Makin` It - Candace Cameron Bure

makin’
Candace Cameron Bure
For Make It or Break It actress
CANDACE CAMERON BURE,
life is a full house.
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Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011
IT
BY SYRONE HARVEY
PHOTOGRAPHY IS DONE BY
BOBBY QUILLARD; MAKEUP
AND HAIR BY TARA BROOKS;
AND FASHION COURTESY OF
DILLARD’S
Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011
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C
CANDACE CAMERON BURE is working the camera,
much as she’s done since 1987 after landing the role of
D.J. Tanner on the ABC series Full House. Amid the blur
of wardrobe changes, makeup fixes, hair styling and re-stylings, Bure is poised, focused and in her element.
Every so often, she shifts her gaze to peer at her youngest son,
Maks, 9. For the petite, charismatic actress, it’s always family first.
Her family also includes husband, Val, and children, Natasha, who
turns 13 in August and Lev, 11. Today Bure plays “Summer” on the
ABC Family series Make it or Break it and recently published the
book Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness.
Hope for Women spent an afternoon behind the scenes with Bure and
got a glimpse into her family and work lives, and how her spiritual
life brings them all together.
HOPE: Tell us about your new book.
Candace Cameron Bure: It’s based on personal experience
and it’s about my journey through weight loss from a Biblical
approach. More than a testimony, Reshaping is a motivational tool
that places its readers on the right track by teaching us that in training our bodies to yield to understanding and wisdom through faith,
we can formulate a lifestyle lane-change.
HOPE: In a world where body image is based on how big or
small you are, how do you deal with self-confidence?
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Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011
CCB: I will say that I’ve struggled with my weight over the years and
that’s kind of been a public thing. I had chipmunk cheeks when I
was little. I’ve had plenty of people comment on my weight because
they still think of me as a 13- or 15-year-old girl having watched
reruns of Full House.
People can’t believe how I look and that I’m so petite. I’ve heard
those negative comments my entire life. I don’t know if they
necessarily intend to be rude, but sometimes it comes out that
way. Someone told me, “Wow! You’re not as fat as you were on
that show,” or “You were so chubby.” As far as letting Hollywood
dictate what I should look like, I feel what’s important to me is to be
healthy and fit.
HOPE: Is it a challenge to keep fit and maintain a healthy
lifestyle?
CCB: I work out about five days a week. I don’t do the same thing
every day because I’m always on the go. I just do what will fit into
my schedule that day. I do a lot of jogging and stadium stairs. My
favorite thing to do is Pilates because it really strengthens my core
and all of my muscles which makes me long and lean. My husband
and I eat very healthy, clean and organic, and teach our kids about
healthy eating as well. Our emphasis is not on being thin, but being
healthy so we can lead an active lifestyle.
“I’ve heard negative comments my entire
life. Someone told me, ‘Wow! You’re not as
fat as you were on that show.’”
HOPE: After 10 years of growing up in the public eye, how have
you managed to have a successful career yet kept family as your
main priority?
CCB: It was extremely important that I took time away from the
business to be a stay-at-home mom [for 10 years]. I think this
allowed me to grow into my adult life privately and become the
woman I am today without the pressures of the industry persuading
me to be one way or another. Family has always been my number
one priority. It’s made for an easier transition back into a career life
because my priorities have been established and are set in place.
It can be difficult to juggle at times, especially seeing my career and
opportunities growing every day. My husband and I work around
each other’s schedules to make sure that one of us is home with the
kids. We manage to do it without hiring child care or too much
outside help, but sometimes, it’s impossible. If something has to give,
it’s going to be work. Life is too short to miss out on watching my
children grow, being there to teach and train them about life, and
honoring my husband by being the kind of wife I committed to on
our wedding day. Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011
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“Life is too short to miss out on watching
my children grow, and honoring my
husband by being the kind of wife I
committed to on our wedding day.” HOPE: It’s not hard to recognize the tightly bonded relationship you share with your kids. Tell us about them.
CCB: My kids are super-outgoing and fun, and I have a blast with
them. My kids are also really into sports. They play tennis and
hockey, so we lead a very active lifestyle. One of the things that
attracted me to Make It or Break It was the schedule because, with
such a large cast, it ends up being a very minimal work week for
me—two to three days a week. That allows me to be with my children and be incredibly involved in their lives.
HOPE: Make It or Break It is now in its second season. Your
character, Summer Van Horne, is a woman of integrity and
virtue. Is this what enticed you to accept the role?
CCB: When her character was first presented to me, it wasn’t
intended for Summer to be a Christian. As we talked, I shared that
because I am a Christian, there were things that I would and would
not do as far as my acting. Morally, I’m conservative, and even
though I’m playing a part, I just had to set personal boundaries as
to what I would endorse.
