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Season 3 Ep 12 How to Build Character in Your Kids w/ Missy Robertson
180 Plays2 years ago
Missy Robertson has learned to live life in the spotlight as she played an important part in her family’s record-breaking reality television series for 11 seasons on A&E's Duck Dynasty. Despite the increased publicity on her family, company, and personal life, she has managed to become a strong voice for morality and virtue both locally and globally. To that end, Missy recently released her latest book, Because You’re My Family, a children’s book that depicts the journey of a family who has adopted.
Missy is based in West Monroe, Louisiana and is a devoted mother of four children (Reed, Cole, Karina, and Mia), wife to Jase, and a brand new grandmother. She has contributed heavily to the Robertson family business, Duck Commander, and has been an integral part of the success that the family and company has seen in recent years.
Mentioned in this episode:
Because You’re My Family by Missy Robertson
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Transcript
Introduction and Purpose of Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Hi, I'm Ruth Schwenk and I'm so thrilled you're listening in with us at Root Like Faith. It is our deepest desire to encourage and equip men and women to be rooted in God's Word, transformed by the love of Jesus and moved by His mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more important.
Guest Introduction: Missy Robertson
00:00:19
Speaker
Well, today we have a special guest who I'm so thrilled to have on Route Like Faith. Her name is Missy Robertson. Many of you may know her. Let me tell you a little bit about Missy.
Life in the Spotlight and Morality
00:00:32
Speaker
Missy Robertson has learned to live life in the spotlight as she played an important part in her family's record-breaking reality television series for 11 seasons on A&E's Duck Dynasty.
00:00:44
Speaker
Despite the increased publicity on her family, company, and personal life, she has managed to become a strong voice for morality and virtue, both locally and globally.
Children's Book and Themes of Adoption
00:00:53
Speaker
To that end, Missy recently released her latest book, Because You're My Family, a children's book that depicts the journey of a family who has adopted. Missy is based in West Monroe, Louisiana and is a devoted mother of four children, Reed, Cole, Karina, and Maya, wife to Jace and a brand new grandmother.
Family Life and Business in Louisiana
00:01:12
Speaker
She has contributed heavily to the Robertson family business, Duck Commander, and has been an integral part of the success that the family and company has seen in the recent years. I'm so, so thrilled to have Missy on Like Faith today. And I think you're just going to really enjoy this conversation that she's having with my husband Patrick. So without further ado, Missy is going to be talking all about
00:01:38
Speaker
family and how to build character in your kids. I think this is going to be a really great episode. So let's go.
Southern Accents and New Book Discussion
00:01:46
Speaker
Well, as we've mentioned already, our guest today is Missy Robertson. Missy, welcome to Root Like Faith. Thank you so much for having me.
00:01:53
Speaker
Well, as we were just talking and I was joking with you, it is so good to have somebody with a Southern accent on on the podcast today. And so I think you're only like the third person that we've had on the podcast with a Southern accent, which is a shame. And so I think, you know, Amber Smith was on last year. Of course, she's from Texas and Lisa Whittles from North Carolina. Both of my parents were born and raised in Kentucky. And so I had my dad was from Owensboro. My mom was born and raised in a small coal mining town.
00:02:23
Speaker
on the other side of the state. And so I always thought I'd live in the South and here I am in the North. Well, honestly, you know, we're not the ones with the accents. It's everyone else. That's right. Regardless, it's good to hear a Southern accent and we're just grateful for your time. I know you've got a lot going on and congratulations, first of all, on your new book. It's entitled Because You're My Family. And so congratulations on that and I'm looking forward to talking
00:02:48
Speaker
more about that here in just a few minutes. But before we do that, I'd love for you just to kind of share, I would imagine most of our Root Like Faith family is going to be familiar with you and your family, and of course, Duck Dynasty. But I'd love for you just to share a bit about your family. Okay. Well, since Duck Dynasty, it's been five years actually this next month that we haven't been filming Duck Dynasty.
00:03:12
Speaker
Um, but if people do miss that, and we hear that a lot that, you know, bring your show back. We wish, we wish your show would start back up. Don't really think that that's going to happen.
