Don’t you love it when a reminder of your youth enters your life 20 years later and reminds you of all the lessons learned from the original experience? Let’s go on a journey, shall we?

The year was 1989. I was approaching my senior year in high school and unlike most of my friends, I spent my Friday nights watching television shows that were part of the TGIF lineup on ABC.

One of those shows was Full House. And one of the stars of that show was Candace Cameron Bure. When the show began, I only knew her as Kirk Cameron’s (of Growing Pains fame) younger sister. What I appreciated was that she was close to my age in real life and her character of D.J. Tanner represented the quirky and trend setting parts of adolescence that many people hide from.

While D.J. Tanner was a great character, it was Candace who I was a fan of. She was grounded, her family was very involved in her acting career, she did not succumb to the pressures of drugs and alcohol, despite having to publicly deal with typical teen hormonal weight gain.

Many things have changed in my life since the late 80s, however imagine my surprise when I discovered that Candace, now a married mother of three, was going to appear in Season 18 of Dancing With the Stars.

I knew that she had gotten married and had kids about the same as mine, and I had read one of her earlier books, Reshaping It All. But her casting on Dancing With the Stars meant that she would be in my living room twice a week for a television season.

As a dancer, Candace did not disappoint. Her hard work paid off and she actually made it to the semi finals of the competition. While she didn’t take home the “Mirror Ball” trophy, she learned how to use opportunity to grow physically stronger while remaining (and being tested) in her faith.

In her latest book, Dancing Though Life, Candace writes about her experiences on the show, and more importantly, how those experiences enhanced her relationship with God. You see, while Candace was on the show, her faith was tested many times, and more often than not it became an issue.

From the dance costumes, to the sexy routines, to the bumps and bruises on her body, Candace was under attack. The overly religious accused her of not being Christian enough since she was on the show. The non-Christian audience called her a rude and thought she was making a big deal of out nothing when her faith was discussed.

And in the book, Candace outlines all of this and how she overcame the adversity while dancing on the show. Believe it or not though, this book has many lessons for those of us who are’t dancing in front of millions every week. Here are some of the things we can all take away from this book:

1. Keep Your Eyes Focused on the One Who Guides You
2. Always Give Everything You Have
3. Be True to Yourself
4. Enlist Prayer Warriors
5. Listen if There’s a Pause in Your Spirit
6. Submit to Leadership
7. Choose to be Known for Your Good Works
8. Attitude is Everything – Choose Joy
9. Use the Right Fuel (if we put garbage  in our bodies and our minds, garbage will come out)
10. Let Your Words Build Up, Not Tear Down
11. It’s Okay to Lean on the Arms of Others
12. Life is a Balance of Routine Laundry Moments and High Profile Red Carpet Moments

This book is definitely a must-read  as you wind down 2015 and prepare for 2016. One thing we can all be sure of is the fact that our faith will be tested  in the coming year and Candace Cameron-Bure has the best advice when it comes to dealing with it. After all, it’s how she dances through life.

As a Lifeway Blogger, I was given a free copy of Dancing Through Life in exchange for my honest opinion. If you are interested in reading the book, I am giving away a copy. To join the fun, enter your name and mailing address here. If you’d rather buy the book yourself, click on this *ad for the book here.

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