Category Archives: history

proclaim: why women, too, should go and tell

Posted on by March 26, 2025

I hate dealing with haters. Or as our 6-year-old says, the h-word.

But doing most anything gets easier with more experience, and in the internet world even the most innocent posts rile up opposition.

Like recently when I shared a few Bible verses online – which I do daily – and someone thought it was important to remind me that Paul said women aren’t supposed to teach, and that I should pray about it, and that I should also cover my head while doing so. Bless his heart.

proclaim: why women, too, should go and tell | Shannon Guerra

In the last few years, I’ve had a lot of hate from people who misunderstand a few verses in the Bible at the expense of the entirety of scripture. I’ve been attacked for sharing short videos online with prayer and personal testimonies. People have called me horrible names for talking about what I’m reading in the Bible and how it impacted me, or for sharing different connections the Lord revealed to me or things that He said to me (who knew there were so many Christians who don’t think the Lord speaks through anything or to anyone except through the physical paper in their KJV?…but that’s a whole other tangent).

And none of them agree. The responses are illogical and varied:

  • Some of them are okay with writing but not speaking (because writing is silent).
  • Some deem it acceptable to share online (Oh thank you, gracious ones…*curtsies*) as long as it’s only in a women’s forum.
  • Some allow sharing a testimony, but don’t you dare mention Greek or Hebrew in reference to Scripture because that could be seen as teaching, donchaknow.
  • Some are fine with women speaking or writing or teaching on any topic in the world as long as it’s not spiritual, because as soon as you mention Jesus or God or Holy Spirit or prayer or anything else, it becomes preaching and triggers the 1 Timothy 2:12 alarm.
  • Others condone sharing scripture and commentary as long as you stand on one foot while typing with your non-dominant hand.

You get the picture. I made the last one up, but the rest are based on actual arguments I’ve encountered.

I’ve been opposed for all kinds of things that actually do resemble teaching and preaching – like, um, teaching and preaching, I guess – but never by someone who understood the Bible in context. Remarkably, it’s only by those who view Scripture through a Western, English-speaking lens, because of course that’s what Jesus and Paul used. Hee hee.

But never have I ever been opposed by someone who also professes to be a believer fighting for expansion of the Kingdom for simply copying a few verses and posting them online. Until last week.

Slippery slope, eh? This is what legalism (including patriarchy, or complementarianism, or whatever your jargon prefers) leads to.

Irony abounds though, because many choose the side that silences women out of fear of the slippery slope on the other extreme – because ohmygosh, if women realized that they, too, have authority and are part of the priesthood and are also the chosen people sent to go and tell, it might result in bra burning, blue-haired feminism, and who knows what other chaos and nonsense.

We can’t have that. No, we have to control, instead.

So here, at least, we see the culprit: Fear. And isn’t that interesting.

What’s also interesting is that it doesn’t work at all. We have seen many slippery slopes – from drag queen storytimes to pastors caught in sex scandals – but women who just want to tell people about Jesus generally aren’t the ones sliding down them.

Fear that manifests as control is usually birthed out of offense. It happens on both sides.

People see something they don’t like or don’t approve of or don’t understand, and they get offended. You’ll know who they are right away; they’re the ones who refuse to keep reading, or only do so to leave angry, insulting comments (or they leave in the middle of the sermon and write condescending emails on Monday). They refuse to learn, refuse to move forward, refuse to allow their preconceived notions to be challenged.

But also, they refuse to trust that God knows and can handle what “those other people” are doing and thinking, and generally demand that others do and think the way they do.

This is a sad situation because instead of worshiping (which requires trusting) the Creator in the fullness of who He is and what He did, those acting out of fearful control choose instead to worship (and put their trust in) a few isolated verses at the expense of the rest of Scripture, and then use them to beat down the half of the Kingdom who possess ovaries.

And again, the irony: Their misapplication only fuels that blue-haired feminism they so despise.

How is that working out for us, Church?

Do those who misunderstand those few verses in the Bible – and yet can’t even agree among themselves – get to dictate which of Jesus’ teachings and commands apply to everyone, and which are only for men and thus forbidden to women?

Do we really think that the full gospel only applies to men?

Any honest student of the Bible will admit that there are sections here and there that seem confusing or contradictory on the surface. How should we respond?

One option is to dig deeper to reconcile and understand. Another option is to simply err on the side of silencing and prohibiting half the Kingdom from sharing the good news.

But are we not also the Temple of the Living God?

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

– 1 Peter 2:9

In order that you may proclaim…Was this verse written only for men? Or are women not also called to proclaim the excellence of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light?

