Celebrating Christmas as a Family

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Focus on the Family with Jim Daly

Episode: Celebrating Christmas as a Family

Date: December 25, 2025
Host: Jim Daly with John Fuller
Guests: The Robertson family (of "Duck Dynasty" fame)

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Overview

This special Christmas episode brings together the entire Robertson family to share stories, faith, laughter, and treasured family memories. In the spirit of celebration and reflection, each family member receives a symbolic Christmas ornament, sparking conversations about faith, hospitality, forgiveness, adoption, family togetherness, and redemption. The episode also pays tribute to the late Phil Robertson, highlighting his direct and transformative faith. Through memorable anecdotes and honest vulnerability, the Robertsons encourage listeners to embrace God’s love and goodness, especially during Christmas.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Faith and Transformation

• The show opens with Phil Robertson’s powerful reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice and the immediate change it brought to his life:

  “He came, he died. There goes my sin penalty. And the drunkenness stopped. The cursing stopped. By one sacrifice, all your past sins removed, forgotten, gone.”
  — Phil Robertson [01:01]

  Phil’s words set a tone of redemption and gratitude for God’s grace throughout the episode.

2. Celebrating Family and Hospitality

• Ms. Kay Robertson receives a whisk and rolling pin ornament, symbolizing her lifelong dedication to hospitality and the bond of family meals.

  • Kay shares how cooking, learned from her grandmother and Phil’s mother, became her calling and ministry.
  • She describes teaching her grandkids and their friends, highlighting the joy of passing traditions down generations.
  • The kitchen is described as the heart of the home, drawing relatives and friends in love and fellowship.

  “I just couldn’t imagine a life without learning how to cook … It draws a lot of people to our house.”
  — Kay Robertson [04:11]

  • Phil adds biblical perspective:

    "We have taken hospitality to a new level. It's mentioned about five times. Practice hospitality. And check this out — without grumbling."
    — Phil Robertson [07:40]

3. Family Stories and Humor

• Uncle Si's Tupperware cup becomes a lighthearted story that circles back to family memories and Si’s Vietnam service [08:22].

• The “Human Jukebox” story demonstrates the Robertsons’ blend of humor and humility:

  “You would put a quarter in my armpit ... punch on my chest and you would pick a song for me to sing for a quarter. … The song that everybody always wanted to hear was this song called Jukebox Hero … Guy Fieri’s beside the guy from Foreigner, and I’m like, 'When I was in fifth grade I did this thing called the Human Jukebox.'”
  — Willie Robertson [12:56–15:31]

4. Honesty, Forgiveness, and Starting Fresh

• Al and Lisa Robertson receive a blank canvas ornament, symbolizing their story of transparency, forgiveness, and letting God lead through struggles:

  “We’re a blank canvas. And whatever He wants to put on here, wherever He wants to take us ... We would go back through [our trials] all again if that's what it takes to be where we are today.”
  — Lisa Robertson [10:18]

  • Al highlights their partnership with Focus on the Family and the importance of not requiring perfection:

    “Focus on the Family is focusing on sometimes the difficulties of a family and how to help people get better.”
    — Al Robertson [11:38]

5. Family Expansion and Adoption

• Jessica and Jep’s house ornament triggers a conversation on adoption, fostering, and the expanding notion of family:

  • Jessica describes welcoming an orphaned girl from Nicaragua into their home, and later fostering a newborn.
  • She emphasizes giving children a place to belong despite difficult circumstances.

  “When I think about this house, I think about all the things that we all have done for children and for our families. This is our sanctuary. … So that’s what this represents to me: a house full of love.”
  — Jessica Robertson [15:43]

  • Jep reflects on faith, hardship, and the value of every child:

    "It goes in the face of all these arguments ... that these kids ... might just ought to be aborted rather than come up in difficult situations. But when I see a kid ... that was born, that had zero people ... that's sobering ... But when you get your attitude right and realize, you know, this is a gift from God, it tends to put things into perspective."
    — Jep Robertson [17:59]

  • He relates biblical passages (Acts 17, Hebrews 3:4, Hebrews 12) to remind that it’s the spirit in the home and faith that matter—not the building itself.

