- [Gordon] 2020's wedding bell blues.

- We thought about thesecond wave or whatever

and how long it would be

before we could get actually married,

and we really didn't want to do that.

- [Gordon] How couplesare handling changes

to their wedding plans.

Plus, a lifetime of abuse.

- One time, I had toactually get my teeth fixed

because that's how bad he beat me.

- See how she found peace ontoday's "700 Club Interactive."

Well welcome to the show.

This spring and summer,the wedding bell blues

has taken on a whole new meaning.

For many couples, thepandemic has derailed

their wedding plans.

- Still, others have foundcreative ways to tie the knot

in the age of COVID weddings.

Charlene Aaron has the story.

- According to the weddingplanning site, The Knot,

some 20 to 30,000 weddingshappen each weekend in the US,

with most planned forApril, May, and June.

This year, due to COVID-19,

many are postponing their big day,

while others say it's agreat time to get hitched.

As a little girl, Tara LynneHilbert of Chesapeake, Virginia

dreamed of her wedding day.

Once engaged, she started planning,

wanting every detail to be perfect.

- We had been engaged for two years.

So we invited 260 people.

We planned this wedding for two years.

- [Charlene] Like so many couples,

when the outbreak began, TaraLynne and her fiance, Dane,

were forced to ditch their original plans.

- I was disappointed.

It is so much planningthat's involved in it

and you're lookingforward to it for so long.

But after, I realized, "There'snothing we can do about it,

"so where can we go from here?"

- [Charlene] The shortanswer, stay the course.

So on May 2nd, their planned wedding date,

Tara Lynne and Dane tied theknot in their front yard.

- It was definitely different.

Just wore a nice little white dress,

walked out of my house down the driveway

to my future husband.

And just seeing my familythere, it was not as planned,

but it was still romantic and intimate.

- [Charlene] Across the country,

other brides are doing the same.

- I've actually had four friends

that have had to either postponeor cancel their wedding.

Most of them are stillending up getting married

on the day that they were planning

and then having a celebration later on.

- [Charlene] Candice Rauch specializes

in making brides beautifulfor their special day.

As a professional makeup artist,

she knows firsthand the impact

on the normally bustling beauty industry.

- Around this time, I wouldbe so busy with clients,

weddings, graduations, prom, you name it.

- [Charlene] This seasonhas been unprecedented.

- I have postponed 29 bridesfrom March until August.

- [Charlene] As the virus unfolds,

Rebekkah and Patrick Manningdecided against waiting.

Engaged on April 19th,

they decided to tie the knot a week later.

- We thought about thesecond wave or whatever

and how long it would be

before we could get actually married,

and we really didn't want to do that.

- [Charlene] Standing on a dock

in the back yard of Rebekkah's parents',

they exchanged vows infront of family and friends

while others watched online.

- We had people Zooming in to watch it.

- [Charlene] Despitenot having the wedding

they always wanted, the couple admits

marrying sooner ratherthan later kept costs low.

- We didn't spend anything on our wedding.

I spent $15 and I got my dress

from a stranger on Marketplace,Facebook Marketplace.

We didn't spend any moneybecause of the generosity

of our friends and family.

- [Charlene] And kept socialdistancing rules in place.

- Instead of a flowergirl, we had a little girl

with a basket walk aroundwith hand sanitizer.

- (laughs) Hey.

Patrick and Rebekkah also see

the quicker timeline as perfect.

- Our verse that we have together,

which is Ecclesiastes 3:11,"Got makes everything beautiful

"in his time," and that'sreally our theme verse

and I've seen God do that.

He has made everythingbeautiful in its time.

- [Charlene] As for Tara Lynne and Dane,

they still want a celebration

and have rescheduled their wedding venue

and honeymoon for next year.

For now, the newlyweds are enjoying

the simple pleasures of marriage.

- We got new carpet and webuilt a coffee table together.

We're gonna have our honeymoonnext year in St. Lucia.

We were both off from work,so just hanging out together.

- [Charlene] Charlene Aaron, CBN News.

- Well how do you knowwhen you're married?

You rejoice over the new carpet.

That's (laughs).- Yeah.

I love that story though.

I love love, and I'm so happy.

I mean, Rebekkah,

you know, we know Rebekkah.- Yeah.

- She's a producer here.- She works on the show.

- Yep, she does.

