Well, I like to start my teachings by asking a question, so I'm going to ask you a question. Why are you here? Why did you come today? And some of you can say I was coerced, my mother bought me a ticket. Others of you, it's with your friends, and it's just going to be a great time. Others of you came in here dragging, or it was here for the worship, but it's always good to ask ourselves that. In Hebrews, there's a passage that says, God rewards diligent seekers. And can I add a phrase to that? Joy Dawson, one of my favorite teachers of old, God rewards diligent seekers, not casual inquirers. And quite frankly, sometimes we come to the meanings, and we're just these casual inquirers, kind of like that song that Mandisa sang, that our team sang, and we're driving down the street just cruising, but God really wants us to seek Him. How many of you came here has been mentioned by the team on the front lines of fear? Seriously, there's fear in your life. Anyone? Oh, come on, I know women better than that. How about bunkers of burdens? Or you're warring with worry? Or you're fighting with your family, I'm sorry to say, but we always hurt the ones we love. Anyone have family issues right now? Oh, my word, dodging depression. Anyone here? God bless you. I have had to dodge that before. You're battling with your budget. I heard that out there. The Inland Empire has been hit. Maybe you're in the ditch of disease. Some of you, this has just fallen on your lap. I have four years cancer-free, and I understand that battle as well. Thank you. Maybe you have potshots of pain.  Again, I ask, why are you here? And it could be because you're facing one of these battles, these giants, these issues in your life, no matter the trial, no matter what motivated you to be here. I guarantee that Robin and Marie and Koi and Connie and myself and my friend Misty, we have been praying for you for months. And we know you're here because it's God's will for you to be here. And we know you're here because God has a purpose in your life, and I want to encourage you to press on, to not give up, to not surrender in any of these battles, but to pony up, cowgirl up, because I'm from New Mexico, so I could say that. The name of this teaching is She Presses On, and I drew some inspiration from Rosie the Riveter. Does anyone remember her from World War II? And Rosie the Riveter, the United States government brought her out as the poster woman, and she was supposed to encourage us to get into the workforce. Our men were taken overseas to fight the battle of World War II, and so they were recruiting women, and the workforce increased with women by 57%. Now, we know y'all are working way more than that now, but in World War II, that was something else. Over 4 million women came out of their homes and into the workforce, and it was all to help out the war effort. Now, this is a little demeaning, but back then I think they meant, well, the slogan was, can you use an electric mixer? Because if you can, you can learn to operate a drill. And I'm sure many of you know how to do that now. Well, art imitated life, and a real woman came and embodied the poster, and the reason she became Rosie is there was a woman named Rose Will Monroe, and she went from Kentucky to Michigan and started building B-29 and B-24 bombers. And when she was 50 years old, she learned how to fly a plane. Now, I don't know about you, but it was not too late to start pressing on and soaring and doing new things in her life, even in her 40s. Ladies, we are literally still at war. Maybe that is in Afghanistan. You know, it's almost the forgotten war. I work with wounded warriors. Do you know over 150 soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year? Do you hear that on the news? Do you realize that we are still at war? What are we even doing to contribute to our soldiers? I don't know if there's any soldier wives, soldier mothers out there. But we are still at war. Maybe we're at war culturally, with America's moral decline. And trust me, gosh, California, you are fighting some serious issues, aren't you, culturally? Maybe it's spiritually, and your family with Satan or sin or with self. Isn't it time for us as the church to raise some banners, to sound the alarm, to charge into enemy territory, and say, no, we're fighting back? I think she presses on. Let's pledge today, ladies, that our purpose is to press on, no matter the foe, no matter the failure, no matter the foreign terrain you have to enter. It is time for us to press on. Charles Thomas Studd said, some wish to live in the sound of chapel bells. I wish to run a mission, a yard from the gates of hell. I love it when we gather here together. It's good, but it's much better when we go. And that's my hope today. Come and gather, but then go into all the world, because it is ripe for harvest. It is ready for you. In truth, a Christian woman should look more like G.I. Jane than Cinderella. I like Cinderella. I like glass slippers. I like dressing up. All of that is wonderful, but we are called to be soldiers in Christ and to battle up and wear his armor, ladies. Maybe you should stop being worried about breaking a nail and break down some strongholds in the enemy's kingdom. Paul said we're called to fight the good fight. And so I want to encourage you. Revelation reveals that when Jesus come and we are his bride, we are going to be riding horses with him to conquer in Jesus' name. And I want to know how to use that sword and to wear that shield before he comes. I press on as more than a creed. It's a high calling. It's a way of life that crescendos at the coming of Jesus Christ to press on. So let's look at Philippians 3, verse 12. Not that I've already attained or are already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Sisters, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Can I get an amen for that? I find three things to help us press on in this text. Number one, Paul makes a resolute evaluation of his life. Number two, he makes some radical eliminations in his life. And then finally, number three, he has a relentless elevation pressing on upward toward the call of God in Christ Jesus. So this resolute evaluation, not that I have