Leaving No Room For Doubt

God continues to reveal new and unique things to me almost daily. At 4:30 in the morning, here is what’s on my mind today:

I continue to meet young men and women who express that they get along far better with the opposite sex. “I’ve just always gotten along better with guys” says a young woman. Likewise many young men say they’ve just always had better relationships with young ladies. I understand where they’re coming from because I would put myself in that category as well. I’ve found it easier to have deeper, personal, meaningful conversations with woman than with guys. I find it encouraging, enlightening and in the back of my mind somewhere, I know that I’m giving God the option to make something happen with on of them if he so chooses (as if he needs my help anyway.)

And I think that’s what many of us do. We maintain countless open “friendships” with people of the opposite sex, reasoning that we just happen to get along better with them and there is no interest beyond being friends. In my own life I can attest to that fact and yet while I am just friends with many of these young women, I’m certainly maintaining some of the relationships in the event that God wants to do something through one of them.

My question now is this: why do we maintain so many relationships with members of the opposite sex when, if we seek to honor God and someone in a future relationship, those friendships are going to have to be drastically changed if not severed completely when the time comes?

Example:
A mentor of mine in college shared that he had a best friend all through college who was a girl. They were just friends and never dated but had a significant friendship. When this guy began dating his now wife, this relationship became a problem. His wife trusted him, but it put strain on the relationship that he had this “friendship” with another woman. When they got married some years later, my friend had to painfully tell his friend that his wife is the most important and they need to stop maintaining that friendship, to which she was livid. He reasoned, “She is my wife. She is the most important, and I need to go out of my way to ensure she knows that she is the only one for me.”
I call that leaving no room for doubt.

The woman was crushed, angry and said she never cared to see or hear from him again.

I empathize with her in that she lost a good friend because he got married, but my friend was right. His wife is and needs to be his primary concern. What I’m realizing now is that what if we took steps now, before we are in relationships or married, to change our relationships with members of the opposite sex so that when that time does come, it is less drastic of a change for all of us involved.

God is working on me in this way. I recently spent two weeks back in Oregon during which time I met several girl friends for coffee or lunch. It was great. We enjoyed fellowshipping and catching up on life but the truth is, if I had a girlfriend I wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, be spending this one on one time with other girls.

Some of you agree with me and some of you disagree reasoning, they’re just a friend. Your girlfriend should trust you. I agree, but I don’t think it’s an issue of trust. I think it’s a commitment thing and that I should bend over backwards to ensure that my girlfriend/wife knows that she is the only person for me. Especially in this context, if my friend and I feel like we really want to catch up, it’s just as easy for me or her to bring anther friend so it’s not a one on one deal.

Many of you probably think, well that’s fine when you’re married, but if your just dating you shouldn’t have to do that. “I had this friend before I got into a relationship so my boyfriend/girlfriend should understand.”

I recall a conversation in college with a young woman who said verbatim, “_____ has been my best friend all my life and he always will be. My husband is just going to have to deal with it.”

I do not believe for one minute that that is the attitude God intends for us to take into marriage or a dating relationship period. I see no level of respect or submission in that statement. Should your husband empathize with your situation? To some extent. But, like my friend I mentioned above, had he not invested in that relationship with the young woman, he would have spared himself and her, a great deal of pain when he had to sever the relationship for the betterment of his marriage.

So where does this place us? Do we start cutting ties with all our friends of the opposite sex reasoning, “well, it’s got to happen now or when I get in a relationship.” That’s not what I’m encouraging however I do encourage people to rethink how much time and energy they are putting into their relationships with members of the opposite sex.

If you’re a woman, do you find yourself spending significant time hanging out with guys one on one, even if you both say there is no level of interest? Guys are you constantly calling to chat and encourage your sister in Christ, with good intentions, but instead are creating a situation that ultimately will be harder to walk away from when you get into a relationship down the road?

You might argue that, “Well I hope that he/she would understand and want to be a part of those friendships.” That’s not a bad thought and it’s not out of the realm of possibility. But that needs to happen over time and only IF the other person is ok with it. Chances are ladies, if you’ve got some “best guy friend” that your boyfriend says he’s ok with, more than likely it’s weighing heavily on him whether he says it or not. Guys, you think you can go out to coffee with that busty blond or chat with her online and your girlfriend will be ok with it? Think again. She probably says she is and she probably trusts you, but deep inside, she would much rather you didn’t because she wants to feel COMPLETELY secure in your love.

