INTERVIEW
Full House's Candace Cameron Bure: Doing It God's Way
By Michelle Wilson
The 700 Club
Original Air Date: August 31, 2010
CBN.com
– Candace Cameron Bure followed in her brother Kirk Cameron’s shoes when she started acting at the age of five. She appeared in numerous commercials and even made guest appearances on shows like Who’s The Boss and Growing Pains. Then something dramatic and exciting happened.
Candace was only ten when she landed the role of DJ Tanner on Full House.
"I loved being on Full House," Bure tells The 700 Club. "It was an incredible experience for me. It was such a great group of people that I was working with."
The show’s eight-year run brought Candace several best young actress awards and a Kid’s Choice award. There was nothing else she would rather do.
"I loved going to the set everyday and I loved acting. It was a big part of my life."
But what wasn’t a part of her life was God. So when she and her family went to church for the first time, she didn’t know quite what to expect.
"I was uncomfortable and I would just kind of sit there giggling and looking at everyone and thinking, What is this all about? And yet there was something I really loved about it."
Candace kept going to church. She heard about something that she desperately needed. She says, "I was listening to the pastor talk one day and he said, 'If anyone wants to receive Christ, say the sinner’s prayer with me.' So at that time I thought I wanted Jesus Christ to be the Lord of my life and my Savior. So I prayed that sinner’s prayer when I was 12 years old."
As Candace’s new relationship with Christ grew, so did her acting career. But after she moved out of her parent’s home when she was 18, her relationship with God began to change.
"As I continued to get busier, working on the show and travelling on the weekends to do appearances and talk shows and radio shows for publicity, my church life certainly went on the back burner. I just wasn’t going every weekend, because I was tired and God was not the priority in my life."
Candace thought as long as she wasn’t doing drugs or drinking alcohol like her friends that she could justify her lifestyle choices.
"When I knew I wanted to do something that God wouldn’t be pleased with, I would just simply pray and say, 'God, I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but would You please forgive me?' I thought that’s all I have to do. That’s what repenting is, just asking for forgiveness.”
Then one day, her brother Kirk Cameron sent her a book about the rapture of Christians called. It was being made into a movie, and he had the lead role.
As I started reading this book, there’s a character that stood out to me, Pastor Bruce Barnes, because at the beginning of the book, the rapture has occurred and Christ has taken all of his people. The rest have been left behind. I thought , how could a pastor be left behind? In the book, Bruce Barnes knew exactly why he’d been left behind and that’s because he told everyone: 'I believe everything there is to believe in the Bible, but I haven’t been living it out. I’m basically using God’s forgiveness as a license to live my way, the way I want to.'”
That’s when Candace started her journey of learning who God really is.
"I loved God. I wanted to live for God, and yet I was completely living my life the way I wanted to and just using his forgiveness as a license to do that. It really woke me up. It was that moment where I needed to know that I’m going to go to heaven. How do I know that I’m not going to be left behind. I can’t just believe in Jesus but then do whatever I want, living my life however I think is right cause clearly that doesn’t work."
With the help of God, Candace changed her lifestyle, and she began reading her Bible and searching for the truth on how she should live her life as a Christian.
“I understand the Gospel now. I understand why Jesus died. I understand truly that I’m a sinner now. I realized my offense before a holy, holy God. I was so thankful at that moment that my eyes were opened and shown the truth, and I was so emotional at that moment. I got down on my knees and I just prayed, 'Lord, I don’t ever want to forget this moment. I don’t want to ever forget this understanding.' I just pray that, Lord, You will grow this within me so that I can become the woman you want me to become and I just want to live my life to please You for the rest of my life."
Full House ended in 1995. Candace continued acting in various television and film roles. Then she became a wife and a stay-at-home mother to her three children.
"The biggest thing I want to pass on to my children is my faith in Christ. I hope that I am walking that walk and showing them by example and not just by my words."
Recently, Candace returned to acting as one of the main characters on ABC’s, Make It or Break It – a drama about the lives of teenage gymnasts training for the Olympics. Candace plays Summer van Horne, the gym manager who also happens to be a Christian.
"I get to be this real moral voice on the show. I’ve got to share on some subjects Biblically, which has been awesome and even surprising for me at times. The writers and the producers of the show have just been incredible – allowing me to embrace this character. I just feel like not only in my personal life, but on the show, that I can be such a witness."
Although Candace is grateful for her acting career and her fans, she is more grateful for her faith in God.
"My value is in pleasing the Lord. My value is in God. My true desire is to live a life pleasing for Him. That’s what keeps me going off making the tough decisions of being in the entertainment industry and still standing on the Biblical principles of saying, 'I’m going to stand before God. I’m not going to stand before other people in the entertainment industry or anyone for that matter.'
Jesus is my Savior, He’s my Lord, He’s my friend, He’s my Life."
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