already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of Christ Jesus. He starts with some knots, what he not has in his life. How many conferences start with knots? Because you know what, we have a lot of knots in our life. Now, was he complaining about financial dissatisfaction? No, that's not what he's saying. Like, if I just had enough money, everything would be better. I read this headline recently and it tickled me, don't envy the super rich, they're miserable. And in California, you guys forget that there's so many beautiful cars and beautiful people and beautiful malls and beautiful things. I mean, we don't have a lot of this in New Mexico. It can be distracting, but that's not what Paul was looking for. This article says a new study co-founded by the Gates Foundation portrays the ultra rich as lost souls burdened by fears, worries and family distortions of too much money. According to an article in the Atlantic, the respondents turned out to be generally dissatisfied lot whose money has contributed to deep anxieties involving love, work and family. You know, some of the saddest people I know have been the richest people I know. That's not what Paul was saying. Was he having dissatisfaction with his physical body, ladies? You are coming today going my hair, it's a bad hair day. I don't have a new outfit if I could just have lost 10 pounds before this event and we have this physical dissatisfaction. Is that what Paul was worried about? No. For women, this vulnerability has spanned history. I wish we could just get over ourselves to be quite frank. I think women are more worried to please women than men, but for me, I grew up in the generation of the Barbie doll. Anyone else? And that is just a standard that's unattainable. I want you to know and I'm sorry this tickles me as well, men are beginning to feel this pain. Do you know they're becoming as body conscious as we have been forced to be because we've been objectified for so long? Well, men are too and you know who's to blame? G.I. Joe. The G.I. Joe doll over the past 20 years, they've made them buffer and more muscles and if they extrapolated the G.I. Joe to a 5'10 guy, his biceps would be bigger than any body builder who's ever lived before. So you know, guys are now trying to have abs like, I don't know, whoever has good abs right now. I'd say Brad Pitt, but like he's old, he's 50 now. So there's got to be someone else that has better abs, right? So Paul wasn't worried about finances. He wasn't worried about his physical body. Really when it comes to money, ladies, it's all going to burn.  When it comes to our bodies, they are not built to last. Gravity will have its toll. No matter what you do, it's all sinking. And I can tell you that. Paul said that workouts profit little, but godliness is the key. What Paul is talking about here in his knots is that he's having a spiritual dissatisfaction. Oh my gosh, that's almost blasphemous. Paul was spiritually dissatisfied. Paul, the apostle, that was beaten and stoned and dragged and imprisoned and wrote these amazing epistles. He was dissatisfied with his spiritual walk. He just said it. Not as though I've already attained either already perfect, but I follow after that I can apprehend. He still wants more. Now, is Paul disappointed with God? No, because if you read this text earlier, he says that he wants to know the excellency of God, that he wants to know the resurrection. He's not dissatisfied with God. You know what he's dissatisfied with? His Christian walk. It's not good enough yet. Paul, the apostle, said he wants more. Is anyone out there want more than what you have in Christ right now? Because we are supposed to hunger and thirst for righteousness. You know what, you have as much God as you want. That's the truth. Equal to your desire for God is your amount of satisfaction in God. Maybe you need to develop a hunger. I keep journals. And I've read through decades of my journals recently. I have a reoccurring theme. I want more. I weep in my journals. I plead in my journals. I fast. I fall prostate. And I'm constantly saying, God, more. I want more. It's not enough. I'm not satisfied. You know, even after Moses escaped Egypt, went through the Red Sea and marched with the children of Israel, he climbed up on Mount Sinai and said, God, show me your glory. What? He'd already seen the plagues of Egypt. He wanted more. Have you ever said to God, show me your glory? I pray you leave here today.   Whatever it is you do to seek God and you tell Him, show me your glory. I want more. Because there is more. He does exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ever ask, hope, or imagine. He has more for you. Paul is not satisfied with these three knots. He first says, I have not attained. Attained means to get hold of and violently seize. It's kind of like he's got the tiger by the tail, but he's not going to let go. He wants more of whatever it is. He's admitting he has not arrived. There's more out there. He hadn't achieved all that he hoped. The next thing he did not have was perfection. He has not been perfect. Any perfect people out there? Really, none? Oh, seriously? Paul wasn't either. And perfect doesn't mean what we think perfect meant. It means to be complete, accomplished, or whole. Anybody ever feel like they have a missing part?  Well, that's kind of what perfection is. It completes us. And he's saying he didn't feel complete. The best people in the world are those who readily admit their imperfections and confess they are incomplete and that they're still developing their character. I find comfort in that. I look for friends like that. I'm not looking for perfect friends. I'm looking for friends who are seeking progress toward perfection that will happen when Jesus comes. I love Billy Graham. Skip and I are having the privilege to go to his 94th birthday next month. And he always says, I'm just a simple preacher. I'm like, really? He's preached to more people, evangelized to more people than anyone who's ever lived. But I'm just a simple preacher. He doesn't feel perfect.  