Another sticky one is people remaining close friends with people they’ve dated in the past. Sure it’s a cool thing that they were able to date and then decide, you know what, this isn’t for us, and step out without completely ruining the friendship but folks, that relationship is ALWAYS going to be a struggle down the road for your significant other. Especially if you became physically involved (sexually) which unfortunately is the case in so many relationship today, both in and outside of the church.

You can argue however much you like about trust and “Well they need to allow me to have my friends” but the truth of the matter is, when you’re married, that person is your priority and leaving no room for them to doubt even ever so slightly, that they are number one and that they are secure in your love, is your number one priority.

Might I offer that you begin taking steps now to change those relationships with members of the opposite sex so that there is a less drastic change down the road when that boy or girlfriend comes along. Don’t spend quite so much time talking on the phone to that particular friend, deepening a friendship that is not going to be maintained at that level after you meet someone and fall in love. Opt not to spend time one on one with your friends of the opposite sex because you develop a pattern that is going to need to be broken when you get into a relationship.

I am NOT saying that you shouldn’t have friends of the opposite sex. I think building relationships with both men and women is part of fellowship and the community that God calls us to. I simply encourage all of us to shy away from spending time one on one with our friends of the opposite sex as this builds ties and deepens the bond between friends that will cause problems in a relationship down the road if we try to maintain that bond or fail to set that friendship aside for the good of our own relationship.

Start now on positioning yourself for that relationship with the person that God has for you someday. Then you won’t have to do what my friend did and all of a sudden painfully break off a friendship with someone that has meant a great deal to you. Ladies, do you feel that you get along better with guys than girls? Strive to find godly women within your church or community that can enlighten and encourage you as only women can do. Regardless of what you think, a guy can never meet your needs for friendship and fellowship like a woman can…we just don’t understand you that well.

Guys, build relationships with other men. That’s a huge part of why our society, even in the church, is where it’s at today because boys today go looking for affirmation and acceptance from women. While it makes you feel warm and fuzzy, there is a lack of true biblical manhood in today’s Christian culture because we guys aren’t seeking out godly men and learning from them.

Build relationships with members of the same sex because no matter what we think, guys and girls have needs that we can’t meet for each other because God made us different. Spend less time focusing on relationships of the opposite sex and more time cultivate deep meaningful relationships with members of the same sex who can instruct you on being a godly young man or young woman. If you want to spend time with your friends, always enlist a third party so it gives no indication of being a date. Even if you guys are just friends, everyone can attest to the fact that people talk and someone is going to make mention that they saw the two of you out.
But that’s a whole different topic for another time. ☺

On the Train again....

Less than a month ago I took a train ride from Dallas Texas to Anaheim California. After 48 hours of choo chooing along I vowed, never again. This morning I went to my follow up Dr appointment from my recent head trauma and was informed that I should not be flying anytime soon. This typically wouldn’t be bad news except for the fact that it was 10:30 a.m. and I had a 5 o'clock plane to catch out of San Diego. My friend Jake French had inquired if I would help him shoot and produce a promotional video for his website a week prior and I purchased a ticket on faith that I would be “good to go.”

As it turns out my head injuries are a little more severe than I had thought. The Dr said no flying so I my backup plan, thanks solely to Michelle Moore, was a train. I had already completed a plan of attack in the event that this would be the case and informed my shuttle service (thanks Ellie) we would be going to San Bernardino instead of San Diego. Problem is the train, or I should say the bus to the train station, left 3 ½ hours earlier than my flight so we had to make haste.

I pity whatever woman that I'm someday able to dupe into marrying me. She’s in for a ride! I raced from the Dr’s office to finish packing and make final preparations to leave for a week. I arrived with time to spare, sat on my suitcase and sipped an Arizona peach tea, thanking God for his many blessings, and all the while wondering why I do this craziness that I do. About 2/3 of the way through my tea, the buss pulled up so I pounded the rest of the tea and ran for the bus stop. 5 hours later I’m sitting on a train and 20 hours from now I’ll be in Portland. Not quite the evening I had planned but then again, I never thought I’d be leaving “home” in southern California to go visit Oregon. Funny how things work!

