Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - REPLAY ｜ Candace Cameron Bure on Body Image, Motherhood & Battling Backlash

00:00:00.000 You may know her as DJ Tanner or maybe the Queen of Christmas in several movies, but

00:00:06.360 her real name is Candace Cameron Bure, and she has been a light in the darkness of the

00:00:11.600 media industry for a very long time, making an incredible impact for the kingdom of God.

00:00:17.440 She is such a wonderful example and encouragement to Christian women, and I am so thankful for

00:00:24.560 her courage and for her joy, and today she joins me on the couch of Relatable to share

00:00:31.160 all kinds of wisdom and insight and even some fun stories and facts about herself and her

00:00:36.840 life that you may not know.

00:00:39.000 I know that you are going to love, love, love this conversation.

00:00:43.700 I am so honored to have her on the show.

00:00:46.300 You guys have been asking for her to be on for a long time, and we have made it happen,

00:00:52.420 and I am so grateful for that.

00:00:55.480 This episode is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers.

00:00:58.780 Go to goodranchers.com.

00:01:00.720 Use code Allie at checkout.

00:01:01.900 That's goodranchers.com, code Allie.

00:01:13.780 Candace, thanks so much for joining us on the Relatable Couch.

00:01:17.020 You're so welcome.

00:01:18.040 I'm very happy to be here, Allie.

00:01:19.720 I'm like, I've been a very big fan for a really long time, and I will tell you that

00:01:25.440 when podcasts were becoming popular, I could not get into podcasts, and I would try a few

00:01:31.720 here and there, and I would rather listen to a book in the car than a podcast, and then I heard

00:01:37.920 your podcast, and you're the first podcast that got me hooked.

00:01:41.360 Oh, that is so sweet.

00:01:43.080 That means so much to me.

00:01:44.000 It's the truth.

00:01:44.580 Well, thank you so much, and the admiration is mutual.

00:01:49.420 I think I speak for everyone in my audience when I say we are so thankful to have a Christian

00:01:55.660 woman, wife, and mom representing so boldly Christian pro-life values in an industry that

00:02:03.940 just seems hostile to those values and those principles, and you have stood strong on them.

00:02:10.220 You haven't shied away from them, and you've been doing it for a long time, and you've

00:02:15.740 shown all of us how to do that with grace, and yeah, that's a really big role to take.

00:02:22.380 So let's go back a little bit.

00:02:25.720 I think everyone probably knows in general your story, but maybe for most people, it starts

00:02:30.620 at Full House.

00:02:31.300 That's probably when they first knew you, heard your name, but let's go back further

00:02:38.280 than that.

00:02:38.960 How did you become a Christian?

00:02:42.060 Oh, well, that comes after Full House.

00:02:44.800 Okay.

00:02:45.560 So we weren't raised in a Christian home because my dad was not a believer.

00:02:52.380 My mom was a believer, but my dad didn't want religion brought into our home and thought

00:02:59.080 that that was something that when us kids were adults could decide on our own.

00:03:05.780 And my parents had gone through a really hard time in their marriage, and when I was 12 years

00:03:10.480 old, they thought that they were going to get a divorce, and a friend had invited them

00:03:16.860 to church to help them work through some marital counseling, and that's when the church was

00:03:23.680 brought into our lives.

00:03:25.300 So at this time, I was already on Full House, and things started to change in my home because

00:03:31.300 my parents really wanted to work through their marriage, but they didn't know how.

00:03:37.520 So thankful to that friend for bringing them to church, and my mom was so happy because

00:03:42.040 she was a believer, and I think it was the first time in her life that she could start

00:03:47.240 saying these things out loud and be a little more bold to talk about God and prayer with

00:03:53.380 my dad.

00:03:54.500 And they worked through their marriage.

00:03:56.680 And it was at 12, we started going to church for the first time, and I was sitting in the

00:04:03.740 church and heard a sermon one day, and I really didn't know what it all meant.

00:04:08.960 I just heard, if you want Jesus in your heart to be the Lord and Savior of your life, then

00:04:13.900 say this prayer and ask him into your heart.

00:04:17.240 And so at 12 years old, I did that, and that's when I became a Christian.

00:04:22.160 However, I was not reading my Bible every day.

00:04:26.520 I was also working on television, so I wasn't necessarily going to church every week.

00:04:31.380 I wasn't always in a youth group.

00:04:33.420 I mean, all the practices that we want our kids to do nowadays or even back then.

00:04:40.560 And so church was a part of my life.

00:04:42.520 I knew I loved God.

00:04:43.840 I knew I believed that Jesus was my Savior, but it wasn't until my mid-20s, until I was

00:04:50.320 about 25, that I understood the gospel message for the first time and started living my life

00:04:58.980 with God and to know God and have a relationship with God.

00:05:02.340 Mm-hmm.

00:05:03.360 Okay.

00:05:04.240 And all of your siblings, because you're one of four, did they kind of go on the same

00:05:09.700 trajectory as you when your dad became a Christian and y'all started going to church?

00:05:14.120 So the interesting thing is my dad actually didn't become a Christian for probably another,

00:05:19.000 I'm going to say 20 to 30 years.

00:05:21.320 Okay.

00:05:21.900 Okay.

00:05:22.980 Got it.

00:05:23.680 But my mom was very strong in it.

00:05:25.680 I think my brother was the first one to really grab a hold of his faith and start living it out.

00:05:32.200 And quite frankly, my sisters and I all thought he was pretty weird because he was like this

00:05:36.840 fun-loving, goofy Kirk that you kind of like saw as Mike Seaver on Growing Pains.

00:05:41.800 Yes.

00:05:42.040 And then all of a sudden he was like this very serious student of the Word of God.

00:05:46.880 And it changed him so much in his teen years, but I think to the extreme where it was shocking

00:05:52.420 because it was really hardcore and he hadn't quite found the balance of still enjoying

00:05:57.960 life and being lovable and loving God all at the same time.

00:06:02.400 Yeah.

00:06:02.620 And so my brother was the first, and then my sister Bridget and I gave our lives to the

00:06:09.060 Lord.

00:06:09.280 My sister Melissa, it was probably another 10 years later that she found God in her life.

00:06:15.620 And we're all pretty strong Christians to this day.

00:06:18.720 My dad was the very last one.

00:06:21.220 He's a teacher.

00:06:22.400 He is a man of science, had a very hard time believing in something that he couldn't touch

00:06:28.300 and feel.

00:06:29.200 And I know, you know, A Case for Christ, the Lee Strobel book, like really helped my dad

00:06:33.880 and through so many conversations over the years with so many people in our lives.

00:06:38.860 And that's the one thing I'm grateful to my dad for is that he's always open to the

00:06:42.500 conversation.

00:06:43.620 He just couldn't quite grasp it until he did.

00:06:47.060 Yeah.

00:06:47.500 Praise God for that.

00:06:48.620 Yeah.

00:06:48.880 Praise God.

00:06:49.480 So how did you, you said that that was after Full House.

00:06:52.960 So how did you get into acting?

00:06:56.720 And I'm sure a lot of people have heard this origin story, but not everyone has.

00:07:01.120 So you and your brother being successful actors, it's kind of unique.

00:07:05.640 Yep.

00:07:06.220 Both of you having been as prominent as you are.

00:07:09.580 So how did that start out?

00:07:11.660 So we, my mom had a friend, her name was Fran Rich and her son, Adam Rich was on the show

00:07:19.620 Eight is Enough.

00:07:20.800 And they were friends and Fran said, Barbara, your kids are cute little kids.

00:07:25.520 Let me give their picture to our agent.

00:07:28.620 And we lived in LA at the time.

00:07:30.500 So this wasn't something that was like, oh, let's up, like upheave our whole entire life

00:07:35.640 to go out and pursue an acting career.

00:07:39.100 We just lived in LA.

00:07:40.420 So it was kind of like, instead of going to soccer practice or dance class, you would go

00:07:46.680 on auditions.

00:07:47.340 And so my mom was kind of like, sure, you can give the agent my kids picture.

00:07:53.580 And the agent said, sure, we'll bring you in for an audition.

00:07:56.720 And she did.

00:07:58.760 And right away, she took my brother.

00:08:01.560 She took my sister, Melissa.

00:08:02.800 She didn't take my sister, Bridget.

00:08:06.160 And my sister, Bridget, has a wonderful testimony.

00:08:08.700 You can actually look her up online or on Instagram.

00:08:12.740 And she has a beautiful testimony about really feeling unseen within our family and by God.

00:08:19.480 I think I've seen her.

00:08:20.360 I've seen her book or I've seen her post about it.

00:08:23.140 She just wrote a book.

00:08:25.300 And and then she told me I was only five at the time.

00:08:28.200 She told me to come or I was four.

00:08:29.780 And she said, come back in a year.

00:08:31.620 So that's kind of how it started.

00:08:34.140 And ultimately, my sister, Melissa, didn't like it.

00:08:38.280 And my brother and I kept going on auditions and we were working.

00:08:42.760 We would book commercials and then television shows.

00:08:46.060 And it just grew from there.

00:08:47.240 And we were really an unexpected family in terms of the entertainment business.

00:08:51.760 My dad was a school teacher for over 35 years in the public school system.

00:08:56.460 And my mom was a stay at home mom.

00:08:58.100 So we just kind of fell into acting.

00:09:00.900 But my brother and I enjoyed it.

00:09:03.420 We were good at it.

00:09:05.220 And it just kind of our family took that turn of events.

00:09:10.020 And and here we are today, you know, and through it, even my mom became an agent and had her agency for many, many years until she had grandbabies.

00:09:18.520 Yeah.

00:09:18.960 And then for you, Full House and for him, Growing Pains, did those cross over?

00:09:24.000 I just can't remember.

00:09:24.960 They did.

00:09:24.980 Okay.

00:09:25.520 They did.

00:09:26.040 And I was actually on like three episodes of Growing Pains before I was on Full House.

00:09:31.600 Oh, my goodness.

00:09:32.180 And then my brother was on one episode of Full House.

00:09:35.040 But they did cross over.

00:09:36.140 Well, I watched both of them growing up.

00:09:37.700 I'm sure most of the audience did.

00:09:39.300 So tell us a little bit about Full House, booking that.

00:09:43.160 Did you know at the time or did your mom know at the time, OK, this is kind of our big break?