6. Finding Home and Togetherness

• Jep and Jessica remember their family’s move to Texas and the experience of missing family, ultimately returning to their roots.

  “We never lived anywhere else in our life, so it really brought us together. ... But I’m really happy to be back home with family. And we miss you guys. We love you.”
  — Jessica Robertson [22:31-22:59]

7. Redemption and New Beginnings

• Phil receives a truck ornament, representing the moment he sought to restore his broken family by returning to Kay:

  “I had that old truck. I pulled up in the parking lot where she was working, and the day finally came where I said, okay, I’m done with Satan. ... He showed me the gospel ... He came, he died. There goes my sin penalty. And the drunkenness stopped, the cursing stopped by one sacrifice. … He’s made us perfect forever.”
  — Phil Robertson [23:19-25:36]

  This moving testimony underscores the episode’s central message of hope, transformation, and God’s power to redeem any situation.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “He came, he died. There goes my sin penalty. … By one sacrifice, all your past sins removed, forgotten, gone.”
  — Phil Robertson [01:01]

• “I just couldn’t imagine a life without learning how to cook … It draws a lot of people to our house.”
  — Kay Robertson [04:11]

• “Practice hospitality. And check this out—without grumbling. … You finally get a big pot of gumbo. … As they're leaving, you shouldn't be saying, 'I cannot believe the amount they ate.'”
  — Phil Robertson [07:40]

• “We're a blank canvas … We would go back through [our trials] all again if that's what it takes to be where we are today.”
  — Lisa Robertson [10:18]

• “When I think about this house … This is our sanctuary. … That’s what this represents to me: a house full of love.”
  — Jessica Robertson [15:43]

• “It goes in the face of all these arguments … that maybe kids should be aborted rather than come up in difficult situations … when I see a kid like this … that was born, had zero people … that's sobering…”
  — Jep Robertson [17:59]

• “He showed me the gospel … He came, he died. There goes my sin penalty. … He’s made us perfect forever.”
  — Phil Robertson [23:19-25:36]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [01:01] Phil Robertson on Christ’s sacrifice and grace
• [03:54-07:40] Kay Robertson shares about her passion for cooking and family hospitality
• [08:49-09:42] Uncle Si’s Tupperware cup; family stories
• [10:08-12:19] Lisa and Al reflect on blank canvas—God’s transformative work in their marriage
• [12:40-15:31] Willie’s “Human Jukebox” childhood story; humor and resourcefulness
• [15:36-20:59] Jessica and Jep discuss adoption and creating a loving home
• [23:08-25:36] Phil’s redemption story: returning to family through faith
• [25:48-26:29] Jim Daly and John Fuller reflect on the Robertsons’ testimonies

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Tone and Language

The conversation is warm, candid, often humorous, and deeply rooted in Christian hope. Transparent discussions about mistakes and hardship are balanced with laughter and gentle teasing, especially among family members. The Robertsons’ direct style—especially Phil’s unapologetic faith—shines through, making their message on God’s redemptive love accessible and relatable.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• God’s redemption can remake any story, no matter how broken.
• Family traditions, hospitality, and transparency are powerful tools for passing faith across generations.
• Honesty about struggles helps others see and receive God’s grace.
• Adoption, fostering, and opening your heart expand the meaning of family in Christ.
• Faith is not about perfection—it’s about leaning into God’s forgiveness and forging ahead together.

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This episode is a heartfelt reminder that family, faith, and forgiveness are at the center of a meaningful Christmas, and that every person—whatever their past—can thrive in Christ.

Transcript

[Jim Daly]

Hi, this is Jim Daly. I hope you and your family are experiencing a godly sense of hope and joy this Christmas season. I'm so thankful you've joined us today for more Bible based encouragement for your marriage, parenting and faith. And in this season of giving, we invite you to join our support team here at focus on the family. At this time of year, we typically raise nearly 50% of our annual budget. That means your financial support is crucial, especially now when we have a matching gift opportunity of $8 million. That represents a lot of ministry and every little bit you contribute will have double the impact. $25 becomes 50 and 50100 and so on. This is your opportunity to be part of our family rescue team. Give now before December 31st to help us meet this match. Call 800-A- Family or [e-mail] family.