Stranger's lips and not your own lips. Paul knew, even though he was the great apostle Paul, that he hadn't arrived. So he had not attained, he had not perfected. And then there's another odd word. He has not apprehended. That's the better word in English for this. He says that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. I don't know, this sounds like Dr. Seuss to me. Sam I am, Greek eggs and ham, I am Sam. I'm like, what, I apprehended that which I apprehended? I mean, I just got confused. Anyone else? That was just a little confusing phrase. It's terrible English, but it's excellent Greek. Apprehended means arrested. He has been arrested by Christ. And he wants to arrest all that Christ has for him. Do you remember when Paul wasn't Paul, but he was Saul? And he was on the road of Damascus, breathing threats because he wanted to martyr this cult of Christians. And he was arrested by God. He got knocked out of his horse and light came from heaven and said, why are you kicking against the goads, Paul? And then he was blind and dumb. Wow, he was arrested in that path. And he's saying he wants to keep on being arrested for Christ. There is a purpose for Paul's salvation. And there is a purpose for us. And we are to be women of purpose. And part of that purpose is sharing the gospel. Whatever happened to the Great Commission, are you fulfilling the Great Commission to go into all the world? I think sometimes we think if we're not missionaries and it's not Africa, then we don't have to do the Great Commission. We don't need to go like to Upland or, you know, to La Habra where my dad raised me. I mean, I'm from this neck of the woods. We just think that has to be somewhere far away. Why were you saved? Why are you here to escape hell? That's legit. You want to enjoy peace? Totally legit. Why are you here? What is your purpose to preach the gospel? Otherwise, Jesus might as well just take you home. But since he's left you here and you're alive, you've got work to do, girlfriend. And that work is to share the good news.  How long has it been that you've said, Lord, are you pleased with my progress? Am I going somewhere? Socrates once said the unexamined life is not worth living. When is the last time you examined your life? Now, ladies, I know exactly how our brains work.  I am the over-examined life. I am so hard on myself. I'm constantly saying, I don't have enough quiet time. I don't witness enough. And right now you are just so upset. It's just like whirling, I will never be Billy Graham. This is just impossible. Okay, so the unexamined life is not worth living, but the over-examined life is not living at all. So I'm not asking you to over-examine. This is something the Holy Spirit must do in your life. There are two extremes when I ask you to have self-examination. One extreme, not at all. The other extreme, the paralysis of self-analysis. Don't get paralyzed there. Make this a spiritual journey between you and God. Does anyone remember Marlo Thomas? She does the St. Jude thing, and years ago she was that girl, dun, dun, dun, dun. Well, when she was just becoming an actress, she was Danny Thomas's, the famous actor's daughter, and she was doing her very first small role on a stage. And she was terrified. And right before she went on, a knock came to her backstage dressing room door, and in came a gift from her dad, and it was a pair of horse blinders. And the note said, run your own race, kid. This is the over-analysis. You're not running my race. I'm not running Marie's race. You're not running Jane's race. You're not running anybody's race, but your race.  So this is that resolute evaluation, and now he moves into some radical elimination, because once we evaluate, we realize maybe we need to get rid of some clutter in our lives. He goes on to say in verse 13 and 14, but one thing I do for getting those things which are behind and reaching forward to the things which are ahead, I press toward the goal. There's two parts of this radical elimination. One is the focus on today, and one is forgetting yesterday. And those are some pretty important things in this radical elimination. He says, one thing I do. I don't know about you, but that phrase should make you go, whoo, one thing? How many of you are multitaskers? You are paying bills while you're cooking and helping your children with homework. You're answering the phone at work, working on a document on your computer and adjusting the calendar. I mean, do you ever do, do you Californians ever do one thing at a time? You're on the phone, in the car, blah, blah, blah. I mean, at least that's what it looks like to us. I don't know. But I mean, you are like consummate, multitaskers. And I always thought that was a good thing because I'm guilty. I'm inevitably calling my mother in Michigan ordering a diet coke at McDonald's while I am doing something else in my car. And she goes, what are you doing? Multitasking, mom. CNN had an article, and it says, newly released results of scientific studies in multitasking indicate that carrying on several duties at once may in fact reduce productivity, not increase it. You mean, I can do one thing at a time? Oh, that's such a luxury. You mean, I don't need to be doing social media while I'm doing something with my foot? You know, I don't know, what is that thing? You know that you need to do? Focus, focus, focus is what this is saying. And that's what my piano teacher always told me to do. And sadly I didn't and I can't play piano. But if I could focus, that would be a good thing. