FreedHearts Susan Cottrell, FreedHearts

When we were in the non-affirming evangelical church, we did not realize how toxic it was or how sick it was making us.

When we opened the box we had God in, when we began to deconstruct those false teachings, we begin to see all the symptoms – our views, attitudes, lack of compassion, judgment.

We came to understand how sick toxic religion had made us. 
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The false teachings about hell and the devil do serious damage to our hearts – especially those who have been rejected by the church for who they are, or for what they stand for. 

It IS the number one fear for people who are LGBTQ+ and come from Christianity. It IS the number one fear for people who are deconstructing their faith. 

"Oh crap, is the devil making me do all of this? What if I am wrong, could I end up in hell?" 
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I think we all know parents who want their child to change.

Maybe you are that parent. A Mom or Dad of an LGBTQ+ child and you feel alone, and don’t know what to do.

Thank you for loving your child enough to listen to this episode.

You’re not alone, and perhaps this is the answer you’ve been praying for.
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Being straight… or being gay or lesbian or bisexual… or being transgender… or being queer, or intersex… is NOT a choice. It is who we are. It is how things are. 

It was never a choice to be a certain way, and it is not a choice, not an option to NOT to be that way.

But we hear from parents who don’t understand, from people who do understand but don’t give a crap. They say "just choose something different." 

So, today we talk all about free will.
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The threat is growing from anti-transgender legislation that is being introduced and passed in various parts of the country.

Many of these bills are targeting transgender youth and are attempting to limit their access to medical care.

Beloved, the time is NOW to stand up and speak up in support of our transgender family and friends. 

Please share this important episode. 
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The music at the beginning and the end of every episode is the song "Calm Me Down" by our daughter Hannah, you may know her as Saint Sinner.

She is a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, an incredible producer, an innovative creator as a DJ artist, and she is an all-around amazing, inspiring human being with a beautiful soul.

This is our 100th episode and we want to do something special!

We don’t have guests on the show, but we are making an exception for this special episode, and we thought the perfect person would be our daughter Hannah - Saint Sinner.

We talk about what it’s like to be our kid, messy church stuff, coming out, her music, and she is going to sing for you!! :-) 
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