New Video!

If you told me a year ago that I'd get to do half the things I've done in the last 9 months I would have laughed at you. I wouldn't even be upset because your remark would have been so outrageously out there that I couldn't help but laugh. God has a sense of humor too because He just keeps pouring it out. I continue to stand amazed at the opportunities I'm blessed with and God continues to shape and change my situation in new ways all the time.

Most recently I've been working on a video project with a guy named Ronnie Faisst. Ron's been in the industry since day one and is one of the biggest names in the sport. It's funny to me because I remember being 12 years old and watching dirt bike videos with my friend Jake and seeing Ronnie and his outrageous antics on screen. Two days ago I went to his house to shoot him ride his own private facility as we are producing a video about his experience at this years X Games.
I finished the video last night and I'm SO excited with how it turned out. I'm still learning how to shoot and edit video and with the help of my friend J Ray, I'm starting to get things dialed. The video is only about 3 minutes so I'd love for you to check it out and if you'd like to see the complete story and interview you can follow the links below or find it on my website.

X Games video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNLxaVseO2s

Link to my website-http://www.localheroesnw.com/ronnie-faisst

Oh what fun it is to....Date?

Some of my most cherished memories from my college years took place in Young house sitting around the kitchen table with friends. Between our “man time” conversations to debates with the opposite sex about dating and relationships, it would seem we covered nearly every topic under the sun. In one particular conversation, and one I reference often when talking with people about dating, a not so subtle, to the point friend of mine leaned over the table and very pointedly ask, “When are guys going to grow a pair and start asking girls out?”

Always willing to lend my two cents, I leaned forward and offered, “I’ll ask a girl out when I find one that doesn’t start planning a wedding after one cup of coffee.”

Some of you are laughing, a few of you are angry and many of you agree with me. When I tell that story I frequently get all of those responses. Now that I’ve spent some time outside of the college dating scene as well as tried dating within the “church,” I’ve discovered there really is no difference and I would argue that both my friend and I are correct to some extent. I’ll begin with the guys.

There is truth in my friend’s statement. No doubt, many young men today, particularly in the church, are less than forward when it comes to communicating with women. We have broken homes, Hollywood and in my opinion the lure of video games to thank for that. Many young men just don’t know how to communicate with women. In our defense ladies, even to a clinically diagnosed “good communicator” (Communication was in my Strengths Quest top five ☺ shout out to my GC peeps), there is nothing more intimidating to me than a beautiful woman. I will stair and stutter and rack my brain for the most eloquent of pick up lines and it never comes. Somewhere around the age of 17 I had the “Fargher charm” as one friend called it, which unfortunately disappeared by the time I left high school.

Yes fellas, we need to work on boldness. We are after all, called to be the leaders Eph. 5:25. The secular world won’t hesitate to ask a girl to jump into bed; the least we could do is openly communicate with women about how we feel. Rather than keeping silent and letting the girl pry it out of us, tell her where you’re at. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have all the answers. That’s the whole purpose of dating, it helps you find those answers you’re looking for. Unfortunately, the ladies are so often forced to take the forward approach because we men just aren’t stepping up to the plate.

Now before you ladies start declaring “amen” and passing out high-fives, I have some thoughts for you as well. Without a doubt I agree that the world is lacking real men. Most men, even within the church, are easily swayed by the lures of the world and, all to often, are drawn away from God. The world looks like too much fun and in all honesty, it’s teaching us guys that we can get what we want without giving much in return. I believe that it’s wrong and is sadly causing women to abandon their God given role as lovers and nurturers.

Let me first share ladies that I understand your frustration but, if you hope to find the right kind of man in today’s world, you are not going to get it by applying pressure. I spent four years in the Christian college scene and now two years in the post college “Christian” dating world and there is no difference. I do not fault you for having an exceedingly strong desire to marry. In fact I applaud it, for it is God given. Gen 3:16 “You will long for your husband…”

In truth, I like that idea. I want a girl that’s crazy about me. Nothing will strengthen a man’s ego or enable him to scale buildings in a single bound like the love of a woman. I caught my brother in an unusually good mood once before he was married and inquired about his giddiness. He responded with, “because I’m in love with a woman that is crazy about me!” I want that.

