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From My Heart… What I Do and How I Do It

From My Heart… What I Do and How I Do It

Last updated on: August 19, 2015 at 11:06 am by Susan Cottrell

From My Heart… What I Do and How I Do It 2015-08-19T11:06:03-05:00 Susan Cottrell

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Susan Speaking Sunday Morning

We have never written a post like this before. It’s important and I want to thank you for reading. 🙂

When my daughter, Annie, came out 4 1/2 years ago, all hell broke loose. Actually, all heaven broke loose, and being the Mom of a gay child (UPDATE: I have actually been blessed with TWO gay children!) and a passionate, committed ally and advocate has been one of life’s great blessings.

When circumstances in your life lead you to have a heart for the oppressed and marginalized, something very special happens… your heart matches Jesus’ heart.

You are reading my blog, so you know about that part of my work. But you may wonder exactly what I do, and how I do it.

FreedHearts is a 501c3 nonprofit charitable organization. It is a fulltime effort for me and for Rob. It is our life’s calling.

We help Christian parents of LGBTQ children learn that unconditional love, acceptance, and affirmation of their gay kids is actually consistent with their faith, in line with Scripture, the truth of God’s heart, the truth of the Gospel, and the truth of the teachings of Jesus.

We help the gay community heal parent-child and church-based wounds – and come to know how completely and fully loved they are by God – as they are, for who they are, as they were created. And that it is in no way God’s desire for them to change their orientation.

We help and speak truth to those in the church, especially those in the pulpits and pews who feel God’s Spirit tug on their hearts. We help them learn that the stance of the religious, behavior-focused church is wrong, and why it’s wrong. They know this in their hearts. We help them on their journey of discovery to help repair damage done and to bring about needed change.

My blog is how it all started and it is a cornerstone of FreedHearts. We write new posts several times each week, and we reach more than 100,000 people every month. I read and respond to virtually every comment, every email, every message from parents, Christians, pastors and LGBTQ people.

I speak and teach at conferences, support groups, churches and workshops all over the country.

I have written “Mom, I’m Gay” – Loving Your LGBTQ Child Without Sacrificing Your Faith, and I am finishing True Colors – Celebrating the Truth and Beauty of the Real You, for the gay community, and also for parents. We continue to develop additional books and resources.

While doing all of this, I am also in Seminary, getting my Master of Divinity. This will be invaluable as we grow our work with churches and leadership.

How do I do it all? How do we survive?

We have greatly reduced our expenses, and we have given all our own resources to start FreedHearts and pay the bills to this point. There are book sales and love offerings which help, but this as a funding source is a slow growth.

No one pays us a salary. So, how do we write the blog and write and publish books freely without fear of censorship? How do we pay the expenses of traveling to speak, and to meet with families and their kids? How do we reach and minister to people from all over the world without having to worry about how we are going to care for our family and pay the most basic bills?

In our case, we do it through the encouragement, and the spiritual, emotional and financial support of longtime friends, and new friends – people like you. This is the only way I am able to do what I do.

Many wonderful, kind, generous people have come alongside me and I am humbled and deeply grateful.

But we must keep our funding on pace with our growth as we reach more people, more families, more churches every day.

Would you help us do that?

Again, FreedHearts is a 501c3 charity, and all gifts are tax-deductible.

That is what FreedHearts does. That is my life’s work. And I can only do it with the prayers, encouragement, affirmation and generous support of people like you.

If you think what we do is valuable, if it has touched your heart and life, if you would like to see it touch others, please support us, and please spread the word.

Click here to make a gift.

I will continue to speak the truth and share love to the LGBTQ community, their families, and those in the church. From the bottom of my heart, I am forever grateful that you make all that possible. Thank you.

Love, Susan

p.s. Another important way you can help is by SHARING this post!

Just click on ‘share’ below. Thanks!

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