369 avsnitt • Längd: 15 min • Veckovis: Tisdag
For the second-guessers, the chronically hesitant, or anyone who suffers from decision fatigue, best-selling author and host Emily P. Freeman helps create a little space for your soul to breathe so you can discern your next right thing in love. Because out of the thousands of decisions you make everyday, chances are a few of them threaten to keep you up at night. If you’re in a season of transition, waiting, general fogginess or if you’ve ever searched ”how to make a decision” on the internet, listen in.
The podcast The Next Right Thing is created by with Emily P. Freeman. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
I’m glad you’re here and today I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on that I haven’t shared anywhere else until now. Listen in.
It's that time again for our seasonal episode of What's Saving My Life Right Now. I'll be sharing the things that are life-giving to me during this current winter season, and I'll encourage you to make your own list. It could be anything from a favorite product to a spiritual practice, a fun new show or a meaningful relationship. When it comes to naming what we love this winter, everything counts. Listen in.
On a podcast about decision making, I'm always looking for ways to drop us into the middle of the process because I believe there is helpful nuance and insight there. So today I'm hosting a conversation about those things in our lives where we've maybe started something but we're not sure if they're worth finishing. You'll hear from listeners who were willing to answer the question, "what's something I'm trying that I'm still not sure about?" Let's see what insight we can take away while listening to other people. Listen in.
My guest today is someone who is well acquainted with the decision fatigue that comes along with navigating questions about your faith. I’m so glad to welcome Erin Hicks Moon to talk about the questions we have but are hesitant to bring into the light, about what to say to people who question our faithfulness when we question our faith, and how to move beyond the deconstruction conversation into our next right thing with God, others and ourselves.
Erin is the perfect person to have this conversation with as she’s been talking about and writing about this for many years. She also has a brand new book to help you if you’re wrestling thorough your own disentangling moment, I’ve Got Questions: The Spiritual Practice of Having it out With God.
How can you hold onto your faith when you feel lost? How can you respond when people dont’ understand what you’re going through? What are some of the things no one talks about when they talk about deconstruction? We’ve got all of that and more with Erin Hicks Moon. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
It’s the time of year when I think a lot of us are looking for clarity in various areas of our lives and also where we may feel bad or behind if we don’t yet have it. If that’s you then this episode is for you. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
As we stand here together at the end of one season and the starting edge of the next, it can be tempting to race ahead without pausing to consider what you might be running into. Today is for the pause. We'll pause here together at the starting line of this new year, and we'll ask ourselves a few key questions about what might be next. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
There are a lot of questions you may ask yourself at the end of the year. When it comes to our vocation, I have found one question to be most helpful. Today, I'm sharing that question as well as how you might begin to answer it. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
We have exactly 42 days until the end of the year. What can we do now to keep our peace from now until then? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
What kind of endings are you facing and what practices can you engage to help you as you navigate them? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
As we approach Election Day in the United States, I wanted to provide a simple liturgy as a resource for us as we make important decisions about our elected officials at the local, state and national levels. This is a liturgy you can use as you prepare to walk into the voting booth, either physically or if you're voting by mail metaphorically. Hopefully it will be a grounding exercise for you between now and next week, perhaps one you can listen to on your way to the voting booth or anytime before. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
When we meet at the crossroads of core values or belief systems, do we engage or retreat? When we have lost something or someone and we become acutely aware of the risk of trying again, how can we move forward? When we have that moment of clarity and realize that this conversation, this relationship, the situation, is never going to change or that it's changed beyond recognition, what is our next right thing? This week, we're exploring the simple practice of loving anyway. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
When it comes to naming what we love this fall, everything counts. So what's saving your life? Here's what's saving mine. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
How can we become better listeners for the sake of our own formation and for the good of those around us? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
When it comes to thinking about how to quiet your inner chatter, we all probably have a lot of different ideas about what could be helpful, and I hope today's idea is something that you would consider. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
There are a lot of gifts that silence can bring and it's good to name what they are. But before we can enter into a practice of meaningful silence, it may be important to name some reasons why we may be avoiding it in the first place. Silence always tells a story. Listen in
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
This first week back we're celebrating seven years of The Next Right Thing with our annual state-of-the- podcast conversation. The gifts for a seven-year anniversary are traditionally copper and wool that signify love, durability and comfort. We'll use those three as our framework for today's conversation. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