And so when I saw those pictures

and when she told everyone,I was so ecstatic,

not only for her, but all the other brides

'cause I mean, that, I can't even imagine

how detrimental that would be,

just for your wedding to becanceled, all the planning

that goes into it.- But you don't have

to cancel it.

You just go forward.- But you don't have

to cancel it, exactly,- Just

- and I love--- adapt.

- Exactly.

I loved seeing that they adapted

and they were still able toget their happily ever after.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- What's dating like

in COVID-19?- Oh my goodness.

Are we going there?

We're going there.

Well, you know, I would say

it's a little difficult.- All right, pay no attention

to them.

(laughing)

Nobody's watching.- I'd say it's a little

difficult, you know,you gotta keep six feet.

I'm sure a lot of peopleare on the dating apps.

I'm not.

So, you know, just yeah.

- Okay.- Good stuff.

- Way to duck it.

- Love is love.

- All right, up next, countrymusic star Craig Morgan

opens up about his new song

and the death of his 19-year-old.

We've got Efrem's top five coming up.

Don't go away.

(inspirational music)

- Well join us thisFriday, tomorrow, May 29th

for a special night ofworship and encouragement

on a "Night of Promise," aswe celebrate Pentecost 2020,

hosted by none other thanGordon Robertson of CBN

and Jonathan Bernis of the Jewish Voice.

Special guests include PatRobertson, Joel Osteen,

Joyce Meyer, Michael W. Smith, Don Moen,

Kathie Lee Gifford, JonathanCahn, Jentezen Franklin,

and many others.

It's gonna be a night tocelebrate God's faithfulness

and stand united in supportof the nation of Israel.

Join us for the "Night of Promise."

Watch it on the CBN Family App,

the CBN News Channel, Facebook,and many other channels.

Again, it's tomorrow, Friday, May 29th

at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

For more information, justgo to NightofPromise.com

or check your local listings.

All right, well, it is Thursday

and you know what that means.

We are shining the spotlight on Hollywood.

- Well here with all thelatest entertainment news

is Efrem Graham with thisweek's top five from "Studio 5."

- [Efrem] At number five.

♪ He don't wake up anymore ♪

♪ When he hears thunder ♪

- [Efrem] The nation'sannual Memorial Day concert

is a virtual one for the first time,

honoring history's heroes in battle

and those waging wartoday against COVID-19.

- We hold you in our hearts.

- To all you real-life Captain Americas

and Captain Marvels out there,thank you for your service.

God bless you and God bless America.

- [Efrem] At number four.

- News Channel 5's Eric Hilt shows us

one Nashville graduation celebration

that's now been seen bypeople all around the world.

- [Efrem] Millions have now seen

Pearl-Cohn's high schoolgraduation parade.

- [Dontrail] Jordan, I graduated!

I love you, Dean Jordan.

- [Woman] Wow!

- [Dontrail] Bye, Ms. Vail.

- [Efrem] Thanks to an emotionalsenior, Dontrail Spencer.

- [Ms. Smith] I'm proud of you, Dontrail.

- [Dontrail] I'll alwayssee you Ms. Smith.

- [Ms. Smith] Love you, man.

- [Dontrail] Love you too.

Oh!

- [Efrem] A hard-earned celebration

he sometimes thought he would never see.

- Like man, COVID got in the way

so I can't walk the stage though.

I just heard I got twomillion views already

and I was like, "Two millionpeople watched me graduate."

Thank you.

It was so many times I wanted to give up

on high school though.

- [Reporter] His grandma, his inspiration,

died recently and never saw this moment.

(Dontrail laughs)

- And I just got on the rooftop of the car

and said, "I did it."

I felt like my granny was looking at me

and I yelled, "I did it,"

because I was telling mygranny I did graduate for you.

Ms. Gleason, I graduated!

- [Efrem] At number three.

♪ I've got the Father, myson, and the Holy Ghost ♪

- [Efrem] A familiar tunefrom country music star

Craig Morgan's new album,"God, Family, Country,"

his first since his19-year-old son's death

in a tubing accident a few years ago.

- I believe so much in my God.

I believe in Him so much

that I believe that Hewould not do this to me.

He would never do this.

Now the devil would.

And I personally believethat God loves me so much

and He's so confident in my relationship

that He took my son to heaven

knowing that I would neverdeny Him or refuse Him

and that He will beglorified in my son's death.

And he will be.- That's amazing.

♪ With the Father, myson, and the Holy Ghost ♪

- [Efrem] At number two.

