Chaplain’s Corner: Make Your Story Count

By Rev. Dr. Rodrigo Cruz

One of the things that my wife Kelly and I like to do at night is to watch TV shows together. Between juggling both of our jobs, trying to keep five children alive, managing a thousand of activities for every family member, and whatever it is that life throws at us, spending some time to decompress together at night is something that we really treasure.

So, we have decided to alternate picking shows according to our preferences, and while one of us will choose the show of our choice, the other one has to endure it and actually try to enjoy it. Some of her shows include, This is US, Virgin River, and Handmaids Tales, and some of my shows include Breaking Bad, The Office, and Yellowstone

Often while we are watching the shows, we find ourselves pretending we are in the shoes of the characters, and we begin wondering what our actions or reactions would have been if we were the ones in the show.

The reality is that our lives are a little bit less dramatic than the lives of most of the characters that we watch, thank you Jesus for that. Nevertheless, the roles we are playing in our lives count, and whether we are famous or not, we are writing our own story.

I am not sure what your life looks right now, but if your life is like mine, you may be in a season of drama, you may be leaving a season of comedy, or you may be even entering a season of terror. Yet, regardless of what your season may look like, I want to encourage you to make your story count.

The truth that we need to be reminded of is that someone is always watching, someone may be inspired by our words and actions, and more importantly, someone may be affected by the roles we are playing. For that reason, one more time, I want to encourage you to make your story count.

Rodrigo Cruz is the Lead Pastor of The Nett Church. More information at www.thenettchurch.com.

Goodbye,

Lisa Marie

Continued from page 13 half-brother Navarone Garibaldi, for being there.

Lisa Marie’s oldest daughter, actress Riley Keogh, was in the program to read a remembrance, a letter she had written to her mother, but it was read instead by Riley’s husband, Australian stuntman Ben Smith-Peterson. In the letter, Riley states that she hopes she can love her daughter the way she and her brother and sisters, fourteen-year-old twins Harper and Finley, were loved.

This statement revealed to the world that Lisa Marie was a grandmother, a fact kept private for months. Riley and Ben’s daughter is rumored to be named Tupelo, after Elvis Presley’s birthplace, and that she was born in August of 2022, although this has not been confirmed by the Presley family.

The Blackwood Brother Quartet sang How Great Thou Art and Sweet, Sweet Spirit, Gospel songs that Elvis loved. On the back of the program of service, there was an Acknowledgement from The Presley family that read, “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the love, compassion, and support you have shown our family during this difficult time.”

After the service, there was a silent procession through the Meditation Garden to view the gravesites.