00:09:49.100 No, you never really know because you go on these auditions, whether you're a kid or adult, an adult, I'd say it's a little bit different now.

00:09:57.540 But you really don't know much about a project.

00:10:01.080 You get you get sent a piece of paper that says here are the sides.

00:10:04.120 They give you a tiny bit of backstory on what type of character they're looking for.

00:10:09.500 So, oh, a precocious 10-year-old girl who can outwit her parents.

00:10:15.080 You get this line and you're like, here are the sides.

00:10:17.480 Here's a one-page scene.

00:10:19.020 And then you come in and read it.

00:10:21.000 And I auditioned a couple of times for Full House.

00:10:24.340 And you were 10?

00:10:25.440 I was 10.

00:10:26.300 OK, I didn't realize you were that young.

00:10:29.020 I think I maybe thought, I don't know, you were just a little bit older.

00:10:32.040 Oh, my goodness.

00:10:32.940 Only 10.

00:10:33.520 I was 10.

00:10:34.200 And I had already been a veteran because I was had been in the business for five years already.

00:10:38.680 Yeah.

00:10:39.240 Which is not like probably most people who are 10 or maybe it is.

00:10:43.380 I don't know if that's normal or not to start when you're five.

00:10:46.400 Yeah.

00:10:46.880 I mean, there's there's a lot of people who do and you can start.

00:10:50.340 Yeah.

00:10:51.000 Anytime in life.

00:10:52.400 So when we booked this, this when I booked the job, I was very excited.

00:10:56.760 But at the same time, I didn't know who was in this show.

00:11:00.980 It was a television show that's about as much as I knew.

00:11:04.200 And I showed up on the first day to have a read through and then saw all the people in

00:11:08.820 the room.

00:11:09.220 There's writers, producers, directors, the network, which was ABC and Warner Brothers.

00:11:14.500 And it's very intimidating for a 10 year old and probably even a lot of adults.

00:11:19.620 But but then I saw the one face I recognized across the table and it was Blackie from General

00:11:26.860 Hospital, a.k.a.

00:11:28.880 John Stamos.

00:11:29.680 Yes.

00:11:30.180 So then I was like, OK, this has to be something like pretty good because he's in it.

00:11:35.720 Yes.

00:11:36.320 And my sisters were so excited.

00:11:38.860 And and that's when you shoot a pilot episode.

00:11:42.580 It's the first episode and then you wait to hear if it gets picked up.

00:11:47.140 And so we did that and it obviously got got picked up.

00:11:51.700 But even within the first year of Full House, it was so panned by the critics.

00:11:55.820 It got trashed.

00:11:57.240 Really?

00:11:57.740 So hard.

00:11:58.980 What was the biggest criticism?

00:12:01.380 That it was.

00:12:04.460 I mean, that the the cheese could not have been thicker than Velveeta.

00:12:08.120 It just was so cheesy, so sugary, so apple pie that no families would buy it.

00:12:16.940 And that's what the network thought.

00:12:18.760 Yeah.

00:12:19.260 And the critics thought.

00:12:20.460 Yeah.

00:12:20.920 However, the fans thought something else.

00:12:23.140 Yeah.

00:12:23.720 And so we were all shocked when we actually came back for season two because they were

00:12:29.660 really giving us a shot.

00:12:30.740 They also changed the the the day and time that we were airing.

00:12:34.900 I think we started on a Tuesday night and then they changed the lineup to TGIF Friday

00:12:39.820 nights, which was such a massive, huge success for family television.

00:12:44.320 And there was something about Full House that so many families related to.

00:12:49.420 And that's why it was so beloved.

00:12:51.240 And we wrapped every episode up in 30 minutes with a bow and a hug.

00:12:56.840 But that was the very thing that everyone loved about it is that they truly saw conflict being

00:13:03.600 resolved within family who loved each other and they talked about it in a way that was

00:13:10.440 open and honest and loving.

00:13:14.680 And isn't it interesting because if you were to just describe Full House, it doesn't really

00:13:19.120 sound like a show that would resonate with the traditional audience because, OK, this is

00:13:24.140 a family living in San Francisco, like with three men.

00:13:27.140 And so it's not your traditional like the Cosby show or something like that.

00:13:32.140 And yet it did bring that feeling of normalcy and stability and good hearted values that people

00:13:42.940 really loved, which is interesting that it was relatable to an audience that probably couldn't

00:13:47.380 relate completely to the familial situation.

00:13:50.960 But I feel like there were so many in that, you know, the premise of that show is that

00:13:55.700 the mom died in a car accident.

00:13:57.780 So the dad needs help raising his three daughters.

00:14:00.620 So he asks his best friend and his brother-in-law to move in.

00:14:04.080 Yeah.

00:14:04.380 And I feel like especially there's so many families today where grandparents are raising

00:14:10.920 their children.

00:14:12.960 It's aunts and uncles like there's just family help.

00:14:16.740 So I think that part of it was very relatable to a lot of people.

00:14:20.280 Yeah, I think so, too.

00:14:21.780 And it seems like you are still close to most of the cast today.

00:14:27.020 Yeah.

00:14:27.240 How quickly did you guys bond on on set?

00:14:31.700 Very quickly.

00:14:33.920 It's part of the reason why I'm still in the entertainment industry today, because that

00:14:38.940 show for me set the foundation of my work experience.

00:14:42.840 And you're as a child, you're going to either love it or hate it.

00:14:47.640 And obviously, there's other factors that go into it with how your parents lead you through

00:14:55.760 that as a child.

00:14:57.020 But I had really good have really good, honest parents who always kept family at the core,

00:15:03.800 not not work.

00:15:05.240 And we're very protective of work situations.

00:15:08.480 And I had this amazing cast and crew that we genuinely loved each other.

00:15:14.360 We truly bonded.

00:15:15.860 But all of the other people that were working on the show were family people.

00:15:21.580 And everyone that I can remember was really happy to be there.

00:15:27.320 Everyone wanted the best for the show.

00:15:28.960 It was a really great work environment.

00:15:31.740 And that set the tone for me.

00:15:33.640 So I didn't have all these horrible experiences that you hear from a lot of other child actors.

00:15:40.700 And even as an adult today, I'm listening to more and more come out with their experiences.

00:15:46.660 And it is awful.

00:15:48.560 It is heartbreaking.

00:15:49.780 And I feel so very much for them.

00:15:55.240 And yet, I feel very blessed at the same time that I did not have those experiences,

00:16:00.600 that I had people around me.

00:16:03.100 And I very much believe God's protection through my entire life to not experience some of those traumas.

00:16:10.560 Yeah.

00:16:10.860 You had a lot of people looking out for you.

00:16:12.540 Yeah.

00:16:12.720 Not just your own parents, but also your on-set parents.

00:16:16.740 Yep, exactly.

00:16:17.300 And you were really close to Bob Saget.

00:16:20.600 Mm-hmm.

00:16:21.300 And how long has it been since he passed?

00:16:24.140 Two years.

00:16:24.760 Two years.

00:16:25.400 Yeah.

00:16:25.700 Just over two years.

00:16:26.840 Yeah.

00:16:27.440 What has that been like over the past couple of years?

00:16:30.220 I know that you've expressed how hard it was for you.

00:16:33.360 Is there anything that you just wish people knew about him that they don't?

00:16:40.780 Yeah.

00:16:41.420 You know, Bob is interesting to talk about in that he was one of the closest people to me in my life.

00:16:53.720 I love him and have loved him as a friend, as a father.

00:16:58.100 Bob is a person that would literally drop anything for you, no matter who you are or who you were and how well he knew you.

00:17:08.560 Bob had such a huge heart and he was really a helper at heart.

00:17:14.560 He just loved serving others.

00:17:16.040 And I think that's the thing that a lot of people, when they only look at the comedy, I mean, he was a really raunchy comic.

00:17:24.360 No one's denying that.

00:17:25.960 And the comedy was very off-brand compared to Full House.

00:17:30.160 But he was always in that comedic space.

00:17:33.980 He was a comedian before Full House.

00:17:36.160 And so when people fell in love with the show, they were expecting Bob to be the exact same person as Danny Tanner.

00:17:44.740 And yet there are so many qualities that Bob truly had as Danny Tanner.

00:17:50.120 But then if they went to a comedy show, they were like rocked off their seat because they went,

00:17:55.900 Oh my gosh, this is like filth coming out of his mouth.

00:18:00.160 And that was true.

00:18:01.360 But it was like a shtick.

00:18:04.500 And I, most comedians have a shtick.

00:18:07.860 And that was the shtick.

00:18:09.140 And so in real life and in person, Bob was just, he was an amazing human being that I loved so very much.

00:18:16.700 And it was one of the, probably the hardest loss for me to date.

00:18:20.200 Yeah, I'm sure.

00:18:21.060 And how old were you when Full House ended?

00:18:24.220 I was 18.

00:18:25.780 You were 18.

00:18:26.800 Oh my goodness.

00:18:27.580 That, I mean, the most formative years of your life with these people.

00:18:31.860 Yeah.

00:18:32.160 Wow.

00:18:32.840 Exactly.

00:18:33.500 And when did you meet your husband?

00:18:35.720 I met my husband at 18.

00:18:37.360 You met your husband at 18.

00:18:38.640 Okay.

00:18:39.000 So tell me about that.

00:18:40.780 Tell us how you met your husband and what that romance was like in the beginning.

00:18:45.960 Well, Dave Coulier, who was on Full House, he played Joey.

00:18:51.740 He introduced me to my husband.

00:18:54.600 Dave's a big hockey fan, big Detroit Red Wings fan.

00:18:58.240 And he was playing in a charity hockey game.

00:19:00.760 And Bob and John were also at that charity hockey game, like being celebrity coaches.

00:19:05.800 So there were both professional hockey players and celebrities.

00:19:10.660 And then they invited Lori and me to go to the game.

00:19:14.080 So Lori and I were buddy-buddy.

00:19:15.780 We sat in the stands.

00:19:16.900 This is Lori Loughlin.

00:19:17.560 Yes.

00:19:18.720 And we watched the game together.

00:19:20.120 And then after, we all kind of hung out.

00:19:22.220 But Dave said to me, hey, they're these two great Russian hockey players.

00:19:26.880 And their names are Pavel and Valerie Bure.

00:19:30.340 And they had just entered the NHL.

00:19:32.540 But he said, I want to introduce you because who knows?