[Phil Robertson]

He came, he died. There goes my sin penalty. And the drunkenness stopped. The cursing stopped. By one sacrifice. All your past sins removed, forgotten, gone. And on top of that, none of your future sins. Because he's at the right hand of the Father. You make mistakes as you follow Jesus. He's made us perfect forever.

[John Fuller]

Well, that is the late Phil Robertson, and you're going to hear more from him and most of the Robertson family today on FOCUS on THE FAMILY with Jim Daly. Merry Christmas. I'm John Fuller.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, Merry Christmas to everyone. You know, with Phil's passing in May this last year, the program you're about to hear is even more meaningful, especially if you're a fan of their hit television show Duck Dynasty. And you know, the one thing I loved, I probably went down to Phil and Ms. Kay's home about four times and taped with them. He was one of the most amazingly direct, clarifying voices when it came to the faith. I mean, he just set it straight so everybody could understand. There wasn't gentle, nuanced language just like that clip. It was very direct. And a couple of years ago, we hosted a special event at Sea Island. It's a resort there in Georgia. And for the first time ever, all 13 members of the Robertson clan, including Phil's recently discovered daughter, gathered on stage. And it was awesome. We gave each family member an ornament that symbolized something about their lives. So you'll hear some of their fun stories and fond memories and you'll probably laugh, too. The Robertsons aren't shy about sharing their faith and the way the Lord redeemed their stories. Each of them has experienced trials of one sort or another. And I'm sure that will continue as long as they're on this earth and they have come out on the other side of those trials proclaiming God's glory. As we're all celebrating Christmas today, this conversation will remind you of God's goodness and love.

[John Fuller]

And you're going to hear from Phil and Kay and Al and Lisa and Jace and Missy and Willie and Corey and Jep and Jessica. And as Jim mentioned, Phil's daughter Phyllis. Even Uncle Sigh is in this presentation. We're going to begin now as Ms. K received her special Christmas ornament.

[Jim Daly]

I think we're going to start with Ms. K. Go ahead, Al.

[Al Robertson]

All right, mom, open up your gift. Mom loves opening gifts.

[Kay Robertson]

All right, so, mom, these are so cute.

[Al Robertson]

All right, so you got a whisk and a rolling pin, and I use.

[Kay Robertson]

Them all the time.

[Al Robertson]

Right. And so obviously that means a lot about cooking. So we want you to tell a little bit about why cooking is important and kind of how that came about. How did you learn how to do what you do?

[Kay Robertson]

Well, I lived half the time with my grandmother because we had a big store in the town. It was the biggest store in the town. We lived of about 300 people. But so I got to stay with my nanny, and her whole thing was on cooking, cooking and cooking and cooking more. So she let me start helping her. I love rolling out the dough. I learned so much with her, and it was just so fun. I mean, I just couldn't imagine a life without learning how to cook. Well, then I did really well, some learning her stuff and. But then when I hooked up, was right here. My other half, maybe better half, I don't know. But his mother cooked different than my grandma did. So what did I have to do? Learn how to cook like his mother cooked. But I mastered that. And then I even came out with some of my own recipes myself. And I'm not a scholar or anything like that. In fact, I barely made it through high school. But I promised them I'd bring them some cookies, teachers, you know, I bribed and stuff like that. And I made it. I did. They're smart because foods were. Foods help you use the talent you have. Mine was cooking and food and anyway, and then I learned to cook like Phil's mother. So he was happy, happy boy. And so anyway, food has always been important. Not just the food, but the kitchen. And I mean, I even had Jason's daughter over and brought 10 or 15, I don't know how many of her classmates in college to learn how to make chicken and dumplings. I was thrilled. They wanted me to teach them that. We were. While learning it, they learned how to roll the dough and put them in. And it was a fun night. We had to get rid of Phil, of course. He would have been in there with Fox News or something. So we sent him over to our workers. But I'm going to tell you something. I was just thrilled that my grandkids wanted me to teach their friends how to cook. And most of my boys can cook. Not as well as others. Alan's a dessert man. Willie can cook anything under the sun and add more and more and more stuff. So Willie. Willie's really a good cook. Allen's got the desserts down. Jason can cook a lot of good wild game and stuff, or probably. I know, I just remember I always see him and cook fried potatoes really well and other things. And where's my other son? Jep? Yeah, Jep, he cooks.