(dramatic music)

(bombs explode)

- [Ernest] Dear Lord, letyour holy angel be with me.

- [Efrem] It's a "Studio 5"sneak peek at "Greyhound,"

the World War II naval dramainspired by real events,

written by and starring Tom Hanks.

- [Air Escort] How manycrossings does this make?

- This is my first.

(dramatic music)

- I got something.

- Most likely a U-boat.

- [Efrem] And with COVID-19'slockdown still in place,

the film is now coming to you.

- In 28 hours, we've lost seven ships.

(bomb explodes)

- [Reporter] Sony lastweek revealed it'll debut

its Tom Hanks World War IInaval drama, "Greyhound,"

on Apple TV+, also forgoinga theatrical release.

- [Efrem] At number one.

It's a new season of NBC's"America's Got Talent."

- We were filming season15 with packed audiences

all into the theater and the whole thing

and then when the COVID-19crisis and pandemic

started to take over the entire world,

we lost our audience.

- [Efrem] And it's anemotional start for the season.

♪ Don't let the sun go down on me ♪

- [Efrem] With ArchieWilliams' story to the stage.

- I was just incarcerated for 37 years

for somebody else crime.

(audience jeers)- Ooh.

- DNA freed me.

Being a poor black kid, Ididn't the economic ability

to fight the state of Louisiana.

I was sentenced to life and 80 years

without the possibilityof parole or probation.

When you know you'refaced with dark times,

what I would do is I would pray and sing.

This is how I got peace.

After 37 years, I was releasedon March the 21st, 2019.

(dramatic music)

I always desired to beon a stage like this,

and now I'm here.

Thank God.

♪ But losing everything ♪

♪ Is like the sun going down on me ♪

(audience cheers and claps)

- That was absolutely moving,

and when you- Yeah.

- think about the injustice of this,

here he had beensentenced to life plus 80,

without the possibility of parole

and it takes DNA evidence.

The good news is theyactually kept the samples from

- Yeah.

- the original case andso they were able to match

and figure out, finally, he's not the guy.

But you just, you look atthis and, boy, can he sing.

- Yeah.

- To say for 37 years hewas singing and praying

and that's how he made it through.

- Yeah.

- Wow.- I love what he says,

that even though he was in prison,

he never let his mind be imprisoned.

That is huge and that preaches.

And I think we can't deny the fact

that racism is stillvery much in our culture

and we have to continuouslyfight against it.

- Well it's particularlyin the justice system.

- Yep.- And when you look

at the justice system,just on the statistics,

if you're an African Americanmale between 18 and 34,

the odds are really against you.

- Yeah.- And then you look

at how justice systems are rewarded,

and you're rewarded for conviction rates.

You aren't rewarded fordid you find the right guy,

did you actually have justice.

And you look at the Innocence Project,

you look at these other things

- Yeah.- that are trying

to make a difference here.- Yeah.

- Let's start with howdo we reward prosecutors,

how do we reward police,

- Yeah.

- and is that the right incentiveand should we incentivize,

bottom line, did you get it right

and is there justice in the land?

Because when there's not justice,the Bible's quite specific

that if you convict the innocent,

- Wow.

- the land literally rebels against you.

It's not good.

God doesn't need to get involved.

The Bible says the land does this.

- Wow.

That's powerful.

That really is.

Well let's talk about DontrailSpencer's graduation video.

It went viral

and I watched it.- It should've gone viral.

- It definitely did, and I watched it,

and I got tears in my eyes

because, when you watch it, he's crying.

I don't know if it's his motheror grandmother in the car,

but she's crying, theone who's videotaping,

and she's like, "I'm so proud of you."

And then towards the end, he gets out

and actually hugs a teacher.

And it just shows teachersmake such a difference

in our lives, and I just, I love it.

It's such a beautiful story.

- And I love what he said,"COVID got in the way,

- Yeah.- "but we're not

"gonna let it get in the way.

- Yeah.- "I'm gonna celebrate

"cause this is an absolute achievement."

Let's remember all our 2020 graduates.

This is a- Yeah.

- unique for that.

And please make sure you celebrate.

- Yeah.

- Well, we've got anew film from Tom Hanks

and he is both the writer,director, and major star.

- Nice.

- It's bypassing theaters 'causenobody's going to theaters

and going straight to Apple TV.

- [Ashley] Yep, yep.