New TV Show Project and Faith
00:03:22
Speaker
Um, so we'll just kind of quash all of those theories. However, we have been working on a new show. So, um, which includes a lot of our family in it. And it's, um,
00:03:36
Speaker
I guess it's about metal detecting, but it's so much more than that. It's treasure hunting and the treasure that they find is not always in the ground. And so there is a deeper meaning to that. It has most of our family members in it, but it's mainly with Jace, Jep, and Cy. Okay. And so, but yeah, it's been a fun process. It's been amazing to watch how God has worked through all of this.
00:04:03
Speaker
Jace and Jeff travel a lot and do some of the filming and some of the digging and the metal detecting in other places. And so he'll call me and he'll be like, baby, you're not going to believe what we found. And I told him this last time, because it's something really big this last time. And I said, babe, I'm so happy for you, but I'm not surprised. The doors have been flying open for God to do to make this show happen. And I think people are going to be amazed at how we will be able to
00:04:32
Speaker
get the message of Christ subtly in there to where non-believers hopefully will start watching and then being introduced to Jesus again. Darrell Bock Yeah. I love that. That's – like you said, I know there's going to be a lot of people that are going to be excited to hear that and definitely looking forward to that. When will that release?
Adoption and Family Background
00:04:48
Speaker
Is that – maybe you said that already, but – Debra Ruh Yeah. Unofficially this summer. Unofficially sometime this summer, early summer hopefully, but we can't really say anything else. So just be watching our social media stuff for all of that.
00:04:59
Speaker
Perfect. Well, that isn't too far away. So we'll look forward look forward to then you guys how long have you and Jase been married?
00:05:06
Speaker
31 years. Wow. Okay. So was there ever a time where you knew him without a beard? Okay. Oh yes. People were like, you fell in love with that. Nope. But I chose to keep loving him on after he started growing all of that out, but, but he would grow it out to be clear. He would grow it out every winter because that's what they did for duck hunting. Okay. When February first came around, that was basically his gift to me. He would shave.
00:05:34
Speaker
And he would keep it fairly clean and short shaven at least until late August and getting it ready for teal season and then grow it all the way out through January again. And so he would have a beard every year, but then he would shave it for me. That's good. Yeah. Until producer said, we need some continuity so you can ever shave again. Right, right. You're locked in at that point. Yeah. Well, very good. You guys, how many kids do you guys have?
00:06:03
Speaker
We have four children. One of ours is married and we have a granddaughter who's three months old. Wow. And you guys recently adopted. Am I remembering that correctly? Okay. So we have our, our daughter who's 22, we got her at age 18 and she's from Nicaragua. And so she became our daughter at age 18. So we don't have paperwork or anything. And we're actually going to be, we're looking into starting that.
00:06:30
Speaker
to make it official, but she is about to graduate college here in America. So we've had her for almost four years, and she is every bit a part of our family. Yeah, that's awesome. Very good.
Early Marriage and Ministry
00:06:45
Speaker
You guys, I mean, tell me a little bit before we, again, we're gonna be talking about your new book, Because You're My Family, but before we get there, like, what was your family like growing up? I mean, you just shared a little bit about you and Jace's family, your kids, but did you grow up in a Christian home?
00:07:00
Speaker
I'm a PK. Okay. So am I. We could probably start a support group. Not only that, but my mom was, um, she has a master's education in choral direction and so in music. And so she, um, she and my dad were one of five couples who started our local Christian school when I was three years old. Okay. And so, um, and we're borrowed money from the bank to do it. And so it was a, it was a huge sacrifice for them.
00:07:28
Speaker
and for our family to do that. And all of my kids went through there, that Christian school, and we, you know, preachers, not like, he wasn't preacher from megachurch, so we didn't make a lot of money. And we did a lot of ministry.
00:07:45
Speaker
in the summers, we traveled in what we called the motorhome, but it was more like a camper. And we traveled and did that old fashioned knocking on doors and having the revival during the week and at night and really just sharing Jesus with certain communities all across America in the summers. And I loved it as a kid camping out and meeting new friends. So we did that growing up. And then I met Jace
00:08:11
Speaker
at age 16. Lies and all-knowing at that age. We dated for almost three years and then got married. Wow. Very good.