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called Outliers. Outliers are those people who do things you would never dream possible, like Olympic athletes and ballerinas and the Beatles. My husband loves the Beatles, I'm sorry. But do you know that he says, those who enjoy wild success spend a minimum of 10,000 hours practicing one specific discipline we think that excellent just happens? No, excellence practices, one thing. Before their success in the 1960s, the Beatles played intense performances almost every night for 1,000 times in nightclubs throughout Europe. Ladies, if you wanna do something, do it again and again and again and again and again. And that's what we are to do in Christ. One thing matters, one thing counts. One thing will be rewarded and that's your pursuit of Jesus. This is our purpose, pursue God, preach the gospel. It's why you're here. And there are plenty of single-minded saints. David said in Psalm 27, one thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. The rich young ruler, one thing you lack, go and sell whatever you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure and heaven. Come, take up your cross and follow me. Mary with Martha, but one thing is needed and Mary has chosen the good part which will not be taken from her. Maybe you need to have some radical elimination so that the one thing in your life that is most important is God. What, more important than your children? More important than your hobby? Yup. More important than your career? Check. He should be the one thing. The one thing isn't just to abandon sin, sometimes it's also to forsake selfishness. Sometimes, and I'm gonna talk more about this in the next teaching, we need to get rid of some good things in our life. My major in college was fashion merchandising. Again, I think Cinderella's grand.  I'll dress my friends, my neighbors. If anybody here said let's go pick an outfit, I'm your girl. I really love that. I love to dress my husband, my kids, my grandkids, anything. A mannequin, I don't care. I'm always putting things together. And my 40th birthday, I was with the Lord a couple months before it. And the Lord said to me, I would like you to fast from shopping. Huh, what? No shopping? And you know, that just like hit me at the core. Two confessions. And gosh, and my birthday and Christmas were all right around the corner. And who doesn't like to buy themselves a Christmas present?  It's just wrong, but. So anyway, I told the Lord, yes. Yes. I'll give that up. And you will never believe what God did. At the end of my fast, which was just around my birthday and Christmas time, this lady in the church came up to me and she said, the Lord's really been speaking to me. And he told me I'm supposed to take you shopping for a new outfit for your 40s. I was like, yes, God! Because, you know, here is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Sometimes it needs to be one thing. So that's for today, but what about forgetting the past? He says, I forget those things which are behind me. Can we just admit it, we're obsessed with the past? Instead of forgetting it, we drudge it up, we relive it, we flounder hopelessly in it. We watch Oprah or Dr. Phil or somebody to help us, you know, talk about the past. We either blame others, we make excuses for our sinful behavior, we say it's genetic. I'm Irish, of course I have a temper, what do you think? Or we say it's our temperament, or we're chicks, I have PMS, just back off. But PMS is not an excuse to sin, did you know that?  Write that down, PMS is not an excuse for your sin. If your husbands were here, they'd be underlining that and elbowing you. Sometimes I just have to put myself in time out. I find that works because I sometimes will sin unless I'm just alone. So anyway, and we can't forget the past by mental acumen or psychological trickery, the only way you can deal with the past is repentance. That's pretty much it. The author of Hebrews said, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. And he goes on later to say, and then he will remember their sins no more.   Let me tell you, what's in there? You know what's in my garbage? You didn't have a childhood like I had. Just smell the garbage. We call those testimonies. And I think testimonies are good. We are sinners. I was blind, now I see.  You know what I mean? I won't go there. Here's a good rule of thumb. Don't rummage in your past unless something specific from the past is hindering the present. Let it go. No fishing sign. Don't go back there. No digging in this area. Just let it go. It's covered by the blood. Now, if it does hinder the present then deal with it spiritually. Winston Churchill said, if the present quarrels with the past there can be no future. So Paul got to this point and he said, I'm forgetting those things which are behind me. Now, what was Paul forgetting in this text? Because you read this in its context. Was Paul forgetting his sin in this text? No. If you read it, he's just admitted how amazing he is.  And he said, according to the law he was blameless. He goes through this pedigree in this text. I'm a Hebrew of Hebrews and da da da da. You know what he's forgetting? His accomplishments, his accolades and the applause. It's his pride. He counted every single self-achievement as rubbish that he may attain Christ. Sometimes it's our pride that's in the way of moving forward. The honest thing is you can't live on past manna. What you did yesterday in Christ is gone. What are you doing today for Jesus? And if your testimony is a 20-year-old testimony, what are you doing for God lately? We know what God did for you when he delivered you but what are you doing for him? One thing I do. You know, the next Olympic athlete is gonna break the record. Whatever it was you did, someone else is gonna come along and there'll be a better one at it. But you need to make today count your daily bed, your daily bearing of the cross. It's a daily testimony. So that was the evaluation and then he moves into this relentless elevation. He says in verse 13, reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God and Jesus. Do you feel it? I'm pressing ahead for the upward, the call in Jesus. Do you just feel him going like this? You know, he's like the little engine who could. He's going uphill and he's gonna keep doing it. Reaching forward or straining toward are running terms of an athlete in training for competition. And he knew about that. He knew about the Olympic gains. It kind of explains the agony and effort that an athlete would have in the last mile of competition. Anybody ever hear done athletic things? You've been in a 5K marathon. You know what it was like to trade for that thing. I did a half marathon twice. The first time I was really cocky and I thought I can run six miles. Why not 13? It can't be that hard.   