What will I leave?

The following is my personal testimony as recorded in my will. I had to write my personal testimony that was requested so when I searched my computer, I found my will. So now, if you get to miss the reading of my will, Lord willing several years to come from now, you get to read it now....if you are interested.

Ever since I can remember I was in church. My first memory of church is as a three year old being in preschool on Sunday mornings. Throughout the years I was surrounded by precious teachers that taught me much about the Lord. I was also blessed by wonderful Christian parents that were faithful in bringing me to church. I thank God for that.

The Lord worked in my heart and life over the years to bring me to Him. At the age of eight in July of 1982 I realized that even as a child I had sinned and sin would separate me from Him. I already believed in Jesus, that He was born of a virgin, died for our sins, three days later rose again, and now is alive forever at the right hand of Father God. I loved God and wanted to follow Him. I asked God to forgive me of my sins and tried to do what was right, which is now what I understand to be repentance. By doing this as the Bible says, I was saved and knew that I would go to heaven when I died. I made this commitment public and was obedient to Christ through following this in believer’s Baptism.

Throughout my childhood I fell deeper and deeper in love with God as I studied His word, was surrounded by my church family that influenced me to a closer relationship with Him.

My greatest memories were going to our Wednesday night girls missions program, Girls in Action, and also going to the camp Mundo Vista (GA Camp). This is where I remember first having devotions. During GA’s we were required to memorize Scripture. This is Scripture that God would use throughout my life. It was during this time that God gave me a heart for the lost and for reaching the nations. I had no idea then the work He would do in my life and as I write now, knowing that this will go in my will, I am excited to see the work He will complete in my life.
When I entered my teenage years I made some bad choices. I based who I was on other people and not on how my Savior saw me. Because of those choices I suffered shame. I thought that as disappointed in myself I was, how much more would God be disappointed in me. I thought of Him as only judgmental and not also as loving. I did not understand how He could forgive me when I could not forgive myself. I was wrong. I realized my life was not going in the right direction and wanted once again to be close to the Lord. I started attending church again, and slowly the Holy Spirit worked in my life to teach me, guide me and grow me.

The largest times of spiritual growth in my life came through experiences in life where I came to the end of my abilities and strength and had nothing of my own to lean on. I was more willing to learn during these times. He taught me how to lean on Him, how to trust Him, and how He sees me. He did all this through prayer time, Bible Study, and wise counsel (being surrounded by more mature Christians than myself). God is a God of healing and restoration. He has not only restored me but also made me better than I was to start with, to Him alone is the glory!

God has blessed me with being able to marry the love of my life, Ludie Creech, Jr.. I have gotten to see God change him from a good man by worldly standards to a godly man when he was saved in 2002. He is a great husband, and father because the spiritual leader God has enabled Him to be. I have also been blessed with wonderful children here on earth and five more that are awaiting me in heaven as I write. My life is full and blessed only by the mercy and grace of our Savior.

I want to be known as a woman after God’s own heart. I want to hear Him say, “well done my good and faithful servant”. I know that without the redemption of Christ’s blood, my works are as filthy rags. I don’t want my Savior to say, if only you had trusted me more with finances, with your marriages, with your children, with your ministry. I want to give it all to Him because I know that it is in better hands, His hands, than mine. I pray that when you read this that you can testify that I have done this. Any sense of security other than our precious Savior is an idol and a false sense of security. I would rather live His plan than mine. His is better than mine.

I apologize for any time that I have ever acted impatiently or selfishly. I love you and that is not my heart although my actions sometimes show otherwise. I am not a perfect, wife, mother, grandmother or friend. There is only one perfect One, God.

I believe that as a mother (and hopefully grandmother), that I can have a tremendous effect on the generations to come. My goal as a mother is to be intentional in the way I live. That I don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk. God shows us in His Word the effects we have on generations by our actions as shown through, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth and many more. I want to teach my children at a young age that being a Christian is serving and giving as Christ did, and sharing Christ with the lost. Can you imagine when you get to heaven some day a person comes up to you and says, “I am here because you were obedient to share Christ with me”
.
If there is anyone hearing this testimony today and does not have assurance that you will be in heaven someday, you can. You just need to simply believe on the Lord (not just in, but on-put your trust in Him, like you would trust a parachute when jumping out of a plane), and repent (turn from your sins and towards God). Don’t just be sorry for your sins, repent. Believe and repent. Then find a growing, Bible believing church and learn as much as you can so you can grow. May God bless you.