00:19:35.500 So I met them after the hockey game.

00:19:38.480 And Val was very, very nice.

00:19:42.420 And he asked for my phone number.

00:19:45.140 And I gave it to him on a whim.

00:19:47.080 I thought he was really cute.

00:19:48.740 You know, he had like his long, like flowing locks, like out of his helmet, like the wind

00:19:55.080 in his hair.

00:19:55.800 Like I just thought, you know, the mullet.

00:19:58.860 He was not a total mullet, but he had long hair.

00:20:01.420 Like he was a stud.

00:20:02.220 It was the 90s.

00:20:02.600 It was the 90s.

00:20:03.500 It was the 90s.

00:20:03.520 Yeah.

00:20:04.320 So I thought he was really cute.

00:20:05.780 I gave him my phone number.

00:20:06.880 First phone number I ever gave away to a guy.

00:20:09.780 Oh my goodness.

00:20:10.920 I didn't date anyone.

00:20:12.820 Yeah.

00:20:13.100 Really.

00:20:13.780 I was too busy working.

00:20:14.940 Yeah.

00:20:15.120 And so the cute part of the story is that Val and his brother had come from Russia just

00:20:24.480 a year or two earlier to play in the NHL.

00:20:29.780 And they learned English by watching Full House.

00:20:33.840 No.

00:20:34.580 Full House, who's the boss and married with children.

00:20:37.500 Like those were the three shows they watched.

00:20:39.400 Little did he know when he was learning English from his future wife.

00:20:44.140 I know.

00:20:44.640 That is so sweet.

00:20:45.600 So he knew who I was.

00:20:46.780 I didn't really.

00:20:47.460 I just knew he was a good hockey player.

00:20:49.000 Yeah.

00:20:49.200 But he called me the very next morning at 10 a.m.

00:20:54.260 Said, do you want to go to lunch?

00:20:55.940 Because I'm getting on a plane and going back to the East Coast to play hockey.

00:21:01.780 So I said, sure.

00:21:03.020 I was so nervous, though, that I called Lori Lachlan.

00:21:06.040 And I said, you got to come to lunch with me.

00:21:08.000 Because I've never been on a date with someone I don't know before.

00:21:11.720 And it was all crazy.

00:21:12.680 So anyway, Val and his brother came.

00:21:15.120 Lori and I were there.

00:21:16.300 We had lunch.

00:21:17.200 We ended up having dinner.

00:21:18.580 He met my parents.

00:21:20.080 And then we had this six-month relationship that was by phone only.

00:21:25.100 Because I was still on the last season of Full House.

00:21:27.800 And he was playing hockey at that time in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

00:21:31.940 Because it was a lockout year.

00:21:33.860 And he was playing for the Montreal Canadiens farm team because of the lockout.

00:21:38.200 And he courted me for six months.

00:21:44.340 I really got to know him.

00:21:46.440 And I wasn't looking for a husband.

00:21:49.020 I wasn't really even in a dating type of mindset.

00:21:52.600 But we talked almost every day.

00:21:54.980 And I really got to know him.

00:21:56.640 And there was such beauty in dating someone without the physical to really get to know who they are.

00:22:04.620 So six months later, when he was like, when are you going to come visit me?

00:22:08.800 I finally did.

00:22:10.220 And that was kind of it.

00:22:12.080 It was just like, oh, I really like this guy.

00:22:14.040 Because then when I saw him in person again, I was like, oh, this all matches up.

00:22:19.520 And then he proposed six months later.

00:22:22.760 Oh, my goodness.

00:22:23.880 So he proposed when you were 18 or 19?

00:22:26.140 I was 19 when he proposed and then was married at 20.

00:22:30.300 Wow.

00:22:31.080 And, okay, so he was raised in Russia.

00:22:33.020 Did he have a similar theological Christian background at all?

00:22:39.340 So at this time, I'm going to answer that question.

00:22:43.880 But I was not really walking in my faith.

00:22:48.360 Again, still would consider myself to be a Christian, loved God, but I did not have any kind of relationship with him.

00:22:55.740 I wasn't actively pursuing God, reading my Bible.

00:22:59.340 But, you know, but loved God.

00:23:02.120 So we're driving in the car one day.

00:23:04.500 We are engaged at this point.

00:23:08.340 And I think the Holy Spirit just hit me upside the head because out of the blue, I'm thinking about our wedding.

00:23:16.720 And then I thought about, I've never even had a conversation with him as to what his religion is.

00:23:22.240 But I'm pretty sure he's a Christian.

00:23:24.400 I think he's a Christian.

00:23:25.260 Yeah, because he wore a cross.

00:23:28.040 He wore a cross.

00:23:29.180 He had a gold cross.

00:23:30.540 I'm like, I think so.

00:23:32.080 So we're driving and I asked him one day, I said, you believe in Jesus, right?

00:23:36.260 And he said, why?

00:23:40.620 What if I don't?

00:23:42.080 I was like, come on.

00:23:42.960 I'm like, we're getting married.

00:23:44.040 Like, we never even talked about this.

00:23:45.420 You do believe in Jesus.

00:23:47.280 And he said, are you not going to marry me if I don't?

00:23:50.200 And I said, well, this is going to be really complicated.

00:23:53.360 I don't know, but we need to have this discussion.

00:23:56.900 And then he goes, yes, of course, I believe in Jesus.

00:23:59.460 And I was like, okay, cool.

00:24:01.100 We're good.

00:24:01.740 That's good.

00:24:02.200 And that was the end of the conversation.

00:24:04.080 And we never talked about God after that.

00:24:07.220 So that's how much of a Christian I was when we were engaged and even got married.

00:24:14.140 I would love to finish the part of my testimony as to what changed.

00:24:18.800 Yeah, sure.

00:24:19.400 I'll just go right into that.

00:24:21.420 Yeah, go for it.

00:24:22.780 So you were 19 when you got engaged and then 20 when you got married.

00:24:28.760 And when, how old are you when you had, when you got pregnant with your first baby?

00:24:32.740 I was 21.

00:24:35.080 Okay.

00:24:35.500 Had Natasha at 22.

00:24:36.380 Boom, boom, boom.

00:24:37.060 Finished full house, 18.

00:24:39.080 Met your husband, really started dating like for the first time.

00:24:42.140 Yep.

00:24:42.560 Found the one, got engaged, got married, got pregnant.

00:24:45.820 Oh my goodness.

00:24:47.140 Yeah, that was pretty much it.

00:24:48.680 And it was after I had Natasha change everything.

00:24:55.060 You become a mom and you start thinking about things that you've never thought about before.

00:24:59.640 Yeah.

00:25:00.080 And I started thinking about God and I started thinking about what I want to teach her and

00:25:04.160 what can I share with her about God?

00:25:07.400 And I realized I don't really know God.

00:25:12.000 And the whole, my whole teenage years and very young adult years, I always thought when,

00:25:20.380 when people would ask me about God, cause I had a few friends in my life that when I was

00:25:25.520 16, 17, 18, going, tell me about what God's sharing with you.

00:25:31.040 And I would just kind of blow off that part of the conversation, like, oh, you know, change

00:25:36.560 the subject.

00:25:37.160 Cause it made me uncomfortable.

00:25:38.120 Cause I wasn't, I didn't spend time with God.

00:25:41.800 And so when I realized I really didn't know God, I kept thinking, well, you know, what makes

00:25:48.800 me a Christian and I always thought, well, I feel like I'm a Christian cause I believe

00:25:56.080 in Jesus, but really I'm a good person and I do a lot of good things and I am kind to

00:26:06.140 people.

00:26:06.480 I'm respectful.

00:26:07.520 I give money to charity and I would compare myself to other child actors and say, well,

00:26:14.400 I never got into drugs.

00:26:15.800 That's not my road.

00:26:17.000 I don't like dark things.

00:26:19.280 I'm just, I'm a good person.

00:26:21.400 And I've been a pretty good daughter.

00:26:25.500 You know, I like my parents.

00:26:27.680 I love them.

00:26:28.420 I've pretty much done what they've asked me to do, uh, you know, listen to the rules

00:26:33.600 and, and follow them.

00:26:36.080 So in my heart of hearts, I really thought it was my goodness that made me secure in my

00:26:40.920 relationship with God.

00:26:43.180 And that's when my brother sent me a book.

00:26:46.280 Now I hadn't talked to my brother about anything, but he just randomly calls me one

00:26:50.040 day and said, Hey, Candace, I want to share this book with you because there's something

00:26:57.340 about the way the gospel message was presented in that, in this book that has just rocked

00:27:01.840 my world and just, just changed me and I want to send it to you.

00:27:06.160 I hope that you'll read it.

00:27:07.840 I said, sure, go ahead and send it.

00:27:10.240 And so the Holy Spirit had really been working on my heart.

00:27:13.300 Cause I'm thinking about how I want to raise my daughter realizing.

00:27:18.100 I don't really know God.

00:27:19.540 Then my brother calls me randomly.

00:27:21.580 So as soon as I get the book, I start reading the book.

00:27:25.600 And, you know, there are a few other steps along with this that happened, but, uh, everyone's

00:27:31.240 going to want to know what that book is.

00:27:32.640 And it was, um, called the way of the master by Ray comfort and it's true in that it took

00:27:43.380 me through the law of God.

00:27:45.600 It took me through the 10 commandments and I never saw myself as a sinner my whole life.

00:27:53.040 I didn't think I was better than anyone.

00:27:55.380 I just didn't see myself as a sinner compared to other people that were hard on drugs or,

00:28:03.680 you know, like whatever the case is, or I haven't murdered someone.

00:28:09.040 I haven't done all these bad things.

00:28:10.560 Like I'm not really a sinner.

00:28:12.800 And once I got put up against the law of God, have I, have I honored God every day of my life?

00:28:21.660 Have I always honored my parents?

00:28:24.160 Have I ever told a lie?

00:28:25.900 Have I ever stolen something like those four in itself?

00:28:30.020 I'm like, yeah, I remember, remember stealing gum as a kid.

00:28:33.940 No, I have not honored my parents every day of my life.

00:28:37.560 Yes.

00:28:37.960 I've told a lie who hasn't.

00:28:39.440 And as I went through all of these things, I'm like, okay, so I've, I've broken these commandments

00:28:46.920 and then it, I learned that God's going to judge me by.

00:28:51.640 By his standard of goodness and not the world's standard of goodness.