I absolutely believe Christian integrity can be maintained in
Hollywood, and there are plenty of people to prove it. I’d like to
think my brother, Kirk, is an excellent example. I remain focused by
keeping my priorities in line when it comes to my faith…church,
small group Bible study each week and spending daily time with the
Lord in prayer.
Most of all, with every decision I make, I ask myself, “Would this
be pleasing to God?” If I can’t think of a single way it could benefit
the Kingdom or give glory to God, I will most likely pass, but I also
have my husband, family and close friends to keep me accountable.
HOPE: You have been married to Val, a former NHL player, for
15 years. Is it all that you imagined it would be?
I liked the character a lot, but there were some ground rules. I said,
“These are the lines that I won’t cross,” and after some discussion,
they said, “You know, we would just love to make the character a
Christian. That would just make sense.”
CCB: Marriage is a high priority on the list. So much so that I
often speak about “being a godly wife” at conferences in addition to
my testimony. My husband was not a believer when we were married, but neither was I for that matter.
HOPE: How much are you like Summer?
I wanted so badly for Val to know Christ once I had that “light
bulb moment” in my life. I talked and talked and even preached at
him, until he finally told me one day to stop. He was tired of hearing me try to sway him to the Lord. I was devastated, but chose to
cling closely to 1st Peter 3:1 [Wives, …submit yourselves to your
own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they
may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives]. I
changed my approach by allowing my conduct to speak for itself.
CCB: Summer is a newer Christian and I’ve been in the faith for
quite a while, but she’s an honest woman with integrity who wants
to stand up for what’s right. The difference is that I’m a married
woman of 14 years and have three kids while Summer is single and
just kind of starting her life in that way. She’s put a lot of energy
into her career and is just now starting to want a personal life and
a family.
HOPE: Is it a challenge to work in an industry surrounded by
so many negative influences?
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CCB: Yes. But then I look at it as an incredible opportunity in
reaching the lost, sharing the Good News and being a light in a
dark world. If we dwell on the negatives and the hardships, I don’t
think we would ever want to wake up each morning and get out of
bed. When we’ve got God on our side, seeing those negative influences as a mission field gives a whole new perspective on living. Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011
I showed my husband Christ by changing my own actions, zipping
my lip and becoming the wife he needed me to be. I prayed every
day for his salvation and, two years later, I saw that prayer answered.
Praise God! Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011
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HOPE: Marriages often experience bumps and bruises, how do you
and Val keep your relationship on the growing pathway?
CCB: I definitely attribute the strength in our marriage to the Lord.
We really live our lives according to the blueprint that He laid out for
marriage. When we live by those principles, it absolutely works. When
conflicts arise, we always go to the Bible and resolve it. We try to honor
one another and put each other’s needs before our own.
CCB: I absolutely love reading, whether it’s a Bible study, my Bible or
a fiction book. I also love relaxing, and shopping by myself. I just feel
like I can take a big breath of fresh air and have nothing on my mind
whatsoever. I don’t necessarily have to purchase anything, I just enjoy
browsing.
HOPE: Speaking of shopping, you’ve created an amazing line of
T-shirts.
We still disagree sometimes, but it never becomes about winning an
argument. It’s about approaching it Biblically so God is pleased with
both of us. Plus, we make time for each other each week, usually having
lunch dates while the kids are in school.
CCB: My theme throughout my testimony is “being good isn’t good
enough,” and we’ve designed T-shirts with this logo, along with a few
others. We have them available for purchase at events where I speak and
on my website at candacecameronbure.net. HOPE: Have you experienced something so significant that it shook
your faith?
Hope: Is there a scripture verse that resonates with where you are
right now?
CCB: When my son Lev was 5, he had some serious medical problems
that required four surgeries, all life-threatening. That was a very difficult
time for me, my husband and our family. The thing is, I wasn’t ever
nervous because even if the worst of the worst had happened, I was just
so at peace with it because I knew that God’s plan was the best plan. It
really made me search deeply to have a level of faith that I never thought
possible. It just made me cling to God and say, “I completely trust You.”
We had the best outcome possible, and today he’s healthy and happy.
CCB: “My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher
than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9. As big as I think my plans can be, or
as overwhelming as things can get, that gives me encouragement.
HOPE: What about “me” time?
HOPE: What does the future hold?
CCB: I’ve started my own production company and am in development on several TV and movie productions. We will soon launch a new
website where moms, dads and kids can come for advice and topical
information from my perspective of family values. I am excited to see
what God has in store for me.
her favorites list
TREATS | “I love chocolate!”
PLAYLIST | TobyMac, Third Day, Aieysha Woods
PIZZA | Fresh mozzarella, basil
FOOD | Cauliflower­—steamed, stir-fried, grilled,
baked, or sautéed
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Hope For Women Magazine | Summer 2011