KNOWING

(Myself)

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. ... You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

— C. S. LEWIS

SO I'VE GOT THIS FAMILY ...

Who we are is largely defined by the family we are born into. Have you ever thought how different your life would be if you weren't born in the twentieth or twenty- first century? Or if you didn't have your particular parents, or live in your particular town? I have. When I was thirteen, I traveled to England with Mamaw Jo to visit my 2-Mama and 2-Papa. They were living in Oxford, England, for one semester as guests of a professor at Oxford University. This worked out pretty great for me because I got to see England at a young age.

We visited castles and prisons, and even where some of Harry Potter was filmed. At one castle, we got to fight with fake swords and play games they had in medieval times. I imagined myself as a little boy with no TV or cell phone. I thought how different my life would be if my parents were king and queen, or if my dad were a prison guard and my mom a maid in the fifteenth century. There, surrounded by castle walls that were dark and dingy with age, in a country that is centuries older than America, it was easy to let my imagination run wild and picture a different life.

But that's not the life I've had. I was born in 1995 to Korie and Willie Robertson in West Monroe, Louisiana. I was my parents' firstborn and the first grandchild born on my mom's side of the family, so that honor came with all the attention you would expect a firstborn to get. I have a lot of baby photos that feature me — with about ten pairs of hands touching me. From the beginning, I'm happy to say I was loved.

My life journey is my own and no one else's. It is the same for you too. One famous king in the Bible, King David, captured perfectly how unique our identities are in Psalm 139: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13–14 ESV).

Understanding that God created you for this very time is critical for knowing your purpose. When we dwell in a life that isn't ours, we are in danger of missing the amazing plans God has for us. When you were born, where you live, whose child you are, where you go to school — all of these details are part of who you are and are part of the life story you are writing. We aren't defined by these details, but God can use them — if we let Him — to shape us for our good and His glory.

Before you start traveling toward a destination, you have to know where you're starting from. The same holds true for life: in order to figure out where you want to go, you first have to know who you are. So ... who are you? You're not your name, your address, your cell phone number. You're not just your parents' kid, or how many siblings you have. So take a second and think: who you are at your very core?

To help you get started, I'll tell you more of my story.

Who Am I?

Some people are known by one name. Oprah. Jordan. Elvis. Drake.

I'm one of those people who gets to go by two.

My dad was a huge fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation back in the day, and it's rumored that Dad liked Captain Jean-Luc Picard so much that he became my namesake. But my grandpa's name is John, and my great- grandpa's name was Luke, so either way, my name comes with good roots.

I'm one of the younger generation on Duck Dynasty, and a teen who has become an adult in front of millions. The first episode of the show aired on March_21, 2012, when I was sixteen years old and the show had over 1.8 million viewers.

That's quite a way to introduce yourself to the world.

Since we had been filming long before the first episode aired, my entire high school experience was centered on a reality television show. So many amazing things happened during those years. Our family got to travel to places like Hawaii and attend events, like the Country Music Awards, that would've only been a dream if the show didn't exist. But there are two sides to every coin, and the show didn't come without some challenges.

During my teen years, when most people would rather hide, the country was discovering things about me that even I wasn't aware of. Like how I'm awkward sometimes. Or how I look in the dentist's chair after anesthesia. Or what my dating life was like. Or how many times my father has to say, "John Luke!"

I do have to ask myself this question: if the show hadn't already introduced me to the world, how would I introduce myself? I'm a married man now, so I asked my wife, Mary Kate — the person who knows me best — some things people might not know about me. She said the following:

• He's a dreamer. (Absolutely.)

• He's oblivious to the world around him. (Wait — what world?)

• He's smart. (Good to know. I thought she loved me for my looks!)

• His favorite snack is sourdough bread with olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. (Love it — who doesn't?)

• He reads more books than I thought humanly possible. (And I want to keep reading even more.)

• He hates Doritos. (And the mess they leave on your hands after eating them. Not that I actually eat them.)

I like that Mary Kate said I'm a dreamer and I'm smart. I think both of those traits are a result of another trait she listed — I am a reader. I've spent hours buried in books when I'm sure Mary Kate and others would've preferred I was doing something else.

But I absolutely love reading. I can't ever read too much. As I share my life and my story in this book, I want to also share lots of other books that have inspired me. Those books and their authors have had a huge impact on my life. I hope to inspire you to crack open more books on a regular basis. They're an incredible source of wisdom, and one of them might just change your entire outlook on life. One thing's for certain: books have helped define exactly who I am.

In the Infernal Devices series, author Cassandra Clare sums up my view of the written word perfectly: "One must always be careful of books ... and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us." Maybe this quote is a warning to you as a reader. This book, like any book, should change you. So, if you like where you are, you'd...