This week we'll finish up our walk through past episodes with one of my all-time favorites about Mr. Rogers. I had been wanting to do an episode related to Fred Rogers for quite some time, but it took me a while to finally pull some threads together and connect my thoughts just a little bit. This episode was originally published as episode 103 in November of 2019, and it explores how important it is to realize the impact other people have on the choices that we make for good or for ill. It's about the creativity that can come from frustration, the connection that can happen when we offer a little space, and the generosity that we all have the ability to spread. I hope you'll listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
This week, we're continuing our walk through past episodes doing something we've never done before. I'm looking back at some of my personal favorites. This episode was originally published as episode 136 in July of 2020, and it explores the question, "Is there room for slow processing in this fast moving world? How can we make thoughtful decisions when everything moves so fast?" It's a great one to revisit. I hope you'll listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
For the next several weeks, we're doing something we've never done before. It's a bit of a look back at some of my personal favorite episodes. Today's replay was originally episode 71, Let Time be Your Friend. It came about after months of ruminating over this idea of the passing of time and how it's always part of our lives, but we don't often sit and think about it. If you've ever felt like you could make better decisions if only you had more time, if you've ever wished for time to stop just for a while so you could catch your breath, well, today's episode is for you. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today I'll be sharing a beloved spiritual practice and a bit of a personal update as well as what to expect here on The Next Right Thing in the coming months. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
It's time for our seasonal episode of What's Saving My Life Right Now. I'll be sharing the things that are life-giving to me during this current spring season and I'll encourage you to make your own list. It could be anything from a favorite product to a spiritual practice, a fun new show, or a meaningful relationship. When it comes to naming what we love this spring, everything counts. So what's saving your life right now? Here's what's saving mine. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
I'm so glad to welcome New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Myquillyn Smith. You may know her best as The Nester and I know her best as my big sister. The good news for all of us, is that Myquillyn has a brand-new book available on this very day.
It's called House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style and Budget. She's never met a house she didn't love, and today, she's here to help us learn how to do the same. If you struggle knowing where to start or feel overwhelmed with the number of decisions you believe stand between you and the room that you love, I hope you'll listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today I’ll share words from someone else for all of us to listen to and carry with us and reflect on together. Here is “The Path” by Lynn Ungar. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
They say May is the new December, and we all know it's true. Though we have a month until we get there, chances are this season's activities are in full swing now and not likely to stop until June. It's times like this when I often find myself busy doing the things that don't matter as much, and avoiding doing the things that do. Sound familiar? How can we start to wake up in a world that seems intent on keeping us asleep? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Five years ago on this very day, Tuesday, April 2nd, The Next Right Thing book released into the world. It was based roughly on the first 30 episodes of this podcast. And now that book has sold over 100,000 copies, and it's still going. As a way to mark the moment, I thought I would share five decision-making principles from The Next Right Thing book that I still use every single week. Maybe you'll remember one you've forgotten, or maybe you'll hear one of these tips with fresh ears. I hope you'll listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today's guest is one you're familiar with by now. It's my friend, partner, and husband, John Freeman. Aside from being my biggest cheerleader, John is also a pastor. He served for 12 years in two different churches as a youth pastor, until 11 years ago when he walked out of the room of official church ministry and walked into the room of our actual home, where he worked for several years as a stay-at-home dad.
For the last few years, he's been running his own nonprofit called Grace Discipleship, offering soul care and spiritual direction for couples, pastors, and Gen Z high school and college students. Now that How to Walk into a Room is out in the world, John and I wanted to host a conversation about the book, specifically our own personal reflections on this side of sharing certain parts of our story. I hope you'll listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Grace P. Cho is a Korean-American writer and Senior Acquisitions Editor at Revell, which is an imprint of Baker Publishing Group. Grace has authored and edited several inCourage bible studies and devotionals. And she's most recently contributed to the book Voices of Lament: Reflections on Brokenness and Hope in a World Longing for Justice.
I've known Grace for many years and she is a kind and gracious presence for me personally, but she extends this beyond just her personal friends. She creates space for people to be known, nurtured, and challenged through her work and she desires to elevate women of color's voices in the publishing industry.
Grace has said several goodbyes in the last year, but her experience is is a beautiful illustration of how not all goodbyes are sad. Her kind, generative presence and perspective on life and change is right on time. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Find my new book from your favorite bookseller below (or another one not listed): Barnes and Noble Amazon US Amazon CA Bookshop Books-A-Million Bookmarks (for personalized copies!)Today we're continuing our conversations with people who have a lot of wisdom to offer when it comes to leaving rooms and finding new ones.
My guest today is a writer, speaker and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality, and social change. He is the founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal and his name is Parker J. Palmer. He's the author of 10 books including one of my favorites, Let Your Life Speak. He's a member of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers, and he lives together with his wife Sharon in Madison Wisconsin.
