A Kiss from Rose| March 18th

What are you celebrating today? Well, first, let's celebrate Jesus and who He is!

Father God, we adore and praise Your name. You are everything to us! There is no other like You. Your unconditional love is needed. Your faithfulness is valued. Your covering and protection are appreciated. Thank You for being who You are, our ALL and ALL! In Jesus's name, Amen.

Don't forget to celebrate yourself and the countless accomplishments you make daily, like getting out of bed. For someone, that is a struggle! It is ok to appreciate the little things. Celebrate everything about yourself every day; that in itself is showing appreciation to God.

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" God is to be praised every day." -Alston Shropshire

Celebrating Women/ Facts

Gene Tierney

Who wasn't amazed and star struck when watching movies on the big screen? Most of us are still start struck today. Think of all the big names like Betty Grable, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, and countless other talents in the 1940s. There is one we can't forget to mention, Gene Tierney. An American film and stage actress. She was originally born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1920. Flawlessly beautiful, Gene unsurprisingly became the leading lady in countless movies. She was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in the film Leave Her to Heaven. Gene Tierney was very well rounded, being raised in Connecticut and living abroad in Europe. At the young age of 17, her life blossomed in Greenwich Village in an acting studio. Soon after that, it was the big-time, Broadway, as a director's protegee. While those might be things that you may have learned over the years, did you know that Gene was diagnosed with a mental illness called manic depression or known today as bipolar disorder? Manic depression is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities. Who would have thought that she was dealing with mental illness at the height of her career? With perseverance, medication, and support, she was able to soar. It may not have been easy to deal with, let alone talk about the issues she was dealing with initially; later on, Gene wrote an autobiography called Self- Portrait in 1979. So let's add being an author to her resume! Mental illness doesn't have to stop you from doing anything. Did Gene Tierney have obstacles? Why, of course! She spoke about the details of her battles with mental illness and her career in her book. Nevertheless, she managed to get a Lifetime Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. What Gene Tierney did was walk in his truth, kept moving forward, and made others aware that you can keep living with mental illness while being great. Gene Tierney died on November 6, 1991.