our mind on things not in this world but things of god. Every single believer has this awesome privilege. You have to ask yourself the question, if things arent going right in your life, why are they not going right . Are you where you are because of what you decided or god decided . We know the answer to that for every single one of us we know the answer. But if deep in my heart i want gods best, think about this. If i want gods best, ive got to follow jesus way. Its just that simple. Not only that, but if i want the best, i have to, i have to acknowledge the fact that my heavenly father has a right to give guidance in my life which means the daily activities, the schedule of my life. What does he desire . Balanced schedule. God desires you and i live out of our life to the best. And he doesnt mean live it haphazardly. Think about the life of jesus. He said i must go to judea, bethlehem or jerusalem. He was definite about it. I must go through samaria. He didnt just wake up and say lets think what ill do today. So let me ask you a question. When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you think about . Please dont tell me. But what is the first thing you think about . Is it unreasonable to say, and its not, that one of the first things you should think about in the morning when you wake up is the lord jesus . God, i need wisdom for this day. I need strength for this day. I need help. Make me sensitive to whats going on around me. Lord, i need your guidance today. The truth is every single one of us can pray that prayer. We need his wisdom, guidance, direction, protection to be sensitive every day for whats going on around us. So, how do you begin your day . If hes my guide, he also has a right to give me a schedule, to show me how to walk it out and live it out every day. And when i think about that, i think about well, what should my day, what would a christians day look like . Heres what it should look like. First of all, private devotions in the morning whether you read one chapter in the bible or whether you read two chapters or whether you read a few verses and spend time and pray. At least listen, begin the day. Listen carefully. You have to remember this. Begin the day with the one who is your guide. Is that not reasonable . Yes. The infinite allwise, loving, helpful, listen, powerful, enabling god. Secondly, of course, you must work. Now, you shouldnt have the attitude, o my goodness, i got to go to work. No. Everybody who has a job today should wake up in the morning saying, thank you, father, i have a work to go to. I have a work to go to. [applauding] so there is, there is your devotion in the morning. There is work to be done. Then theres rest. Then theres your family relationships and your friends, for example. Then you say, what about other things . Well, sometimes you have to deal with your finances or at least check on them daily. Always a wise thing to do at this time. Then of course your own personal fitness, your health. What you eat. Your exercise. And so when i think about that and think about how it works in our life, so im going to give you a list. The reason i want to give you a list, i want you to write it down. If i just said it, you wouldnt get it all down. What i want you to see here, i want you to see things that weaken our bodies which are, by the way the temple of the holy spirit. When people say i can do anything i want to do with my body, you can but youll violate the word of god. Temple of the holy spirit. First of all, look at this. Your energy for the task. When youre not in good health, you dont have the energy to do what you need to do. Thats a known fact. Secondly, your ability to focus. When youre sick, your mind is divided. Oftentimes you cant focus the way you ought to focus. Then the degree of alertness. Youre not as alert when youre sick and your mind is divided as you could be. Ready to take on new challenges. When a person doesnt feel good physically theyre not ready to take on new challenges. I have to get over this, that whatever it might be. Then of course the capacity to finish a task. Many people start things they never finish. If your body, listen, if your body isnt working properly, theres lots of things that happen and this is certainly one of them. And so somebody says, well, i would like to finish the task but i dont feel like it. Well, because if your body is not healthy, it makes a difference. Then, of course, the level of enthusiasm. Its real hard to be enthusiastic about something when you feel like you have a on the on you or you have an ache or pain or hurt yourself in some way. Then the willingness to take risks. Willingness to take risks does not come very easily when your body is not functioning properly. So thats why i think its so very, very important we take seriously what were saying. Then of course, the speed at which you operate. When a person is ill, they cant go at the same speed they can otherwise. Ask yourself the question. Does it make a difference what i do with my body . Yes, it does. Whose body is it . Belongs to god. He said its the temple of the holy spirit. That should dictate what i put in it, what i avoid putting in it. How i operate. How we function in life. Its very evident from that simplest a person whose body is not functioning properly cant be their best. There are diseases we dont know why they come. There are things that happen to people nobody has an answer for. Its nothing to do with anybody being holy or less holy because theyre sick. The issue is we have a responsibility to take care of these physical bodies of ours. When you think about the fact its a major issue in america the that we have so much food, well, i wont get into all of that except to say, we do have a problem. And our wealth and our blessing has about blessed some folks to death. It gets the best of them. Were responsible. We cant blame anybody. Theres some diseases, we dont know why. But for the most part, we have the right and the privilege and the responsibility to keep our bodies healthy. Now not only that, but i think about this whole issue of our relationships. Now watch this. If jesus is my guide, then my relationships are going to be chosen by him. Now, if i should ask you this morning, think about the people who are closest to you. Your family, for example, if youre married, your husband or wife, your children. Then theres your friends, people you work with. Your circles of people you