Showing posts with label Dancing with the Stars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dancing with the Stars. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

"dancing through life" by candace cameron bure

Growing up in the 90's, I, like many of my peers, absolutely loved Full House. Though I was closer in age to Stephanie, I identified with D.J., and I really admired her portrayer, Candace Cameron. After the show ended (which crushed me, by the way), Candace married and stepped out of the spotlight. I sort of loosely kept up with her throughout the years, and then she began appearing more regularly on Hallmark films (which I'm a sucker for!), so I started paying more attention to her and her faith. Then she signed onto Dancing with the Stars, and I faithfully watched. Dancing Through Life details her time on the show.

Candace Cameron Bure has grown up before our eyes, and we've watched as she's balanced life in Hollywood with her faith for many years. But that all reached new heights when she was given the opportunity to join the cast of Dancing With the Stars. Being on the show was one of her dreams come true; and with that dream came the opportunity to display her Christian faith in front of millions of people, through an intense season of stretching beyond her limits, and to run the race God gave her with joy and perseverance.

Join Candace as she reflects on the self-discovery that came through leaping out of her comfort zone. Go behind the scenes and experience the highs and lows, the roadblocks, and the personal victories. Hear straight from her heart on tough lessons learned about grace, rejection, perfectionism, disappointment, accountability, dealing with criticism, and more. Through God’s strength, and with the help of endless support from her family and friends, see how Candace stayed true to herself and publicly lived out her faith in Christ all the way to the finale.

How do you stand with conviction in your world? Where does your courage come from when faced with challenges? How do you live out your faith on a daily basis despite opposition? Your stage probably isn't in Hollywood and the challenges you are facing may not be on live television, but they are no less real. Come along with Candace as she shares how she found the courage to stand with conviction on one of the largest platforms of her life.

I really enjoyed Dancing through Life. While a portion of each chapter traces Candace's Dancing with the Stars journey, the rest of each chapter is dedicated to the lessons Candace learned each week, and she shows how those lessons applied to her own life and can apply to other Christians.

I thought Candace came across as very relatable. Yes, her life is far different from mine, but the way she opened up about her struggles made her feel like any other Christian woman who is trying to do the right thing. I also found myself challenged by her; if she can share her faith and stand by her convictions in Hollywood, surely I can do the same in small town Nebraska!

Of course, I very much enjoyed the behind the scenes look at Dancing with the Stars—I've been watching off and on since the first season, so it was fun to see some of the inner workings of the show. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read Dancing Through Life, and I highly recommend it, especially for Christian women who love Full House or DWTS! 4-1/2 stars.

Buy the book.


Candace Cameron Bure, actress, producer, New York Times’ bestselling author and inspirational speaker, is both outspoken and passionate about her family and faith. Known to millions worldwide from her role as “D.J. Tanner” on the iconic family sitcom “Full House,” Candace continues to flourish in the entertainment industry as role model to women of all ages. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and three children.

Follow Candace on her website and Twitter.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free for review through Icon Media Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Monday, March 29, 2010

short weekend, short week!

  • My school had its annual benefit auction on Saturday night; as a result, I worked for seven hours Saturday afternoon and evening! (Fortunately, my job was fun, fairly stress-free, and with great people, so it didn't actually feel like seven hours.) That left me with a shorter weekend than usual ... however, one of the benefits of working at a Christian school is that we take time off for Easter, so I have a four-day weekend coming up!
  • Once again, I seem to be in the business of killing plants. Stacey gave me an aloe vera plant around Christmas. It looked great for a long time, but recently it's been looking a little peaked. It's probably because it hasn't gotten much light ...
  • I finally got some data pulled off the hard drive of my fried computer. I bought this external hard drive enclosure from Newegg.com, and it works really well. I was concerned it might not be compatible with Windows 7, but I had no problems at all ... even though the installation instructions were quite obviously not written by a native English speaker and I had to fill in the blanks! (Example: After plug the external box into, the system will remind you there is a new hardware of USB Storage Adapter adds into. After for a while, click "My Computer", USB HDD will appear the relativity on the PC.) I pulled off the things I needed (my 2008 tax return) or wanted (my iTunes download of Dr. Horrible) and left everything else alone--it seems to be working well, so why fill the hard drive of my laptop if I don't need to?
  • Blendy and I cleaned my apartment because one of my students will be staying with me over Easter. She then actually updated her blog, so you can read about our weekend here!
  • I am totally caught up on my reading! I have two reviews due the week of April 5 and another due the next week--and I've read all the books and written one of the reviews already! So what am I doing with my spare time? Reading! I just got the newest Karen Kingsbury book, Take Three, and I had a really difficult time putting it down last night.
  • Speaking of my book review books, I have a whole bunch of giveaways coming up, so keep checking the blog! 
  • I got my free copy of Emma today. Perfect timing, as the last movie I reviewed on my other blog was the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma. If you click over there, you'll notice the blog has a new look ... one that's much more "me"!
  • Spring has finally come to central Nebraska! As I dove home from work today, I noticed the other drivers; nearly every one had the driver's window open. I immediately opened the windows in my apartment once I got home, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the warm breeze.
  • The weddings are coming up! I bought my dress for Jen's wedding last Sunday, and Melissa's aunt is altering my dress for Melissa's wedding ... which is now less than two weeks away!
  • Right now, I'm watching the new season of Dancing with the Stars. Missed it last week because of a work thing, so I'm seeing the changes--the new opening, new co-host, new dancers--for the first time. So far, I don't have a favorite ... but I do have someone I'm hoping gets kicked off first: Jake Pavelka, the Bachelor himself. Does ABC really think America still loves him? And if Vienna's sitting in the audience looking all googly-eyed, I may just have to hurl.

