Today, we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Collins.
Hi Brooke, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My name is Brooke, and I am a military wife and homeschool mom of 3 beautiful boys (8, 6, & 4). I am surrounded by testosterone, and it’s quite an adventure, especially coming from a home of all girls, but I truly wouldn’t have it any other way. I grew up in a small town in the desert of California.
My dad passed away in a car accident when I was eight years old, and I can remember from a young age not really understanding God. Most people would tell me things like “Everything happens for a reason” or “Your dad is looking down on you from heaven,” but none of it ever made sense. God wasn’t a big topic in our home, not because we didn’t necessarily believe, but more so because we didn’t understand who He was. So, from a very young age, I was confused, and I wanted to believe in God, but I didn’t have anyone guiding me to Him.
It took 25 years of my life for me to finally understand who God was and how He could take the messy parts of my life that I didn’t yet understand and turn it all into my message that would help other women find the same freedom I was finding in Him. That is my heart behind this company. I want women to not just hear how good God is and all He can do for us but to experience it for themselves because I truly believe that that is when everything changed for me.
My journey to Christianity came at a time when I found myself at rock bottom, my husband and I were preparing for his very first deployment to Afghanistan and I was a mess. We had just spent 3 incredible years overseas, stationed in Germany, traveled all over Europe, and had very few days spent apart. Now, I was due to say goodbye for 9 months with the fear that he may not make it back home. And then, a few days before he was set to leave, I received a phone call that shattered my world. My mom had been in a car accident, and she didn’t make it.
I don’t remember many of the weeks that followed. The best way I can describe it is like a haunted house experience. You know, you’re walking through a thick fog, and there are flashing lights all around you, but nothing makes sense? You’re scared because you don’t know what’s around the next corner, it’s dark, there’s a lot of noise all around you, and you can’t see anything, so you just keep walking through, trying to find a way out. I couldn’t find the exit of this nightmare I was living.
A few days after we returned from my mom’s funeral, I dropped my husband off for his deployment, and it was on the drive home that I had my first experience with God. I was overcome with emotion and had to pull over on the side of the road as I mentally broke down and kept asking God over and over, “WHY? WHY? If you’re so good, WHY is this happening? What have I done to deserve this?” I didn’t know who it was then, but God reminded me that night of this little side business I had started but not done anything with, and I felt this urge to dive deeper into that. I didn’t understand why, and I still had so many questions, but I wiped my tears, put the truck in drive, and went home, ready to build my life from the ground up. Little did I know God was orchestrating this whole series of events that would eventually lead me to Him.
Over the next nine months, I worked tirelessly at building my business, and I knew in my heart that it was what I was supposed to be doing. What God knew was that the more I dove into the business, the more I would see His light shining in other women within the organization of which I was a part. Like most of us who are looking for light and hope, I began to get curious. I’d see these women talking about God speaking to them and how much joy they had in their relationship with Him, and it was something I desperately desired. But I didn’t take action. Matter of fact, it was almost a year and a half later before I acted on my desire to get to know God.
My business was thriving, but my world continued to fall apart. A few months into my husband’s deployment his brother passed away, a few months after my husband returned home from his deployment, we lost our first baby, and just a month after that we lost his dad and an aunt who had been like a mother to me. No matter how hard we worked and how much worldly success we experienced, we still felt empty inside.
A few months later, we found out we were expecting a baby boy. We were terrified to experience more loss and felt a pull like never before to get into church and “get our life right.” So, one morning, my husband and I got up and went to church, not knowing what to expect and feeling very out of place. As soon as our tires hit the parking lot, we felt something different, and the moment we walked through the doors, we knew we were home. For the first time in our lives, we experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit and that was the day we made a decision to finally seek God and give our lives to Him.
Since then, I have re-focused every aspect of my life to honor and live for Christ. It’s been a journey of self-discovery and so much growth, and as time has gone on, I have put together all of the tools and resources that I use every day in my own walk toward Jesus for my personal, family, and business life. Our original product, The Finding Freedom Quarterly Planner, and now multiple planners, a journal, a few guides, and all of the future products I am working on are a compilation of how I came to know Jesus and allowed Him to help me rebuild my life from the ground up.