I invited Parker on because his work has had a profound impact on my own personal formation and has helped to shape my own understanding of the human soul. I'm grateful he said yes to sitting in the room with me today. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today's the day! It's the official release day for my brand new book, How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away. It's available in hardcover or audiobook format at any retailer, and you can order it this very moment. If you're not sure if this is a book for you, today's episode will help. If you're waiting for your copy to arrive, you can get starting at the beginning right now, because I'm reading the entire introduction right here. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
A quick bonus episode! I'm here to let you know that I have a post script from Tuesday's episode — an announcement about preorder bonuses (Monday, March 11 is the last day to receive your gifts!), and a sneak peek — one of the blessings from the Blessings for Hellos and Goodbyes audio collection. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today's guest is a former high school government and law teacher who earned a reputation as America's government teacher amidst the historic 2020 election proceedings for her viral efforts on Instagram to educate the general public on political misinformation.
Her name is Sharon McMahon and her simple mission is to share nonpartisan information about democracy. I am one of over a million people who learn from Sharon on a weekly basis, who call ourselves the Governerds, and we're regularly grateful for the truth and logic that Sharon brings in a society that's often plagued by bias and conspiracy.
I brought Sharon on because one of the many things she reminds us of is the importance of changing your mind when you receive new and better information. So what do you do when the new information it seems someone has received is about you? And what about when that information is false? How can we navigate the various endings in our lives, especially the ones we don't choose, didn't want, and don't offer any closure? I'm grateful for Sharon's willingness to share vulnerably about her own experience of being forced out of a room. Listen in.LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
It's time for our seasonal episode of What's Saving My Life Right Now. I'll be sharing the things that are life-giving to me during this current winter season and I'll encourage you to make your own list. It could be anything from a favorite product to a spiritual practice, a fun new show or a meaningful relationship. When it comes to naming what we love this winter, everything counts. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Chances are, in some area of your life, you're either thinking through a big decision, working to clear up your brain from some false narratives, or maybe you're feeling like you're in a funk, but you can't quite figure out why. Sometimes, you just need someone to help you get unstuck and to take one next right step forward. So that's what we'll work today to do together.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
I've now declared January to be the new week between Christmas and the New Year. And in today's episode, we'll unpack how to make it so. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
It's time to share the scoop about this year's Advent resources in The Quiet Collection app. I've got good news, I've got medium news, and I have some fun news. You want to hear it all? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
If you’re feeling pulled in all directions, looking for grounding words but unable to form them, here’s a short prayer of welcoming some things we need, some things we want, and others we would rather do without. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
How can we know the difference between a yes, an absolutely yes, a maybe, a probably not, and a no? And what do we do with the simple one line advice that doesn't always seem to apply? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today's question is a continuation of a conversation we started over 100 episodes ago, all about spiritual direction. I mentioned at the beginning of every episode that I serve as a spiritual director, and maybe you've heard that and wondered what it means or what that looks like. Well, I'll answer some of those questions about that today. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
What's saving your life right now, specifically when it comes to autumn? It could be anything from a favorite product to a spiritual practice, a fun new show or a meaningful relationship. When it comes to naming what we love this fall, everything counts. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
In this episode, I'm sharing about one of my next right things. For the last two-ish years, I've been working on my next book and it's finally time to tell you about it. If you're standing at a threshold, this book offers a framework for knowing when it's good to stay and when it might be time to move on. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
Today I'm talking with not one, but two guests. From their rural homestead in Charlottesville, Virginia, it's husband and wife duo Daniel and Lauren Goans, known as Lowland Hum. With the release of their brand new album From Self, With Love, this seemed like the perfect time to have them on the podcast to talk about some of the key decisions they've made along their way. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:How do our feelings impact our ability to make wise decisions and what good role can they play? Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
The kitchen is the room of our house where we make many of our daily decisions which means it also has the potential to be the root cause of a lot of decision fatigue. Today I’m glad to welcome one of my in-real-life friends, Bri McKoy.
Bri is an accidental home cook, a lover of gathering people around her everyday table, and the author of two books: the first is Come and Eat and the second is her brand new release: The Cook’s Book, the only cookbook I’ve ever read cover to cover. I’m thrilled to have her join us today to talk about our next right thing in the kitchen. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
If we're going to be on the internet, because we are, how can we stay sane and remain soul minimalists in the midst of the constant stream of information? That's today's question. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:It's the last week of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading Psalm 63 from the New Revised Standard Version, then from the Contemporary English version, then from the Message. At the end of this series, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.
