al Robertson Lisa Robertson - A New Season: A Robertson Family Love Story of Brokenness and Redemption

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Howard Books

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New York, NY 10020

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Copyright 2015 by Alan Robertson and Lisa Robertson

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from The Holy Bible, New International Version. 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV 2011 are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Howard Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Howard Books hardcover edition January 2015

HOWARD and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Interior design by Jaime Putorti

Jacket design by Bruce Gore

Front jacket photograph by Steven Palowsky

Back jacket photograph by Shutterstock

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-4767-7320-9

ISBN 978-1-4767-7359-9 (ebook)

To Anna, Jay, Carley, Bailey, Sage and Alex, Vinny and Corban. You are the hope and the reason that keep us going from season to season. We will always love you.

Contents

Acknowledgments

We want to first thank God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for their work in our lives every day and for guiding us through the past thirty years to our current season.

To our parents, thank you for raising us, loving us, and helping us all of these years; we literally wouldnt be here without you. Hoot, we miss you dearly and will see you again.

To Barbara and Ray, we wish there would have been more time with you. We miss you both terribly.

To Jason/Missy, Willie/Korie, Jep/Jessica, and all of our nephews and nieces, you make working fun and family will always come first.

To Aunt Ann, thanks for always being there for us and allowing us to be there for you.

To all the Robertson aunts and uncles, you shaped and guided us and were great examples to us.

To our WFR staff and friends, we miss you terribly, but all of those years together shaped us and got us ready for where we are now. You will always be our best buds.

To our fellow elders/wives at WFR, thank you for being such great godly examples and for sharing the burden of helping shepherd the body of Christ.

To Carl Allison, Bill Smith, Ray Melton, Mike Kellett, and other mentors who taught us how to love ministry and love people when they werent so lovable.

To those who financially supported us in the early days, the Howards, Owens, Tommy/K-K, and the Pine Street church in Vivian. Because of you, we were able to eat and survive.

To Howard Karbo, you have been there with us through every season. They dont make friends like you very often.

To the Idoms, Bill, Angelly, and Grace Burke for all of the laughter and all of the joy you have brought to us through the years.

To John and Paula Godwin and Laura Keegan, you guys were there when we needed you the most. Thanks for your friendship and for allowing us to be ourselves around you.

To Dianne Phillips, you were a light at our darkest point and guided us out of the wilderness. We will always be grateful.

To Joe and Alice Beam, because you shared your lives, we had a blueprint to survive.

To Randy and Joneal Kirby and Mac and Mary Owen, you asked us to serve and help marriages when we werent sure what we had to offer. Thanks for having faith in us.

To Bill Phillips and Greg Eppinette, my childhood friends whom I could still call on when needed.

To our Duck Commander Family, we love working with you and appreciate your dedication to our family.

To Jonathan Merkh, Philis Boultinghouse, Amanda Demastus, Jennifer Smith, and the crew at Howard Books, thanks for your skill and hard work.

To Mel and Margaret, Lee, Jessie, Deana, and the rest of our friends at WME, thanks for believing in this book and for what you do for us every day.

Foreword

Al and Lisa may not always show up on television screens or find themselves in the spotlight as much as some other Robertsons, but they are an amazing behind-the-scenes presence in our family. In many ways, theyre our anchor and our compass. In other words, they keep us grounded, and they help us know which way to go when we need guidance and godly direction.

Before Duck Dynasty became one of cable televisions most popular shows ever, we were a relatively unknown group of duck call makers and wives in Louisiana. We faced the same hopes, dreams, and struggles as other American families. We still do. And when we run into challenges, Al and Lisa are the people we run to.

As a family, when we think of Al and Lisa, two words that come to mind for us are admiration and appreciation. We admire them for their strength of heart, their spiritual maturity, their character and integrity, their courage, their perseverance through difficulties, and their unbreakable, unending commitment to each other. We admire the way they love God, each other, and their family and for the way they use the lessons of their own brokenness to help others.

We appreciate the love, wisdom, and godly advice they provide for all of us as we navigate the seasons of our lives. Were grateful for the great role models they are for us and for our families. We appreciate them for loving us unconditionally and for being people we can trust and depend on, no matter what.

When we found out Al and Lisa were writing this book, we all wanted to share something personal about what they mean to us.

F ROM P HIL AND K AY: We have tremendous love, respect, and admiration for Al and Lisa because of their strong, solid marriage (which has not come easily) and their Christian maturity, and because they are just such fun people to be with. When we think about who they are, all we have to do is look at the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. That list of qualities describes them perfectly. Their lives always seem to exhibit love, joy, peace, longsuffering (which is like patience on steroids), kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Thats who they are!