[Willie Robertson]

He's the baby.

[Kay Robertson]

He's the baby. He's the sweeter one, of course, but he can cook. He can cook very well. Him and his wife both are great cooks, but most all my daughter in laws are. Cory's a little slow around the edge. But I'm gonna tell you something. She loves me. She loves me. And she's got many other talents, too. It's not just in cooking. That's just my field. And it's what I love and it's my passion. And I think it draws a lot of people to our house. What do you think, Phil?

[Phil Robertson]

No doubt about it. A lot of them. We have taken hospitality to a new level. It's mentioned about five times. Practice hospitality. And check this out. Without grumbling, you say, why would Peter the Apostle, when he wrote that, why would he add without grumbling? Because you work and you work. You finally get a big pot of gumbo. You've worked on it all day. It's perfect. As they're leaving, going up the road, you shouldn't be saying, I cannot believe the amount they ate.

[Al Robertson]

So who's next on the list?

[Jim Daly]

Although who taught who to do squirrel? Did you start the squirrel?

[Kay Robertson]

Dale's mother taught me how to do squirrel. And I'm gonna tell you something. I love to eat squirrel. I know you think it's gross, but I mean, he's a good eat. If you're starving, you'll like it.

[Al Robertson]

We better move along or this is the K show right here. All right, Si. What you got open yours up size, Gil?

[Phil Robertson]

I got a Tupperware cup with a.

[Kay Robertson]

String on it and it's Got.

[Phil Robertson]

Merry Christmas, Jack.

[Al Robertson]

So what does the Tupperware cup mean to you, Sam?

[Willie Robertson]

End of story.

[Phil Robertson]

That's all you got, boys.

[Kay Robertson]

Okay, wait, wait, wait. Didn't she send you the Tupperware cup to Vietnam?

[Jessica Robertson]

I thought that was part of the story.

[Jep Robertson]

Well, okay, well, look, that's the better story.

[Kay Robertson]

Look, hey, when you got as many stories, if I got.

[Phil Robertson]

It's hard to keep them straight. So, look, I went to Vietnam. I was in college first with this man and two of my older brothers, okay? And see, they didn't understand I majored.

[Jep Robertson]

In women and minored in party.

[Willie Robertson]

So eventually, Sy did go to Vietnam and did get Tupperware cups sent to him.

[Kay Robertson]

Oh, good night, everyone.

[Jessica Robertson]

Good night.

[Willie Robertson]

Hey, it's been great seeing you.

[Kay Robertson]

I'm sorry about you chasing rabbits. I forgot all about step work up.

[Willie Robertson]

Y' all got sides. That's what we call good side.

[Phil Robertson]

What do you want to do? Who's up next?

[Al Robertson]

All right. Who's up next?

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, I think it's you.

[Jessica Robertson]

Is it me?

[Jim Daly]

Yeah.

[Al Robertson]

All right, let's open it up.

[Jim Daly]

There you go.

[Lisa Robertson]

All right, so this looks like a blank canvas.

[Al Robertson]

Blank canvas.

[Willie Robertson]

Blank canvas.

[Al Robertson]

Blank canvas.

[Lisa Robertson]

So what could it possibly mean?

[Jim Daly]

What do you think?

[Lisa Robertson]

I don't know, but here's what I think. I think that. That Alan and I are so transparent with our lives and. And with the mistakes that we've made and what. And then again, what the Lord has done in our life that, you know, we're just. We're a blank canvas. And whatever he wants to put on here, wherever he wants to take us, whatever he wants to lead us into, that's where we're going. Because we're so grateful for him bringing us through the tough times and the hard times wherever. You know, we think back to where we were as to where we are now, and. And we both say the same thing. And this took a long time to get there. The things that we have went through in our. In our lives, in our. In our marriage, we would go back through them all again. If that's the way that God has for us to be where we are today, if we could be in the same spot, we'll do it all over again. That's how grateful we are. That's how blessed we are, and that's how much we're just so excited to do what we do today.