Personal Spiritual Journey
00:08:25
Speaker
My mom, I don't remember how old she was when
00:08:29
Speaker
her dad, my grandfather got saved and they were living in Prestonsburg, Kentucky at the time and she tells the story about how she came home and she found him, he was in the family room and had been listening to a radio station out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and just found him weeping and that he heard the gospel and it changed his life and my mom
00:08:49
Speaker
you know, would often tell the story that from that moment forward, it radically changed their life. And she tells the story about how he would go out in his pickup truck and, you know, they drive up into the holler and pick kids up. They'd put kids in the back of the, you know, the pickup truck and take them to church, which of course nowadays you get arrested for that. But back in the day, you know, that's what they did. And so it's so, you know, I joke about being a PK.
00:09:11
Speaker
But I didn't have, I know so many PKs talk about growing up in the church and they walk away from the church. And that just wasn't my experience. It doesn't sound like that was your experience either. I'm so grateful. Not at all. Yeah, that's how. I'm just so grateful for my parents and like you said, just their love for Jesus, their love for the church, their love for people.
00:09:29
Speaker
I felt like I got to be kind of a, you know, just an eyewitness, a firsthand witness to what it looks like to be involved in people's lives and to see Jesus change lives. And it was just such a blessing. I feel like God really used that in my life from a pretty early age, um, just to draw me to Christ and give me a greater love, you know, for the church. Agree. I do believe we all come to Jesus and, you know, definitely different ways.
00:09:55
Speaker
And I'm a rule follower, and so I was just kind of scared to break the rules, and I didn't want to disappoint my parents. So I never really tried anything that I wasn't supposed to. But my love for the Lord didn't grow until later, really, in life. Like, I did what I was supposed to do when I came to the age that I thought I was supposed to be baptized. I went ahead and did that, kind of checked that box.
00:10:21
Speaker
That way I wasn't hounded anymore, you know, about all of that. You know, as a preacher's kid, I felt like I just, I need to just do this and get it over with. That way I can kind of relax. But then later when, and I write this in a book that I wrote in 2015 called Bless, Bless, Bless. But, but Jason, our entire first year of marriage,
00:10:45
Speaker
It wasn't that great for the two of us, but we ministered to so many people. God sent so many young adults into our apartment and into our first home that we were able to share Jesus with them. And through that really is where my faith was growing. I saw how Jesus was changing people's lives from just rock bottom, horrible,
00:11:09
Speaker
terrible situations to where that didn't take care of that terrible situation, but they found hope and they started making better choices and understanding that he can heal me, you know, and so my faith grew and one night we were sitting in our little wood frame house, our little first house, and we had just studied with a couple. They left and had decided, you know, to think about it, pray about it more.
00:11:39
Speaker
And I looked at Jace and I said, I'm ready. He said, do what? I said, I need to go put Jesus on in baptism. I'm like, I don't think I got wet. I got wet years ago. And so as an adult, I was rebaptized, baptized for the first time. I don't know however you want to categorize it, but I surrendered to him that night and made sure that I had the Holy Spirit living inside of me through that water baptism.
00:12:06
Speaker
So sometimes when we think about our own journey towards Christ, it's okay to say, maybe I didn't, why not just make sure if your heart is right and you're wanting to serve and you have that little nudge that maybe somebody out there is listening, like I just never really maybe did it for him, I did it for someone else. My sister-in-law has that same story with her and Alan. She said, I did it because Alan wanted me to. And so she had to come
00:12:36
Speaker
that decision later in life too. But once you do, it's just, it's a white lifted. That's what he does. Yep. Absolutely. Yep. Absolutely. I love that. Well, thank you for sharing that.
Themes of Unconditional Love and Gospel
00:12:46
Speaker
Well, let's talk about your new book. Again, it's called Because You're My Family. And the books are, Valor, if I'm saying that right, is the main character. Yes. And of course, I'll just sort of set it up and then let you take it from here. But Valor wakes up one morning and he wants to go to his uncle's house. He wants to go play pirates and
00:13:01
Speaker
It's a beautiful book. It's well-written and it's beautifully illustrated. And Valor, you know, is coming down the stairs, wants to go to his uncle's house to play Pirates, but his parents have a very different plan for the day. And so take it from there and tell us what happens next. Well, it's important for this to happen because there is the change of plans. And as parents, we have to understand and realize that we need to explain this to our children, that we make mistakes too. And the mom
00:13:28
Speaker
forgot about those previous plans that Valor had made with his crazy uncle Moby. We always, we all usually, most of us have a crazy uncle family. And so, um, and she said, you know what, um, you know, I, I'm sorry that that didn't happen, but my plans right now are going to take precedence. And so you're going to have to change your plan. You need to go do a tour for me and we're going to take a carrot cake down to Mrs. Bunny down the street who just had a baby.