I pray that you have a heart for God and that because of what God has done in your life that I will see you and generations to come in heaven one day. I love you deeply. Rest assured that I am in a place where I have waited for, and I am joyfully in awe of my wonderful Savior.



“For we cannot help but speak about the things we have seen and heard”

Acts 4:20


“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me (Jesus) To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captive, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn. To console those who mourn in Zion. To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. “

Isaiah 61: 1-3

What I love about Ireland

Irish traffic jams (livestock in the middle of the road), Irish hospitality and time that people take for one another-they actually stop to talk to one another, Full Irish breakfasts, the beautiful countryside, the challenge of passing a tractor on a road big enough for only one car, being able to park and drive on sidewalks, people being more relaxed about things-which also drives me nuts at times but for the most part it is good for this wound up tight as a toothpick girl, the 2 euro store. Oh and almost forgot having a butcher! PS Griffin loves going with me to the butcher's shop. He wants to be an apprentice someday.

What I miss about the USA

Family, drive thru pharmacy and banks, mailboxes to send mail in instead of going to the post office and having to get out of the car to mail a letter, and one stop shops instead of shopping at 3 different grocery stores to get the right price or the right ingredients.

Had a mini-retreat today...at the doctor's office?

All the babies pictured above except for one were born within 2 months of each other!

Today I went for my first visit to the doctor for our 4th child. Whew! I always wanted a big family but we tried so hard for one and thought it would be a miracle if I were able to get pregnant and keep the pregnancy to full-term and now we are on baby #4! What a miracle!

Well today was the first visit to the hospital and everything went well. I have to admit. I was excited about having to spend 2 1/2- 3 hours at the hospital. I have started listening to podcasts of Nancy Leigh DeMoss's Revive Our Hearts Ministry (if you do not listen to this or know how to download a podcast you can go directly to the website and listen to archives then and there). These have made such a difference in my life as a mom, wife, Christian and just life in general. So I got to listen to 2 podcasts on the way there. Then I got to sit for 2 1/2 hours and read a book that I started when I was pregnant almost 4 years ago with Ruthie entitled Get Out of that Pit by Beth Moore. I am half way through it and plan, Lord willing to finish it this week.

THEN I went to Concannon's for a "roll". Which after you have waited that long at the doctor's office, then you deserve butter AND mayonnaise on your cajun chicken roll (basically a small sub sandwich).

Sidenote: I have come to love that about Ireland. Well 1: Butter on sandwiches, and coleslaw on sandwiches....and 2: The little hot deli's and sandwiches at gas stations or little shops.

Oh and one more thing I just love about Ireland, completely unrelated to the doctor's visit: You can park on the sidewalk AND drive on it. I don't think I could parallel park without doing that anymore. How handy!

So then after my indulgence at Concannon's (however I was disappointed they did not sell Nestea anymore, my taste of home-cold tea), I left and listened to 2 podcasts on the way home. When I got home I told Ludie I felt like I was on a mini-retreat.

Thank you to Ludie for being such a great husband and staying home with the kids! I love you! I can't wait for my next retreat.

Drinking from Dirty Water

I am really loving reading Psalm 23 and learning more about it as I look out my window at the sheep pastures all around. There are rolling green hills behind our house where we can see dots of white across them, that are the sheep grazing. If I ever moved from here I think it would be Heaven before I saw something as beautiful as this ever again. (Sidenote: we can also see Lough Ree "Lock Ree", which is fed from the Shannon River.).

I am learning more about shepherding from my local farmer friends and also more about the Great Shepherd. One thing about moving sheep is that they like to stop and drink water our of dirty mud puddles that may have parasites or oil from cars. The job of the shepherd is to keep the flock moving to a place where they are safe and have a place of rest and good nourishment. A good shepherd will take them to a place with fresh water, lush pastures and hopefully no predators (local dogs or foxes). Left to themselves though the sheep would follow each other, getting lost, eating grass that may have poisons or poisonous to the sheep, and drinking dirty water that may have parasites or just junk in it that is not good for them.

It reminds me that left to myself I will do the same. I will settle for less than what my Shepherd intends for me. I will fail to know of what I truly have available to me because of my ignorance and shortsightedness. I will partake in things that look and seem nice but in the end are not good for me and lead to consequences and enslavement instead of the freedom I have within His protection and guidance. I will not be nourished and fed and will be thirsty.

