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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 is a very special episode that I think we all need.Certainly, we are aware of what has been happening in the world, overwhelmed with media, social media, mixed feelings of hope, followed by dread, doom and fear, then replaced with excitement -- wild emotional swings. And we expect that to continue and even heighten in the coming weeks.What do we do in times like these?Today, we give you specific things you can do to care for yourself and those you love.Send us a private message. *Note: I...
Today we are going to share some queer wisdom. What is that? It is wisdom that accepts people for who they are, inclusive, affirming, celebrates diversity, and loves above all else.That is what Jesus modeled and taught – and it’s so different from what the non-affirming, rules-based church teaches.We talk about the validity of church as a construct. And we share with you 15 things queer culture teaches that straight culture doesn’t!This is going to be so much fun!Send us a private message. *N...
What is happening in your life? Are people telling you to go out there and hustle in an economic system that doesn’t work except for the elite?Are people saying it’s okay to be gay, but you can’t act on it – that you can only have this kind of partner or else you have to be alone?Do people tell you to believe what they believe or you’ll go to hell?That’s real life for many of you – that’s the race you are being asked to run.The summer has brought us some great sporting events with amazing cha...
You don’t owe non-supportive people answers when they can’t just let you be who you are. You don’t owe them your time, you don’t owe them your peace, you don’t owe them your soul. But that can be a challenge, for sure, because you don’t want to end the relationship. Or, you may have the thought that if you back off, things could still mend somehow in the future. Beloved, this can be toxic for you. And you don’t deserve that.Let’s talk about this today and how the most powe...
After diving in – no pun intended – to the recent Olympics, we really want to entice you to look at the spark in yourself, that may have been there from the very beginning. And to let it resurface. You may have been taught or encouraged to hide it – but we hope you are in a safer place to listen to and follow your heart, and not feel crushed that certain things may not be for you.That spark of desire can be easily overlooked. Yes, we’re reasoned out of it—by parents, church, kids in scho...
With all this talk about the teaching of contempt and religion, we thought it was time for a little relief: a little ART relief!When I had cancer five years ago, part of the available treatment was a studio program where we created art. They kept saying, “It’s about the process, not the product.” I can hardly even express the joy this has opened up in me.I was amazed to learn that people who participate in the arts – art, music, dance, whatever it is for you – lower their chance of dying earl...
When we talk so much about all the hate and contempt coming from the non-affirming, rules-based church; the hypocrisy, the division out there; it can leave us feeling pretty down.When we go so deep in our journey coming out of religion, we can miss the beauty along the way.Today, we want to remind us all of the joy we have found on our journey of deconstruction, and talk about 30 freeing things we have done!Beloved, your heart really deserves this!Send us a private message. *Note: INCLUDE YOU...
Today, we continue with Part II of our series asking the question: "What do we do with the Bible?"People take it literally – ignoring it’s history, as well as all the additions, edits and translations that have been done.People claim its authority – despite not really knowing who it was written by and why.And Christians use it to justify great harm to so many groups of people: LGBTQ, people of color, the poor, women. Yet, those same Christians just ignore and set aside the life of teachings o...
This is part one of an important two-part series where we ask the question: “What do we do with the Bible?”We need to deconstruct it because it is abused and used as a weapon. And then they accuse you of heresy when you even slightly question it. It is used to justify great harm to people - racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny etc.I know you have heard it: “The church doesn't get to choose what the Bible teaches!” Our response? “Well, the church literally selected, edited, and comp...
We have talked about how the church actually teaches us to hate ourselves, to hate God and the natural next step... to hate others. Of course, they don’t say that it is hate… they even go so far as to call it love, or tough love. It's all part of their gaslighting! But to those on the receiving end, it IS indeed hate.When there is such a deep foundation of contempt, this underlying hate, what kind of vibe does this give us? How strong is our foundation? It makes us full of fear an...