And then all of a sudden the men, they're past you. Yeah, okay, I'm not competing with the men. It's the women. And then the women go by you. And then the older women go by you. And then the senior citizens all go by you. And then the guy in the wheelchair goes by you. And I am out there like, are you kidding me? You know, I'm just dying on this race. And finally, the only thing that brought me in is somebody probably made some soldiers get in the race and they're like, I don't know, but I've been told. And I was like, dang, if I'm not staying with that rhythm, I'm just gonna keep going. And this is this relentless reaching, moving, straining forward. You don't become a gold medal athlete by listening to lectures or attending seminars or watching others race. Winners train, winners compete, winners win. You need to get in the race, girlfriend. He says he's pressing toward the next phrase. That is a Greek term that is describing a hunter pursuing his prey. He's pressing toward, he's crouching down, he's about to jump in and grab that prize. You know, I read every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and it knows to survive it has to outrun the fastest lion. But the lion wakes up and knows he doesn't eat unless he outruns the fastest gazelle. Either way, predator or prey, when you get up, you gotta be running. And we are to run the race. So he says he's reaching and he's pressing toward and it says things ahead. Things have had, is it a distant future like heaven in this text, although he wants to go to heaven? It's more like earthly gulls or hurdles. He's jumping the next hurdle, the next trial, the next problem, the next thing. He is going over the hurdles and he's not gonna stop if there's another hurdle. It's these other goals. Everybody knows the Kennedys, right? I mean, there's not a person alive. If you're of my age, you remember the day that JFK was shot or Bobby was shot. And one of the lesser survivors, poor Senator Ted Kennedy to have to bury so many of his family. Well, at his funeral, because you know he died recently, his son Ted Jr. got up and shared this eulogy. And he said when he was 12 years old, he had gotten bone cancer and they had to amputate his leg. And that was just so huge for Ted Jr. And he had to get a prosthetic and he was learning how to use the prosthetic. And he was home now and it was the holidays and it was a snowy day. And his dad said, looks like a great day for sledding. Come on, Ted. And Ted started marching up his driveway and slip and fall and slip and fall. And he turned to his dad and he said, I can't do it. Ted Sr. turned to him and he said, you can do it. And I'm gonna help you and I'm not leaving till you have. Oh, sisters, maybe there's someone who's trying to get up that hill or over that hurdle and they just need someone to say, you can do it. I'm gonna help you and I'm not leaving your side till we've made it over this hurdle. Amen. And oh, that you would just be imperfect like Paul and say, I'm not perfect. I haven't apprehended. I haven't attained help. If we were honest, like Paul is being honest, to get over it. My dad used to say, quitters never win and winners never quit.  David Livingston, the famous missionary, they asked him once he came home from a mission trip, where are you ready to go now? And he said, I'm ready to go anywhere provided it's forward. Amen. You ready to move forward, ladies? In your faith to press on with the purpose that you have and to preach the gospel. Because you know what Paul says the goal is? That you press on in Christ Jesus. Jesus is your goal. Jesus, who it says in scripture, his face shines like the sun in full strength. No man can see it in sea. His eyes are like a flaming fire and they run to and fro throughout the whole earth, showing him soft strong on those he loves. His nostrils blast and the seas are exposed to their foundations. He has a thunderous voice like many waters that shake the wilderness. His strong arm has made heaven and earth and nothing is too hard for him. His hand has spanned the ocean and his fingers measured the earth and his feet will stand on the mount of olives one day and split it in two. Jesus, that's who you're running this race for. Jesus, is anything too hard with him? No. So what reward would Paul say he was getting? He's getting this prize for his upward call. The reward for Olympians was just a crown of leaves. Now I'm telling you, I don't think I'm gonna go through that kind of agony. Again, I will not run a marathon if you give me a crown of leaves. Our Olympic athletes get a gold medal, that's not bad. I would maybe do it for a gold medal. Timothy tells us, I have fought the good fight, Paul speaking. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award on that day, not only to me, but to all who long for his appearing. Is there a Maranatha out there? Is there any way out there saying Lord, Jesus come quickly? Are you longing for Jesus to come back? Because if you are, you get a crown of righteousness. And you know what you do with your crown? Revelation says we put them at his feet. And I just know I don't wanna get to heaven empty-headed. I wanna have something that I can lay at Jesus' feet. Amen? Don't you want to run? We wanna be like our amazing sisters who have run before us, Queen Esther. If I perish, I perish. The woman with the issue of blood, we don't even know her name, but she just wanted to touch the helm of the Lord's garment. Ruth, the Moabite, who said your people will be my people, your God, my God, where you die, I'll die. She would give anything to be one of the children of Israel to be a rosy, the Riveter, to be a person who presses on. I'm gonna ask these questions again, and I just want you to tell me she presses on. So is there someone here on the front lines of fear? She presses on! How about bunkers of burdens? She presses on! Worrying with worry! She presses on! Fighting with your family! She presses on! Dodging depression! She presses on! Battling your budget! She presses on! The ditch of disease! She presses on! Amen, sisters, the potshots of pain! She presses on! And struggling with sin! She presses on! Aim to press on!   Never, never, never give up, Winston Churchill!


