Mother’s Day

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Titus 2:3-5 (NASB)
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,
4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

I realize that Mother’s Day was yesterday, but I wanted to write some of my thoughts about the day that we have set aside for moms.  I know that not everyone has the same feelings about Mother’s Day as I have, but I think that the day can be a very special day.  I also understand that the day can bring about negative feelings or sadness for some who have lost their moms in the past year or moms who have lost children.  I pray that as you read this, your thoughts are of the preciousness of your mom or your children.

Yesterday as I was praying and thanking God for my mom, Shirley Watson, I was reminded of the special lady who gave me life and chose to give me up for adoption.  You see, that lady made a very brave choice in 1962 to allow her pregnancy to develop to full term and then give birth to someone who she would never see or hold or know anything about.  I am sure yesterday, if she is still living, she would wonder about that little boy that she gave birth to.  I just want to say thank you to God for giving her the courage and strength to do what she did.

My mom, Shirley Watson, _on the other hand had the strength and courage along with my dad, Doyle Watson, to adopt three children from situations they did not know a whole lot about.  As I was growing up, Mom was always there for me.  I remember one day sliding down a slide in our backyard right into an ant hill.  I was covered with ants and she took care of me.  I remember when Bimbo died.  I was about 4 and how she consoled me.  My mom chose to stay at home and work with her three children to make sure they had the very best and very safe place to live.  We might not have had everything, but we had everything that was important.  When I go home to Nederland now, I still go to the house that I grew up in.  Sure there have been add-ons and the street has been widened, but it is still the house on the corner that carries so many memories.  As I have gotten older, I have wondered how we could play such wonderful games of kick-ball in our small backyard.  So many of the neighborhood kids came to our house to play.  There was always Mom there to help referee when needed as well as provide refreshments to everyone.  Mom taught me so much as I was growing up.  She taught me how to be fair with others as well as to accept others, regardless of their backgrounds.  She taught me discipline in many areas of my life.  She always wanted me to be as well rounded as possible.  (I think I’m rounded in areas she did not intend now though.)  I remember her wanting me to continue taking piano lessons even though I thought they interfered with my basketball playing.  I guess I could go on for a long time reminiscing about growing up with a mom that chose to adopt me and love me unconditionally.  Sometimes even now she helps me see the truth in life and how to apply it daily with the people closest to me.

This morning on the TV, while I was at the gym, some ladies were talking about the different attitudes toward motherhood.  I actually got aggravated with some of their opinions. (It was the only thing on the TV’s in the gym at the time.)  Let me tell you.  Having a mom that put you before life itself and maybe her personal dreams and aspirations is the greatest gift a person can ever have.  The example of love and devotion that I received growing up on the corner of 21st and Elgin in Nederland, TX is something that can never be replaced.  Thank you Mom for loving Dad with all of your heart (for 58 years this summer) as well as giving yourself totally to your three children!!!!  What an example of a Titus 2 woman you have been for all around you.  Thanks again.

A Testimony of Faith

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This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the home of a couple that I would consider one of the best friends in my life.  We have been friends for the past 17 years and our children have been close to the same age.  We have been on double dates together, eaten in each other’s homes and even gone on several church trips together.  Our friendship has gone through many different stages over the years: yet each time we get together, there is a connection that bridges any gap that has been caused by our schedules, our family events, or even differences of opinions.  I know that the connection is only attributed to the love we have for each other and the relationship with Christ that surpasses all of our other relationships.

