Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

A Robertson Family Christmas {Book Review + Giveaway}

A Robertson Family Christmas
by Miss Kay Robertson
About the book:

Hunter Clarke wanted one thing for Christmas: to spend it with his dad and his brother. He misses being included in any guy trips since his parents divorced and he went to live with his mom. So he’s less than happy when his mother tells him that he won a contest to spend Christmas in West Monroe, Louisiana, with a family named the Robertsons. For some reason, they’re supposed to be a big deal. How did he win a contest he didn’t enter? Besides, he’s never heard of them and sure doesn’t want to spend Christmas in a swamp with a bunch of strangers. 

Korie Robertson is excited to open her heart and home to Hunter and show him what the Christmas season looks like for the Robertson family. And like it or not, Hunter experiences it firsthand. From duck-hunting disasters with the bearded guys, to learning to cook with Miss Kay, Hunter quickly discovers what it’s like to live with this boisterous, yet loving family. Putting on his headphones and ignoring them is not an option. Before long, Hunter begins to let his guard down. But with Christmas and the end of his trip fast approaching, will it be too little, too late? Or will Hunter be open to the greatest gift of all?

We are Duck Dynasty lovers here in the household.  There aren’t that many shows that promote faith and prayer and when we find one that does, we become faithful viewers.  I knew I would love to read this book and especially now, when we’re not quite yet in Christmas season but we can see it down the road.

I loved this book from start to finish.  I honestly couldn’t put it down, what a great read it was!  Who wouldn’t want to spend Christmas with the Robertsons?  Have you ever wondered what their holidays look like?    Not only will you get a peek into this great Christian family, this work of fiction gives us a glimpse into the Robertson family traditions that we all wouldn’t mind partaking of.

Miss Kay Robertson has gifted her readers with a beautiful story of a loud, loving, family that shares a few days with a “city boy” and teaches him it’s all right to make mistakes and show emotions.  This book is truly a blessing to read. The humor and the family dynamics are outstanding. Hunter goes back to Chicago a different person; one that is aware of the love of his mother and especially of the love of Jesus Christ.

I’m so super excited to announce that I am giving one copy of A Robertson Family Christmas to one lucky winner !! Woo! Enter below…

Thank you to Tyndale Publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Forgetting Expectations

It’s October, and the air is getting crisper. I make a mental checklist of this years Christmas plans and feel my heart whirling. I want to spend a day baking cookies and making candy with the kids. I want to make my own tree skirt and matching ornaments. I want to shop early and find just the perfect personalized gift for everyone. I want to go to New York City for a weekend and ice skate in Central Park. I want to take my kids to see a live nativity.  Oh, what a perfect Christmas it would be.

Soon after, reality hits.  The combination of a stressy December with my desire to cram multiple memory making opportunities into the season culminated in me having a big, teary, bawling fit. And on Christmas Eve of all days.
I missed my Grandma.  Family get-togethers are long gone.  Someone told my son what his “big” gift was, two days before Christmas.  Self-image issues.  Blah.  Stress.  Blah.  Stress.  Blah. Stress.

I needed to learn to leave the expectations of a perfectly magical {Christmas} behind.


The season will, undoubtedly, hold beautiful moments. But it will also hold cranky, less than cordial, shoppers who sass at you for asking the clerk where the tights are. It will hold kids hyped up about Christmas with a little naughty sprinkled here and there (said naughty might include taking a rubber band to the Christmas service). It might hold adults who don’t mind telling your kids what you bought them. And it could even hold others who don’t mind stirring up trouble for you.

Multiple times today, I’ve found myself praying “Lord, please change my attitude and my heart. Please help my mood and dry my tears. Refocus me on the real reason we celebrate Christmas.”

When it comes down to it, Christmas is simple.  We are the ones that make it complicated.  Christmas is about a baby humbly born in a manger.  A baby that changed the world forever.  When He was born, so was Hope for the hopeless.  When we experience that Hope, we’ll have all the Christmas magic we need.

That Lonely Feeling

I’ve always had this vision, this big dream, of how the holidays would be when I was grown.

Me cooking a big meal.
A table beautifully sat.
Lots of family.
Friends sprinkled in.
A gaggle of cousins.
A house full of laughter.
An entire evening of fellowship and love.

Life doesn’t always go the way we dreamed of as a child, does it?  I have a confession:  sometimes I feel lonely during the holidays.  It’s something I don’t often talk about at all because it makes me feel guilty.  Why do I feel guilty?  Because I have a husband and two kids to spend the holidays with, not to mention two amazing parents.  Still, the loneliness is there.

When I was a child, holidays were spent with family.  Thanksgiving at my grandparents, Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncles and Christmas Day at my grandparents.  I loved it, I soaked in every single moment of being surrounded by laughter, love and the feeling of belonging.  Do you remember the days when after the holidays you would go to your families house and they would show you what they got for Christmas?  I know, I loved that!

Once I got married, the family we spent the holidays with doubled.  Sometimes holidays even meant visiting two or three different houses in one day.  I have to admit, I loved it.

Maybe more than loneliness, its’ a heart craving. A craving and desire to have things the way they used to be. I have this desire to hostess, to show hospitality by making my house warm and welcome and to show my love and thankfulness through the food I cook.
Throughout the years, the seasons of life have changed.  Between people passing away, children growing up and moving out and just life changing we’ve been left spending holidays among our little family.  Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve are spent at home.

It’s certainly not how I envisioned my life.

But, what I’ve realized throughout this, the holidays are not about me and my feelings.  The season is about Him. Thinking of Jesus’ humble, magnificent, unimaginably difficult, astonishing birth stills my heart during the Christmas Season. It helps me to align my heart with joy.

This holiday season when I feel the familiar pangs of sadness and loneliness creep over me, I will look up and focus my eyes on Him.  I will be reminded that what I have is enough.  I will remember that He IS the most important element in my life.  He brings TRUE peace, joy, and celebration in the midst of this season.  He is the TRUE reason for the season.