Flip Flops and Freedom

Have you ever noticed that Monday feels different than Thursday? Or that January 1st feels packed withpossibility?There's a reason.In this episode, Susan explores the Fresh Start Effect—the psychology behind why meaningful dates can help us break old patterns, pursue goals, and create lasting change.You'll learn how to create your own fresh starts, why your brain loves new beginnings, and why starting over is often easier when you connect change to meaningful moments in your life.Because you don't have to wait for the perfect time, the perfect Monday, or the perfect January. You can createa fresh start anytime.
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist

Who are you when everything else is stripped away?
Most of us answer that question without even realizing it. We build our identity on our roles, relationships, accomplishments, or even our pain. But what happens when those things change?
In this episode, Susan explores why your identity is the foundation of everything else in your life. Blending biblical truth with insights from psychology, she explains how the "lens" you see yourself through shapes your decisions, relationships, resilience, and future.
If you've ever wondered who you are apart from what you do, what you've survived, or what other people think of you, this conversation will help you begin uncovering the identity God has given you all along.
In this episode you'll discover:• Why identity is more than a title or role• How your self-image shapes every area of your life• What science says about having a secure sense of identity• The difference between your changing seasons and your unchanging foundation• How to stop looking for yourself in the wreckage and start living from God's blueprint
🎁 Be sure to download the free companion worksheet linked in the show notes to help you identify the lens you've been living through and begin building your life on a foundation that doesn't change.If this episode encouraged you, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs a little more hope and light today. 
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE IDENTITY LENS WORKSHEET HERE
Connect with Susan:
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist
 

What if the secret to better mornings has nothing to do with your morning?
Most of us wake up already behind—hitting snooze, scrambling to make decisions, skipping healthy habits, and wondering why we never seem to get ahead. But what if tomorrow's success is determined by the choices you make tonight?
In this episode, Susan shares the simple mindset shift that has transformed her own routine. Backed by science and practical wisdom, you'll learn how your evening habits influence your energy, stress levels, productivity, and even your ability to make good decisions the next day.
You'll discover:• Why your morning actually begins the night before• How decision fatigue quietly drains your energy• The surprising role cortisol plays in your morning mindset• Simple evening habits that make mornings easier• A realistic routine you can build one small step at a time
You don't need a perfect morning routine. You need a plan that helps tomorrow's version of you succeed.
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who's always saying, "I just need to get my mornings together." It might be the small shift that changes their whole day.
Connect with Susan:
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist

Do you feel stuck in life, even though you know you need to make a change?
In this episode of Flip Flops and Freedom, Susan explores why so many people struggle to move forward—and the surprising difference between pain-driven motivation and desire-driven transformation.
Pain can push you to take the first step, but it rarely keeps you moving. Real, lasting change happens when your desire for a better future becomes stronger than your comfort with the present.
You’ll learn why most people quit just before they reach their breakthrough, how to recognize the signs that you’re stuck in the “messy middle,” and practical ways to build momentum that lasts.
 
In this episode you’ll discover:
 
•Why people get stuck and stay stuck.
•The difference between pain-based motivation and desire-based transformation.
•The dangerous point where most people give up.
•How to create a simple plan for lasting personal growth.
•Why “good enough” often keeps you from becoming who you’re meant to be.
•The mindset shift that leads to sustainable change.
 
Whether you’re navigating a major life transition, rebuilding after disappointment, pursuing personal growth, or simply feeling stuck, this episode will encourage you to stop waiting for the perfect moment and start creating the life you truly want.
Connect with Susan:
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist
 

What Do You Do When Love Gets Rejected: Naming the Pain of Parental Estrangement
What do you do when the love you gave your child gets met with silence instead? Susan Metzger sits with the specific ache of parental estrangement, the kind of grief that most people around you were never taught to understand.
Drawing on national research alongside her own twenty-three years walking this road, Susan gives listeners language for a loss that rarely gets a funeral, a casserole, or a card, and shows why that silence doesn't make the grief any less real. This is part 1 of a 4-part series on walking through estrangement toward hope.
Naming the specific grief of parental estrangement
Real research on how many parents are quietly living this same loss
Why this kind of grief doesn't get the same recognition as other losses
The first step toward healing: letting the pain have a name
 
If you are an estranged parent carrying grief no one around you seems to understand, this episode is for you.
Connect with Susan:
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist

Episode Description
What do you do when someone you trusted turns on you overnight, after years of closeness? Susan Metzger tells the story of how jealousy fractured David's closest relationship, and teaches his response, a practice she calls Strategic Silence, choosing peace over forcing a resolution someone else isn't ready to give. This episode closes with one simple, actionable step for anyone waiting on a relationship they cannot control. Part two of a 5-part series on estrangement and hope.
How years of trust can unravel after one moment, in David's story and in real life
Strategic Silence: choosing peace over forcing an outcome, and all the ways we avoid sitting still in uncertainty
One concrete step to practice this week
A glimpse of what it looks like to be starving and still satisfied
If you are waiting on a relationship you cannot force to change, this episode offers a way to sit in that wait without it consuming you.
Connect with Susan:
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist

What do you do when someone else starts telling a completely different story about who you are? Susan Metzger names a layer of estrangement grief that rarely gets talked about, losing your child not just to silence, but to another narrative, a spouse, an ex, or even a well-meaning counselor becoming the voice that reshapes how your child sees you. This episode is about reclaiming your identity when someone else has picked up the pen, and about why you were never meant to carry that alone. Part four of a 5-part series on estrangement and hope.
 
Why estrangement often means losing your child to another story, not just to silence
A real story about the specific pain of being misunderstood by your own child
Why someone else's story about you does not have to become the story you believe
One simple step for finding the one person who can carry this with you
 
If someone else's version of your story has started to feel more real than your own, this episode is for you.
Connect with Susan:
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PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist
 

What does freedom actually look like when the relationship is still broken? Susan Metzger closes out the estrangement series with the distinction at the center of her own journey, fine is not the same as free, and shows what it means to live unbroken even while a relationship remains unresolved. This finale brings together everything the series has named and lands on what it actually looks like to build a full, ordinary life again.
The difference between being fine and being free
What it means to live unbroken with an unresolved relationship
A simple, lasting way to reclaim your story going forward
The series closing declaration: Get unstuck. Live unbroken. Step into freedom.
If this series has walked with you through something hard, this episode closes it out with what freedom can actually look like from here.
Connect with Susan:
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK 
PARENTS IN THE WAITING ROOM COMMUNITY
Get on the waitlist for Susan’s book and small group study, Rejected Yet Redeemed. Be the first to know when it launches this fall!
https://susanmetzger.myflodesk.com/ryrwaitlist