It's week three of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading Psalm 40 from the New Revised Standard Version, then from the Contemporary English version, then from the Message. At the end of this series, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:It's week two of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading Psalm 1 from the New Revised Standard Version, then from the Contemporary English version, then from Psalms for Praying by Nan C. Merrill. At the end of this series, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:It's the first week of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of your most requested chapter, Psalm 16. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:Today I'll share a few words about why I'm glad to bring Psalm Summer back. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:“For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” ― Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
Today’s question is a fun one. What’s saving your life right now, specifically when it comes to summer? It could be anything from a favorite product to a spiritual practice, a fun new show, or a meaningful relationship. When it comes to naming what we love this summer, everything counts. And when it comes to decision making, it’s fun to name these things. It’s great to know what helps me come alive, what makes me smile, what’s something I’m loving right now. All of these questions, though they may feel small, inform our next right thing more often than we might realize. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:For the third year in a row, I’m hosting a conversation with John, who I have shared life with in marriage for 22 years. We have two college-age kiddos who have just finished their freshman year and one rising high school junior.
Professionally, John runs a local community funded nonprofit called Grace Discipleship, where he serves as a spiritual director providing soul care and discipleship for the next generation. John has been a steady listening presence for several decades here in our hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, and he regularly meets with teenagers, college students, couples and ministry workers to hold prayerful space for them to discern what God might be up to in and around them. Today I’m glad to sit down with John again to answer some of the questions you tossed our way about the first years of marriage, the role spiritual direction plays in our life and work, and how we’re faring as nearly-there empty-nesters. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:If you find yourself at a crossroads in your life and you're asking the super common and also slightly terrifying question, "What now?", listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:This episode is called One Question to Ask Yourself Every Quarter, but of course you can ask it more often than that. It's a question I always have in mind, and it’s become such a part of my rhythm of life that I don’t really even think that much about it in one particular time. I just think about it as I go along my way and record my answers as they come. Listen in.
LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
I'm glad to welcome one of my dear, in-real-life, local friends to the show, Anna Kimbrough. Anna and her husband, Tripp, met when they were both students at Chapel Hill and were married for 23 years until the spring of 2020, when Tripp died after complications with a biopsy. Now it's three years later, and I'm sitting down with Anna to talk about the difficulty and heartbreak of making decisions alone after losing your person as well as some of the hope she's received along the way. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you’re someone who maybe grew up going to church or used to have a steady spiritual practice, but you’ve either grown tired, weary, bored, or skeptical, I get it, and you’re not alone. Maybe lately you’ve been curious about God again, wondering if there’s anything for you in the world of faith. Maybe you’re tiptoeing back looking for something familiar, but then when you find it, you feel a bit cautious or hesitant. Maybe you have the desire to engage a spiritual practice, but you’re not sure how to do that as yourself in this new space. If that’s you, then this episode is for you. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Birthdays can be fun and lovely, but also sometimes a source of our own chronic hesitation or decision fatigue. And this can add stress because we want to celebrate it, but we also may wonder how we can do that well as grownups. How can we approach our birthday like a soul minimalist, and why would we want to? Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A short blessing for all kinds of friendship and all kinds of friends. Here’s to you, a friend to someone, and here’s to your someone who is a friend to you. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:What role do friendships play in our decision-making lives? How can we be friends people trust to come to when they have a decision to make? Are there any tips or tricks on how not to be an annoying friend when someone comes to us for advice? Well, there are, my friend. I hope you’ll listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:As we continue this short series on friendship, I'm glad to welcome one of my IRL friends, the author of one of my top 10 favorite books of 2020, Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First and host of the 10 Things to Tell You podcast, Laura Tremaine. Laura has written a book all about friendship for grownups and it's already helped me make some really important mindset shifts in my own relationships. It's called The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs and it releases on April 4. I'm thrilled to have her on this episode to talk about friendships, specifically what we get wrong culturally, what it means to believe the best, and what to do when a friendship ends. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:What’s saving your life right now, specifically when it comes to friendship? It’s the first in a several-week series on friendship inspired by my friend and fellow author, Laura Tremaine’s new book, The Life Council, all about 10 friends every woman needs. We’ll have Laura on as a guest next week, but this week we’ll kick off the series by dedicating this quarter’s "What’s Saving My Life" to friendship. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:I’m Emily and I’m glad you’re here! If you're struggling to discern your next right thing, grab this free guide to help you make any decision today.