Friday, March 13, 2009

happy anniversary to me

Today is my three year blogging anniversary. I'd repost my first post here (I blogged on MySpace for two years before joining blogger), but frankly, it was depressing! My first post on blogger was in March of last year, so I thought about reposting that one . . . and it was lame, unless you love Dancing with the Stars. I wasn't yet comfortable posting as "me," so it was completely anonymous. It wasn't until May that I began doing all my blogging here (thanks to Jen's gentle prodding).

So instead of reposting anything, I'll give you the last sentence of the first post of each month of the last year . . . and I'll link to the original post, just in case you're curious. (Why the last sentence, you ask? Because the first sentence is too boring.)
  • Steve because he's having so much fun . . . and because I loved the Three Men and a Baby movies.
  • No blogger post in April. Sorry!
  • You don't want the details of this recent bout with the stomach flu, but one good thing did come of it . . . I lost 13 pounds!
  • Because why would we have a day with no rain?
  • God is good!
  • I wonder if I'd have the same reaction if I was married and someone called me Miss . . . I kind of doubt it!
  • Sounds like a pretty good trade off to me!
  • We'll see how I do.
  • And no matter what happens, I'm so grateful to have a voice!
  • After I watch it, I'll let you know what I think . . . and you can be sure I'll watch it--what a clever marketing ploy!
  • When you think of me, I ask that you would pray those things for me, as well.
  • But I don't know their rules . . .

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Wow!

Why do I love Dancing With The Stars? Let me count the ways. C list (or D list or who on earth are you list) "stars". Camp. Tom Bergeron's expressions as Samantha Harris botches yet another line. Camp. The inevitable return of previous competitors. (By this, the first results show, we've seen Helio Castroneves, Sabrina Bryan, and Cameron Matheson. And maybe others that I've missed.) Camp. Oh, and I like the dancing, too.

So tonight, we have the first ever double elimination in the history of DWTS. Tom (or was it Samantha?) promises that we'll kick it off with an elimination. Wait, did I mishear him? It's 8:25, and so far, we know that Steve Guttenberg is safe. (Whew! I intended to use my abc.com votes for him, but abc's servers were having issues last night and I gave up.) Now Samantha is forcing the other men, who don't yet know their fates, to say why they like Steve. Huh? Adam instead talks about the Jonas Brother with bigger eyebrows than his. Samantha says that Steve has created the catch-phrase for the season: "Wow!"

8:32. Penn & Kym are out. Do the producers have something against Kym? Sure, she went to the finals with Joey Fatone, but other than that, she's had Jerry Springer, Mark Cuban, and now Penn Jillette.

8:35. Cameron Matheson's back! And he's wearing his Superman costume! This is definitely more entertaining than those Kenny Mayne segments.

8:46. It's The Jonas Brothers, take two. Somehow, I'd avoided hearing them until tonight. Maybe because I'm not a 13-year-old girl. I wasn't missing much. Shannon & Derek are safe. Does this thing only go until 9?

8:49. Jimmy Kimmel's new tonight! He's always fun during DWTS. He and Guillermo were in the audience last night, so I have high hopes for tonight's show.

8:51. Marlee & Fabian and Kristi & Mark are safe. I guess they really will finish it up by 9.

8:56. Time to get down to it. Please let Marissa move on!

8:57. Priscilla & Louis are safe. I really can't stand Louis. He seems so cocky.

8:58. I really hope it's Monica & Jonathan.

9:00. Finally! Monica & Jonathan are out.

At this point, Kristi and Steve are my favorites. Kristi because I've loved her since the '92 Olympics, when my love affair with figure skating began. Steve because he's having so much fun . . . and because I loved the Three Men and a Baby movies.