My life hasn’t always been as good as it is now. In fact, most of my life up until I met Jesus was hard. He changed it all. And my goal is to show you how to take your hard and let Him turn it into good, how to allow God to take your mess and turn it into His message. My hope and goal are to help you put Christ at the center of everything you’re doing in your own life so you can find the same freedom in Him that I have found, too.
In all of our products, I teach you how to meet with God, align your thoughts on the truths found in scripture, set out to achieve the goals God has placed in your heart without feeling completely overwhelmed by them, manage your time, and last but not least take care of yourself from the inside out.
These tools and resources have changed my life, and I hope they will do the same for you. I’ve been praying for you, and I cannot wait to see how God moves in your life as you put him at the center of all that you’re doing and begin to find freedom in Him, too.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
There have been many struggles along the way, from my journey to Christianity through the loss of my parents, as I shared in my story portion of this interview, to the ongoing struggle to find balance in growing a business as a busy military spouse and homeschool mom.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Finding Freedom Co. LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar with the brand, what can you tell them about it?
Twelve months prior to the launch of The Finding Freedom Co., God placed an idea in our hearts. For months, we sat in fear & tried to ignore Him asking us to do this until we finally couldn’t run from it anymore. We should have known from the story of Jonah in the Whale that you can’t run from what God is calling you to. So, we got to work.
In December of 2020, we launched our very first product, The Finding Freedom Quarterly Planner. A tool for Christians who want to grow in their walk with God and put Him at the center of all they do. The content inside of that planner was an accumulation of 5 years of planners and journals and tools our founder, Brooke Collins had used as she grew in her own walk with God. She took all of the tools and resources that helped her and put them into one product.
She did what she felt God had asked her to do, launched the product, and then God stepped in. Hundreds of planners sold within a few hours, and we were blown away by the excitement for this tool to help women grow. We soon knew this was just the beginning…
A year later, we launched our 2nd product, The Finding Freedom Yearly Planner, after listening to our customers who loved the quarterly edition but wanted one planner for the whole year. Once again, God showed up, and we were blown away by the continued excitement for the quarterly planner. We have now begun distributing hundreds of the yearly versions as well.
Throughout the last year, the support and excitement have continued, and we have once again listened to our customers who have expressed that they would love to see a quiet time journal separate from the planners for those not interested in the planner sections of The Finding Freedom Planners.
So…this year we are proud to announce the launch of The Finding Freedom Journal! A one-year quiet time journal for those who are looking to grow in their walk with God and become more consistent in their time in the Word. This product is similar to The Finding Freedom Planners but without the planning pages.
We have also listened to feedback from customers and noticed a need for a community of women to walk with God together, to spur one another on toward love and good deeds as Hebrews 10:24-25 says, so we are excited to begin working on our plans to launch a brand-new Finding Freedom Membership Community in 2024.
Three years ago, when we started this company, we had no idea what God had in store. In fact, we weren’t an official company until May of 2023. We simply sold our products on Amazon, but God has given clear direction for where we are headed and what He is calling us to do, so we are obediently following His lead and faithfully stepping out in faith, knowing that His plan, though scary for us, will bring Him honor and glory and that is what we are set out to do.
Our mission is to help women find freedom in Christ and put Him at the center of all they do, and we are committed to continuing to create tools and resources to help do just that.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and are there any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
People, women who stay home or work from home full-time specifically, are lonelier than ever and desire community, connection, and friendship with likeminded individuals.
Pricing:
- $20/month for monthly Bible Study Membership Community
- $24.99 – Quarterly Christian Planner/Journal in One
- $30 – Yearly Quiet Time/Bible Study Journal
- $39.99- Yearly Quiet Time/Bible Study Journal & Planner in One
Contact Info:
- Website: thefindingfreedomco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookecollins09
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefindingfreedomco
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-finding-freedom-co-podcast/id1565367711