Can we escape interruptions? You know the answer is we never will, but we can make partial, imperfect, or even settled peace with them. In this episode, I’ll offer some encouragement for when your life feels like one big interruption. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today I'll share words from someone else for all of us to listen to and carry with us and reflect on together. I've chosen a poem by Macrina Wiederkehr, a writer who has been a companion for me for many years now (though she never knew it.) She was a master of everyday spirituality and had a lovely way of seeing and speaking of God in the midst of ordinary things of life. Macrina wrote a reflection on Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well, as recorded in John chapter 4. So here is "On Being A Well" by Macrina Wiederkehr from her book, Seasons of Your Heart. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Links + Resources From This Episode:
The decisions we make are evidence of the person who we are becoming. In the middle of our right-now, messy, beautiful, boring, terrifying wonderful lives, it's good to reflect on who we've been, who we are, and who we might become. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:After a short break, we're back with a starter pack of episodes to turn to for particular situations, especially for you who might be new here or are looking for helpful, actionable decision-making content. Today I'll share specific episodes for when you feel stuck, for making decisions with other people, and resources for your next right thing. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
We're on a break! But not the Ross and Rachel kind, this one's only temporary. We're working to create content that meets you right where you are and we'll be back in a couple of weeks. But first, we have an announcement, a request, and a blessing, so listen in!
Links + Resources From This Episode:Want help looking back before moving forward? Download these 10 Questions for Reflection and Discernment.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
We have a little over two weeks until the end of the year with a lot of potential activity between now and then. Here's the soul talk we all need for the finish line. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Surprise! We have a bonus episode to share with you that The Quiet Collection for Christmas is ready and waiting for you -- and we've made it better than ever. Listen in to learn about the changes we've made this year and how you can get Day One of this 10-day audio devotional collection for Christmas today.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you're feeling pulled in all directions, looking for grounding words but unable to form them, here's a short prayer of welcoming some things we need, some things we want, and others we would rather do without. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
C.S. Lewis once said to “always prefer the plain, direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.” What's true for language can also be true for life. Why make something complicated when it can be simple instead? Here are 3 common writing tips given to writers that can be applied to our whole life. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Many parents are saying a big goodbye to their kids moving out of the house for the very first time. This prayer was written specifically with parents of college students in mind, but of course could apply for any parents, caregivers, or guardians sending young people out into the world. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:August is a month of change and one big milestone is moving out of the house to live on your own, whether for college, work, internships, traveling, or just because it's time. This one was written specifically with first-year college students in mind, but of course could apply for any young ones who are grown, moving away from home for the first time. Here's a sending prayer for the journey. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Five years ago this week, the first episode of The Next Right Thing released. In this five year state of the podcast episode, I’m glad to look back at our beginnings and share the importance of marking milestones. I'll ask (and answer) five questions to ask yourself when you have a milestone moment to mark. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today I’m eager to sit with John Freeman, my husband and partner for the last 21 years. We talk about some times of discernment and decision-making in our own marriage, how serving on staff at a church for over a decade prepared him for his work as a spiritual director and what’s on our minds as we prepare to send our twins off to college. If you find yourself standing on a threshold of change, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Doing the next right thing is perhaps most necessary when we find ourselves in the midst of grief and loss. Today I’m glad to talk with author, speaker, and songwriter Amanda Held Opelt. She believes in the power of community, ritual, shared worship, and storytelling to heal even our deepest wounds. Amanda is well acquainted with grief after experiencing several years of profound loss, including the sudden death of her only sister, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans.
Amanda explores the rituals of grief and what they can teach us about ourselves, our faith, and each other in times of deep loss in her new book, A Hole in the World. If you find yourself in the midst of the fog of grief or want to grow in your understanding of what grievers are going through, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A reading of Psalm 23 from the following versions: New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition), New International Version, and The Amplified Bible. This episode is part of the Psalm Summer series. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A reading of Psalm 121 from the following versions: New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible, and The Voice. This episode is part of the Psalm Summer series. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A reading of Psalm 103, first from the New American Standard Bible, and then from the Common English Bible.