I want to share with you this couple’s testimony of what God is doing in their lives.  It was such an honor to be in their home Saturday night even though they are experiencing some very difficult times.  Some of you who read my musings will know this couple while many of you will not.  Knowledge of the couple will not enhance their testimony other than to be able to pray for them by name.  I am writing about Richard and Cindy Hodde.  Cindy has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) a few months ago.  I have read some about the disease but I am not sure I still understand all there is to know about ALS.  What I do know is that Cindy is at the point of being bedridden.  She has lost a tremendous amount of weight and most of her physical strength.  I also know that there is no known cure for ALS which can be disheartening.  Lisa and I along with Caleb spent about ninety minutes just talking and remembering a great deal of our families’ past.  We ended the conversation with Cindy sharing her faith with us concerning her disease and her prognosis.  I was totally blown away.  I talk all the time about living by faith.  I encourage people to “Be still and know that I am God…Ps. 46:10” in my office almost every day.  Cindy shared with us that she was challenged with thoughts about God from the very beginning of this episode in her life.  She questioned if she truly believed the stories in the Bible of Jesus healing the lame, blind, and lepers.  She questioned if she truly believed that Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the grave after being dead for four days.  She came to the realization that these were not just stories, but they were actual facts of life that has taken place through the work of God who loves greater than anyone can ever love.  She was then led to the verse, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”(Heb. 13:8) As she grappled with her beliefs of what was said in the Bible, she concluded that the Bible is just as true today as when it was written.  Therefore, if God healed in scripture than He still heals today.  She is living with the hope of the fact that God loves her so much that Jesus redeemed her for His purposes.  Even when the doctors tell her that there is not much hope, she focuses on the truth of who God is to her and the fact that He is still at work in her life.  Knowing God to her is not just from reading a book about the Bible or listening to a sermon about God; her knowledge of God is from her experience of faith that she is living every day.  Every day as she talks to people, she is always sharing her faith in the Living Savior who is at work in her physical life as well as her spiritual life.  Thank you Cindy and Richard for allowing me to experience your faith this past weekend.

I want to challenge you just as I have been challenged to live in faith in a God who is very much alive and working just as He has done from the beginning of all creation.  No matter what the situation is that you have encountered, God is there and is working.  Let me ask you, “Who is God to you?”  Have you experienced Him today?

McCoy’s Stand

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I can honestly say that I am proud to be called a Longhorn fan after last night’s game against Alabama.  Yes there is a level of disappointment and frustration with the loss.  Yes I would have loved to see Colt McCoy play the entire game.  I would have been less frustrated if some of the penalties that were called or not called been different.  No one will ever know what would have happened if McCoy would not have gotten hurt, the outcome might have been the very same.

One of the things that made me proud last night was the fact that there was no quit in the team.  Even though their number one offensive producer was no longer on the field, the team kept playing.  Yes, there were some major mistakes and dropped passes, but everyone was still playing with pride.

Another thing that made me proud was the attitude that McCoy had once he came to the sideline.  He was as involved in the game as he could be.  He was extremely optimistic and supportive of his backup, Gilbert.  He was talking with the coaches and helping call the plays.  He was being a team leader even though he was not on the field.

Finally, McCoy took his stand (as he always has) for his relationship with God through Christ.  He showed that he is a man of faith, knowing that there are more important aspects of life than that on the football field.  What courage he showed at the conclusion of the game as he was being interviewed.  He also showed great sportsmanship as he congratulated the Alabama team and his backup.  He made the interview about what was important to him – Being Christ-like!!

I know that there are other college athletes that are good representatives of Christ and I applaud them as well.  But today, I applaud Colt McCoy of standing up for his beliefs in a very difficult time in his life.  I thank God for his testimony and his willingness to share his faith on the world stage.

The Image in the Mirror

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Why is it so difficult to look at our own image in the mirror?  I mean, really taking a long look into the true self.  I realize that every morning when we are brushing our teeth, shaving (if male), putting on make-up (if female), and fixing our hair (if we have it) we look into the mirror.  When we look into the mirror in the mornings, we don’t look deep into the interior of the soul.  We look at how we can make the exterior look as good as possible.  I have not met too many people who take deep looks into the recesses of their souls; answering the “who, what, when, and why’s” of themselves.  Those questions usually take a great deal of time to answer.  They require us to look past the exterior and into the interior.  The questions demand a serious gaze into our make-up as a person.  Many of us would have to unpack baggage that has been in our personal attic for many, many years in order to truly answer such questions.  What a scary thought!!!  Why would we really want to uncover things that have been hidden for twenty years or more?  If we have been able to hide these bags from ourselves, then they must be hidden from everyone else as well.  At least that it what we want to believe about our unlovely baggage.

I want to share a couple of thoughts today that hopefully will be encouraging to each of us.