Today, we talk about the Teaching of Contempt for God – and how the church actually teaches us to hate God!!We may not realize that, amidst the singing of praises, and saying, “Oh God is so good!” but all of it is over a trapdoor of seething contempt for a God who we are taught is capable of some horrible stuff.That’s our understanding from religion, and it's by design! Why??So, they can keep you in the pews and add the conditions that if we just do the right things, believe the right t...
You only can define God or even think about God in relation to us and the relationship with us.So, it’s important to know who are we.Today, we talk about the church’s teaching of contempt for YOU. How the church actually teaches us to hate ourselves!We talk about who we are, and how God, the Universe, Spirit, really truly feels about us. In the midst of all the hate and attack out there, wow – we really need this.We need to find that peace, the kingdom of heaven Jesus said is right now, that ...
Let's have some fun with sloth and gluttony!Have you been told you’re not working hard enough, that you just want things handed to you while you sit around and do nothing? Isn’t that the trope? That you just need to work harder, and that if you’re not making it, it’s your fault!Mohamad Safa says, “People aren’t going hungry because we cannot feed the poor. People are going hungry because we cannot satisfy the rich.” Yes!Billionaires, politicians roll around in power and money, working t...
Today, we talk about envy and wrath. Yikes, scary!Breathe. We are all okay. That’s why we are deconstructing this -- to free our hearts from this fear.People in power often accuse and shame us in the very things they do!It’s all about projecting. They project onto us their sins, their crimes. That sleight of hand, that narrative keeps us focusing on our own hearts, and not on theirs.Our goal here is to free us from the shame and guilt that is poured on to us so others can maintain their power...
We’ve been deconstructing the so-called "7 Deadly Sins" — and today we talk about LUST!The non-affirming church makes rules telling you that you’re lustful—your beautiful relationships are demeaned and reduced to being about lust—because there is no room in the church to affirm you.And we ask: Why the heck does it matter what religious leaders say? Why do people’s lives turn on the approval or non-approval of these authority figures?This is our 150th episode… and we are going to have some fun...
Have you ever wondered why the conservative nonaffirming rules-based church is so upside-down? They focus downline, shaming and threatening regular people who are just trying to live.Meanwhile, these leaders are hiding rampant child sexual abuse and promoting teachings that are racist, misogynistic, queerphobic, especially transphobic.We’ve been talking about how the teachings of religion are Teachings of Contempt, at every level.In this episode, we continue our deconstruction of the "7 deadl...
June is Pride Month—a time dedicated not just to parades and rainbow flags but to profound affirmation and resistance against discrimination.The skewed Christian view of pride involves a self-centered attitude, placing oneself above others and, most critically, above God. But the LGBTQ+ community is not declaring themselves above anyone else.Pride Month was born from a necessity to stand against oppression and claim a rightful place in society—not out of a desire to dominate but a need to exi...
We have all heard it: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Actually, this is one of the worst translated passages in all the Bible – and one of the most harmful because of that. What if what Jesus REALLY said was, “Deconstruct, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Would that change things? Would it have eliminated a lot of the shame and guilt and harm? In this powerful episode, we deconstruct this harmful passage and take the blinders off, so we see things a...
Today we deconstruct one of the most insane ideas in Christianity: The alleged fall of humanity, when one person ate forbidden fruit, and now, there is not one shred of goodness in us, not a spark, unless we have asked Jesus to be our Savior. That’s the story.The actual theory and false teaching is that because Eve and Adam sinned, the rest of us are born utterly depraved, beyond redemption.Wow.As for me — and for you — we have good in us, and we always have! It IS our nature.Enough is enough...
Rules, laws, shoulds, shouldn’ts... the Bible is full of them. And the church has even added more to that list!The religious leaders approached Jesus and asked, “Hey Jesus, Uh, lot’s of rules here, lots of laws, what are the ones that are the most important?”And Jesus deconstructed ALL the law, ALL of those rules, ALL of the rules the church adds to it and answered… “Love. Love God, love others – and those two are really the same thing. EVERYTHING ELSE IS WRAPPED UP IN THAT.”So, what th...
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