Lord help me to follow You. You are the Great Shepherd. You're ways are higher than our ways (Psalm 119). Help me not to settle for less but to abide in You by staying close through the reading of your love letter to us (Bible), and walking with you daily. I leak and need water. I am not perfect and need You to fill me. I need "water" to fill me from a source that is clear and clean and never runs dry. Thank you Lord that You are that source and give freely to all who truly seek You alone and for your grace to us even in our sin. In Jesus name, Amen.

By the way, my dirty water has been discontentment, pride, coveting, and anger. And that is just this week! Whew! But thank the Lord that He is faithful to complete His work in those who are His. I need a lot of work but I am thankful it is God that does it, because it is too big for me.

PS pictured it our friend Frank that is so kind to let us come to his house in lambing season. We actually got to see a lamb born which is shown below. They are a blessing to know. Frank is Irish and Tina, his wife, is from Burlington, NC!

Note; pictures are not posting. Will try later.

Well now I understand....a little....Halloween started in Ireland

I originally posted the post below in 2008 before we moved here. I forgot this information so I re-read it. Since living here we have come to see the differences in how Halloween is celebrated in the US as compared to what we have seen here. Earlier the past couple weeks I overheard some friends talking about the neighborhood kids in Athlone walking around collecting items for the bonfires on Halloween. They use palettes, tires (sometimes donated, sometimes unwillfully donated) and whatever else that will burn. I wish I had my camera today. We came out of church and turned the corner. There was a tower of crates and tires at least 20 feet high. I wish I could see it tonight. I cannot even imagine! I wish I could have taken a picture to show you. The other night one of the girl at church was talking about a family next door that had small children. Some teens ahd gotten in the front and the back of the house and set off firecrackers ("bangers") and threw them through the slot in the door for the mail. So in light of those couple of things, the things below make a little sense. Mainly though it is a reason for teenagers to have a rowdy time and have a big bonfire. I have to say some of the "things" I've seen hanging on the windows and doors are very disturbing. I don't know what the word for them would be, things that look like dead body/spirits?

In Creech tradition we made our pumpkins. Griffin had a yoda pumpkin and Ruthie and Emily had Peter Pumpkins. I will post picture and tell you our Peter Pumpkin story in the next post.

Now for Halloween and it's Origin:

Griffin asked me about why we celebrate Halloween and dress up in costumes. I did not know the answer so I looked on the internet. The following information comes from http://www.wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm.

Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?

The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic
day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

Probably a better explanation of why the Celts extinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach.

Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth.

The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.

The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.

The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine.

Happiness does not equal joy

Happiness is a temporary emotion based on circumstances. Joy is something deep within yourself that remains regardless of your circumstances.
When I moved here 2 years ago, I found out I was pregnant. Talk about stress!...culture shock, 2 kids, 5 previous miscarriages, and hormone shots.

I realized I was walking around the house with so much on my mind I was not talking, and I had a scowl on my face. I could not even smile unless it was forced. My prayer was “God give me joy when the circumstances around me are not good. When things are not going my way, when I can’t even smile at my kids.”

What is joy? It is a quiet confidence that allows you to rest in the midst of a storm raging around you. What are storms we face? Losing a child, paying bills, putting food on the table, being a single mom, or being married but feeling like a single mom, or a s simple as getting out the door and have a child having to change a nappy when you are already late. So where does that confidence and quietness or stillness of soul come from when you are in the midst of a storm. The Bible says that joy comes from God (Galatians 5) It comes from knowing the One in control of the circumstances and trusting Him because I know He loves me.

This is not a mindless, fluffy, feel good trust. Rather it is a fleshed out, sitting on the bathroom floor wrestling with God why did you let my baby die trust that God taught me through love, the reading and learning of His Word, the Bible which is His love letters to us, and just time and experience. I know that storms will come and go, but I know where my foundation is, and that He is unchangeable and trustworthy and loving.

Extra notes:
Happiness can be influenced by mood, music, good or bad news, etc

Galatians 5:22-23 Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit.
Joy is based on unchanging, divine promises and eternal spiritual realities. It is the sense of well being experienced by one who knows all is well between himself and the Lord (1 Peter 1:8). Joy is not the result of favorable circumstances, and even occurs when those circumstances are the most painful and severe (John 16:20-22) Joy is a gift from God, and as such, believers are not to manufacture it but to delight in the blessing they already possess (Romans 14:17, Phillipians 4:4). (MacArthur Study Bible)

Fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23
Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Goodness Faithfulness Gentleness and Self-Control