zzajcollins

Know your history before you throw stones. Truth and Love. ALWAYS.

Know the history of what this has done to our community and it will change the way that you engage with people. Period.

God restored healing and honor to the women in my bloodline tonight. Our legacy was forever changed for the glory of God.

Four generations in the house of God standing for life and the Kingdom of Heaven.

A moment I will never forget.

This mornings ramblings…

These little miracles are 4 today! Celebrating their birthday is always a moment to praise God for His faithfulness. The odds were not on our side getting these two earth side BUT GOD said otherwise! 🙌🏾💕✨ Nina Bean & MoMo, you are a treasure. Happy Birthday my loves! 💕

Hopefully we can get to the heart of the matter… systems will never do the work that God created people to accomplish in the earth.

Keenan and I didn't get to "plan" our first pregnancy. I knew nothing about real intimacy or faith when I married Keenan. I honestly thought I would never be able to have children as punishment for having s*x before I met my husband. Pair those toxic ideas with the lack of education around birth control and family planning; we were pregnant 3 months after we said: "I do." We were terrified and angry that it happened so fast, and of course, we never said these things out loud to each other or anyone else until our marriage was almost destroyed.

I was only 21 years old when we got married. My career was just taking off. I felt like I barely knew my husband. Kids weren't supposed to come until way down the line. Pregnancy ruined my entire plan. Everyone around us was ecstatic. But the perfect, young, married Christian couple, who loved God, didn't share in this initial joy. Kennedy entered our world and literally saved our lives. She changed everything. That testimony is for another day.

Fast forward a few years, we were READY to have another baby. Kennedy wanted a sibling. This time we planned. We were healthy. We said yes. We were wanted our family. I got pregnant right away.

I went to the doctor around 9 weeks, and they said my hormone levels weren't where they should be, but it probably meant I just wasn't as far along. By week 11 or so, the levels continued not to develop, and the doctor informed me that I had miscarried.

Initially, I was in shock and couldn't really process the news. They said I could wait for it to happen naturally or schedule the removal of the baby. However, as a working American woman who had responsibilities to get back to, I couldn't take this unknown amount of time needed off work to process my miscarriage naturally. So we scheduled the appointment to move things along.

My doctor told me to do whatever was needed to relax to get through the procedure, so I asked Keenan to hold my hand and put on worship music. I was okay and understood what needed to be done; it was settled. … * continued in comments.

11 years ago today we said I do — Our wedding guests received caramel apples with a note as our party favors. The apples represented our engagement in New York (The Big Apple) and the note said “today I married the apple of my eye!”
Nice and cheesy 🤣🤦🏾‍♀️🥴

Attached to the apple I made this little map of our “journey to our wedding day” — for years we couldn’t find one of the maps I made. Last year we stumbled across it while decluttering and it brought back all the feels. For our anniversary I decided to continue the journey. It’s full of inside jokes that only make sense to us but it’s still fun to share. Life is really a journey and I feel so blessed to have found my person.

We’ve lived a lot of life since 08’. Good, bad, ups and downs, you’re still the one Keen. Happy Anniversary and cheers to many more. 💕

The threenagers and their leader. Send help.

The threenagers and their leader. Send help.

Blurry photos and lots of love. Happy Valentine’s Day from the Collins Gang + congratulations on another amazing show 💕🙏🏾

This week marked a new transition for our family -- Miss Kennedy Grace is no longer homeschooling (😭😅🙌🏾😭🥴🙃🥺) and I'm still working through all the feelings.

Here are a few thoughts that I wrote down to mark the moment:

-God is so kind! He's given me about six months to process this change. When we started homeschooling, I imagined going to at least 5th grade. If I had to make this change suddenly, without the gentle nudges, I would've struggled big time. He's gently been showing me for months that it was time for something different for Kennedy. She began to vocalize those needs as well and her voice in her journey matters big time.

-Where God guides, He provides. Through the homeschooling journey, my entire outlook on education has changed. It was essential to find a school that aligned with our beliefs. God had the community lined up before we knew we needed it.

-The days are long, and the years are short. Looking back on videos from when we first started homeschooling, I can't believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time.😳🤯

-Kennedy is over the moon 💃🏾

-Pre-K/Kinder homeschooling in full effect with the too-live crew 🤟🏾😂

Side note: she requested for a Princess Diaries vibe (insert chefs kiss) that feels like top tier style and parenting in my book! (iykyk)

2021: My word for the year was “abide” and my Scripture was Psalm 91:1– and when I look back on this year that’s exactly what happened.