00:13:57
Speaker
And Valor is not happy about it, not happy at all. And so he goes out and has to gather the carrots and just gets more upset and mad and has a terrible attitude and ends up dumping those carrots in the ditch and realizes that he's messed up and he runs and hides. And he, the storms come and the parents end up looking for him, scouring the yard that they live in.
00:14:24
Speaker
And they find him barely in time to save his life from a broken branch and him falling into the river. And so they bring him back in, warm him up by the fire. And the conversation of the whole crust of the book takes place. And little valor says, daddy, why did you save me? All I've done today is pout and disobey. And the father's response.
00:14:46
Speaker
is what I know that our father tells us all of the time. And he says, I don't love you because you obeyed me. I love you because you're my son and nothing can change that. That just, you talk about weight lifted. We don't have to prove anything to the Lord. And Valor didn't have to prove anything to his parents. And you know, there are consequences. And he says that, you know, you've got to apologize to your mother, help her regather the carrots.
00:15:14
Speaker
but nothing will ever change how much I love you. And that's what, that's what the whole Bible is all about. Everything in the Bible leads up to the father's love for us and what he did and what he's doing now to save us. So that, um, it's an easy, simple story to help your children understand not only your love for them,
00:15:40
Speaker
but also the Father's love for us in a greater sense.
Parenting and Cheerful Obedience
00:15:44
Speaker
It's a simple story that has a huge, deeper meaning. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. That section you just read, you're right. I mean, that just stuck out to me as I was reading it. Um, cause that really is the good news. That's the gospel. And like you said, it's really the message of the whole, the whole Bible. Um, there, there's in that same section there, there's that line, you know, where it says, if only he had obeyed with a cheerful heart. And that, you know, that's such a challenge. You know, just think about parents, you know, we have a lot of, um,
00:16:10
Speaker
parents with young kids that listen to the podcast. And what does it look like for a, I mean, that's hard enough as an adult to obey God or to obey, you know, maybe a boss. But I mean, obeying with a cheerful heart is a difficult thing to cultivate. And so what does that look like? Do you think just really practically for a parent, how do you go about cultivating a heart that really desires obedience from a cheerful place?
00:16:39
Speaker
I think the most important thing you can do is, um, exemplify that in your own home. So we can say it all day long, but if we don't have a cheerful and a positive attitude, but we tell our kids at night, now you are in the morning, you better have a cheerful heart while we're driving all day long about so-and-so this, and you know, it's not going to resonate well. They're not going to understand that. It's not even going to make sense in their brain that is still forming every hour of every day. So.
00:17:08
Speaker
Yes, we need to say that, and this book is a great way to convey that to them. But boy, we better watch our own steps. And that's hard for us, too, when we don't do what we're supposed to do. If you want to ask my second piece of advice, just mess it up. Just mess up. It's like, I didn't do that well. I'm sorry. And I've learned that with my adult children. Like, I didn't do it as much when my oldest were young.
00:17:37
Speaker
But now that my younger ones are older, I find myself apologizing to Mia a lot at age 18. You know, like I'll go to her and say, you know, I was kind of short with you yesterday and I don't want to apologize. And every time she says, it's okay. It's okay, mom. You know, she's quick to forgive. Thank goodness. But I said, no, I know, I know that she's like, I don't even remember that. Like, well, I do. And it bothered me that I was short with you.
00:18:03
Speaker
But, and so I think that that's, that's something that we've learned Jason and I, as parents is to apologize more for our own mistakes. Because if we parent as if we have no flaws.
00:18:16
Speaker
then why should we show that we need Jesus to our children? We have to be able to exemplify that. That's so good. There's so many just great themes in this book. I mean, you talk about obedience, God's unconditional love, forgiveness. I mean, what are some, I've listed some of those. Am I missing any other themes that you feel like really come out in the book?
00:18:39
Speaker
Well, I would say, um, a life of sacrifice and a life of gratitude. So after valor, they have that conversation, the parents end up going to bed and get a cold from being out in the rain. And so little valor sees that and start serving them and makes them a cake for breakfast the next morning. And because they're, they're sick in the bed. And, and so then he has a conversation that says, I want to love you mom and dad the way you love me.