At the same time, I don’t want someone that’s so eager to get married that she’s taking on my role as a leader. “Well I want to be pursued,” you say. Understood. You have every right to. But perhaps the guy is trying to decide in his own mind if he wants to pursue you. THIS is where the trouble begins.

I’ve found that many young ladies, consciously or subconsciously, are working on a timetable. Casual dating as our parents new it is out of the question. Taking a different girl out to a movie every weekend until you find one you want to settle down with is a no no as you’ll be crucified a “player.” I never dated in college. I asked a few girls out for coffee and on one occasion, at the urging of a friend, had a young lady over and we chatted for a couple hours. A week after that conversation I had five people come up to me within a ten minutes span and make comments ranging from “Seth and ______ sitting in a tree….” to “if you hurt her I will kill you.” Really? Are we adults or in middle school?

This brings me to my next point. Ladies, be careful what and with whom you share. I find all too often that people, both men and women, stick their nose where it does not belong. Rightly so, we care about others opinions. We want to know what our friends think. The problem becomes that our friends offer too much information and begin painting a picture that does not exist or is at least merely in the very beginning stages. “Oh he’s totally into you!” “Really? Well I guess he did say….” And chaos ensues.

The one thing I will say Hollywood got right was the movie He’s Just Not That Into You. It is a perfect example of the games, miscommunication and lack of overall honesty that our society lacks, both in and outside of the church.

Dating as our parents new it is pretty much out of the question. The term I would associate with getting to know someone in our generation to decide if we want to take things to the next level would be “hanging out.” It means nothing more than spending time together, whatever the setting, and GETTING TO KNOW THE PERSON. We have no other context to intentionally get to know someone than that.

My experience, and countless guys I know, has been if I express an interest in hanging out in order to get to know someone and after a while decide that I’m really not interested in dating the person, I’m labeled a jerk, a player and my favorite, I lead her on. Ladies please hear me on this; most of the men in this world would rather sleep with you and move on. They have no intention of settling down and sadly, really don’t care about your feelings. I’ve had girls, or friends of girls, tell me that I crushed them. That I lead them to believe I was interested in a relationship only to dash their hopes and leave them aching. Let me share with you this; I not so much as held a hand, tried to kiss nor offered commitment to any one of those girls. Ladies if you have any hope of finding a meaningful, lasting relationship with a true God fearing man, you must learn to let go. Let us fulfill our God given role as the leader.

You argue, “Well some guys just need a little jump start.” Ok, let me refute that by asking you this; do you want to be married to a man that you constantly have to jumpstart to get him to love you and lead in your relationship?

I will leave you with this. Ladies, in my opinion you are God’s most incredible and precious creation. Any imperfections you have are far surpassed by your ability to love, nurture and care. I believe whole heartedly that those who grasp God’s original design for us as men and women and how He designed relationship between us to work, will be the select few who experience true joy and satisfaction in marriage.

It Just Keeps Coming

I continue to be amazed at the opportunities that are before me. I'm so thankful for where I'm and what I (typically) spend my days doing. As I sought to move out from where I had previously been living, God opened up a door through a bible study I was attending and it's been the most radical living situation I could have asked for. My roommates are awesome Christian guys, two of which attended the local Bible college so they're sharpening me as I continue to ask questions and seek to deepen my own faith.

This past weekend I got to attend the X Games in Los Angeles and what an experience that was! I've only ever seen it on TV and I usually miss most of it because living in good old Dufur, basic cable doesn't include ESPN!!! I attended the freestyle event and watched as Travis Pastrana took a "fun run" after already securing the Gold medal. That guy is an outstanding human being for many reasons, one of which because he pulled a double backflip, solely for the delight of the crowd. He'd already wrapped up the medal before he took to the dirt. On the podium after when they were asking how he felt about another Gold medal, he wished his mom happy 50th birthday twice, praised Robbie Madison for his exceptional freestyle run as well as Ashley Fiolek for winning the women's supercross race and gave mad props to Cameron Sinclair for coming back to X Games to attempt the same trick that almost took his life a year before. He didn't really say anything about himself or his run.