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A reading of Psalm 91, first from the New International Version and then from The Message. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:We’re looking for God in the cracks of our lives, in the wide open spaces of our joys and the painful fissures of our brokenness. For the next several weeks I want to create some space for the Psalms to put some things to words that we might be too exhausted to articulate. Today I'll explain how it will work. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:For the most recent high school and college graduates, here's a short blessing for you as you do your next right thing in love. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Today's guest is all about helping us to be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. New York Times bestselling author, Kendra Adachi, shares her five-step framework for transforming every part of our kitchen based on her brand new book The Lazy Genius Kitchen. But since she is also my dearest friend, we'll talk a little about what matters in the kitchen and a lot about what matters in life. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Whether you're making plans to travel, to be with friends or family, or to host people at your house in your very own neighborhood, chances are you have some expectations for how things will go. So what do you do when the day comes, the trip is lovely, the food is great and the company kind, but you get stuck in a disappointment that you can't seem to shake? Sometimes our next right thing turns out differently than we thought, and even if it's not life threatening or earth shattering, we feel disappointment and we may not even know all the way why. Here's a way to move through it. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
It's the question Barbara Brown Taylor asks and answers in her memoir, Leaving Church, and one many of us have carried forward to ask and answer as well. The best questions are shareable and re-answerable and today I'll share my list of what's saving my life. Because when you are in a season of discernment and decision-making (which is almost always), it's helpful to name and celebrate where the life comes from. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
May this simple reading of Psalm 46 be a reflection you can return to as you discern your next right thing in love. This Psalm is a reading from the New International Version. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:How can we discern our next right thing when presented with a great opportunity? Is there a framework to follow when discerning when to say yes or when to say no? Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:As we begin the slow transition from one season to the next, let's revisit a familiar framework in another Soul Minimalist’s Guide, this one specifically for spring. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Sometimes you need someone to read to you words spoken by a sufferer in the midst of struggle, words without a filter or a reframe. Here is a simple reading of Psalm 22, a Psalm of individual lament that may perhaps be a strange kind of comfort for you if you're in the midst of your own struggle. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:When I asked readers to send in their episode suggestions related to discernment and decision-making, one common thread ran through them all. Today we'll take a step back and imagine what we want even more than a right decision. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:What do you do when you feel like your life hasn’t turned out the way you thought it would or the way you wanted it to? How do you keep going in the face of personal or vocational disappointment? My guest today has spent a lot of time not only thinking his way through the answer to that question, but he’s lived his way through it and has brought us along through his own stories, questions, humor, compelling art and now, his brand new book, Say Yes. I'm delighted to sit down with Scott Erickson, an artist who is working to give us a new visual vocabulary for the spiritual journey we're all on. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
What do we do when our next right thing is to wait for an indefinite amount of time or to hope in the face of what seems to be an impossible situation? Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:One of the most helpful spiritual practices I’ve found in the last several years is borrowing the prayers of others when I can’t find words for my own. Today I’ll share one of my favorites and maybe it will be a favorite of yours too. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Want help looking back before moving forward? Download these 10 Questions for Reflection and Discernment.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
There are as many ways to approach the end of the year as there are people. Still, it’s easy to be fooled into thinking there’s just one right way to finish — Finish strong! they say. For anyone who feels like they might not be able to finish strong this year, your next right thing might be to just finish regular. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
A minimalist asks, "What am I holding on to?" A soul minimalist asks, "What has a hold on me?" Let's ease some of the decision fatigue that can come along this time of year with another Soul Minimalist’s Guide, this one specifically for Christmas. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Chances are at some point during the next four weeks, you'll find yourself feeling extra frazzled, lonely, or distracted despite your best intentions. Here's the simplest way to quiet your mind during one of the busiest months of the year: the 2021 edition of The Quiet Collection is here and ready for you! I'll tell you all about it. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
May this simple reading of Psalm 27 be a reflection you can return to as you discern your next right thing in love. This reading is from the Common English Version of the Bible. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today I’m joined by a writer who deeply understands what it means to live life on autopilot, chugging through the day "on fear and caffeine." As it turns out, that life is a train to nowhere and Shauna Niequist decided to get off. I’m happy to sit down with her to talk about writing, connection, and her next right thing. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A lot of us are looking for our truest words these days. We’re taking the hymns and choruses of our childhood faith, the verses we have memorized, our adolescent optimism, our adult commitments, our 2020 cynicism and our 2021 exhaustion and we’re holding them all up to the light. We have thrown some things out. We are holding on for dear life. In the sifting, there's sure to be some mix-ups. If you can relate, this episode is for you. And for me. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
It's the list we all know to make when we're stuck in the decision-making process. There are helpful things about the pro/con list but we all know they don't work all by themselves. This type of list could be a good starting point, but what do you do next? I dedicated The Next Right Thing to anyone who's ever made a pro/con list in the middle of the night. If that's you, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:What do we do when we wish we were different but struggle to make a change? What do we do when a thing we’re good at (that is sometimes good) is also a thing that is sometimes trouble? Every strength has a shadow side and sometimes gifts come with burdens to bear. If you wonder what to do when your best gets the best of you, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:She believed that life was a series of unlimited choices, until she discovered at age 35 that her body was wracked with cancer. In the years that have followed, Kate Bowler has wrestled honestly with the reality she has been handed and the terrible advice she’s received along the way, like that everything happens for a reason.