00:28:54.840 And I really love this analogy.

00:28:57.300 There's a little girl looking at a white sheep as it ate the green grass.

00:29:01.300 And she thought how nice and white the sheep looked as it ate the green grass.

00:29:05.840 And then it began to snow.

00:29:08.020 And she thought how dirty the sheep looked against the white snow.

00:29:12.400 It was the same sheep, but a different background.

00:29:16.040 So when we compare our sin to the standard of the world, most of them, most of us come

00:29:21.520 up reasonably clean.

00:29:23.560 But when we compare our sin to the snow white righteousness of God's law, we'll see that

00:29:28.260 we're in fact filthy dirty.

00:29:31.060 And it was then that I realized, oh, I am a sinner because God holds a different standard

00:29:38.400 of, of goodness than the world does.

00:29:41.540 And that's when I saw my need for Jesus for the first time.

00:29:45.460 That it wasn't about just like you, your book says you're not enough and that's okay.

00:29:50.480 That's why Christ came.

00:29:53.040 That's why Christ came and fulfilled the law and died and rose.

00:29:57.940 And so that I finally understood the gospel when I was about 25 years old, it just, it took

00:30:04.400 root and it's changed my life.

00:30:10.060 And then I've never seen myself as the same way.

00:30:13.160 It humbled me very, very much.

00:30:15.860 And from that day forward, like, I mean, I remember the moment in my bedroom that I felt

00:30:22.480 like the veil was just taken off of my eyes.

00:30:26.100 And I, I had a desire to get into God's word and to know him.

00:30:31.300 And it's been the best.

00:30:32.840 I love my husband and I love my children.

00:30:34.780 I love my family, but my relationship with God is the best relationship of my life.

00:30:39.780 Mm-hmm.

00:30:40.780 And for your husband, did you share this kind of epiphany with him and how did, how did

00:30:47.340 that transformation take place?

00:30:49.280 Yeah.

00:30:50.180 So I couldn't, I found a church immediately.

00:30:55.280 I wanted to start going.

00:30:57.140 My husband was still in the middle of this very highly successful professional, uh, NHL

00:31:04.460 career playing hockey.

00:31:06.080 And so he was traveling half the year and I would just go to church with my kids alone,

00:31:12.080 whatever.

00:31:13.080 I'd always invite him.

00:31:14.240 And, you know, in the beginning he had no problem with it, but I think I, I started very

00:31:24.060 much like my brother when he was a teen.

00:31:26.180 I just grabbed ahold of it and I, it was like all I could talk about and it was all I could

00:31:31.380 share.

00:31:32.180 I had come home from a road trip.

00:31:33.740 I was like, honey, I have to share this sermon.

00:31:36.820 The pastor talked about this today and I read this in the Bible today.

00:31:41.120 And did you know that God's word says this and it says that, and we really have to start

00:31:46.040 doing this now.

00:31:47.040 We shouldn't be doing that anymore.

00:31:49.000 And we got to change this and the kids need to do that.

00:31:52.500 And one day my husband looked at me and he just said, stop, like, stop.

00:31:57.920 You are, you are just throwing this all in my face.

00:32:00.960 You're like vomiting Jesus with every other word.

00:32:03.780 And you're actually making me take two steps back.

00:32:07.680 He's like, I'd like to get to know God.

00:32:10.840 I like, I see that.

00:32:12.760 Let me do this at my pace.

00:32:16.180 But if I have a question about God, I'll ask you, I'll ask you otherwise don't talk to me

00:32:20.780 about it because I, you're, you're turning me off.

00:32:26.060 So that was humbling.

00:32:28.820 And then I, I went into the, my, my Bible, of course, and I, I found, I found first Peter,

00:32:34.200 um, first Peter, um, is it three?

00:32:39.500 I know the passage you're talking about.

00:32:41.300 It says, likewise, wives be submissive to your own husband so that even if they do not

00:32:46.300 obey the word, they, without a word, may be won over by the conduct of their wife.

00:32:54.480 And so I thought, okay, God, I, he asked me not to say anything about you.

00:33:00.160 And you actually are telling me in scripture that my husband can be won over without a word,

00:33:06.480 but by my conduct.

00:33:08.120 So I started praying that day, said, Lord, mold me and shape me into who you want me to

00:33:12.660 be, that I can reflect you in my relationship with my husband and in my marriage with my

00:33:18.300 husband.

00:33:19.420 So change me so that he sees the changes in me and would desire to know you better.

00:33:25.540 And I prayed that every day.

00:33:27.440 I prayed for my husband to become the leader, the spiritual leader of our household and to

00:33:32.600 know God.

00:33:33.660 And two, two years later, my, my husband gave his life to the Lord.

00:33:39.080 Yeah.

00:33:39.600 Yeah.

00:33:40.540 Praise God.

00:33:41.300 I love going to that passage because at first I think people can hear, wow, I'd be so offended

00:33:46.360 if my husband said something like that.

00:33:48.780 Can't he just be enthusiastic with me?

00:33:51.120 But you point to the word of God where they can be won over without a word by our pure

00:33:57.000 and honorable conduct.

00:33:58.660 And that can be really difficult.

00:34:00.140 Yeah.

00:34:00.400 One for people who love to talk and, you know, who like to communicate.

00:34:04.780 Maybe words of affirmation is your love language.

00:34:07.340 So you're just, you know, and you're a verbal processor.

00:34:09.840 Maybe I am for sure.

00:34:11.420 And you want the person that you love most to share this with you.

00:34:15.980 Yeah.

00:34:16.200 But how powerful that our conduct can actually be a stronger communicator with the power of

00:34:22.860 the Holy Spirit.

00:34:23.900 Yep.

00:34:24.440 To win people over.

00:34:25.660 Yeah.

00:34:26.040 And the power of prayer.

00:34:27.560 I know.

00:34:27.860 It has such an amazing effect.

00:34:31.440 Yeah.

00:34:31.780 That sometimes, and like, not just in the case of your husband, but also with your dad.

00:34:35.580 I was going to say my mom prayed for my dad for over 30 years.

00:34:38.960 Yeah.

00:34:39.880 Wow.

00:34:40.500 And so that should just be encouragement for anyone, either for themselves or for the people

00:34:44.620 around them.

00:34:45.460 It doesn't always happen on our timeline, but gosh, God is so faithful.

00:34:51.240 Young wife, mom, younger than, especially a lot of people these days are getting married

00:34:56.940 and having kids.

00:34:58.000 You're figuring things out.

00:34:59.240 You have a spiritual epiphany, so much happening.

00:35:02.380 Are you still acting during this period in your twenties?

00:35:06.300 So I took a, I took a 10 year break.

00:35:08.800 Okay.

00:35:09.080 Once I had Natasha, I thought I could do it all.

00:35:12.500 Realized I couldn't.

00:35:14.040 Yeah.

00:35:14.220 Just, yeah, not all at the same time.

00:35:17.520 So because my husband was actively playing, one of us wanted to be home, at least one of

00:35:23.700 us.

00:35:24.100 So he was traveling.

00:35:25.020 And he was traveling.

00:35:26.060 So it was a pretty obvious answer that I would lay down my career and be home.

00:35:31.840 And I wanted to be home with my kids.

00:35:33.660 But it was a difficult transition because I've been working since I was five years old.

00:35:37.900 So then to, by 25, become a full-time mom and not having a job outside of the home, like

00:35:46.780 that was a hard transition for me.

00:35:48.700 Yeah.

00:35:49.000 But one that I'm very thankful and grateful that I made because it really, that was the

00:35:54.340 whole time I grew so much in my relationship with God and it gave me the time to do that.

00:35:59.960 Yeah.

00:36:00.340 Because I'd open up my Bible when the kids were napping or when they were at school and

00:36:04.680 my, my home was quiet and I could, I could have that hour to, to sit and spend with him.

00:36:10.260 So, uh, so I took 10 years off outside of, you know, work, the entertainment industry.

00:36:18.640 And then when you have three kids, right?

00:36:21.780 Natasha is the oldest, two boys, I have two boys, Lev and Max.

00:36:25.760 Yes.

00:36:26.260 Yeah.

00:36:26.760 I had three kids by 25 years old.

00:36:28.500 Yeah.

00:36:29.500 Oh my goodness.

00:36:30.500 That's amazing.

00:36:31.500 Yeah.

00:36:32.500 And then my husband eventually retired from hockey.

00:36:36.160 That was when about a year after his retirement, we started, I started thinking about it.

00:36:41.500 Cause I've always loved working.

00:36:43.540 I've, I've loved the entertainment industry.

00:36:45.320 It's always been a desire and a passion, but the cool thing about really diving into my

00:36:51.920 relationship with God is that within a few years of surrendering to motherhood and coming

00:36:57.500 to terms, not having the career, enjoying my time as a mom, I felt very much at peace that

00:37:03.920 of God didn't open that door for a career later in life.

00:37:09.920 I was okay with that.

00:37:11.060 I mean, truly, truly, he gave me such a peace.

00:37:13.640 Yeah.

00:37:14.320 But my husband retired and now he was home and it was kind of like, we prayed about it.

00:37:19.160 And, and my husband was supportive saying, yeah, give it a shot.

00:37:23.920 Call your old agent up.

00:37:25.700 Let's just see if something happens and we can talk about whether we move or what we do.

00:37:30.380 If your career picks up and wouldn't, you know, it, my career picked up pretty quickly and in

00:37:41.440 a way that was unexpected for me, but I, had I not had those 10 years at home to really build

00:37:50.280 the foundation of my relationship with the Lord, I wouldn't be here today.

00:37:53.620 I wouldn't be the woman that I am today and I wouldn't be as Christ centered and focused

00:38:00.140 within my responsibilities and decision-making within my career.

00:38:03.680 And is that when you started with Hallmark or, okay, so that's when you start with Hallmark.

00:38:09.480 And what was it like from the motherhood perspective?

00:38:12.900 I know you took those 10 years off.

00:38:15.440 You were at home during those early years, but your kids are still relatively young at this

00:38:20.620 point.

00:38:21.620 So what was that transition like balancing being home full time to working and being

00:38:27.120 a mom, finding that balance that can be tough.

00:38:31.020 It can be extremely tough.

00:38:32.800 And I couldn't have done it if my husband wasn't as supportive as he has been and was able to

00:38:41.020 be home at full time, full time.