No, no, don’t give me any BS about the many quiet, demure ways women can “proclaim.” I know. I love making chowder for a crowd, quietly praying with others, tucking my children in at night, and interceding on behalf of the world around me. I can even make a knock-your-socks-off grilled cheese sandwich. Those are some of my very favorite things.

But I also really like talking about Jesus.

And I’ve become quite fond of looking up the Bible’s original Greek and Hebrew.

Proclaim here in the Greek means to declare, to tell out, to announce publicly. So it requires a bit of volume. It’s clear that those particular men (and some women) who demand silence are sitting on the wrong side of both history and scripture.

Fortunately, when people stand in opposition to God’s commands, we are called to obey God rather than men. We’re in good company here:

So [the religious leaders] called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

– Acts 4:18-20

It’s getting late. Writers check their word counts like executives glance at their watches, and we’re at 1200 words already and just look at how you’re hanging in there. Well done, high five.

But here we are, and I haven’t even gotten to my notes yet about what I really wanted to share with you.

So first, quickly, there are tons of resources that explain the context, language, and cultural value of the cherry-picked verses often misused to keep women silent (here, here, here, and here are some excellent ones). You should read them if you’re interested (and if you’re not, you should definitely read them).

With all that out of the way – this is how we work smarter, not harder, because most of the trolls have probably left the room by now – I’ll tell you about my most recent trip through the end of Romans, written by Paul, who also authored most of those often misused verses.

** opens notes, cracks knuckles, rubs hands together **

Romans is 16 chapters long and we’re starting in the middle of 15. I’ve read it a gajillion times before (okay, probably only twenty) but never noticed this:

I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

– Romans 15:14

Huh. Instructing is a lot like teaching, and “one another” means they are not segregated (like into sexes), but together.

Okay, carry on. Now we move to chapter 16, and right off we see this:

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord, as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.

– Romans 16:1-2

This woman, Phoebe, was a deacon. Some translations say “servant” but the Greek word is diakonos, the same used for “servant” or “minister” all throughout the gospels and the rest of the New Testament.

She was also a “benefactor” – which is sort of a vague term, but in the Greek (yay, fun!) it’s prostatis, and more specifically it means patroness, helper, protector, or guardian. Paul says she was this for him and others. Because of the language of this text, many believe it was Phoebe who delivered and read Paul’s letter to the Romans – and that, of course, would’ve required speaking aloud, ahem.

Moving on:

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus…

– Romans 16:3

First, if you’re thinking of Priscilla and Aquila, yes, same people. If you’re thinking that Prisca is a short nickname for Priscilla (like I did), it’s actually the other way around. Prisca was her name, Priscilla was a nickname – adding “illa” was sort of like changing Anne to Annie.

Secondly though, and more relevant to our discussion, she’s mentioned before her husband. That stands out as odd and notable for their culture, which would generally have put the man’s name first. Putting her name first (which happens four out of the five times they’re mentioned together) indicates her role in teaching and ministry was more prominent than her husband’s.

Okay, skip a few verses mentioning a couple more people, and we land on this:

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Israelites who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

– Romans 16:7

Junia was an apostle. This is shocking and abhorrent to some people, and they run to certain translations that watered the phrasing down to make it sound like she was simply known to the apostles. But no, we look at the original language and she was among the apostles – among, meaning she was part of that group, and it takes some theological backflips to say she was just there with them but not actually one of them.

Paul mentions many men and women in this chapter, showing clearly that they’re working side by side in ministry and leadership.

Then he finishes his acknowledgments and immediately launches into this, and it’s no accident:

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who create dissensions and hindrances, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them.

– Romans 16:17

What is more divisive than telling half the Kingdom they cannot participate in all of the Great Commission? What is more hindering than telling that half to stay quiet?

For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded.

– Romans 16:18

To be fair, not all who teach this are purposefully serving their own appetites – they are just passing along what they themselves were taught, and they want to do the right thing, and that’s to be commended. But that mis-teaching has been based in self-interest, deceiving the naive – or, “akakos,” meaning innocent, guileless, simple…those who are focused on doing the right thing but without deeper understanding or knowledge.

And we need to pursue deeper understanding and knowledge. We don’t want to just be right, but righteous.

For your obedience is known to all; therefore, I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil. The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

– Romans 16:19-20

With the state of events right now, it is no wonder that the enemy would try to use the very scripture Christians revere to diminish the spread of the gospel. What is so slimy though, is that he has managed to use many in the Church to perpetrate the quelling of it.