Hers is a voice I never want to stop listening to and in her new book, No Cure for Being Human, she is honest, vulnerable, and delightfully human, saying the words we all know but are sometimes afraid to say: that life is beautiful and terrible, full of hope and despair and everything in between. I’m delighted to sit down with Kate to talk about that and the truths we need to hear. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
If you need to get in that autumn state of mind, today's episode is for you. Maybe the season has caught you by surprise or you're feeling a little off but don't know why. It's time to clear the summer mind-clutter and move into fall like a soul minimalist. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
It’s a short trip from helpless to hopeless, just a shuffling of a few letters and you’re there. If you've been struggling to hold on to hope over the last few weeks (or years), then today's episode is for you. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:We don't learn just from experience. Transformation happens when we reflect upon our experience. Of all the lists we keep, the most important isn't a to-do list but a list of what we're learning. Because you're not just doing things, you're becoming someone. Who? And what are you learning along the way? Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:May this simple reading of Psalm 139 be a reflection you can return to as you discern your next right thing in love. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:You don't have to wait until the end of the year to reflect on your life and this journal makes it easy to start today. I'll share tips and instruction as well as how I use this resource in my own life. Plus, I'll tell you what I wish was different about the journal. You can begin or jump back into this reflective practice and discern the life that wants to be lived in you today. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Links + Resources From This Episode:
We’ve been wearing our burdens like thick, heavy furs. Summertime stepped up beside us, whispering kindly, May I take your coat? I hope you've let her. No matter what this season has looked like for you, there's no wrong. Here's a short reflection to help you look back before moving forward. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you are in a season of decision fatigue because your work, church, schooling, parenting, or just life circumstances, in general, require you to work in a way that disrupts your natural rhythms, this episode is for you. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In honor of 20 years of marriage, I've invited John to join me today. We'll talk about life together through various transitions, griefs, fears, and personality quirks. We'll also share about how we met and what the Enneagram has taught us in marriage. Listen in!
Links + Resources From This Episode:
How can you know when responsibility and being a caring grown up turns into overfunctioning? Is this exhaustion and overwhelm just a season or has it become a pattern? Today I'm sharing honestly what this looks like for me. As always, our next right thing starts with naming what is really going on. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Years ago, Megan Hyatt Miller found herself at a crossroads where she felt like she had to choose between being present with her family and present at her work. It felt like an impossible choice until she created a third way. And that’s where we’ll start off. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Are you curious about meeting a spiritual director but don't know how to find one? A spiritual director is a person who holds prayerful space for someone else to help them discern what God is up to in and around them. If you want to know more about what spiritual direction is, check out Episode 167: Spiritual Direction for Beginners. Then listen to this one, where I'll share questions to ask, where to look, and what to look for in a spiritual director.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you want to incorporate journaling into your daily rhythm but don’t know where to begin, here's how to use just one word to get started. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:When we witness dissonance in the world around us, when we see people make terrible choices on live TV or in the parking lot of a Starbucks or in the sanctuary of our churches or in the halls of a federal building and then we still have to decide what to make for dinner that night, it’s disorienting at best, traumatizing at worst.
Many of us want to know: What can I do? What is my next right thing in this? It's an important question and it's not rhetorical. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:This year has led us to places we would rather not go. But here we are anyway, waiting for relief, praying for healing, and holding on to hope the best we can. To help usher us into the Advent season and companion us to the finish line of 2020, I've created a brand new version of The Quiet Collection for Christmas and it's available now. In today's episode, I'll share the story behind it and I hope you'll listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:It’s been four months since we all put black squares in our Instagram feeds. While the messaging and origin of those blackout Tuesday posts may have become confusing and some of the initial intentions of that initiative was lost in the frenzy of the fast-paced nature of social media, I remain grateful for that day in early summer of 2020.
For some of us, it marked a beginning, or a maybe a new beginning — a moment we can point back to and say: “That was the day I made a decision to be more than not racist. That was the day I decided to be anti-racist.” Here's a personal update of what has happened since and what it could look like to be anti-racist in our everyday lives. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you have decisions to make but feel like you’re just circling around the same thoughts, fears, ideas, and possibilities in your head but can’t find an out to take action, I want to invite you to journey with me over the course of the next several episodes toward discovering better decision-making habits by engaging our bodies, particularly our five senses. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Sometimes we create routines and other times, we have to break them down. Today's episode is an encouragement for anyone who feels stuck because the routines you had before aren't working anymore. Solidarity, sister. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In the fifth season of Seinfeld, Jerry's friend George Costanza decided to do the opposite of his instincts and as a result, he had the best day of his life. Ignoring your instincts may not be good advice, but there's still something to learn from doing the opposite. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:I have invited one of my best friends in the world, author Kendra Adachi, to sit down and talk with us about simplifying our choices by deciding once (when we can) and remembering that we are the boss of our decisions and not the other way around. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:For the last few years, I've created some intentional space to slow down a bit on purpose around the same time every year. In today’s episode I wanted to share with you what that looks like practically and a few ideas that could help you do the same. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:How can we continue to move forward when so many things seem like they’re standing still? When we're still carrying grief? When our hearts are broken? Sometimes our next right thing isn't to solve a problem, it's to carry it longer. It's called lament and I'm learning it is my next right thing. Maybe it's yours too?
