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Freeing hearts to love and be loved! Love. Inclusion. Affirmation. Susan Cottrell is the Mom of two LGBTQ+ children; the founder of FreedHearts; an international speaker with a viral TEDx talk; a pastor and theologian; an acclaimed author; and a fierce advocate and ally. In her unique tender, relatable style, Susan is a prominent voice of unconditional love and lavish inclusion. Powerful, authentic, and relevant in today’s society, Susan has a lot to say. The Advocate calls her their “Favorite Affirming Matriarch.” OutSmart magazine calls her "The Mother of all MamaBears!" Reverend Ashley Harness from Auburn Seminary says, “Susan has this fierce, loving, don’t mess with me, Mom vibe.” If you have been excluded, or if someone close to you has been excluded because of who they are or who they love - or maybe you have been the one doing the excluding - the FreedHearts podcast is for you. Join Susan, along with her husband Rob, on the journey. You are not alone. Welcome home!
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This episode is different. It’s sacred. The Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day to honor and remember the transgender people whose lives were stolen by violence, hatred, and neglect. We wish we didn’t need a day like this. We wish the world were already safe and affirming for our trans family and friends. But the reality is, many lives are lost each year—and too often, those lives are ignored, erased, or dismissed. So today, we stop. We pause. We remember. We honor. Send us a ...
You are talking about this and then it happens: someone pulls out a Bible verse and declares that God is against transgender people. You’ve heard it from pulpits, from politicians, maybe from your own family. But, Beloved, here’s the truth: the Bible does NOT say what these people claim it does. In fact, what the Bible does say about this is actually fully affirming! So today, we dig in and set the record straight about what the Bible doesn’t say, what it does say, and why this matters so ...
Politicians and pundits have made trans rights one of their top wedge issues. They stir up outrage, and push legislation designed to divide, distract, and control. We’ve all seen it: bills banning gender-affirming care, bathroom access, policing pronouns, especially in state legislations. Leaders pushing them claim it’s about “protecting children” or “upholding values.” But, it’s not! This is about consolidating power through fear. And while trans people feel the sting of this, the ha...
Let’s talk about God! Our favorite subject… Or is it?? It would be—or could be—if we hadn’t been lied to about God. Well, our job at FreedHearts is to make you feel better about God — or have no feelings about God, that’s fine. But what we DON’T want is for you to have bad feelings about God because they’re usually connected to bad feelings about yourself – and none of that is true! Today we tell you a story as a contrast to God—about Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is known as the Master of ...
Jesus’ message was clear: the kingdom of God is here and now. His anger burned toward those in power who oppressed the vulnerable. His focus was justice, compassion, and service — NOT personal salvation formulas. Yet so much of today’s theology on LGBTQ issues, sin, salvation, and authority doesn’t come from Jesus at all — it comes from Paul. So we ask: are Christians really following Paul instead of Jesus? Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to ans...
Today’s episode is a heartfelt message to non-affirming Christians — or one you can share with them. It’s a message of hope and courage: you do NOT need to be afraid to support LGBTQ+ people and same-sex relationships. Yes, the climate feels hostile. Yes, fear is loud. But truth is louder. Prejudice is crumbling. Walls are falling. Pastors are rethinking long-held beliefs. Parents are choosing their child over false doctrine. This is what faith is meant to be. Not about fear. Not about con...
Today’s episode is both deeply personal and powerfully relevant to the moment we’re living in. We’re talking about coming out — as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer — in a time when hostility and attacks are escalating. This isn’t just theory — it’s raw, real, and urgent. All of this in honor of National Coming Out Day on October 11th! Plus, we’re sharing a major announcement about a bold new chapter for FreedHearts — one we can’t wait for you to hear. This conversation is a...
Last week, we talked about healing—the kind that doesn’t just change us, but changes the world. The healing that makes us more kind, more loving, more empathetic. But here’s the truth: while we’re doing this sacred work, there is a battle raging around us. A relentless stream of fear, attacks, and psychological warfare designed to wear us down, to make us give up hope. So how do we stand strong in the middle of all that? How do we keep our hearts from breaking under the weight of it? Today, I...