It boggles the mind to see how out of touch that mindset is with not only scripture, but also the dire needs of a world on fire. People are living and dying amid wars, persecutions, sickness, and depravity, so how can anyone in the Kingdom possibly justify telling 50% of Christians to be quiet about Jesus, and just let them handle it?

We can’t. We were never meant to.

So go into all the world, and tell.

language of freedom: how we end the hostilities

Posted on by November 14, 2024

Like many of you, we’ve felt relief and encouragement over the last week or so of events…on the national scale, at least. At the state level, Alaska’s elections are still a dumpster fire of delay and obvious corruption. And we’re not alone. *friendly wave and fist bump to Arizona*

language of freedom: how we end the hostilities | Shannon Guerra

So it’s a relief, but it’s not over. And the following day, when nationwide results were confirmed, Vin said, “It’s like we’ve made it through Dunkirk, or Brooklyn Heights, or the Battle of Antietam.”

I looked at him and shook my head. He’s a nerd who’s read books on all the major wars and lots of the minor ones, but history isn’t my wheelhouse.

I have, however, read The Lord of the Rings…five times.

“Tell me in a language I understand,” I said. “You mean it’s like after the battle of Helm’s Deep, but Pelennor Fields and the Black Gate are still ahead.”

“Exactly.”

See? It helps to have a common language.

So we’ve won a really important battle, but not the whole war. The work is just beginning. All the cliches.

Because even when you get the results you want in an election, it’s not the end of the fight.

Even if four years brings amazing promises fulfilled, it doesn’t do much good if at the end of them we don’t have a culture that values life and truth, because it will swing back again into another morph of madness, trying to legislate and control lives rather than maintaining minimal government and protecting freedom.

At the root of it, the battle for freedom takes place in hearts – because hearts that don’t value purity, sanity, wisdom, and wholeness will never be free, and they will never really care about the freedom of others, either.

“This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.”

– JFK (January 14, 1963, State of the Union Address)

Great men make good times; good times create weak men; weak men create hard times; hard times create great men. There are exceptions, of course. Patterns are important because they can serve as warnings to watch for, but they are not destiny.

If we want to break the cycle, we have to stop creating weak men, and I don’t think the way to do that is to intentionally shoot ourselves in the foot by creating failure and hard times.

We have to create Kingdom culture, deep and wide.

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

– 2 Corinthians 3:14-17

We move wide, laterally and in the present, by healing the generations who don’t really know who they are, who are fear-filled and enraged as a result of their own ignorance, deceived by everything spoon-fed to them in the media.

Many of them have had just enough religion and churchianity to swing far to one side, hating God and anything that smacks of Him, or to the other side, checking off boxes and claiming to be Christian without bearing any fruit that indicates a relationship with Jesus. Some of them film their mental breakdowns on TikTok (what level of broken narcissism thinks people will be interested in that?) and demand acceptance from everyone while refusing to treat others with basic respect. These are the adults who haven’t grown up, many of whom experienced trauma in their childhood and instead of healing through it, stopped maturing at that age. This is why we have middle-aged and older people who still act like six-year-olds.

But also we move deep, vertically and into the future, by intentionally raising great children who become great men and women, regardless of their circumstances. We teach them the language of freedom. And this means we need to nurture our families and marriages and communities, and be better spouses and parents and friends, and humbly work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

– 2 Corinthians 3:5-6

We need to raise kids who are aware of issues because we took the time to talk to them about them, rather than relegating hard discussions to someone else. That means spending time with them, talking with them, explaining why we do the things we do (and why we don’t do the things we don’t). It means taking responsibility for our kids’ education – and thus their values – rather than abdicating such a vital mission to vague institutions with minimal accountability and transparency. No matter what, we are the primary teacher, caregiver, attention-giver, and disciplinarian of our kids. At the end of the day – and preferably, throughout the day – we are the ones they come to, answer to, and seek refuge in.

I admit this isn’t the easiest thing in the world. As I type this, a kid is doing a chore a few feet behind me. And if she tells me one more time that she’s done when she’s not done, she’s just tired of doing it, I might throw this copy of The Fourth Turning out the window.

(Or down the hallway. Windows are expensive and it’s nine degrees outside. And also, it might scare the chickens.)

Many of our daily conversations with our kids center around food – growing it, raising it, buying it, eating it – and other choices we make about our health; these topics were never discussed in our own childhoods rife with dye-saturated sugar cereals that were thought to be canceled out by Flintstone vitamins. So to be honest, I’m probably more excited about the “MAHA” aspect of this recent victory than anything else, because we’ve prayed about this stuff for years and wondered if anything would ever be done about them. The economy and borders and “health services” have always been on the forefront, but true healthy living, not so much.