I was able to secure an industry guest pass for the weekend so the following day I was pretty excited to cruise right into the athlete section at the Staples Center and find a seat 5 rows up from the dirt. An added bonus was my friend, bandmate and X Games competitor Ronnie Faisst was sitting a few seats to my left. (It took me I while to figure out who was shouting my name because I still can't really hear out my left ear haha) To those that are unfamiliar with the industry, Ronnie is without a doubt one of the pioneers of the sport of freestyle motocross and is recognized worldwide for his skill on a dirtbike. Whats more, several years ago he came to know the Lord and is now on fire for Christ.

So here I sit, nearly ground level at X Games, next to a guy that up until recently I'd only ever seen on television and in magazine's. The event was awesome and I came away with a few ideas for articles so be on the lookout for those.

Another funny story, Ronnie called me a few days after I'd returned home and I congratulated him on winning a Bronze medal in his speed and style event. He asked if I knew the whole story on how he was even able to compete and I said I had no clue. He told me the story and I was completely in awe as it was a God thing from the word go. I'm working with him and film maker Joseph Ray on putting together a video of the whole story. It's a crazy story about God moving in Ronnie, taking an obedient step of faith and God rewarding him in an awesome way. When we finish it up I'll post the video on here.

If you're reading this I hope you can hear the excitement in my voice. I was excited about all this before I had this traumatic injury, now I'm just beside myself as I continue to get opportunity after opportunity to do things I never dreamed I would. Again I can't thank you enough for all the prayers, calls, texts, emails, facebook messages and well wishes. It's so humbling to see that so many people care. Side note, one of my buddies shared with me that he got a voice mail from some dude ranting and raving and not making a great deal of sense and at the end of the message I identified myself and told him I'd see him soon. SO if you happened to get a response from me via text, phone call or facebook any time during that ten day stint and it didn't make sense, please forgive me....I wasn't firing on all cylinders :)

So Thankful

“Seth Fargher 11/29/85”
That’s the secret pass code in the intensive care unit at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth Texas if you want your dinner or your pain medicine. At least it was for me. Nearly a month ago I left California for what I thought might be the beginning of something huge. I was to drive to Texas, ride a freestyle show and spend the next two weeks working with the best freestyle motocross rider in the world. My goal was to learn the backflip, then come back to California and perform it at a large event in Tijuana Mexico. As I wrote in my last post “Man charts his course and the Lord determines his steps.” What I didn’t realize was that God might perhaps be making some significant changes to that path in the very near future.

July 14th I had the worst wreck of my life. I’d gotten up early to beat the heat, made several jumps and on my fourth attempt put too much weight forward and landed on the nose of my quad. Literally. The dirt on the landing might as well be asphalt it’s so compact and my bumper left a three-inch deep, foot long trench in it. My friend Caleb saw that I landed with the nose of the quad down but no one really saw how my body hit. I still can’t figure it out because the inside of my helmet is cracked to pieces in the front, suggesting I landed on my face but all my fractures are to the base and rear of my skull. Needless to say God had his hand on me. I’ve shed some tears in recent days and I’m struggling even now as I write because I’m realizing I could VERY easily not be alive. My best friend is a quadriplegic because he fell THREE feet out of a truck and landed on his head. I fell from THIRTY, landed on my head and walked out of ICU. Looking at my blood covered and smashed helmet tells me God had his hand on me that day.

The whole experience is eye opening to say the least. I continue to be overwhelmed by Gods goodness through all of this. Eight months ago I hated my life. I lived alone in a town of 500 people with few friends working a job I’d been unhappy with since I began. All of my life I’d wanted a chance to do ATV stuff. I watched other people live my dream in movies and magazines while I seemingly could never catch a break and God always seemed to have other things in store.

October 12th He changed all that and gave me the biggest opportunity of my life. If you’re reading this you probably already know my story and know how I got here. I’m just rehashing because I’m doing a lot of thinking about the last eight months and what is to come in the future.

In the last eight months I’ve met childhood heroes, countless celebrities (at least they are to me) and played in a worship band with guys I use to idolize and never dreamed of meeting. I use to read about this dominant team that always wins down in Baja Mexico and had hoped to maybe one day witness a race. Now I’ve got magazines asking me to write stories about them. God has poured out such favor on me I can’t begin to express how thankful I am.