How are you doing? Many of us are wondering, with the barrage of news and developments, what do we do? Beloved, our job is really not to save the world because we can't do that, not in the way we think. So, what CAN we do? We can help save the world in a different way. We can do our own work and move ourselves into more spiritual openness and maturity, to grow and do the healing work that's inside of us to do. And that's no small thing! Collectively, that's the best thing we can do to ...
It's our 200th episode, and we have something very special for you! We visit with our Asher - the one who started it all for us, the one Susan talked about in her viral TED talk. Now a transgender man, with a transgender wife, and a child... what a journey it has been! We talk about that today, and especially about the fears of this generation. From the financial crisis to the housing crisis to COVID to the current administration to AI... their worldview and their fears have been deeply i...
Have you tried affirmations where you look in the mirror and say the things that you want in your life, or say the things you want to believe about yourself - and maybe gotten mixed results? You probably heard about the power of affirmations but in practice find the results not what you’d hoped. Why? We talk all about that today. If affirmations are real, if they have power, how can we make them work for us? Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd lik...
Actually, it is NOT complicated, or confusing, or nuanced. It is really simple. The Bible IS clear: There is NO condemnation against people who are LGBTQ+ or against same-sex relationships. You are NOT the ones who need to defend your beliefs. The non-affirming church is. They ignore the truth of Scripture, and they ignore the devastating, deadly impact of their false teachings. In this encore presentation of one of our most popular episodes, we give you a clear, simp...
What does and does not work when talking to evangelical Christians about LGBTQ issues? It can certainly be tough and frustrating. We are dealing with patriarchal, moral-majority driven false teaching. All taught with God’s name attached to it – and grave consequences if you don’t just fall in line. But we, like a growing number of people, were surprised when we opened that box we had God in. In this encore presentation, we talk about truly effective ways to change the ...
Love the sinner, hate the sin?? Wait, what?? It sure doesn't feel like love to those on the receiving end. You know why? It’s not! It’s homophobia disguised as love. Is it from the Bible or any religious text? Nope. In this encore presentation, we dive into this and set the record straight. Because "love the sinner, hate the sin" is total bullsh*t! Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-) Support the show
An encore presentation of our most popular episode ever, and maybe our most powerful! And wow, it’s more needed and timely than ever. We talk about one of the two deadliest teachings in all of humanity. It is at the heart of our division. It is responsible for some of history’s most brutal treatment of ethnic groups, religious groups, women, LGBTQ; and it is rampant right now. What is it and what can we do? Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS i...
Do you feel a bit powerless? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? There are lots of ways this disempowerment can show up. It’s important to practice finding your power, because the truth is, we STILL have our power. It’s beautiful and it’s limitless. Beloved, today, I have three stories for you about taking your power back! It’s time! Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-) Support the show
We know you see it. We know you feel it. Social media is being used more and more as a tool for radicalization. Extremists exploit platforms to spew propaganda and recruit followers. Beloved, it is easy for individuals to fall prey to manipulation. Fake news has become a real threat, affecting everything from our health to our relationships to our institutions. The very features that make social media so powerful, are also what can make it so dangerous. Today, we want to talk about how ...
I recently had a session of hypnotherapy and I want to share with you because it was so empowering for me and I think it can empower you too. In fact, I asked the Universe, Spirit for a message JUST for you (because I’m always thinking of you!) and you know what? I got one! You’re gonna love this. I’m eager to share it all with you. Let’s do this. Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS if you'd like us to answer. :-) Support the show
We’ve been through a lot of deconstruction, many of us, and have been finding a lot of freedom. It’s so easy to look outside ourselves, and point at what needs to change in the world — and no doubt it does! I would bet that virtually every person listening is wanting to help rebuild the world into better shape than it is right now. But how can we do selfcare in all of this? How can we stay positive? This may look different because the problems may seem so big, insurmountable, but that’s...
We hear this question a lot lately: How do we Save America? Whispered in grief and shouted in frustration. From parents afraid for their trans kids, from exhausted teachers, from faith leaders trying to hold shattered communities together. We hear it from the hearts of people who love this country—not so much for what it has been, but for what it could be. Saving America is not about taking it back. It’s about bringing it forward. Into love. Into justice. Into healing. Where do ...
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