Not to lessen the importance of other spheres, but if everything else is addressed while our food supply is still tainted and healthy farming is still under attack and Big Pharma still profits from perpetuating sickness rather than healing people, we haven’t accomplished much. If our food and water are still allowed to be poisoned, are we really free at all?

Purity in food, purity in the gospel…I know, they don’t really seem related, but haven’t we seen enough corruption in both, and the debilitating effects of compromise? Impurity in any sphere does not produce a free people. It breeds slavery.

And that could be said for many facets of culture – for example, it doesn’t do any good to shift a society toward more constitutional beliefs if those who claim to be conservative are still addicted to porn and misogyny, if our civilization is still a dumpster fire of moral corruption. We need holistic solutions, not pet projects. We need Kingdom culture – because freedom is the common language, though we’ve been confused, distracted, and dissuaded by many counterfeits.

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

– Proverbs 14:34

No matter how good our intentions, our message will be poisoned if we compromise to the fear of man and the obsession of ourselves. If we’re centered on ourselves, whether in shame or insecurity or self pity on the one side or in arrogance and pride and presumption on the other, it’s vanity. If we’re consumed with the image in the mirror, what people will think of us…it doesn’t matter if we’re staring at ourselves out of things to complain about or things to be proud of; either way, it’s vanity. And vanity, like fear of man (are they really that different?) is idolatry.

And that’s slavery, too. We create a multitude of problems when we read someone else’s actions and words through the lens of our own insecurities.

But a truly free people, unhindered by the idolatry of vanity and fear of man, speak a language of boldness and authenticity that can’t help but draw people to freedom. Insecurities are disarmed; fearful control loses its grip. We don’t need the phony attractions of red dye or smoke machines or pretend identities when Holy Spirit is given reign to move through us.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

– 2 Corinthians 3:18

As I’m praying about this, I realize there’s good news in the midst of insanity: People who will film their screaming breakdowns for anyone to see are also people who, once redeemed, will not be hindered by fear of man when it comes to worshiping Jesus.

And in that sense, those of us who have been following Jesus have something to consider.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

– Ephesians 2:13-18

Our current culture looks at us and shakes their heads because we’ve known something they don’t, but we haven’t always communicated it in the best way. Freedom is not portrayed in tiny increments as we attempt (and fail) to make truth palatable to the masses by compromise. So it’s not that we need to water things down to become more relevant; it’s that we need to purify our message so it reveals freedom.

And freedom is its own draw. If we can give people a taste of it, we’ll win the next battle, too – and we’ll win it together.

rebuild: how we heal, protect, and recover

Posted on by October 31, 2024

We never need someone’s permission to do the right thing. Seems like that should be obvious, but apathy and cowardice and destruction hide behind many doors, and “I’m not allowed to” is sometimes one of them.

rebuild: how we heal, protect, and recover | Shannon Guerra

Years ago when the Matanuska River was flooding its banks and the local government was dinking around with bureaucratic red tape, we watched a house a few doors down from my grandma’s tip into the river as the water ate up the ground underneath it and then proceeded to slowly swallow the house as it floated toward the Knik Arm.

It was 1991. The edge of the river moved closer to her house every day, and if nothing happened by the time it got to her property line it would be too late, because that was a mere hundred feet from the foundation of her house. So while those “in power” did nothing (and does that mean they’re really in power at all?) my dad and uncles dropped concrete slabs down the embankment to shore up the side, deterring the rapid erosion. They saved her house, and probably several others downriver, before a series of dykes were installed to keep the Matanuska in check.

So now it’s 33 years later, and in another rural part of the country we have a much bigger problem:

People are stranded in disaster areas without food, water, or fuel, and institutions and government blowhards who are supposed to help are confiscating supplies, and clearly up to something else.

[Warning: Many of these videos I’ve linked have language and other details you will not want to play around your kids. But adults need to hear it – we’re not sugar; we won’t melt.]

Citizens try to help but are blocked by government officials and threatened with arrest. Government resources are grounded instead of helping…but that doesn’t stop them from taking credit for what civilians are doing on their own.

People were dying as a senile “president” flew over, blocking air traffic from those trying to deliver supplies, undoubtedly causing more deaths from the delay.

If all this sounds unbelievable to you and you think things are fine, you need to turn off your TV and stop listening to people who are paid to lie to you, and start listening to real people. Like here. And here. And here.

A government who sent billions of dollars across the world to foreign nations now says there’s nothing left to give to citizens, but then releases a meager $750 via the flick of a middle finger to Americans who’ve lost everything.