- [Gordon] You looking forward to it?

- [Ashley] Yeah, I am actually.

I like war movies.

I like movies that portrayreal-life experiences.

I mean, it's Tom Hanks.

- I would've never guessed

you like war movies.

- Really, I do.- No,

I just don't see that.- I know, someone else

said that to me recently andI was like, "I don't know."

- What's your favorite- I'm a military

- war movie?- girl.

Oh man.

There's a lot, oh, "1917."

- "1917?"- That's not really

a war one, but it's beautifully shot.

It's such an incredible story.

- I would've gone to the Tom Hanks,

"Saving Private Ryan."- That one, that one.

Yeah, so Tom Hanks, I'm sureit's gonna be a good one.

- Yeah.- Hopefully.

Are you gonna watch it?

- I don't have Apple TV, but- Okay.

- maybe I'll stop being old- Maybe it's time to get it.

- and get with the new streaming things.

- Yeah.

- Anyway, Craig Morgan's song,

"The Father, My Son, and the Holy Ghost,"

all about the death of his son.

And as a father, I can't imagine this.

And here he is giving glory.

Can you put yourselfinto his shoes and say--

- I mean, I don't think I canbecause I don't have a child.

However, it makes me think of Jesus

when he's in the Garden of Gethsemane

and he's like, "Father,take this cup away from me,

"but if it's your will,let your will be done,"

and I think that's whatthis song is about.

And you just saw in the clip, he's like,

"God will be glorified in my son's death,"

and that is a hugerevelation of Holy Spirit.

It's incredible.- I was asked one time

to speak at a funeral.

The parents asked me to speakat a funeral for their child.

And it just came to me thatGod knows what it's like

to lose a child.- Wow, yeah.

- And that just really witnessed to them,

that you don't need to blame God for it,

but you can turn to Himand realize He understands

- Yeah.

- and He has been through it.

And any suffering you have beenthrough, God's been through.

Jesus endured more than any one of us.

- Yep.

- But in that, realize Godthe Father endured it with him

- Yep.

- and He knows what itmeans to be separated.

Well for all the latestin entertainment news,

you can go to Efrem'sweekly show, "Studio 5."

You can watch it at the CBN News Channel

or online at CBNNews.com/Studio5.

- Well up next, years of abuseleaves one woman with PTSD.

Find out why she chose toforgive her abuser after this.

(gentle music)

Well it's no wonderCornelia suffered from PTSD.

She lived a nightmare,enduring abuse as a child

from her mother'sboyfriend and then, later,

through two failed marriages.

Cornelia knew what she needed to do

to escape the pain of her past,so why couldn't she do it?

(soft dramatic music)

- I am with somebody andthey're really nice people,

but they have the same smile as he does

and I can't speak, I'm frozen.

- [Narrator] Cornelia Judespent much of her life

running from the pain ofchildhood sexual abuse in Germany,

most of it coming after hermother's boyfriend moved in

when Cornelia was 12.

- I didn't tell my mom in the beginning

because he manipulated situations

and she always believed him.

She never believed me.

- [Narrator] The sexual abuselasted for almost a decade.

- After the second and the third time,

he made clear to me that now I'm involved.

This is now my fault as much as it's his.

- [Narrator] As a teen,she looked for a way

to escape the fear andrage growing inside.

- I slept at the localpark with homeless people.

I was doing drugs, I wasdrinking, I was cutting myself.

When I would cut myself, Iwould feel better in a moment.

After, I would not feel good.

- [Narrator] Then Corneliathought she found a way out:

a baby and a marriage at the age of 18.

- He did drugs and alcohol.

He would get super, super aggressive.

One time, I had toactually get my teeth fixed

because that's how bad he beat me.

The beating was betterthan the sexual abuse.

- [Narrator] After fourmonths of marriage,

Cornelia left her abusive husband,

but she soon foundanother man, an American,

whom she followed to theUnited States and married.

However, it wasn't theescape she had hoped for.

- He was out all the time.

He was drinking all the time.

I don't know how many times

he cheated on me during thattime, but I was cool with it.

I was fine.

I wasn't sexually abused.

I wasn't beaten.

- [Narrator] By now,Cornelia had been having

consistent panic attacks,nightmares, and breakdowns.

After one particular episode,she went to a therapist

who diagnosed her with PTSD.

- I isolated myself a lot andreally, really cried a lot.