Bread is the foundation of our daily meals. It's the number one food on the tables of people all over the world. And for a very good reason. It's the most economical source of the elements needed to provide energy and help build strong bodies. It is wholesome, tasty, and although man doth not live by bread alone, without it a meal seems incomplete. Formerly, most bread was made in the home, but it took experience and a lot of hard work to turn out good bread every time. The housewife usually gave a sigh of relief when her efforts were successful. Today the baking industry has taken over a good part of the job of providing America's daily bread and other bakery products. The industry produces over two billion dollars worth of baked foods per year. It employs more than 300,000 persons in a wide variety of jobs, calling for various degrees of skill and knowledge. In a large wholesale bakery, the actual baking is mainly machine operation. And except for certain key jobs, much of the work can be done by persons without any previous training. The first step in bread making is to prepare the flour by sifting and blending. The other ingredients such as sugar, yeast, shortening, milk, and salt are weighed or measured carefully according to set formulas. A man called a mixer starts the bread on its way to the table by pouring the ingredients into a huge dough mixing machine. He sets a scale which weighs out just the right amount of blended and sifted flour. The flour falls from an overhead hopper into the mixer which is then set in motion. Half a ton of dough, enough for a thousand loads could be mixed in some machines. When the dough is ready, it is dumped into a trough which the mixer's helper wheels into the air-conditioned fermentation room. In this warm, moist place, the yeast cells multiply and the dough rises. To make good bread, the dough must be allowed to ferment just the right length of time. The scale of the bakery superintendent is called on in working out proper schedules. Next, the dough goes to the divider where it is separated into pieces the right size for individual loaves. The divider man checks the weight of the pieces and regulates his machine so that the output is uniform. The rounding machine rolls the dough into compact balls. These travel slowly for a time on an endless belt in an air-conditioned cabinet or overhead proofer. This gives the dough a chance to rise again. Then the pieces are fed into the molder which flattens them and rolls each one up into the proper shape for the pans. The pieces are delivered to men known as panners who place them in greased baked pans. The pan racker puts the pans on racks which go into a proof box where further rising called proofing takes place. Here too, temperature, humidity and time must be carefully controlled. Then the bread is ready for baking. The oven loader sets the pans on the moving steel belt or hearth which carries the bread slowly through the oven where it can be observed through windows. Finally it is delivered. Bake to a golden brown and the oven dumper puts the loaves onto a belt leading to the cooling room. The oven man has a responsible job. He must regulate the temperature and humidity in various parts of the long oven to ensure bread that is baked to a turn. After cooling, the loaves go into a slicing and wrapping machine. Its razor sharp blades slice about 40 loaves a minute. The machine does all the work but the operator must watch it closely to see that everything goes smoothly. The wrapping end of the machine too is completely automatic. Wholesale bread is usually distributed by root salesmen delivering to stores and restaurants all over the city. But this mass distribution has not put the small retail bakery out of business by any means. In fact, most of America's 30,000 bakeries are small ones serving their own neighborhoods. In addition to bread of all kinds, retail bakeries make a variety of foods including cakes, donuts, rolls, pies, cookies, coffee cakes and fancy pastries. Because of this wide variety of goods, to be a baker in a small shop you have to have real skill and experience. Except for electrical mixing machines, flour sifters and in some cases ovens, the average retail bakery is not mechanized so hand work is the rule. One minute you may be getting a batch of cookies ready for the oven and soon after be making pies or cakes. And no matter what you make it must be really good if the bakery is to keep its customers. Not only good to the taste but clean and wholesome. The conscientious baker is aware of his responsibility to the consumers health. The working hours for a baker and his helpers used to be long and arduous. But today most bakeries operate on eight hour shifts. But a baker must be in good physical condition or some bakeries are warm places especially in the summertime. Bakers usually learn their trade as helpers or by contracting as apprentices. Experienced bakers teach the apprentice the skills of the trade and when the training period is completed the apprentice is qualified for a job as a journeyman baker. Baking can also be learned in a vocational school. Nationally known schools of baking are located at the Dunwoody Institute, the Sybel Institute of Technology and at the American Institute of Baking. Such schools offer ambitious workers a chance to qualify for better jobs in the industry. Their programs include instruction in the science and theory of baking, shop management and related mathematics. These schools have completely equipped bakeries where the student learns all phases of wholesale and retail baking. Courses cover routine shop work on all bakery products and special study leading to a thorough understanding of the chemistry of baking. The subject of fermentation includes the study of yeast. This one celled fungus with its facility for rapid reproduction plays a vital role in baking. When the course of training in a good vocational school is completed the students are prepared to take advantage of the opportunities for employment as foremen or production managers in large bakeries. Such men must be highly skilled technicians. There are also positions as executives for men who know baking thoroughly and who also have sound business ability. Men with scientific training are employed in laboratories engaged in routine analytical work for large bakeries or in research work for the industry as a whole. In some bakeries women are employed in light work such as putting