1. I put a ton of energy into content at the beginning of the year and it was super fun creating with the girls.
2. I wrote a lot and took more pictures.
3. I worked with 10 small business.
4. One of my best friends got married.
5. WE LAUNCHED OUR MINISTRY 🤯😅
6. We took our first family vacation this year to Disneyland.
7. New friendships/reconnecting with childhood friends was cool.
8. Riding roller coasters with Kennedy!
9. Time in CA with friends, family, and our favorite restaurants.
10. Having an old lady birthday party! 🥳👵🏾

Things that didn’t make the Gram:
1. & homeschool tears.
2. Getting burned out with creating content and choosing connection over creation.
3. Not having enough time to write as much as I would’ve liked.
4. Putting out a lot more work/energy into businesses than I planned and the tears that came with it.
5. Disappointing friends and having hard conversations that weren’t fun but made our friendship better.
6. The weight and warfare of doing ministry.
7. The process and tears that came with healing emotionally and spiritually to move forward in ministry with a clear heart.
8. Grieving the loss of friendships that will forever be different.
9. Health scares in our family that God carried and continues to carry us through.
10. Creating boundaries and learning how to say no.

But the highlight of this 2021 rollercoaster ride has been falling in love with Jesus and Keenan Jacoby Collins all over again.

This year has felt like I’ve been put through the fire but I’ve learned to embrace the process of being refined. Ready to see what comes of it all in 2022!

2021: My word for the year was “abide” and my Scripture was Psalm 91:1– and when I look back on this year that’s exactly what happened.

1. I put a ton of energy into content at the beginning of the year and it was super fun creating with the girls.
2. I wrote a lot and took more pictures.
3. I worked with 10 small business.
4. One of my best friends got married.
5. WE LAUNCHED OUR MINISTRY 🤯😅
6. We took our first family vacation this year to Disneyland.
7. New friendships and reconnecting with childhood friends was cool.
8. Riding roller coasters with Kennedy!
9. Time in CA with friends, family, and our favorite restaurants.
10. Having an old lady birthday party! 🥳👵🏾

Things that didn’t make the Gram:
1. & homeschool tears.
2. Getting burned out with creating content and choosing connection over creation.
3. Not having enough time to write as much as I would’ve liked.
4. Putting out a lot more work into businesses than I planned and the tears that came with it.
5. Disappointing friends and having hard conversations that weren’t fun but made our friendship better.
6. The weight and warfare of doing ministry.
7. The process and tears that came with healing emotionally and spiritually to move forward in ministry with a clear heart.
8. Grieving the loss of friendships that will forever be different.
9. Health scares in our family that God carried and continues to carry us through.
10. Learning boundaries and how to say no.

But the highlight of this 2021 rollercoaster ride has been falling in love with Jesus and Keenan Jacoby Collins all over again.

This year has felt like I’ve been put through the fire but I’ve learned to embrace the process of being refined. Ready to see what comes of it all in 2022!

Christmas Pajama Crew 2021 featuring MoMo’s new Ugg boots that she loves 😂😂

Christmas 2021 -- The holiday cheer that usually sweeps through my home during this season looks different this year. There's been a touch of holiday decor and Christmas cheer, but the full-out "Who from Whoville" took a break this year. I've been asking God if it's burnout, overwhelm, or if something is off with me, and I've repeatedly been met by peace and a stillness that affirms I'm right where He wants me.

This past week, Kennedy and I spent time watching The Chosen together, and hearing my nine-year-old say "just one more episode" on a show I thought I'd have to force her to watch profoundly centered me. Hearing her connect the dots from past Bible lessons brought a spark that made our home feel more like Christmas than any piece of decor I could ever buy.

To wrap up with thought, I’m going to paraphrase some words from my sweet friend ...

"This Christmas, I'm feeling the tension of hope and pain. The wonder that this season brings, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, spend time with loved ones, and enjoy holiday traditions. We are concurrently holding the heaviness and brokenness of our world, the realities of sickness, loss, trials, and tribulations that we are all experiencing on some level.

I wonder if God felt that contrast, too. Watching his perfect son Jesus, born to save humanity, born to be a sacrifice, knowing all that was to come. The hope that the Savior brings, coupled with the sorrow that weaves its way into life. It's strangely comforting to know He is truly Emmanuel -- God with us..."

I pray wherever you find yourself on the spectrum of hope and pain this Holiday, that you would know He is near.

"To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous." - E. Gilbert.

The moment we announced that The Gathering is becoming a church 🤯🙌🏾🎉🥳 Y’all we literally thought we were starting a podcast 😂 we’re not smart enough to have planned this thing out.

The overall response from everyone has been “well duh, this was a no brainer...” but for Keenan and I it’s been crazy to watch this unfold.

We’ve had the opportunity to serve under amazing leaders and we’ve always been fulfilled in serving wherever God has called us. We never felt the need to jump out front we’ve just wanted to serve God’s people with our gifts — what’s unfolding at The Gathering is a God dream!

The looks on our faces sum up how we feel. Excited, shocked, humbled, and in awe of what God is doing. Thank you to everyone who has supported so far, the best is yet to come!

January 2022 we’ll be transitioning to a weekly 6pm service at the Carco Theatre. Stay tuned for more deets.

zzajcollins updated their business hours.

zzajcollins updated their website address.