[Al Robertson]

Our partnership with Focus came about because we met Jim. And to be honest, when we went out to do the radio show, I didn't really know the setup. I never met Jim before, and 10 minutes in his office, I knew I was like, we're going to be friends. Because he said it last night, perfection is not required. And that's what I love about Focus on the Family. Focus on the Family is focusing on sometimes the difficulties of a family and how to help people get better. And so we partnered with a book with Focus called Desperate Forgiveness. It's now one of the resource books for Focus. And we couldn't be prouder of being able to do that with Focus. So I think you nailed it, babe. That's our blank canvas.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah. If you haven't heard that program, download it from the website or the app because it's one of the most powerful stories. It will bless you about mistakes and God's grace in the do overs. And this couple right here magnifies it so very well. That's awesome. Will and Corey.

[Willie Robertson]

I hope it's miniature. Oh, that's a mini jukebox.

[Jep Robertson]

Wow.

[Willie Robertson]

No idea.

[Kay Robertson]

I think they want you to sing, babe.

[Willie Robertson]

Yeah. So in order to. When we grew up, we were really poor and.

[Jep Robertson]

Right. Kay.

[Willie Robertson]

We were poor.

[Kay Robertson]

Yeah, we were poor. Free lunch is enough.

[Willie Robertson]

So I was always trying to hustle up money and I came up with this idea and it was called the Human Jukebox. And so it was not near as lucrative as the gum and candy. But what you do is you would put a quarter in my armpit and then I would mechanically drop it into my pocket and. And you would punch on my chest and you would pick a song for me to sing for a quarter. I mean, I had no money in it. It was just, you know, it was good money. And so I would sing. So Al has this eight track player and so Al had all these eight tracks. And I'd memorize all the lyrics to these songs. The song that everybody always wanted to hear was this song called Jukebox Hero by a Foreigner. So once Doug Dynasty started, we were in la. I was in there talking to an agent who is going to represent us. And I look in the restaurant and I see Guy Fieri sitting at the table. And I am freaking out. I'm like, so I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting till right at the right moment when he stands up and I slid in there and I said, guy, how you doing? Love your show. I love to eat, I love traveling, I love everything about you. And I was so excited. And there's a guy beside him, stands up. He's this tall guy, long hair, sunglasses on, 10 o' clock at night. And I'm thinking LA. And he goes, this is Kelly Hanson. He's a lead singer Foreigner. And I'm looking, I go, oh, when I was in fifth grade, I did this thing called the Human Jukebox.

[Al Robertson]

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

[Willie Robertson]

Standing in the rain with his head hung low. And I'm looking at this cat and he is not smiling. He's not making any gestures. He's just staring at me like, I mean. And I'm going, well, anyway, I'm a big fan. And he goes, hang on. He tilted the sunglasses down. He goes, is that when you were peeing the bed? And I thought, how does he know I peed the bed? We ain't even wrote a book yet. And I'm like, how did he know that? And then it hit me. Si made fun of me on the TV show about peeing the bed. And I said, did you? And he goes, willie, I've never missed an episode of Duck Dynasty. The Human jukebox was real.

[Jim Daly]

Seems like it worked. That's awesome, Jace.

[Willie Robertson]

It's a teeny tiny house.

[Jep Robertson]

It's a house.

[Jessica Robertson]

Let's think.

[Jep Robertson]

There's a lot going on in our house right now.

[Jessica Robertson]

There is a lot going on in our house. But when I look at this and I think about our house, I think about our children, and I think most of us up here have children that were not our own, that became our own, whether on paper or just in our hearts. And so we had, I think as a little girl, I said, when I grow up, I'm going to have two boys and a girl and I'm going to have one girl because I want to spoil her. I remember saying that as a child when we grew up, had two boys and a girl. And then we had another girl who was 18, who came a part of our family just a few years ago from Nicaragua. She's a total orphaned and worked her way up, got a scholarship in Germany through a long story. But she basically, during the unrest in Nicaragua, could not get back home. And through her pastor there who knew us, called us and said, can she stay at your house for about a month before because she has a full ride scholarship to college in the usa. I said, sure, we'll let her stay in our guest room. And when she came and we found out her story, we fell in love with her. She had no family and she became ours and we became hers. And that was four and a half years ago. So she's ours. Even though it's not on paper. She's our family. And then we have a grandbaby and another one on the way. So I consider that my kids of some sort of. But then about eight months ago, the Lord dropped, literally dropped a brand new baby into our laps. And we've had him for the past eight months. And we don't know what his future is. We don't know what his story is going to be. But when I think about this house, I think about all the things that we all have done for children and for our families. This is our sanctuary. And we teach our children the word of God, how to pray to God, singing songs to God and praises to him. And now we're doing that all over again with someone who's not even our family because he doesn't have that for him in his life. So that's what this represents to me is a house full of love.