frosting on rolls or cakes. But in retail business women are in greatest demand as salespersons. Here a pleasant manner and courtesy are necessary. For women with exceptional ability there are jobs as store managers for neighborhood retail bakeries and for companies which operate chains of retail sales rooms in large cities. Owning your own bakery is an attractive goal to those who know baking and enjoy the work. But you must also know management and have enough business ability to handle the book work which is a part of any commercial venture. But whether you operate a shop or work for someone else you will find the baking industry an interesting field. It is one which contributes to mankind's well-being. It is a permanent part of America's economy and is due for further expansion. It offers employment to many and a career for those who qualify. If the work appeals to you and you're willing to learn with a sincere desire to get ahead you may find some phase of the baking industry a worthwhile choice as your life work.


Welcome back to the east circuit, the only way to turn up your weekend Atumituko Kuchesangomengina po Kali Sana She goes by the name of Sunlight Ingabire I hope I'm pronouncing it correctly Dorokas, all the way from Rwanda Welcome to the east circuit Thank you so much But it's Sunny for short ya Yeah, Sunlight is my real name and it's Omo, you all know that So I use this Sunny as a media name You got into the game, the music industry, all the way back in 2015 Yeah, 2015 That's when you did your first single Yeah Tell us about that, getting into the game in Rwanda It was really hard, ya know It was my first time to Is the market difficult to get into the music industry? It's not difficult to get in You just need to understand what you are doing and you need someone who understands it I was alone and I got somebody to help me to go to the studio but after I record the song I thought you just put in the radio and play the song So everything was supplies Also I tried the TV and then there is a way to pay promotion There is a way this song is not good So it's always the same There's always something There's a conversation going on right now in Kenya but clearly from what you're saying it's everywhere I know, it's really everywhere So what does it take to break into the market from someone who's seen both markets Rwanda and Kenya? I've been seeing this situation but since I'm in Kenya I really hear the music So maybe there might be a problem To me I was thinking maybe there might be a problem for the musician, they do music Yes, they play it, but they don't make money So then they might think they don't play our music So maybe they don't get the show they don't make money That's why they are pissed off a little bit Okay, so how did it do The 2015 track, your first debut single It was good after I put out my video I went to interview I did interview and then I tried to perform along the city and the discourse and some shows to know how it works Everything was really hard for me but finally I make it So then I know how it works I start like this I make another song After I say okay So now I think I understand everything I'm going back to Kenya and look where I can record my music and start go inside the media And now come on, Lisa, Kenya What is your name? Kenya is my name, but I was born in Tengeneza, Mziki I was born in Medi So I was born in Kavaidato Marafiki Can you introduce the musicians, the producers and the presenters? Some of my family members have been featured by Riku Aout and I'm a celebrity I was born in Simsemijina So Riku Aout I was interviewed by Tanzania So it was a picture? Yes Riku Akinamahari was born in Kuwait So when I was interviewed by Tanzania East African TV I was very lucky because that time I was a model and then they interviewed me so I get some Tanzanian contact and then I told them usually I live in Kenya Do you know someone who can From those contacts? Yes, from those contacts And this guy called Lawiz I think you guys know him He's well known and then he gave me contact for studio and then I went to Compound Lakot It's where they make my two songs I have now Nice Natransition Back home before we get into the Kenyan market from being a model being a well known model now becoming a singer or atleast accept Okay, so I want to ask you if you are a model Yes, I am a model I am a model because I am a model in Thailand Singapore I go to Indonesia Malaysia and I was around there and then I came back but you know you can't stay in Asia like permanently it's different in the world with the foreigners maybe even if you are working some countries they are like since you work here you contract to finish you need to move especially when you look like I don't want to say Did you talk once to say it for me? I think it's good for Africans because most of the time black people get big problem outside when they are working so most of the time it's really hard no matter where you work it depends maybe if you are working for a huge company you are making a lot of money like 5 million up maybe that's okay but if you are hustle you are working no more it's really hard especially when you are black person so when your contract finish the company have to make sure they move you to another country because somewhere they really don't want to see you and then you need to be aware for 3-4 years you can be able to work again so they don't want you to be connected inside the country maybe have children maybe become mix mix so they try to avoid that kind of situation so the model industry is like really cutthroat? oh wow modeling industry is not easy things you know it's same like in the music but better music modeling industry it's really hard it's hard things they have money you have to hustle you don't just go and say a model now and it does means in the model you don't need to be beautiful they look how patient you are and how hard working you are so they can use exactly how they want so when you do better then you are in that's where you get money you need to know swimming motorbike driver car driving you need to know a lot of things I do but you need to know a lot of things the more you know the more you get more work before we get