00:38:43.940 So even when I went back to work, we still didn't have, uh, an outside caretaker.

00:38:49.500 It was, and that was just important to us.

00:38:51.800 We wanted one of us to, to always be home.

00:38:55.840 So it, it just allowed us with ease to be able to do that.

00:38:59.940 And my husband loves being a father.

00:39:02.000 I mean, half the times I would be like, do you even need me as a mom?

00:39:06.480 Because my husband's so good at whatever it was, whether it was changing diapers or I mean,

00:39:11.560 my husband loves cooking, that's his passion.

00:39:13.820 So even making dinners and meals and packing lunches, like I know not all men feel that

00:39:19.360 way, but I was very fortunate.

00:39:21.240 My husband loves that stuff.

00:39:22.760 So it was an easy transition in that way.

00:39:26.020 And when I started back, it wasn't a full time job.

00:39:29.080 So when I make a movie at that time, I would go away for three weeks, which sounds like a

00:39:34.880 long time.

00:39:35.880 It can be away from your kids, but I felt good about Val being home with the kids.

00:39:40.840 And then I'd come home and you know, that might be the, I think at the beginning, I did

00:39:45.140 one movie the whole year.

00:39:46.640 That was it.

00:39:47.640 So it was like three weeks of work.

00:39:49.200 And then when work started picking up, I eventually was on this show for three years called Make

00:39:53.720 It or Break It.

00:39:55.640 And I wasn't the lead on that show.

00:39:59.420 So even working for three seasons on that show, I was maybe working two to three days

00:40:04.740 a week.

00:40:05.740 And so it still gave me a balance that I felt confident in being able to work and still being

00:40:14.260 a prominent teacher and parent in my kids' lives.

00:40:19.380 Yeah.

00:40:20.380 It's not always so black and white.

00:40:21.960 And sometimes I just find the conversation about working mom versus stay at home mom as

00:40:27.400 if they are like these nice, neat and clean categories.

00:40:31.960 I kind of find it unhelpful because there's guilt on either side of it.

00:40:36.080 I agree.

00:40:37.080 In reality, there are so many different seasons.

00:40:39.280 There are so many different ways that couples work together and make it work.

00:40:43.860 Even as Christians and believing that the husband is the head of the household, the spiritual

00:40:47.500 leader of the family.

00:40:49.580 There are just so many different ways within that biblical framework.

00:40:56.660 That women and men can fulfill the calling that God has for them.

00:41:01.760 Even as they're prioritizing their kids in their home and maybe fulfilling something outside

00:41:06.880 of the home.

00:41:07.880 Yeah.

00:41:08.880 It's all really messy and everyone's circumstances are different and unique and they can all work.

00:41:17.040 It's not a one size fits all.

00:41:18.660 Yes.

00:41:19.660 And I think that's something to remember when you're dating is to marry someone that, um,

00:41:28.360 you can see being a good father.

00:41:30.760 That doesn't mean that he has to love to cook.

00:41:32.480 My husband also is a great cook, but that isn't, you know, that's not necessarily a deal

00:41:36.260 breaker.

00:41:37.260 But look for those qualities in your husband or in the boyfriend and the guy that you're

00:41:42.860 dating that you can see him being an involved and present parent, no matter what your occupation

00:41:49.560 circumstances.

00:41:50.360 I mean, that's such a big deal.

00:41:52.260 I think sometimes we're not thinking about it when we're teenagers.

00:41:55.360 Um, but man, that's a big one.

00:41:57.360 It's so true.

00:41:58.360 And that can make or break.

00:41:59.360 Yeah.

00:42:00.360 Yeah.

00:42:01.360 And you can see that really easily too.

00:42:03.020 If you just, if you have other friends or there's, there's cousins or nieces or nephews

00:42:08.220 that you might have around.

00:42:09.560 And I know like my, my boys, when their little younger cousins would come over, my boys love

00:42:16.120 playing with them.

00:42:17.560 Let's play board game.

00:42:18.560 Let's play cars.

00:42:19.460 Let's play dolls, whatever.

00:42:21.120 And that's just an easy way to know if the, the man or the woman that you're dating in your

00:42:25.960 life is, you know, just accessible and at ease with young people.

00:42:31.660 Yeah, definitely.

00:42:33.520 Um, okay.

00:42:34.760 We want a few more motherhood tips from you.

00:42:38.460 Okay.

00:42:38.860 And so I have, um, three little ones too.

00:42:42.760 And congratulations, by the way.

00:42:44.400 Thank you so much.

00:42:45.620 It is, I feel extremely blessed to be able to have the flexibility to be at home as much

00:42:51.660 as I am while also, you know, talking about things, doing something that I love.

00:42:56.660 Um, and I would love to hear from you just like, I don't know, it's hard to narrow down,

00:43:03.480 but maybe just one big lesson or a couple tips that you would give someone, um, who is

00:43:10.860 kind of just starting out their motherhood journey or something that you wish that you

00:43:14.900 knew early on.

00:43:16.180 The biggest thing I wish more people had told me was to take the pressure off myself.

00:43:25.920 Especially in our Instagram world, we see the best of everything and we see everyone

00:43:33.320 multitasking all the time and you don't have to do that.

00:43:37.900 Yeah.

00:43:38.120 And I love, I know you've heard this analogy before.

00:43:41.580 It's a simple one, but I really love it.

00:43:43.520 And it's, it's about how do you manage all of the things in your life that you want to

00:43:49.840 do?

00:43:50.800 And if you, if you took a jar, if you fill it with rocks first up to the top, it looks

00:43:58.400 like it's full, but yet you could throw pebbles in there and it would fill in all the cracks.

00:44:04.220 So you're still adding more and it looks like it's full.

00:44:07.760 And yet you could still then throw sand in there and it would fill in even the smaller

00:44:13.380 cracks.

00:44:14.540 You could fill that up to the top and then it's solid and it's full.

00:44:18.960 And the moral of the story is it's the order in which the, the ingredients go in.

00:44:27.340 So if you would put the sand in first and then tried to add the pebbles and then the

00:44:33.860 big rocks, there would be no room for the big rocks anymore.

00:44:38.280 So the order in which you prioritize your life is especially important.

00:44:42.920 Make sure you, you have decided what the big rocks are in your life because you can only

00:44:48.280 do all of the other little things that fit in is if you prioritize the big ones.

00:44:53.500 So if you're a mom and you've got little kids and you say, my priority is caring for

00:45:00.020 my children and my husband and, um, and my time with God every day.

00:45:08.520 Great.

00:45:09.220 Those are the big rocks you put in there and, and those you don't waver on it.

00:45:14.220 But then the things like, oh, but I really want my body back and I really want to exercise

00:45:18.900 and I really wanted to go to the gym.

00:45:21.040 I'm like, okay, you can do those things, but those are the, those are the pebbles.

00:45:26.560 You're going to throw those in next.

00:45:28.320 And if you get to them, great, but they're not going to change the core of your life.

00:45:32.680 If you don't get your gym time in.

00:45:34.500 And for all you young moms out there, I always tell you like, who cares about the gym when

00:45:39.500 your kids are young, go for a walk with them, put them in a stroller, go to the playground

00:45:43.660 and do the monkey bars with them.

00:45:46.240 Like get your exercise in that way, play tag with them.

00:45:48.940 Those are all ways you can feel that way that you're getting movement and exercise without

00:45:54.240 feeling stressed that you didn't get your one hour at the gym.

00:45:59.180 Um, and the same things.

00:46:00.600 And then maybe with, with the, the, the sand you go, but I have all these friends and I,

00:46:06.980 and there's school and there's crafts and there's PTA and there's whatever.

00:46:11.400 And it's like, those are all great things, but they're not the priority.

00:46:15.740 So let them go.

00:46:18.300 And I promise you, you're going to have other seasons of life.

00:46:21.060 They're going to, they're all going to come back around and you get to choose what you

00:46:25.440 want to participate in, but just figure out what your big priorities, what the big stones

00:46:30.360 in are in your life.

00:46:32.060 And it will, it will change the way in which you manage your day without changing who you

00:46:38.760 are and what you want your values to be.

00:46:40.960 Yeah.

00:46:41.380 I found it helpful to remember that there are seasons for things, that it's not always going

00:46:49.020 to be this way.

00:46:50.120 It's not always going to be this sleepless.

00:46:54.160 It's not always going to be this needy.

00:46:57.700 And I don't mean that in a bad way when it comes to this stage of motherhood, but just

00:47:01.960 literally your children need you physically and emotionally in every way at every hour

00:47:08.460 of the day.

00:47:09.320 And there's like, you can see that both ways.

00:47:11.740 It's not always going to be this way.

00:47:13.360 It's not always going to be this way.

00:47:14.760 Okay.

00:47:14.980 One day I'll get more sleep.

00:47:16.220 It's not always going to be this way.

00:47:17.600 Oh my goodness.

00:47:18.640 It's not always going to be this way.

00:47:20.540 They're not always going to be this little.

00:47:22.100 They're not always going to need me this much.

00:47:23.920 It's so it's like the relief and the sadness that comes with it.

00:47:28.600 And I think remembering the temporal part of it can both kind of give us the endurance

00:47:34.500 to keep going, but also remind us like that these difficult moments are really precious.

00:47:40.100 They're really precious and they're so fleeting.

00:47:43.060 It's even just having my oldest is only four and a half, but even being there, it's like,

00:47:48.720 I do see that when everyone said, when you, when I was pregnant for the first time, it goes

00:47:53.160 by so fast.

00:47:53.920 It goes by so fast.

00:47:54.940 I already see.

00:47:56.120 Oh my goodness.

00:47:56.920 I know.

00:47:57.420 It goes by so fast.

00:47:59.020 All my kids are in their twenties.

00:48:00.600 I'm like, what?

00:48:01.540 You have a married child now.

00:48:02.700 I have a married child.

00:48:03.940 I'm like, I feel like I, I just, I blinked and they're adults.

00:48:08.020 It really does go fast.

00:48:09.240 And it's true.

00:48:10.020 It's all seasonal.

00:48:11.460 Yeah.

00:48:11.820 And not one season's going to last forever.

00:48:14.480 They change.

00:48:15.080 And that's the beauty of it.

00:48:16.980 One thing you mentioned, I want to ask a question about, you mentioned like, you know, going

00:48:21.680 to the gym, things like that.

