FreedHearts

Today, we continue to focus on the transgender community with an encore broadcast of a very popular FreedHearts Podcast episode from January 2022. 

Our trans children, family members and friends are beautiful. And beloved. Living their authentic lives.

Oh my goodness, that is an amazing truth. Amazing stories. Amazing beauty. 

False teachings, binary thinking, denial can cause us to miss it all – and cause great harm to those we love.

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Christians mistakenly suggest that if you take the Bible seriously, you must stand against the existence – as well as the health and even humanity of transgender people.

Actually, the OPPOSITE is true!

In this episode, we talk about how the Bible AFFIRMS transgender and gender non-conforming people. And, how misinterpretations and binary thinking cause people to follow false teachings that are causing so much harm, especially today! 

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These past few months have resulted in some deep wounds – often from people that are, or used to be very close to us. We have been told that we should not hold a grudge, that we should let go of everything. But I think we are missing a bigger truth. Could it be that it’s good to hold a grudge?

We don’t want to walk around with resentment, or unforgiveness, because that only hurts us, as we know. So, how could holding a gru...

Jesus and Christianity and Church.  We link those three together but the truth is that to do so has no basis in history, no basis in theology, certainly no basis in today’s non-affirming, rules-based, behavior-focused, hyper-political religion.

Jesus is a great mascot. But Beloved, it’s a bait and switch!

Jesus would be considered unChristian by the Christian church. And the church would be considered unChristlike...

We get caught up in social media. Doomscrolling, fear scrolling, just scrolling to find a glimmer of hope and good news.
 
We all know the feeling: you see something infuriating and, before you can stop yourself, you’re pounding the keys, firing off a post that will change the world, or at least change someone’s mind.
 
Anyone else do that?

But, honestly, here’s the thing: posting on social media probabl...

On this deconstruction journey, we have unclobbered the Scripture that is falsely taught to condemn LGBTQ+ and same-sex relationships.

We have exposed false teachings that are used for religious manipulation.

And we recently addressed the big one: the myth and false teaching of hell!

It’s a lot, and it rattles the core of our theology – but in the most wonderful way. We opened the box we had God in and ...

Has the world gone crazy? Has this country gone crazy? Feels like it for sure.

Do you feel like maybe you’re crazy busy, stressed and overwhelmed? Yeah, me too.

We talked about everything that is happening – the news and developments we are being bombarded with.  Coming at us so fast it’s hard to process it all. Which we pointed out is by design.

And all the gaslighting when we confront things out and f...

Beloved, hear me: You are not imagining things!

When you see executive orders, policies, rollbacks, hate-filled rhetoric, & you feel that gut-punch of fear — it’s real. When your heart aches because you see rights stripped away, protections dismantled, & lives put at risk — it’s not in your head.

And yet, when we speak up, we are dismissed, laughed at, and told that we are overreacting. It’s a deliberate a...

We wake up to news, breaking stories happen throughout the day, the barrage of executive orders and developments seem never-ending.

It can easily be overwhelming. Anybody feel that way?

Beloved, that actually may be their goal.

Today, we talk about what is happening in our country right now, how it’s making us feel, and what we can do about all of this to not lose hope, to care for ourselves and to care ...

We recently came through the holidays. Has anyone ever been uninvited to a family gathering? We have.

Well, Spring is coming, maybe you have a wedding on the calendar?

So, today, we flip the script and talk about YOUR special events… a birthday celebration, wedding, family reunion, graduation.

And we ask the questions: Are there people we HAVE to invite?  How do we handle that and how do we balance it a...

How much do you have to listen to someone who wants to tell you how to live and what you’re doing wrong, and if you’d just follow their advice you’d be good? Not much!

Have you heard the phrase “iron sharpens iron” as a justification for someone telling you everything that is wrong with you?

Or have you ever been part of a religious “accountability” group? Same thing -- someone who feels that they have the duty t...

Beloved, last week we talked about the myth and false teaching of hell and how we have been so terrorized by it.

That and other false teachings cause us to think and believe the most awful things about ourselves. Things that are just not true!

Today, we tell you some true things… about you.

Jesus said for us to love our neighbor AS WE LOVE OURSELVES. The most important freedom is freedom from your own s...

According to religion, there are certain beliefs, certain parts of theology, that are not even debatable. Why?? 

Maybe because they pose the greatest threat to the power system of the church.

That’s why when you even question it – you are immediately called a heretic. Or worse. 

We have addressed many of these and will continue to do that moving forward. 

Today, we want to get into hell… wait, let me rephrase that… we want t...

We have talked about reclaiming our power, our hope, and not surrendering to doomscrolling or fearscrolling narratives.

Today, we go deeper and press the conversation around fear - to bring us freedom.

We don’t want to live our lives afraid. There’s no life in that.

Fear is not the place to make our best choices. We know that. Fear IS helpful when we really are under threat. But we can’t live from ther...

No one knows you better than you.

No one knows who you are and the journey you have been on better than you. 

So, why do so many people not believe you when you tell them?  Why do they think they know you better than you know yourself, telling you that you are confused, or just plain wrong?

Let’s talk about how to move forward when you are disbelieved, gaslighted, and treated with contempt.

Beloved, you deserve to be believed about who...

Today, we cover some basic faith-related questions: Why are churches so against transgender people? Are we wrong to support them? Does God ask us to support trans people in our community?

Are we just listening to false doctrine?

You know what false doctrine is? It’s manmade religion parading as requirements from God. It’s traditions of men that line the pockets of the leaders but leave everyone else, especially t...

The election is over. One person was elected President and one was not. Half the country is elated and half is distraught. 

We knew that whatever the outcome, some would be thrilled and some would be devastated. 

We’ve heard from LGBTQ+ people who are in deep despair, in existential fear. And we’ve heard from parents who are confused, saying, “My child is so angry with me. They will no longer even speak to me.” They are bewildered as...

This is our first episode since the election, and we know many of you are reeling right now, wondering what’s ahead.

We have heard from so many of you. 

You may feel afraid, terrified, dazed, confused - not even sure where to start to make sense of life right now, and how to move forward.

So, let’s talk about that today.

We are going to talk about fear, grief, what’s next… and never, ever losing hope.

And always re...

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 ...