  • We are created in the image of the Almighty God.  In Gen. 1, God says “let us create man in our image.”  Now I realize that each one of us has our own distinct look.  The verse is not talking about the physical characteristics, but the total make-up as a person.  Another thought along these lines is that an image is a reflection of the original source.  God created us to reflect Him.
  • God knows all about us and still loves us.  Psalm 139 instructs us in this fact.  The psalmist shares that God knows every thought, every word, and every deed about each of us.  There is no where we can go to hide from Him, because He is already there.  Now if God knows all about us, then that means that He also knows about all the bags that we have hidden in the attic.  So they are not truly hidden.
  • God has a plan for our lives that leads us to the abundant life.  His plan for each of us is unique just as our facial features are unique.

Why do I share these points today?  I believe that when we understand these important facts, we can look into that proverbial mirror and answer those very difficult questions.  In our different relationships, if we have unpacked bags the bags begin to weigh us down so that we cannot truly enjoy the relationship we are in.  Who is looking back at you when you look into the mirror?  Do you like him/her?  Do you even know him/her?

Birthday Thoughts

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Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Today as I reflect on my life, I am reminded of the circumstances of my birth.  Even though they are very sketchy at best for me, I marvel at what God has done in spite of what would seem to be poor circumstances.  What I know about my birth is this:  My biological mom was an older teenager, either 18 or 19.  She was tall and liked to play Volleyball and Basketball as well as liking math in high school.  She was not married to my biological dad, who was several years older than she. (If my facts are straight.)  I do not know anything about him.  My biological mom supposedly had a brother that played football, either professional or just college, and was a lineman.  (Therefore, I have the genes for my excuse of my size. LOL)  In 1962, the stigma of being pregnant without a husband was so much greater than it is now.  Now it seems that pregnancy is a badge of honor for so many of the girls.  I digress.  Anyway this girl went to a home for unwed mothers to have her baby.  What she didn’t know is that the home in Pilot Point where she went had already placed a daughter in Doyle and Shirley Watson’s home.  She also did not know that the Watsons had requested a son just a few months prior to her arriving.  Furthermore, she did not know that Doyle Watson played Basketball at East Texas Baptist College (back then, now University) and led them to the NAIA Final Four two of the three years he played with them while majoring in math.  She did not know these things, but God did as well as the administrators of the home.  God was working through all the circumstances to get me exactly where He wanted me to be.

On this day in 1962, my biological mom gave birth to me and named me Jackie Lynn.  The administrators called Doyle and Shirley Watson and told them that their son had been born.  My parents thought they would have to wait longer as the waiting list for a son was up to two years long.  God was at work though.  The Watsons were told that this was a perfect match and they needed to come to Pilot Point to get me.  Thankfully, when my parents got me they immediately changed my name to Bradley Doyle Watson.  I don’t think I look like a Jackie Lynn. (No offense to anyone with that name is intended.)

You see the Watsons have been committed Christians for a long time.  They raised their three children in church.  I have only gone back to FBC Nederland a few times since I left in 1985 for seminary, but many of the people there remember me as a small child still to this day.  I have many wonderful memories of my growing up years in church as well as many that I am not too proud of while at church.  I could create a stir every once in a while.  But this is not about my behavior; it is about what God did from the very moment of my conception in order to carry out His plans for my life.

I thank the teenager that had the courage to carry me and then the generosity to give me to someone else.  I thank the administrators of the Nazarene Home for Unwed Mothers in Pilot Point, TX that had the discernment to realize that the Watsons were a perfect match.  You be the judge if this was a perfect match or not.

IMG_0090 Parents

I thank Doyle and Shirley Watson for taking a chance of adopting not just one child, but three so that I could grow up in a family that loves God and loves each other.  Most of all I thank God for knowing me from the very beginning and designing my life in a way that I would know Him and follow Him.  I thank God for calling me to serve Him in full time ministry and now for allowing me to share that love not just through the church but also through counseling others and writing my thoughts.  God’s plans are definitely working.

Psalms 139:16 (ESV)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Purpose Statement

I provide Biblical Counseling for:
  • People who are hurting in their marriages and families.
  • People who are hurting emotionally and spiritually.
  • People who are seeking freedom from the bondage in their lives.

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Location & Phone Number

5411 PLAZA DR STE G
TEXARKANA, TX 75503
PHONE: (903) 244-5150


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