00:48:23.020 One thing that I love following you for is, uh, you talk a lot about your fitness routine

00:48:28.440 and being a healthy eater.

00:48:29.880 I am not in the stage of life right now of working out as much as I used to, or as much

00:48:37.080 as I would like to one day.

00:48:38.800 Hopefully that will change in the next couple of years.

00:48:41.820 But I do still love, um, watching you for that.

00:48:45.020 Tell me about, um, navigating Hollywood and the beauty standards that are inherent in

00:48:53.780 Hollywood and in the entertainment industry as a Christian, obviously there's nothing

00:48:58.820 wrong with caring about your appearance and being healthy and all of those things.

00:49:02.720 But as you know, better than the rest of us do, there are unrealistic and unhealthy beauty

00:49:08.320 standards in the entertainment industry that I'm sure that you kind of had to battle against

00:49:13.400 and maybe still have to.

00:49:15.400 I still do.

00:49:16.400 I mean, let's just talk about the Ozempic craze right now.

00:49:19.820 Yeah.

00:49:20.820 Because the reality is, I'll be completely honest, I'm like, hmm, hmm, how, who, who should

00:49:27.220 I go on Ozempic?

00:49:27.820 I'm a very small, petite person, but I'm not, I'm not going to go on Ozempic.

00:49:34.240 Yeah.

00:49:34.740 But like, these are the things that go through my mind because the standard is so high and

00:49:40.780 I'm in front of the camera all day.

00:49:42.500 I'm doing, and I don't want to do that.

00:49:44.560 And then it's like, I shake my head and I go, Lord, like, ugh, stop, like stop.

00:49:49.000 Um, but it is a little bit crazy.

00:49:52.820 There is a definitely a pressure that is on you.

00:49:57.440 And I wouldn't, for me now, I will honestly say that I don't have outside pressure of people

00:50:03.260 telling me that I have to look this way or be a certain weight or dress this way.

00:50:08.960 But the pressure is so ingrained, it, a lot of the pressure just comes from myself because

00:50:14.900 I've grown up in it.

00:50:16.180 And I, I don't always know how to not feel that pressure.

00:50:20.600 I've done a lot of work in my life and I, I've been very public and open about having

00:50:25.840 an eating disorder, which has been like really good for the last, I'm trying to probably,

00:50:33.800 you know, 20 years, but I still mentally battle it all the time.

00:50:37.620 Just not as much as I used to, and I have tools in place that help me.

00:50:42.520 But these are like the crazy thoughts that still go through my head and they're so dumb

00:50:46.880 and they're so unrealistic.

00:50:49.260 And I hate that I have them, but the fact is I do.

00:50:52.760 But the more I just share it and I'm open about it, it frees me from it because I can

00:50:57.660 hear myself say it out loud and realize like, this is not what life is all about.

00:51:03.760 And, um, and so I do love fitness for the reasons that obviously I want my body to feel strong

00:51:11.900 and healthy, but it, it, it frees my mind.

00:51:15.940 So if I get a sweat on and I work out, it's like all of those endorphins, I don't know all

00:51:20.760 the science behind it, but the endorphins are released and it just feels good.

00:51:24.360 So I feel better and then I can make better decisions.

00:51:28.120 My mind feels clear.

00:51:29.160 So that's part of my fitness journey is really a lot for my emotional health.

00:51:35.040 Yeah.

00:51:36.040 And there probably are some people out there that have struggled with an eating disorder.

00:51:39.960 Maybe they do right now.

00:51:41.600 Um, if you could just talk about like a couple of the tools that you just mentioned

00:51:46.160 that you have in place when you feel that pull or feel that temptation.

00:51:50.240 I also understand that I struggle with an eating disorder in college.

00:51:53.640 So what are some of the things that have helped you?

00:51:55.760 Yeah, well, exercises has helped me very much.

00:51:59.040 And I also understand that that can be an, an, a disordered way of eating and dealing with

00:52:04.800 that to, to over exercise.

00:52:07.040 Uh, we've read lots of stories.

00:52:09.160 I don't struggle with it in that way, but, but exercise helps clear my mind and it just,

00:52:17.280 yeah, it changes my emotional health.

00:52:18.840 It gets me in a less foggy place and helps me feel clear.

00:52:24.000 So I enjoy the exercise, you know, and want to get in three or four workouts or walks a

00:52:31.360 week and I'm better and healthy for it.

00:52:33.600 Um, you know, I, I talk to God a lot.

00:52:37.920 I have an ongoing dialogue with, with God.

00:52:40.960 And so my prayer life is pretty strong.

00:52:43.320 My conversations with him are, are very strong and it's a way in which

00:52:49.600 because really it's about a battle of the mind.

00:52:51.920 A lot of disordered eating is.

00:52:54.680 And, um, and so if I pull the Holy spirit into my mind and I'm constantly praying and asking

00:53:02.440 God to renew my mind, I, it helps.

00:53:07.640 It doesn't always help.

00:53:08.680 It doesn't always fix it.

00:53:09.760 Sometimes I'm talking back and saying like, God, I don't, I don't care.

00:53:13.600 I just like, this is how I'm feeling.

00:53:15.920 And I want to eat my feelings right now, instead of run to your word.

00:53:20.400 I mean, that happens often, but then through, um, you know, I've talked to, to health professionals

00:53:28.400 that have said, well, trying to get to the root of, of some of those issues.

00:53:33.560 So I kind of remind myself often when I'm having a pull of a decision that would be a bad decision.

00:53:42.760 I walk myself through some steps and say, okay, if I choose to do this right now, I'm going to remind myself how I'm going to feel.

00:53:52.000 I'm going to remind myself of like every physicality that's going to, whether I'm, my stomach's going to feel bloated, whether my eyes and my face are going to hurt.

00:54:00.680 I mean, I was bulimic for a long time, so you remind myself, I remind myself the, the, the things that feel awful and the consequences of it.

00:54:10.280 And that often will snap me right back into reality of like, no, I don't want to feel that way.

00:54:15.880 It feels awful.

00:54:17.240 It hurts.

00:54:18.600 That's what I was going to say too, because it was bulimia for me as well.

00:54:22.600 And I just like, that's what I remind myself of that did not feel good.

00:54:26.400 It was embarrassing and that I like had to, you know, go to the bathroom after I ate.

00:54:33.840 And then one time a friend like heard me.

00:54:35.920 It was so embarrassing.

00:54:37.760 Yeah.

00:54:38.320 And I hated when I think about something having control over me that I was really a slave to.

00:54:46.080 And I tried to convince myself that I wasn't, but I really couldn't stop until I went to counseling and all this stuff.

00:54:50.920 But yeah, I was enslaved to that.

00:54:53.520 And that's what I think about, I'm like, do you want to be enslaved to that again?

00:54:57.120 Yeah.

00:54:57.600 Do you want to be controlled by that again?

00:55:00.080 Something that is so unhealthy.

00:55:01.440 And then of course I think about my girls and I'm like, oh my goodness.

00:55:05.760 If that was them, if they were doing something like that, how much would that break my heart?

00:55:11.600 Yeah, I know.

00:55:13.520 It's hard though.

00:55:14.240 It's so hard.

00:55:14.720 It is an addiction.

00:55:15.920 Yeah.

00:55:16.560 Yeah.

00:55:16.880 It's hard, but I'm grateful for the work that I've put in and then the, a lot of the mental tools

00:55:21.680 that I have and then some of the physical tools.

00:55:23.600 And so, um, it's not something I struggle with on a daily basis, but sometimes before that camera,

00:55:29.760 you know, you get on something, these crazy thoughts come to mind and I'm like, Candace.

00:55:33.440 Yes.

00:55:34.160 It's ridiculous.

00:55:35.280 Yes.

00:55:35.680 Well, you, I mean, you are so beautiful and you are so youthful and I'm sure that there are a lot

00:55:40.640 of people that are sitting out there shocked that you have a child who is married and that

00:55:44.800 you have adult children because you do look so young and you are young, but you look even younger

00:55:50.320 than you are.

00:55:51.360 Um, but there is, I mean, there is a temptation, uh, for I'm almost 32 there, you know, I am just

00:55:59.200 now in the past couple of years seeing my face change and like being able to look back when you're

00:56:04.400 25 and you look at yourself when you're 18, you're like, oh, I kind of look better that actually than

00:56:09.120 I did when I was 18.

00:56:10.080 Cause I don't look like a kid anymore.

00:56:12.000 And you finally look like a woman, but you don't have wrinkles.

00:56:14.880 But now I'm looking back at, at 25 and I'm like, oh man, like I didn't have the smile lines or

00:56:21.520 things like that.

00:56:22.400 And so that is something that I think a lot of people struggle with, whether they're in

00:56:26.800 front of the camera or not.

00:56:28.080 Yeah.

00:56:28.320 You see people on social media, you're like, wow, that person hasn't aged at all.

00:56:32.160 I've really aged.

00:56:33.280 Or I look so much older.

00:56:34.560 The filters and everything.

00:56:36.480 I know.

00:56:36.880 Don't help.

00:56:37.840 No.

00:56:38.080 And so I'm guessing, I don't know if you.

00:56:39.600 I'm sure that that can be a struggle too, especially in the entertainment industry.

00:56:44.480 I mean, listen, I'm on Instagram.

00:56:45.920 If you do follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I'm, I'm on there, no filters, no makeup

00:56:51.920 all the time.

00:56:52.480 Yeah.

00:56:53.120 Because I think we need to see it.

00:56:55.200 And I always love when people do that.

00:56:57.360 I love seeing a real face.

00:56:59.120 So why would I not be a real face on there?

00:57:01.280 Yeah.

00:57:01.680 I love getting my hair and makeup done too.

00:57:03.440 So I'm, you know, I got that done before sitting on your show right now.

00:57:06.800 And I will, when I'm on my podcast or on, on camera or something, but like in my real

00:57:11.840 life, I'm happy to show the world that part of me and like this, I'm not embarrassed.

00:57:17.760 I also have a mom.

00:57:19.600 My mom is in her early seventies.

00:57:21.600 My dad is 80 and I'm so blessed and privileged and love that they are still with us and here

00:57:31.120 and have so much energy.

00:57:32.640 And like, my mom's never had anything done to her face ever.

00:57:36.320 My dad never.

00:57:37.840 And they are beautiful.

00:57:39.600 They are beautiful.