- [Narrator] After two years,

unable to bear theemotional abuse any longer,

she took her two children and left.

- I just really always said,

"There's no such thing as a good God

"because there's no way thatHe would allow one person

"to go through all of this."

- [Narrator] For five years,

Cornelia tried to raise her kids

while numbing her fearand anxiety with alcohol.

Then she met Lawrence.

They had a daughtertogether and got married.

Lawrence followed after God

and tried setting thatexample for his family,

but Cornelia kept hermechanisms of coping.

- I went back to my drinking and clubbing

and Lawrence was home withthe kids most of the time.

Sometimes I would come home,five, six in the morning

and I'm still drunk and I see him.

He'll sit on the bed and he's praying

and I will get so mad athim because I felt like

that was his way oftrying to manipulate me.

- [Narrator] For about adecade, Cornelia avoided God

and coped with her internal hell.

Then in 2015, she noticed a little church

on her daily commute.

As she passed by it every day,

she felt something calling to her.

- There was this pull, "Youshould go check that out,"

and I was like talking to myself,

"I'm not going to go in there.

"Why would I go in there?"

And then one day, I'mlike, "You know something,

"we're just gonna go check it out."

And I came home and I told my husband,

"Hey, let's check out thischurch," and he was like, "What?"

- [Narrator] The couplestarted attending the church

but Cornelia was still resistant

to the Lord's pull on herheart and decided to leave.

But before doing so,she met with the pastor,

who equipped her with a tool

that would completely alterher course, forgiveness.

- He said to me every time I get a feeling

of I need to go drink or whenI wake up from nightmares,

which happened all thetime, that I will say,

"I choose to forgive,I choose to forgive."

Then I say "God, I can't do this.

"I cannot do this.

"And if You can hearme, help me to forgive."

- [Narrator] That time would finally come.

She returned to the churchfor a prayer service

where the congregation could write things

and names of people thatneeded prayer on a whiteboard.

For Cornelia, only oneperson came to mind,

her mother's old boyfriend.

- I put his name there andsomething inside of me,

it was like somebodyjust let go of my heart.

And there was a switch inmy brain and in my heart.

I didn't see him as this monster anymore.

That was one of the mostamazing days of my life.

- [Narrator] Corneliawas engulfed by love,

and soon after, gave her life to Jesus.

She stopped drinking, and the nightmares

and panic attacks began to diminish.

With the grace of God's forgivenessand a transformed heart,

Cornelia began rebuilding the love

and trust of her mother,husband, and family.

- I needed forgiveness, andif God gives me forgiveness,

(chuckles) He can give it toanybody, anybody in this world

because that's what He wants to do.

He just wants to give us allthis grace and all this love

and all we need to do is accept it.

And to feel Him in myheart and to know that,

on days that I have a rough day,

that I could just lean on Him.

With Him I can do anything.

- Yeah, with Jesus, we can do anything,

and that includes forgiving people

who have done the seeminglyunforgivable in our lives.

And as you just saw in that story,

it wasn't until Cornelia began to forgive

those who caused painand trauma in her life.

Forgiveness was the key thatunlocked her prison cell.

And if you're watching right now

and you just feel that same tug

that Cornelia felt whenshe drove by that church

and was like, "There's something there,"

I believe God wants you tolet go of the bitterness

and the unforgiveness in your heart.

But first thing you gotta do

is receive forgiveness fromHim, forgiveness of your sins.

God knows the power of forgiveness,and forgiveness is key.

Forgiveness is key.

Jesus said in the Lord's Prayer,

"Forgive us of our trespasses

"as we forgive those whotrespass against us."

So friend, I want you to pray with me,

to not only receive Jesus into your heart,

but to receive theforgiveness of your sins

so that you can forgive the others

who have caused pain in your life,

so that you can no longerbe bound by bitterness,

no longer be bound by the things

that have kept you captive for years.

Today is your day to walk in freedom,

to walk in forgiveness, to walk in love.

So pray with me right now.

Father God, Jesus, sayhis name out loud, Jesus,

thank you for dying onthe cross for my sins.

I believe that you died,that you resurrected

and I am forgiven.

And I receive that today, Father,

and I forgive those whohave harmed me in my life.

I thank you and I love you.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen and amen.

Gordon.

- Well, here's a word from Hebrews,

"Let us hold fast theconfession of our hope

"without wavering, for Hewho promised is faithful."

God bless you, we'll see you again.

(inspirational music)