Stewarding the Gift God Trusted You With
His Name Was a
Prophecy Before I Knew It.
Creed. From the Latin credo meaning, "I believe." Nicodemus. From the Greek Nikodemos, which means "victory of the people." Proctor. A steward. An advocate. One who oversees and governs on behalf of another.
Put it together, and you have a name that reads like a calling: The Belief That Carries the People's Victory.
A name is not merely what you are called, it is what heaven has already declared. Before a child speaks a word, their name has been speaking for them.
Creed Nicodemus Proctor has lived this out from the very beginning… he’s always believed when others doubted, carried victory into rooms before he fully understood what that meant. But here is what I did not see coming: I would be one of the people who needed his belief to find my own victory. God gave him a name that included me. That included us. That included everyone whose lives would be touched by him.
There is something sacred about the moment you realize your child was not sent to you by accident, but they were sent for you, just as much as you were sent for them. His name was written before mine was. His purpose was sealed before I held him. And nine years in, I am still discovering just how much God encoded in those three words.
God did not say those words to Creed's mother. He said that to Creed. Before I ever held him, God had already formed a plan, assigned a calling, and set a destiny in motion. My role was never to own that; my role was to be a faithful steward of a purpose carrier that God entrusted to me.
That distinction has changed everything about how I parent. I'm not raising my son. I'm nurturing God's child. I've been invited by God, chosen, trusted, and equipped, to be the vessel through which this gift is tended. And that kind of assignment demands more than love. It demands obedience.
Parenting as Sacred Trust
There's a profound difference between an owner and a steward. An owner controls, but a steward serves. An owner says, "This is mine to do with as I please." A steward says, "This belongs to Someone greater, and I am accountable for how I tend it."
God is not asking us to raise our children however we see fit; He's asking us to raise His children according to His design. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to train a child "in the way he should go." Not the way we want him to go. Not the path we mapped out before he was born. The way he should go, which means we have to listen, discern, and follow the Spirit's lead on who this child already is.
Creed came fully loaded. The curiosity, the boldness, the heart for missions, the compassion, the certainty, all beautiful gifts, and none of that came from me. My assignment has been to recognize what God placed inside him and create the conditions for it to flourish.
And in doing that? God has transformed me.
9 Lessons I've Learned
from Being His Mother
People often ask what we're teaching our children. But the real question is: what are they teaching us? Here are nine things Creed has unlocked in me over nine remarkable years.
1. To See Through the Lens of Jesus
I have watched my son extend grace to people who didn't earn it, show patience without being asked, and choose kindness in moments when the world wouldn't. He has modeled what it looks like to love the way Jesus loves — and in witnessing it, I've been called higher. Creed has made me more Christlike by simply being himself.
2. I Am More Patient Than I Give Myself Credit For
Parenting reveals your limits, and then invites you to push past them. I've discovered a wellspring of patience in myself that I didn't know existed before Creed. God didn't just give me a child; He used that child to show me a depth of grace in me that I had yet to access. I am more than I thought I was.
3. To Trust My Gut and Lead with the Holy Spirit
Raising a purpose carrier who is spiritually awake has demanded that I show up spiritually awake, too. I've had to lean hard into discernment rather than parenting books, opinions, or what "looks normal," but the still, small voice. Trusting the Holy Spirit's leading has become my most-used parenting tool.
4. My Son Is My Mirror
Creed is my mini-me… and that has been both beautiful and convicting. Every strength I see in him is a seed from me. And every area I want to work on in him first appeared in me. He has been one of God's most precise tools for my own healing and self-awareness. Stewarding him well has required stewarding myself well first.
5. How to Wield the Sword of the Word
Parenting Creed has sharpened my scripture. There have been battles, spiritually, emotionally, and legally, and I've learned that the Word of God is not decoration. It is a weapon. I've had to speak it over him, over our home, over situations that looked impossible. Ephesians 6:17 became a lifestyle, not just a verse.
6. God Always, Always Provides
We have walked through turbulence that could have broken us. There have been seasons of uncertainty, seasons of warfare, seasons where the path wasn't clear. But in every single one of them, my son never went without. God has shown me in the most tangible, undeniable ways that He cares deeply about what I care about. Creed has been living proof of Philippians 4:19.
7. The Holy Beauty of Curiosity
Creed approaches the world with an insatiable hunger to understand it. He asks questions that make me think. He wonders out loud in ways that lead to worship. He has taught me not to rush past mystery, but to sit with questions, to wonder with God rather than demand answers from Him. Curiosity, I've learned, is a form of faith.
8. What It Looks Like to Be After God's Own Heart
Like David, Creed carries a worshipping spirit, an earnest desire to be near the heart of God that isn't performed. It just flows. I've watched him intercede, I've heard him praise, I've seen him move with sensitivity to things of the Spirit at an age when most children are distracted by the world. He has shown me what wholehearted devotion actually looks like in skin.
9. What Freedom Truly Looks Like
Watching Creed's unbothered joy, his fearlessness in advocacy, his heart for Operation Christmas Child, his confidence in his own calling, I have seen a freedom I'm still learning to walk in fully. He doesn't shrink. He doesn't edit himself for the room. He is certain of who God made him and what God is asking of him. Right now and for later. That certainty? That is a gift from heaven, and he's given some of it to me.
"Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and upright."
— Proverbs 20:11
I’m forever grateful that God chose me to be Creed Mommy. He’s only turning nine years old, and yet he’s already changed the world in ways he cannot see. He literally walks into rooms and shifts the atmosphere.
The Bible says in Psalm 71:5, "For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth." That has been Creed’s testimony. Since his youth, he has carried confidence in God, and the world will feel that for generations. Thank you, God, for trusting me to nurture Creed.
Celebrate Creed by
Supporting His Purpose
Creed has never asked for gifts for himself alone. In the spirit of Camp Creed, he invites you to join him in blessing others. Here are two ways you can honor his birthday by fueling the mission God placed on his life.
Wear the mission. Every Camp Creed tee represents a young man who believes that even a child can change the world. Proceeds directly support Creed's ongoing mission work and kingdom initiatives.
FOR LOCAL PICKUP ONLY PLEASE ENTER CODE TO REMOVE SHIPPING: PICKUP
Elevate your adventure wardrobe with the Custom Mission Tee that embodies a vision of an 8yr old boy.
Crafted from 100% premium cotton for ultimate comfort and durability.
Wear this tee and feel connected to a greater purpose while showcasing your love for adventure. Every purchase supports Creed’s mission to serve the nations.
2. Shop for his mission. In lieu of birthday gifts, Creed asks that you give to children around the world. His Amazon Wish List is curated with items that fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and bring the love of Jesus to kids who need it most.
Check out Creeds video about his mission work by clicking below:
"Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and upright." — Proverbs 20:11
Creed is known. Thank you for helping his mission grow.