00:57:40.720 So I look to them and I'm like, this is what I have to look forward to when I'm 70.

00:57:46.320 My mom is gorgeous.

00:57:47.440 My dad is so handsome and that inspires me.

00:57:51.440 And I'm like, why this is who God made me to be.

00:57:54.800 Yeah.

00:57:55.200 So I'm going to take care of myself.

00:57:56.880 Of course.

00:57:57.520 I'm going to, you know, enjoy makeup and getting my hair done and all of that.

00:58:01.040 But even with that, I, I do not want to become a slave to that.

00:58:04.880 And I don't want to be embarrassed aging.

00:58:07.360 It's yeah.

00:58:08.160 There's a reality check when you're like, when you see the new wrinkles popping up.

00:58:12.960 But at the same time, I look at my parents and I'm like, well,

00:58:15.760 if this is how I'm going to age, then I'm okay with that.

00:58:18.640 Yeah.

00:58:19.040 And if this is the exchange that I have to make for having another year

00:58:22.960 and having another year with my kids and my husband, not everyone gets to see 32 or 42 or 52

00:58:29.040 and so on.

00:58:30.080 And so it is a, it is a blessing.

00:58:32.400 Yes, it is a blessing.

00:58:33.360 It is.

00:58:34.000 Um, okay.

00:58:35.520 Before we talk about some of the things that you're doing now and in the future,

00:58:38.400 I do just want to rewind briefly because a lot of people, even though if they knew you on full house,

00:58:45.760 um, they definitely, so they followed you for a while, but I think you came, uh, into a lot of

00:58:54.160 people's sphere again, when they saw you standing up for your values on the view.

00:59:00.320 And so they knew you from Hallmark, but especially when you were on the view,

00:59:04.640 Yeah.

00:59:04.960 The spotlight was on you because you were the opposing voice there.

00:59:09.520 You were walking into the lion's den.

00:59:11.600 You were not just a conservative because they've had people like, you know, Meghan McCain on there,

00:59:15.680 who I also really admire, but you're walking in there, this like angel of Christian light.

00:59:22.080 And you're like, um, actually, I think abortion is bad.

00:59:25.760 And there was a lot of criticism.

00:59:27.760 So tell me a little bit about that time.

00:59:29.920 Did you feel like it was redemptive and fruitful or was it like, I don't know if I would ever do that again?

00:59:38.640 It was both.

00:59:39.680 Yeah.

00:59:40.400 I, I wasn't looking for that job.

00:59:44.880 That job came by surprise to me.

00:59:49.920 And I, I may have just been really naive, but when they asked me to guest co-host a few times,

00:59:56.880 I thought, sure, a new experience.

00:59:59.040 I would love to try it.

01:00:00.640 I didn't realize that they were in, in a sense of vetting me for a position for the show.

01:00:06.400 And that's probably why I felt so comfortable to just say like, oh, I'm going to do this once or

01:00:10.880 twice.

01:00:12.880 And then when they, they offered me the job, I had thought, you know, I'm, I'm not a person

01:00:20.720 that grew up discussing politics.

01:00:24.000 My family didn't talk about it in our house.

01:00:27.840 And I had to learn how to talk about politics on the show.

01:00:35.280 And that was one of my biggest fears, but as a Christian, I had no fear.

01:00:39.760 I'm like, oh, I'll talk about my faith all day long.

01:00:42.400 I'll talk about faith values.

01:00:43.600 I'll talk about God.

01:00:44.400 I'll talk about Jesus.

01:00:45.280 Like that is felt very comfortable for me.

01:00:48.800 Yeah.

01:00:49.040 So I thought if I can stay in that lane, I'm good.

01:00:52.080 And I'll kind of figure out the politics part of it.

01:00:56.320 And that, that show took everything out of me.

01:01:00.960 Yeah.

01:01:01.600 I was also commuting from LA to New York every single week.

01:01:05.680 Hmm.

01:01:06.480 That's a lot.

01:01:06.880 Because we shoot, that show is shot live in LA, in New York, and I was living in LA

01:01:12.240 and I didn't want to permanently move.

01:01:13.600 My children were in LA and in school and all the things.

01:01:17.680 So I was pretty wiped out on top of trying to learn and navigate how to

01:01:25.840 talk about these hot topics through a show and even interview people.

01:01:30.240 I didn't have experience.

01:01:31.360 I'm an actress.

01:01:32.080 That's a, that's a whole different skillset to interview people.

01:01:36.080 So it's a show that I am so grateful that I did.

01:01:40.720 And it taught me so much.

01:01:42.400 I bet.

01:01:43.840 But I don't think I'd ever want to do that show again in terms of being a co-host.

01:01:49.840 Yeah.

01:01:50.480 That's what I hear from a lot of the conservatives who have sat in that seat.

01:01:54.720 It does grow you.

01:01:55.760 Of course it does.

01:01:56.640 Because you're holding down the fort for one perspective when pretty much everyone

01:02:00.240 else is going to agree on the other side of it.

01:02:03.600 And that is tough to do.

01:02:05.680 I have never been on The View.

01:02:07.680 The closest I got to it, I actually filmed a pilot for CNN in 2018.

01:02:13.680 Mm-hmm.

01:02:14.080 And now I look back and I'm so thankful it didn't work out because I ended up getting

01:02:17.520 pregnant a couple months later.

01:02:19.360 But it was the same kind of situation where I was like the only conservative Christian.

01:02:23.200 There were a bunch of liberals that most people would know.

01:02:25.520 And we shot a pilot that never went to air.

01:02:28.560 And that one episode was hard.

01:02:30.800 That one episode was tough.

01:02:32.800 I felt like I was in the lion's den then.

01:02:34.560 So I can't imagine.

01:02:35.920 Allie, I think everybody listening would love to have you on that show.

01:02:39.760 Because you would kill it on that show.

01:02:42.480 Oh, that's sweet.

01:02:43.360 Thank you.

01:02:44.000 Thank you.

01:02:44.800 And so tell me just in general, not just The View, what it's been like to kind of be

01:02:52.000 in that hostile environment and speaking up as a Christian.

01:02:56.880 And we won't get into like the specific conflicts that have come up over the years.

01:03:01.280 But in the last couple of years, you have kind of been under fire just for having

01:03:05.280 Christian values and being outspoken about that.

01:03:07.920 And even if you're not political, it seems to somehow like bleed over into politics and

01:03:14.320 the culture war.

01:03:15.040 And I'm sure that's been tough.

01:03:16.400 Yeah.

01:03:16.800 And so how have you navigated that over the past couple of years specifically?

01:03:20.800 Yeah, it's been really, really challenging because I, I'm actually, my intention is,

01:03:30.000 is not within my world of entertainment.

01:03:32.960 I'm not even trying to raise a respectful ruckus.

01:03:36.160 I'm just trying to be me.

01:03:38.480 I'm trying to do the things that I love and do my job.

01:03:41.920 And Jesus always comes with me and my faith always comes with me.

01:03:45.360 I don't leave it at the doorstep at home and then go to work.

01:03:47.760 It's just who I am.

01:03:49.200 Yeah.

01:03:49.520 And I recognize that within my job in the entertainment industry, I am to entertain people.

01:03:59.600 That also means that people like you to some degree.

01:04:02.960 Now, it is tough to live in a world where you need people to like you when you don't always

01:04:10.400 share the same worldview or have the same opinions as others or are not complacent to just let,

01:04:17.200 you know, live and let live, do whatever you want and not really care about anything.

01:04:23.200 It's, it's challenging to do that, but yet I've always believed in family entertainment.

01:04:31.520 I've been intentional about living my entertainment life in the family space.

01:04:40.320 And the older I've gotten, it's been more and more important to live it in the faith and family

01:04:46.480 space.

01:04:47.760 And so, yeah, the last few years have been challenging and I'm not, I'm not trying to upset

01:04:55.040 people.

01:04:55.680 I'm not going out on the attack.

01:04:57.760 I'm not even trying to make a statement.

01:05:00.640 I'm just trying to live by what I believe is true and right and honorable to God.

01:05:07.360 And I remind myself that when I get scared of man or the public or the press or the media,

01:05:13.760 that I go, well, who am I really to fear?

01:05:16.000 Am I to fear man or am I to fear God who's going to judge me on judgment day?

01:05:20.560 And I want to be able to stand as holy as I can.

01:05:24.160 And I know I'm clean.

01:05:25.280 I'm redeemed before God.

01:05:27.280 And I know I'll stand before him on judgment day, saved by his grace through faith.

01:05:33.360 It's not, not of our works.

01:05:35.280 So I get that, but I, I want to hear him say, good, good job.

01:05:39.760 Well done.

01:05:40.400 My good and faithful servant.

01:05:41.600 I so I'm like, I will cry thinking about that.

01:05:44.320 I so desperately long to hear that.

01:05:46.320 And it helps me make those decisions in my life when they seem like tough ones.

01:05:52.160 But I'm like, I just want to, I want to honor God.

01:05:54.320 Yeah.

01:05:54.800 I was at a Christmas party.

01:05:56.160 It was trivia.

01:05:57.360 And one of the questions was, um, what actress has been on, I forget the phrasing of the question,

01:06:04.160 the highest number of Hallmark movies, the most Hallmark movies.

01:06:08.880 I was like, I know.

01:06:10.400 And, and we got it.

01:06:11.520 We got the answer right because the answer was you.

01:06:14.000 Yeah.

01:06:14.320 Um, tell me about transitioning though from Hallmark,

01:06:17.600 which was a big part of your life for a while to Great American Family.

01:06:22.480 Yeah, it was not an easy transition.

01:06:25.440 It was not an easy decision.

01:06:27.680 And I think, um, I mean, I haven't really talked about it much in detail, but it was a,

01:06:34.800 a more challenging decision than anyone's known.

01:06:38.800 And I had a wonderful, great 14 years at the Hallmark Channel.

01:06:44.320 And there are, there are still so, so many people in terms of the actors and

01:06:52.960 everyone that's there that I still love and have so much respect for.

01:06:56.240 Um, there was a change of guard at the Hallmark Channel and, and it, there were different relationships

01:07:09.040 there.

01:07:09.840 Um, and that's where it got a little challenging.

01:07:13.200 I kind of felt like the old guard and the new guard came in and

01:07:18.240 it definitely influenced the decisions that I made to start talking to Great American Family Channel.

