(upbeat music)

- Seven years, 11 pageantsand one move to another state.

That's the perseverance ittook for Debbye Turner Bell

to win the Miss America crown.

So was her life smooth sailing from there?

Not so much.

Take a look.

- [Narrator] Life turned on adime for Debbye Turner Bell.

When she was crowned Miss America in 1990.

She soon became a veterinarian,

broadcast journalist andmotivational speaker.

It could easily appear that

Debbye's known nothingbut success in life,

but she's candid about herheartaches and failures.

In her new book "Courageous Faith",

Debbye clearly presentsthe 10 life principles

that have shaped herand will empower anyone.

- Well, joining us now viaSkype is Debbye Turner Bell.

Debbye it's wonderful to see you.

- Oh, Terry's so good tosee you and to be with you.

How are you?

- I am great andobviously you are as well.

I wanna talk about your book.

It starts off with failure,

which isn't what you'd thinka chapter title would be

in a book from Miss America.

You're in your hotel room,

you're crying in a fetal position

after losing the Miss Americapageant for the third time,

talk about what happened next.

- Sure, yeah, my book opens with probably

one of the lowest momentsduring my trajectory

in the Miss America program.

I had unsuccessfully attempted to win

the Miss Arkansaspageant for a third time,

I was the first runnerup the previous year

and there was this ongoingtradition at the time

that usually the returning first runner up

came back and won the next year

and that just didn't happen to me.

And I was devastated

and I did, as you said,ended up in a fetal position

on the hotel room floor,sobbing asking God, why.

Why did you make me go through this?

Why did this happen?

You know, by that time I wasalready in veterinary school,

I was going to school onguaranteed student loans,

like the rest of middle America.

And I was like, I couldhave done without this.

And it was in that fetal position,

I literally cried myself out,

my body could not produce any more tears.

And it was in that condition, I laid there

probably as still and aspeaceful as I've ever been,

and I heard this voice speak in my heart,

the voice of the Lord

and he said, Debbye I'mfaithful, now get up.

And you know, I shookmyself off and washed

what was left of my makeup off of my face

and I didn't know whatI was gonna do next,

but I did know one thing,that God is faithful

and that he's immutable, he's unchanging,

he doesn't change his mind about us,

he doesn't change the purposes

and the gifts that he's given to us,

and so I didn't know howit was gonna play out,

but I did know that God was a good God

and that this would worktogether for my good,

and of course you will readall about it in the book,

what happened from there, butthat was the pivotal moment,

really in my life of learning to have

what I now call courageous faith.

Many of us have faith,

we believe in God, webelieve in a higher power,

we believe in ourselves,

but courageous faith is aboutgetting up off the floor

in your lowest moment,

not knowing what thenext step is going to be,

but believing that God will direct you.

- So how did that failure

help propel you to become Miss America?

- Well, I open the book as you mentioned

with a chapter on failure,because I sincerely believe

that every success is builton a foundation of failures,

because failure means you've tried,

it means you've gone out there,

you put yourself out andyou've made an attempt.

And with each failure, if we do it right,

if we fail right, we learn,we improve, we get better.

And so that moment for me taught me

first of all to trust God above all,

to not trust the media or otherpeople's opinions about me

or what the conventional wisdom was,

but to trust God and justtake it one step at a time.

And I've conducted mylife like that ever since.

You know 32 years later, I can'tbelieve it's been that long

I've lived on that principleof trusting God in the moment,

I don't have to know what theend is going to look like,

I don't really have to know

where my foot is gonnaland on the next step,

what I do know is that ifI take a step in faith,

God is gonna be there to support me.

And so I talk about that a lot.

- A few years after that triumph,

you experienced devastation,a real loss in your family.

How does one deal with thatand get up and move on?

- Yeah, it's very difficult.

I've dealt with a few losses

the next one after thatwas the loss of my mother,

who was this vivaciousvibrant anointed preacher

of the word of a woman.

Everything I know about God,

everything I know about beinga woman I learned from her,

she was just amazing.

And she was diagnosedwith cancer and died.

Now I grew up watchingmy mother pray for people

and them being healed,

and so I had every expectationthat God was gonna heal her.

And it didn't happen.

She died and so I'll be,

I'm honest in the book andI'll be honest right now,

I was mad at God.

I didn't doubt his existence,I didn't doubt his power,

I just didn't like him that much.

I didn't like his ways, butI was honest with the Lord.

You know, those that worshiphim must worship him in spirit

and in truth.

And that wonderful momthat I had had taught me

to be authentic before the Lord

and to tell him how I reallyfeel, 'cause he knows anyway,

but what's important is forme to be honest with myself

and in that position ofauthenticity and vulnerability,

that's where the Holy Spirit can come in

and do his best work in our heart

and so it was just amatter of being honest

and being open, andsaying, I don't get this,

I don't like this, okay, God, you know,

what is it that you want me to do?

And so I, as I like to say,

I ate the elephant one bite at a time.

It just took one step after the next.

- You end your book with perseverance.

People going through a difficult journey,

what do you want them to know?

- I want them to know that roadblocks

and seemingly dead ends arenot necessarily the end,

it just might be a detour.

And so when God has placeda purpose in our life,

when he has given us something to do,

he is a God of finishing.

Now unto him who's ableto do abundantly above

anything we can ask or think.

And so when he starts something

he's already finished it supernaturally.

And so what I want the readersto get when they read my book

is don't give up in the difficult times.

Don't let the setbacksset you down for good.

To keep moving forward, to persevere.

And then for those of us who have faith

to trust God in havingwisdom and how to persevere.

I am a living witnessand a living testimony,

that if you don't give up,

that you will reach thegoals and the purposes

that God has for you.

- It's such a wonderful message

and I want our viewers to know

that you can find Debbye'sstory and her wise counsel

by getting her book, it'scalled "Courageous Faith",

A Lifelong Pursuit of Faith Over Fear

and it's in stores nationwide.

Deb it's great to seeyou, you look wonderful,

God bless you.

- Thank you, bless you too, sister.

- Thanks.