Cameron Bure Candace - Dancing through life : steps of courage and conviction

Copyright 2015 by Candach, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
978-1-4336-8694-8
Published by B&H Publishing Group
Nashville, Tennessee
Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.84
Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIFE \ COURAGE \ BURE, CANDACE CAMERON
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible,
Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009
by Holman Bible Publishers.
Also used: English Standard Version ( esv ),
copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Also used: New International Version, niv
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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To my dear husband and sweet children:
Without your courage, patience, support, and enthusiasm none of this would have been possible. Thank you for your willingness to step out of your comfort zone by allowing me to step out of mine. I dedicate this book to you, for you are my everything. I love you.

Mark BallasI couldnt imagine taking this pilgrimage with anyone else. You not only taught me how to dance but taught me so much about myself in the process. I dont know how to express in words the depths of what you and this journey have meant to me. It changed me. Forever. You are an incredibly talented man who has patience beyond measure and your goofiness is golden. I will always be cheering you on your lifes journey and am blessed to call you my friend. Love youforever your Edna Flemington.

Erin DavisI wasnt sure if I could write this with someone who doesnt own a television, but you proved yourself a rock star! (Not that I didnt already know.) I am incredibly grateful for your wisdom, knowledge, guidance, and artful skill of writing.

D.J. Candyball Prayer TeamI was able to dance this journey because of each and every prayer you sent up for me. The warmth and comfort of knowing I was being covered in Gods grace through your words allowed me to take each step forward no matter how difficult it was at the moment. I will always be praying for each of you.

Jennifer Lyell, Jana Spooner, Melissa Fuller, and the B&H Publishing teamThank you for championing my passion and desire to write about my journey of courage and conviction. Although it was on a whim, the feeling was so strong I knew it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Im glad you felt it too.

A HUGE thank you to my rockstar team: Jeffery Brooks and Ford Englerth, Redrock Entertainment, Anderson Group PR, Gersh Agency, Chad Christopher, Tara Brooks, Daniel Blaylock, and Rowan Daly.

A special thank you to Tracy Mapes and Steve Neibert, ABC Television Network, and Dancing with the Stars .

To all my lifelong and new fans who supported me through Dancing with the Stars and voted for Mark and me every single week by phone and website, THANK YOU!! Youre the reason (literally) that I made it to the finish line!

Jesus, sweet JesusAll praise, glory, and honor is given to You.

Chapter 1

Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with tambourine and lyre.

Psalm 149:3

T he cameras were ready. The audience was filled with my family and friends. I was in a costume tailor-made just for me, for this moment. It made me feel beautiful and special. When the music started, I begged my brain to remember the moves Id been practicing. I begged my body to obey my brain. I forced a smile and started to dance. Once my feet started moving, it didnt take long for joy to bubble up from inside me. The seeds of a dream had been planted. I had no idea that God would plant my feet on a different stage years later and give me the opportunity to turn the spotlight toward Him.

The backdrop of this book is my experience as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) . Consider this your all-access pass to the hit show that pairs a celebrity (thats me!) with a professional dancer (so not me!) for ten grueling weeks of dancing competition. Of course, its much more than that. Even though I love to dance and dreamed of being on the show for nearly a decade, for me, Dancing with the Stars became so much more than a dancing competition. It wasnt about being on an Emmy-nominated hit reality competition show or seeing a dream come true while millions watched. I believe that my time on DWTS was the opportunity of a lifetime because it allowed me to showcase my faith in Jesus Christ. On a bigger stage than I had ever graced before, I had the chance to be a witness in front of a watching world. Along the journey I learned in many ways what it was like to stand with conviction while being stretched way beyond my comfort zone. I cant wait to share those lessons with you!

That scene of me on a stage in a fabulous dancing costume didnt come from the show. That was me at five years old, the first and only time I remember stepping foot on a stage to dance before I agreed to be on DWTS . That moment is a snapshot in my memory from when I took a handful of tap and ballet lessons one summer as a child. My sister Melissa and I took just enough classes to have a single recital at the end of the session.

I dont remember a lot about those lessons except for a vivid flash memory of learning to leap across the ballet floor. While some of the girls were just jumping over an imaginary line with one foot haphazardly in the air, I tried to split my legs and make the move look as graceful as Id seen real dancers do. In my mind I can hear the teacher say to me, Yes! Just like that, Candace. Good job!

Fast-forward more than three decades and this is a picture of my experience on DWTS . I didnt just want to be on a show. I didnt just want to learn to dance. I knew what my invisible lines were. I knew where I would not cross. Those lines were my convictions, drawn by my time in the Word, the guidance of the Holy Spirit in me, and the accountability offered by my Christian community.

Learning to leap is a great picture of what my experience was like. It was a leap of faith, for sure. But I knew up front that I didnt want to just vault across the DWTS stage without a plan. I wanted to move with purpose. I wanted to show what it looked like to live within the boundaries that God gives us for our good and I wanted to do it all while looking graceful to the watching world.

My childhood dancing lessons were short-lived and as much as Im sure I enjoyed it, acting and commercial auditions were awaiting me. Melissa and I performed our recital at a local college auditorium in front of an audience filled with friends and family members of all the dance students. For my one and only dance performance, I was dressed in a black satin leotard with three white puffy balls down the center, white fluffy feathers around the top of my bust-line and a white feathery tail attached to my behind. I wore black satin arm-length, open-fingered gloves that attached around my middle finger along with a white feathery headband that held up my sparkly black cat ears. I dont remember what music we tapped to; I cant even recall the recital itself, but the pictures with my sister in her equally adorable lime green leotard with my mom and dad and grandparents show me that it really did happen.