[Jep Robertson]

Good job, baby. I got one. Yeah, he's been a blessing. I mean, look, we've realized there's a reason people in their 50s are not having kids anymore. So being honest. But you notice more now about subtleties that I took for granted when my kids were here. And you know, it goes in the face of all these arguments in our world that these kids that, you know, they might just ought to be aborted rather than come up in difficult situations. And when I see a kid like this that was born, that had zero people, zero. Zero family come forward and say, hey, we'll take care of him, I mean, that's just sobering in and of itself to imagine that to be born on a planet where no one wants to step up and say, you're worth something. So somewhere through that, when you see him smile and look, he's never met a stranger, huh, babe? He's way better a baby than any of our kids were. Come out of chaos. So it's been a blessing. And there's. There's a verse in Hebrews 12 that says, you know, let's fix our eyes on Jesus and throw off the sin that so easily entangles. We remember that, but it also says, and the things that weigh us down. And I finally realized that there's a lot of things that God gives us that may be difficult and they may weigh you down, but they're actually blessings. It's just the way we're handling it is what's weighing us down. And so when you get your attitude right and realize, you know, this is a gift from God, it tends to put things into perspective. But I was just going to say, when you read the Bible in Acts 17, God does not live in buildings Built by hands. You read Hebrews 3. 4. It says every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. My point is, it's not in buildings. It's not in a house or how big it is, because our house was really small, and my parents made a lot of money, and guess what? They live in the same small house. But God is the things. That. Is the. Is the one that makes things grow. And we've. The reason we've stuck together and flourished through the wilderness and through success is because our faith and trust was in that there's a God. We acknowledge our flaws and difficulties because, let's face it, we're all flawed. We don't even act to be smart or experts on anything. But we just are who we are, and we believe that God uses us in spite of our difficulties to make Jesus look real good.

[Jim Daly]

Man, that is so, so good. Yeah.

[Jep Robertson]

Give him a hand.

[Jim Daly]

I think it's Jeff and Jessica, right? I don't know where your little gift is. There it is.

[Jep Robertson]

I'm the quiet one, as you can tell.

[Jim Daly]

How did you survive in this family?

[Jep Robertson]

Barely, to be honest with you.

[Phil Robertson]

I just.

[Jep Robertson]

No, my mom spoiled you.

[Willie Robertson]

He's the bear.

[Jep Robertson]

Okay. So we got a Texas. Yes. So we moved to Texas for a while. Do you want to tell the story or you think we have breaking news here?

[Jeff Robertson]

Oh, my gosh. So after the show ended, we. We're the babies of both families. We never went off to college, so we were like, let's do something different. Our kids were little. We were homeschooling, and so we moved to Texas. Austin, Texas. And we had a lot of friends there. We lived there for five years. It was great. We found a great school. We found an awesome church to go to. It was great for our kids. And now our two oldest are actually at acu. So we decided, obviously, when our kids were older, like when they were graduating high school, going to college, we were like, we really miss family. We really want to be home. And my parents are there, my sisters, and so we were just kind of biding our time till the kids graduated. But we were so happy because we moved back to our house on the same street as all the brothers. That's right. So we're back with family, and we're loving it. And what else you want to say about Texas? I love Texas.

[Jep Robertson]

No, we had a great time. I think it was a good experience for us. We had never lived anywhere else in our life, so it really brought us together. And we didn't have a lot of Help like, we didn't, you know, we were our own babysitters for our kids. And it was good. We learned a lot. I think we grew in the Lord. But I'm really happy to be back home with family. And we miss you guys. We love you.