01:07:29.040 And what I loved in talking to them.

01:07:33.280 And for those of you that don't know, Bill Abbott is the CEO of Great American Family Channel,

01:07:38.080 who was the former CEO of the Hallmark Channel.

01:07:41.840 And under his leadership, I had, it was great.

01:07:47.600 Um, and so Great American Family gave me an opportunity to help build something

01:07:57.600 that I've been praying about for a really long time.

01:08:00.560 So while I'm an actress and I'm a producer, I've been an entrepreneur for a very long time.

01:08:06.720 So I have my hands in a lot of things within business and grow building and growing a network

01:08:14.480 has been on my prayer list for about 15 years.

01:08:18.720 And this gave me the opportunity to start from the ground up and build something really great.

01:08:25.120 And that was what was most attractive to me.

01:08:30.080 And I will tell everyone, I took a pay cut

01:08:33.120 to go to Great American Family Channel.

01:08:37.760 Okay, it wasn't about offering more money or anything like that.

01:08:42.720 I liked the idea of building something great and that had a focus on family and faith.

01:08:50.080 And that for me is what was missing even under the leadership of Bill at Hallmark Channel.

01:08:55.440 Um, then was that, and you know, he has bosses above him.

01:09:00.960 But the faith wasn't really a part of that channel.

01:09:04.480 And as I've gotten older, I want that to be a part of my catalog of the movies I produce.

01:09:10.560 And I'm in because they're important to me.

01:09:12.880 Yeah.

01:09:13.520 And there was much more opportunity to do that at Great American Family.

01:09:19.760 And I'm so excited about it.

01:09:22.800 Like, and it's been wonderful.

01:09:25.440 We are a growing network.

01:09:27.040 So we are still small beans, guys.

01:09:29.520 We are, we need your viewership.

01:09:31.920 We need people to tune in.

01:09:33.760 Yeah.

01:09:34.080 Um, we're not, you know, we're gonna, we're trying to compete with the big dogs,

01:09:37.840 but we're not even in all households on cable yet.

01:09:41.120 We're not in all markets yet.

01:09:43.680 Lots of available options on streaming.

01:09:46.560 But we also, we also, um, have taken over the Pure Flix, which is online streaming.

01:09:53.600 We've now rebranded it as Great American Pure Flix.

01:09:56.720 But we want to become the destination for faith and family programming.

01:10:02.640 I saw that Mario Lopez just joined, right?

01:10:04.960 He did.

01:10:05.600 We signed him to a multi, a multi, uh, picture deal.

01:10:09.200 We're very happy to have Mario at the channel.

01:10:12.640 And so, and I, you know, it just makes it great when people believe in the mission and

01:10:19.760 it's really just all about family.

01:10:21.600 But we want faith to be in there more and not just a, a place where we talk about

01:10:27.920 God in lowercase g, which could be any kind of God that feels very universal.

01:10:32.960 I want to say the name of Jesus in my movies.

01:10:35.520 And we're saying that at Great American Family.

01:10:37.920 Yeah.

01:10:38.320 And you just, you can't find that very many places.

01:10:41.200 And so often the depictions of Christianity and Hollywood are negative.

01:10:45.200 They're caricatures of some kind of stereotype.

01:10:48.160 And so to have entertainment that says the name of Jesus, that honors the name of Jesus.

01:10:53.280 And you've said before, it's not like you're making these movies to make a point necessarily.

01:10:59.200 You're just being yourself.

01:11:00.800 This is right.

01:11:02.080 You're going to, most creative storytellers will make projects that have influenced their life.

01:11:11.200 They will tackle issues that are important to them.

01:11:13.680 And that's what I'm doing.

01:11:16.160 Yeah.

01:11:16.720 My faith and my family are the two most important things in my life.

01:11:19.920 So that's what my focus in my, and my mission will be in entertainment.

01:11:25.600 And that's it.

01:11:26.400 It's not about excluding someone else.

01:11:29.040 It's not about like, I'm like, I'm just going to focus on what I know.

01:11:32.880 And I'm going to stay in my lane and I know faith and I know family.

01:11:36.320 Yeah.

01:11:36.880 And there are a couple other projects that you're doing right now that are in that vein.

01:11:40.000 I'm sure you're doing a lot more than this, but we'll talk about a couple,

01:11:42.800 a couple of them.

01:11:43.760 And one of them is the new movie that you're in the unsung hero.

01:11:47.280 Tell us a little bit about that.

01:11:48.640 I'm so excited.

01:11:49.520 So this is a feature film and it is with this.

01:11:52.960 It is all about the small bone family.

01:11:55.120 And you would know them from the band for king and country and Rebecca St. James.

01:12:00.240 Yes.

01:12:00.720 I actually did not know that they were related until recently.

01:12:03.520 I know both of them.

01:12:04.720 I know who both of them are, but I did not know that they were siblings.

01:12:08.640 There's still that 1% that don't know my brother Kirk and I are related either.

01:12:12.800 My husband was in that 1% until last week.

01:12:16.480 I blew his mind when I told him, I was like, oh yeah, you know, Candace and Kirk.

01:12:20.960 And he was like, wait, what?

01:12:22.320 If this is a clip on socials, you need to comment below and say, if you didn't know that Kirk and

01:12:29.280 I were brother and sister.

01:12:30.720 Well, I think y'all look alike.

01:12:32.080 I know.

01:12:32.560 And so it's funny to me that people don't know.

01:12:34.160 So yes, I did not know that they were related.

01:12:36.480 Okay.

01:12:36.800 Yeah.

01:12:37.120 And this is their family story, the origin of how they came from Australia to the U.S.,

01:12:44.800 basically lost everything.

01:12:48.560 And it was their community and people in church, even though they were people of faith,

01:12:53.120 but really helped them get their feet grounded and settled and grew into who they are today.

01:13:01.520 And it was ultimately looking to their own family.

01:13:05.760 That their dad was a long time, very successful music producer in Australia and then having

01:13:14.480 enough belief in their own family.

01:13:16.640 But really, the title of it, Unsung Hero, is all about their mom.

01:13:21.360 She was the unsung hero of the family.

01:13:23.680 It is a beautiful movie.

01:13:26.320 It's a beautiful story.

01:13:27.280 Bring the tissues because you will cry.

01:13:29.040 Okay.

01:13:29.520 It is gorgeous to watch.

01:13:30.880 I'm so proud to have been a producer on it.

01:13:33.760 My company co-produced it.

01:13:35.680 And I have a little, little part in it.

01:13:38.320 So you'll see me on screen, too.

01:13:39.920 And that was just really fun to be a part of the movie that way as well.

01:13:43.600 And then you have a new partnership with the Generous Family Kids Book Club.

01:13:47.920 Tell us about that.

01:13:49.440 Yeah.

01:13:50.560 So I love books and reading to my kids was

01:13:56.000 truly one of my favorite activities to do while they were young.

01:14:00.720 It's just a way to be creative and expressive.

01:14:02.880 And the Generous Family Book Club are books that you would get once a month.

01:14:08.960 And they teach about good values.

01:14:11.040 So they aren't Bible stories, but they are all biblical principles.

01:14:15.680 So they teach about generosity and kindness and love and joy.

01:14:20.640 I mean, the fruit of the spirit.

01:14:22.560 All of those principles.

01:14:24.800 And they teach them with really fun characters.

01:14:26.800 They're really high quality, beautiful books and illustrated very well.

01:14:31.520 And what I also love is that it is not one person that's writing them.

01:14:35.600 It's written under a pen name called Betta to Give.

01:14:39.680 And it is really a collection of Christian moms and dads,

01:14:44.240 parents, teachers that have come together to write these books with these groups of characters.

01:14:49.280 So they're wonderful to just incorporate if you're a parent or a grandparent into your reading with the kids.

01:14:58.560 And there's also, if you are a homeschooler, there's a separate homeschool curriculum you could add in as well.

01:15:05.360 People can go to generousfamily.com and then it's right there.

01:15:09.120 It's really easy.

01:15:10.400 Join the kids book club or you can check out the homeschool curriculum.

01:15:14.160 And Candace's cute picture is right on the homepage right there.

01:15:18.320 So the Generous Family Kids book club.

01:15:21.280 Okay, so you've got the great American family.

01:15:24.160 Can I add one thing to that?

01:15:25.680 Yes, go for it.

01:15:25.920 Because I wanted to share it.

01:15:26.960 This is the first I'm going to tell.

01:15:28.160 Sure.

01:15:28.640 Because I want, I love your audience and they're getting the scoop.

01:15:32.320 Okay, I'm ready.

01:15:33.040 So coming soon to Great American Family Channel.

01:15:38.320 If you used to love my mystery movies, because I hear it all the time.

01:15:42.800 Aurora Tea Garden.

01:15:43.680 The Aurora Tea Garden mysteries, which I'm no longer doing.

01:15:47.040 But I have a new mystery series coming out on Great American Family Channel.

01:15:51.200 Okay, great.

01:15:51.680 So mysteries are being added.

01:15:53.920 And I also produced a really wonderful Easter movie.

01:15:59.680 And you're going to want to watch it with your husband or your wife and your kids.

01:16:04.960 It's a beautiful story that's all about faith.

01:16:07.920 And I'm so proud of the movie.

01:16:10.400 So good things coming to the channel as we continue to build.

01:16:13.520 Okay, good.

01:16:14.000 Well, that's exactly what I was about to ask you.

01:16:15.600 I was about to ask you what else you're working on.

01:16:17.360 Oh, great.

01:16:17.840 And there you go.

01:16:18.480 So you have lots of irons in the fire right now.

01:16:20.800 Well, thank you so much.

01:16:22.080 Thank you so much for all the work that you do.

01:16:23.760 And really just being an example for so many Christian women in so many different spheres,

01:16:30.320 whether they're a stay-at-home mom, whether they are not married or have kids yet.

01:16:34.960 Like, you really are an example in standing up for your faith in a culture that, you know,

01:16:41.520 doesn't always reward that kind of thing.

01:16:44.480 It can be really tough.

01:16:45.760 And you've done it really well and honorably.

01:16:48.400 So thank you so much.

01:16:50.160 And thank you so much for taking the time to come on.

01:16:52.480 You're welcome.

01:16:53.520 Thanks for having me.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - October 08, 2024

REPLAY ｜ Candace Cameron Bure on Body Image, Motherhood & Battling Backlash

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