back to the music Instagram is filled with Instagram models what place can you give them so that they try to reach your level Instagram models I see many because I remember when I was there I saw a model from here in Kenya she come there she have advertisement so me I was there and I really need to work hard I don't get a job all the time so then me and my agent I told them I will be here I will stay here I will work I need to do extra job as well in studio people making movie advertisement I need to be there for free I pay ticket visa rent and sometimes some countries they want you to pay taxes so you look how much you get and then the taxes it's 40% sometimes me like why don't we do it this way so I come out out in out so you take what you get put here in the leaves so it's always different but I will tell the model outside here be always patient and focus and listen what they told them and look what other people really need to do you can imagine what did she do to be who she to get where she is so why can't I try to be like her or maybe even be better don't copy just do your own but do perfect so you will get there awesome advice like at home upcoming models so now back to the music there's a song in it before the interview began featuring bandana tell me about the experience meeting him and working with him before we get to the song well when I decide I look my music before and I look at the music I'm like what is this I was like reach this level what do I have to do it takes me two years to think what I have to do and how I have to make my video unity when I see my video my song I feel it's real music so I contact this guy I got this contact then I went in the studio and I check on YouTube I want a rapper and then I got bandana so when I ask producer this person he had the contact and then we meet we organize everything and then we make the song it was just that simple I could not believe actually I even cry because I've been well without making a song and I see other people coming up I'm like why this happened to me what's wrong with me I really love to sing it's my patient things I really want to it's my dream and then I was like no I have to do something so the day I was sitting in the studio and the producer started to do the beat and then the guy said yes I would come trust me when I started to record I cry I feel so sad I was like I can't believe I'm here again and I'll say that's it I'm sure now it's the time and I record that one I record another one they make a video for me it's amazing and then I made another one and today I want to continue to do more better things than today how was the reception back at home did you take it back at home oh yes I just came from there for media tour like four days ago then no longer singing model slash singer no no more more things it's a music now and I was really happy because everybody loved my songs let me tell you Kenya I see the situation in the music but people loves you really people loves you people loves your work you do very good work you are so professional and tell me your song the mastering the beat everything is perfect so everybody really love it and I really know how much they play the songs they don't play Kenyan song but I think Kenyan musician they should try it when this is marketing trust me it could be good because they play their song because in Kenya we are getting played they know Kenyan music from there they know plays those they stop jago there is even other people this hotel who is your favorite Kenyan musician favorite that's a hard question why well how could you say there are many all we need is one my favorite okay let me say my favorite 218 hotel why the songs he sings his new music was really good and about love everything for the wedding everything was super cool and he did very well tell me about your second video the solo the second video in my stop it's a stop playing the song they produce a kash kash kid he's the one who recorded and then and he's the one who still recorded the previous one at bandana he's my producer I think he's really good are you planning to sign with kash kid? I think so in Kenya permanently or will you go back to Rwanda? I have been here in 2007 all my jobs everything I got was here all my life I will say my life was breathed by Kenya so it's really easy for me to be here and this is where I grew up when I started to know about life this is where I know flains everybody I know Kenya I know everywhere so that's where I stay stop playing the reception stop playing it's a song I made myself I rated myself it's a really story of a girl she used to love a partner and the partner was married and that partner I was kind of a guy who liked to play music always and he played love music so it makes that woman fall in love with her through the music she used to tell me everything and then I'm like but what do you do sometimes even I'm angry for her so is this like a friend's experience that you decided to put on a song? it's a really story so did the guy finally stop playing the guy she used to fight with him you make me headache you play music then one day I ask her why you like to do this what's wrong his music is quiet cool what's happened what's going on in your office and after she explained for me everything and so the guy didn't stop but after they sit down they talk and after trust me they love each other and now they live together so something good came out of it exactly awesome stuff where can someone find you online because a lot of people are anticipating the good music that is coming through if you got me online or you get me to Instagram it's Sunny Rwanda 12 my official instagram I think you should change it to Sunny Kenya just speaking as a friend no I did Rwanda because I haven't stayed in Rwanda for a while and I wanted them to know I am a musician who come from Rwanda like a diaspora so that's why I say Sunny Rwanda otherwise I'm sunlight don't forget that so Sunny Rwanda I mean Sunny no matter where I can be because she is here so I am Rwandese so Sunny Rwanda everywhere even on YouTube yeah in YouTube it's Sunny Rwanda you will get me but since I changed my music I changed my YouTube channel because I need new music new things even