[Jim Daly]

All right, Phil, you have your box there, and that'll give you a chance to respond and kind of talk about this.

[Phil Robertson]

It's a little truck.

[Al Robertson]

I think it's supposed to represent the truck that you. When you drove to Monroe to tell mom you wanted your family back, how that changed her life.

[Phil Robertson]

I did. I pulled up, you know, I'd run her off.

[Kay Robertson]

And he kicked us out, me and the kids.

[Phil Robertson]

You know, all these texts you read in the Bible, you know, about the love of Jesus. He did this incredible showing up. He dies a horrible death for idiots like me. Sinful men. And guaranteed we could be raised from the dead. Trust me when I tell you I had that old truck. I pulled up in the parking lot where she was working, and the day finally came where I said, okay, I'm done with Satan. So a guy came to me. He put the gospel on me. I didn't even know what it was. He asked me, you know, you probably obeyed the gospel. I said, obey the gospel. How do you do that? He went on to show me. Starts with faith and Jesus. Death, burial, resurrection. He came, he died. There goes my sin penalty. And the drunkenness stopped, the cursing stopped by one sacrifice. All your past sins removed, forgotten, gone. And on top of that, none of your future sins because he's at the right hand of the Father. After he died, was buried, raised, went back, sat down, sat down at the right hand of God 24, 7. You make mistakes as you follow Jesus. He's made us perfect forever. The Hebrew writer said, as we're being made holy, but we still make mistakes not counted against you. He's made us perfect through blood shed on a cross. When I came to that realization, and, boy, did life ever change for me.

[John Fuller]

Well, what a fun and wonderful Christmas conversation with the Robertson family on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I can listen to them time and again. Jim, it's so enjoyable.

[Jim Daly]

They are great storytellers, and we had an amazing time. This particular event. I was touched by the way Ms. K and the four brothers embraced Phil's daughter Phyllis. None of them shy away from talking about the choices they made, kind of those hard lessons they learned. But they plainly acknowledged the way God intervened in their lives and called them to something higher, something different, something holy. And I hope you've enjoyed reminiscing with the Robertson family. Christmas is a great time to reflect on God's goodness, his mercy, and the love he has for us as we celebrate the birth of Christ. And I pray your Christmas is a blessed one.

[John Fuller]

And if you'd like to celebrate more with the Robertsons, you can kind of prepare for next year by getting a copy of Phil and Kay's terrific book exploring the Joy of Christmas. We've got it here at the ministry and when you make a donation of any amount to Focus on the Family today, we'll send you that copy. And like I said, you can have it ready to go for Christmas 2026.

[Jim Daly]

And let me remind you that Focus on the Family is here for we have top notch resources to help you in your faith, your marriage and your parenting. From online articles to videos to books to a team of caring Christian counselors who can provide you with answers and direction when you order books through Focus on the Family. The proceeds go right back into helping couples on the verge of divorce, families in crisis, bewildered parents, and others who really need a touch of hope. Christmas is the perfect time to deliver hope and joy to families in crisis through of Focus on the Family. So donate today, donate today and get.

[John Fuller]

Your copy of the book exploring the Joy of Christmas when you click the link in the show notes. Well, thanks for listening today to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. And again from all of us here at Focus on the Family, we trust that it's been a really rich, blessed Christmas Day so far. Join us again tomorrow for another of our best of 2025 programs. We'll hear from Jay and Laura Laffoon. They'll have helpful advice for fun dates with your spouse and if you understand.

[Al Robertson]

Coming into it what the so called.

[John Fuller]

Purpose of this evening is.

[Jim Daly]

Yeah, that's good.

[Phil Robertson]

It becomes a lot easier to put the phone down to focus on your.

[John Fuller]

Spouse and to really make a concerted.

[Phil Robertson]

Effort to meet them where they're at.

[John Fuller]

On behalf of the entire team, thanks again for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I'm John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.

[Jessica Robertson]

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[Kay Robertson]

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[Jessica Robertson]

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[Kay Robertson]

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[Jessica Robertson]

On beauty and fashion, fun activities and teen girl articles, all written from a biblical worldview to help her grow closer to Jesus. Subscribe [e-mail] shop that's B R I O magazine com shop.