00:19:08
Speaker
And that of course is, is the ultimate goal. I was just reading this morning. I can't get out of first John. First John is just so full of love. And I've read so many different things and so many different interviews, but today what stuck out to me is first John four 10. Oh my gosh. That's so sorry. That's all right. So sorry. Um, first John 14 says this is love.
00:19:33
Speaker
not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an attounding sacrifice for our sins. And for a while, I didn't really understand that this is love, not that we loved God, but I think it's, he's, John is talking about the different levels. There is no possible way that we can understand what love truly is. We think we might know what it is,
00:19:59
Speaker
But we have no idea what it's like for God to sacrifice Himself through His Son and never get all of Himself back in order for us to go and be with Him forever. That is true love.
00:20:16
Speaker
again, that line, I love you because you're my son. And just his fear that his parents would never forgive him. And like you're talking about, yeah, just the message of God's unconditional love. And then the response, I mean, all of our life is meant to be a response to God's love for us. And you see that like you're talking about. I love how
00:20:37
Speaker
the book ends with Valor making the cake for his parents. And so just a beautiful act of gratitude, sacrifice, service. And so there's one other section I thought was really good at the end of the book called the Brave Challenge.
Brave Challenge and Activities for Families
00:20:52
Speaker
And so describe the Brave Challenge because it's full of all sorts of great activities and there's Bible verses and all sorts of stuff that a parent can even dive deeper.
00:21:01
Speaker
So the book, the body of the book itself really does not talk about God's love for us. It's really just the story of Valor and his parents and what that looks like in their home.
00:21:11
Speaker
So just a side note, if you're a teacher at a secular school, public school, you could read this to your class because it does not mention God, which is another whole conversation we could have about that. But anyway, they can read it and get away with it. I could say that. But at the back of the book, it does dive deeper. Like you said, it has questions that you can ask to pull it out a little bit more in your children to make sure that they understand exactly what unconditional love is. It references scripture. There's also games to play.
00:21:42
Speaker
as a family, there's multiple activities. And so this could be even a week long project that you could do with your class, Sunday school class, or even just in your home where, you know, this week we're going to focus on what it means to love each other. And let's take, um, every single day and do a lesson or an activity or a game, or just have some fun together around the dinner table. And let's read this book without our phones, no phones, no tablets, no screens.
00:22:12
Speaker
And really focus on each other. And there's some games about how to serve each other too. So because of love. So I'm super proud of it. I think it's precious. And I do think it's very, very important because we're being attacked so much outside of our home. And we can't control that a lot of times, but we can control.
00:22:31
Speaker
what we're teaching and what we're doing inside of our home. And this is just one tool that you can use for that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Like I said before, it is a beautiful book, incredibly well-written and beautifully illustrated.
Book Recommendation for Families
00:22:44
Speaker
Like you said, there are so many unique threats and challenges that families are facing today. And so I think there's a lot of families, a lot of parents
00:22:52
Speaker
that really do desire to pass on faith and see kids grow up to love Jesus as they release them into the world. And so this will just be, I think, one more great resource to really help parents do that, to feel more confident and comfortable in doing that. So again, the name of the book is Because You're My Family. And we're going to link to that in our show notes. And so a Root Like Faith family can go there and find out more details. They'll be able to find your full bio there as well.
Conclusion and Listener Invitation
00:23:18
Speaker
Thank you again for taking the time to be on Root Like Faith and congratulations again praying that this book just has a huge impact on families and kids for generations to come. So God bless you. Yes, thank you. You too. Thanks for having me. You bet. Thank you.
00:23:33
Speaker
That was so great. And we are so, so grateful that Missy was able to join us. If there's any notes that you'd like or anything that you've heard Pat and Missy talking about that you want to follow up on, be sure to check out the show notes at rootlikefaith.com forward slash podcast. Also, you can follow Missy anywhere online. She's on Facebook and Instagram. And don't forget to check out her book Because You Are My Family at Brave Books.
00:24:05
Speaker
While we just are so grateful you joined us, we welcome you into our family here at Root Like Faith. Would you do us a big favor and leave us a review or rating and share this podcast with your friends? It just takes a second and it's a tremendous help to us as we spread the word about Root Like Faith. And be sure to tag us on social media when you do that. We are so, so grateful for your help in getting the word out. All right, friend, well, we will chat soon and we hope you have the best week.