What is happening?

If you were paying attention to what happened in Maui, you probably already know.

So…abhorrent, dire conditions in our own country. I sit here, far away in Southcentral Alaska, at my desk and on the couch and at the kitchen table with my family, remote from it all and yet hyperaware that Alaska has its own vulnerabilities and enemies, foreign and domestic. Wherever you are in America, you do, too.

But what can we do?

With such need, and corruption, and distance, what can we do that goes beyond mailing a check? How do we help, how do we resist, and how do we protect our own communities?

And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

– Nehemiah 4:14

We create a life out of slow, single days, tiny beads on a string, and one event can wipe it all out. I look around, and everything I do is slow work: Growing food is slow, raising poultry is slow, writing is slow. Parenting and teaching and healing is slow. Supporting small businesses and strengthening families is slow.

It is easy to get bogged down looking too close at my own inabilities, and despair. The needs are immediate, relief needed right now. And we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we must not capitulate to the enemy’s ploy to make us feel powerless and helpless.

Prayer is fast. Miracles are fast, and they’re needed right now.

Prayer reaches across the distance and touches people at the speed of thought, bringing supernatural protection and favor and wisdom and guidance. We don’t know the details and most of us can’t get there, but God does and can, and is there.

Prayer doesn’t care about the mocking, scoffing, spitting, disbelieving. Let them berate and see how much peace they find from their ignorant faithlessness. It doesn’t care about permission or blowhards or red tape; it soars right over, blasts right through, the agreement with God’s goodness releasing His power to change situations, to create something out of nothing, to lead those who don’t know where to go or where to look, to draw water from the rock.

So there’s that, and it’s definitely something.

I had a long conversation with one of our kids about all these events, and why we do what we do – why we shop certain places and avoid others, why we spend time learning and teaching things that aren’t on a curriculum. You can’t go wrong in learning about prayer, healing, security, and food, I told her. All we can do is the thing God’s telling us to right now, today, in this moment.

For example, when you learn about healing, you learn that there are four stages to it: hemostasis (stopping the bleeding), inflammation (scabbing over), rebuilding, and strengthening.

What strikes me about this is that none of it is done in isolation: At first, the closest blood cells come together to clot and protect the wound. But then, white blood cells and oxygen come in. Then red blood cells come in, helping to rebuild new tissue.

We have a huge gash in our Southeastern states right now, and the process of stopping the bleeding, clotting, and protection is in full force thanks to those who didn’t wait for permission to do the right thing. Meanwhile, those of us holding down the fort in other areas do well to strengthen our immediate surroundings, to fight against the attempts to obliterate our communities and culture. We don’t know when our own tissue could be injured, or our red blood cells called in to reinforce healing needed nearby.

When all else fails and you are overwhelmed, unsure of what to do or prioritize, look at the core strengthening things. What foundations need shored up? What relationship needs some extra time, or just an extra hug? What small task is going to bolster your day tomorrow? Do you need an extra hour of sleep, an extra glass of water? We can get so focused on the big things that we forget the little things until they turn into big things we could’ve prevented.

And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

— Isaiah 32:17-18

There are so many voices out there. Many of them are good and true. But we still need to be quiet, to stop scrolling for a while, and listen for Him to speak specifically to us, just to us, in the quiet.

It’s important to starve the voices that aren’t true. We have to prioritize who we give the microphone to in our lives. We can turn the volume down on the excess noise in our society by trimming the amount of time we scroll.

We can’t go wrong in reaching out, making stronger connections, hugging the prickly kid, texting the distant kid, feeding more broth and tea to the sick kid. We can read good books, pray for our neighbors, grow and cook real food, memorize Scripture, learn new skills. We can repair rather than replace, create more and consume less. We can smile and talk with the person in line at the grocery store or post office. We can filter our media consumption, and prioritize what gives life, beauty, joy, and wisdom.

We will probably never regret doing things like deep cleaning our kitchen, taking flowers to a friend, or spending an extra few minutes talking with our kids at bedtime.

These are the things that bring oxygen, that create healing, that prevent injury and sickness, that declare to the world, We are building Kingdom culture and we have no intention of stopping. Where it’s damaged and hurting, we will rebuild and reinforce and strengthen, and as many times as it is wounded, we will keep rebuilding, and won’t wait for paperwork to go through or for bureaucrats to finish dinking around or for a government blowhard to give us the green light.

We are Kingdom people; we live in the green light, and we will keep moving forward.

We don’t need anyone’s permission to love our neighbor. We don’t need the government’s permission to protect our families or build and strengthen our culture. We just need to do it.