I’ve always been a thinker and this latest episode has given me not only time but a reason to think about my future and what that might look like. I know I love everything about where I’m at and what I’m doing. I love to ride. I’ve never experienced satisfaction or felt such joy as when I can fly through the air barely attached to a quad. I cherish every jump because I never dreamed in a million years I would get to ride ramps or do what I do. I also love to write. I love telling people’s stories and seeing their excitement when it gets them exposure or sheds light on their accomplishments.

While I hope to do more of both, I’m less concerned with making money from my jumping. I’d love to get back on the ramps simply because it’s what I love to do. That leaves a lot of questions like “Ok, what now?” I don’t have those answers but I’m expecting big things from God in the coming months. I’m certainly in with the right crowd and two of my friends are poised for greatness in the coming months for their own accomplishments in the X Games. I hope to remain involved as they continue to experience success and work along side them. We joked in the ICU because apparently I told them repeatedly that I was going to settle for being their publicist from now on.

I can’t begin to express my thanks for all the calls, texts, facebook messages and support I’ve received in the last two weeks. I’m so incredibly blessed and thankful to have so many people that support me for what I do and care about me in times like these. Not that you have a choice in such matters, but if you’re ever going to spend time in ICU I’d recommend Fort Worth Harris Methodist Hospital. The nurses and doctors made my time there enjoyable and I’m eternally grateful for their care during what would have otherwise been the most terrifying time of my life.

Charting A Course

Well I’m midway through a three week road trip taking me from southern California to Dallas Texas. I hit the road on the 29th with our team manager BC and his son. From Cali we traveled to Williams Arizona and camped out at a KOA. I managed to have a little jam session with one of the locals and blared some Lynyrd Skynyrd through the campground. From there we made a stop at the Grand Canyon and took a 45 minute plane ride over the canyon. It was truly amazing to see one of the most incredible landscapes in all of creation, especially from an airplane.

From Arizona we drove to Canadian Texas where we met up with the Moore family for a show at the 120th annual Canadian Rodeo which doubled as somewhat of a family reunion. It was such a fun time and the entire family welcomed me with open arms. Yet again a surreal experience. Here less than a year ago I was watching these guys on videos and reading about them in magazines and now I’m hanging out with their extended family for the 4th of July. (Texans know how to celebrate the 4th of July!) We were treated like royalty all weekend. The owners of the local steak house had us over for a Texas sized BBQ in their backyard paradise. The menu included the largest steak I've ever seen, chicken, quail, Texas fire crackers (jalapeños stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon) and for desert the worlds best homemade bread pudding. If you ever find yourself in Canadian Texas, be sure to stop in The Cattle Exchange steak house. THANKS MILTON AND JULIE!!!
We rode our first show Friday night and I managed to wheelie over on myself during the barrel racing contest. After the horses were done they let me and Colten try our hand at the barrels. As if the embarrassment wasn’t bad enough, I was informed I road around the barrels in the wrong direction. Saturday night I managed to ride around the barrels correctly but we didn’t jump due to wet conditions. Instead we road around the arena and threw mud on each other while Caleb took people for rides in the Razr.

Right now I’m sitting in Krum Texas at our guys facility where the plan was to spend two weeks working in the foam pit and hopefully learn how to backflip. So far I’ve been here six days and have ridden a total of about two hours as it has been raining almost non stop. I’m partly frustrated as I’d really like to be practicing but I’m continuing to remind myself that God has a plan in all of this. My last show in Canadian didn’t go quite as well as I would have liked so I was really looking forward to getting in some serious practice these two weeks. It's been raining almost non stop since I got here. Leisure time is sometimes my greatest enemy. I’ve spent a lot of time questioning how long I’m going to be able to keep doing this. I’ve made a go of it the last eight months but am barely scraping by. There is certainly a lot of opportunity for me to advance in this industry and I’m with the right people to do it. It’s just a matter of time and keeping myself healthy. The rain frustrates me because I want to be out riding and improving and instead I’m stuck waiting and thinking. I’m too much of a planner. I want to map out my course, stick to the plan and be on my way.Despite my lack of control of my situation I'm somewhat excited to see what God has in store in the coming months. My last trip to Texas started somewhat the same as I crashed on my first jump and then left for a three week trip that turned out to be the trip of a lifetime. One never knows whats around the corner and this entire adventure I've been on for the last eight months has given me a greater appreciation for Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.