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey once said, “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” At the end of every month, I take some time to reflect because in order to discern my next right thing, it's important to learn from the past. If you would like to practice refection but don't know where to start, asking and answering questions is a solid beginning. Today I'll show you how. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:What can I do? This is a question many of us are asking as we're learning more about what it means to work towards hopeful change and justice in this country. And in that question, it can become quickly overwhelming to know where to start. Speaking as a fellow journeyer without easy answers, I still believe what we talk about here every single week is as relevant now as ever - do the next right thing. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:I'm used to asking what sounds smart, wise, kind, or thrifty. But when it comes to making decisions, one question I often forget to ask: what sounds fun? Here’s a personal story of how I’m learning to give that question some attention in my own life and how it's impacting my business and ministry. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:This episode may seem a bit disjointed, last minute, and scattered. That’s because it is all of those things. But if we wait to speak out until we feel polished or impressive, I fear we’ll be silent for far too long. I confess that’s been true for me.
Sometimes our next right thing is to stumble forward together, not because we know exactly what we’re doing but for the sake of love and justice.
May we know when to speak up and when to stay silent. When we are silent, may it be because we are learning and listening and not because we are afraid.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Months of stay-at-home orders or even safer-at-home campaigns can drive even the most homebody among us to find ways to at least want to get outside or find a change of scenery.
But since travel might not be in the cards for us anytime soon, what might be a next-right-thing posture we could practice today? Inspired by Tsh Oxenreider's book At Home in the World, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about books and about home so today you’ll get some reflection on both.
Perhaps you, like me, could use a bit of reframing as it relates to this place called home. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:At the beginning of the year, you may have imagined what 2020 would bring. I feel sure no one imagined what we would end up getting. Today I want to invite you to join me in an exercise of reimagination. And here’s a hint: you’re already really good at it. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In his book based on a commencement speech he gave at Dartmouth College in 2011, Charles Wheelan tells a story about advice he never forgot and wants to pass on to graduates: Don't try to be great. Let's put the pandemic aside, discover the freedom in that counter-intuitive advice, and give three cheers to the students, teachers, and families of the graduating class of 2020. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:These days, we all are making decisions with less awareness of what’s going to happen next, with less dependence on a predictable life rhythm, and with less solid information. It’s no wonder our daily decisions feel so hard.
Should we clean or rest? Watch the news or avoid it? Be strict with the kids or lighten up? Should we use this time to be productive or take a break? Work hard or calm down? See friends from a safe social distance or not at all? Celebrate now or wait for when we can all gather?
What is our next right thing and how can we know? That’s today’s episode. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:The six verses in Psalm 23 do more than comfort us in death. They guide us in life. And if we’re paying attention, these six lines can teach us how to walk into every room every day of our lives.
Psalm 23 is a next right thing kind of psalm and I will never get over it. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today I’m revisiting a topic we’ve talked about here before but with a bit of a new spin in light of the world having changed and everything. I hope this will be especially helpful if you worked from home before the pandemic and now you have to find new ways to do that thing you’ve always done — listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:From Halley's comet in 1986 to the Total Solar Eclipse in 2017, I've been fascinated with sky things my whole life. Earlier this month it was the full April moon that reminded me of the truth I hold most dear: that in every transition, in every grief, in every goodbye, disappointment, offense, breakup, misunderstanding, and ending, there is mysterious potential. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Sometimes the words we speak when we're afraid sound like fear. Other times, they sound like control, irritation, confusion, manipulation, ambivalence, shame, discipline, guilt or research. Fearful words come out naturally in all kinds of ways.
The fearful words find us. But good words are found by us. Let's find some good words together. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:How can we trust ourselves to make wise decisions during an uncertain time? I have a couple of tools I hope will help. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Doing the next right thing has been a life-line for me in parenting, schooling, work, relationships and all manner of decision-making. But these last few weeks navigating the rapidly changing situation in our world as we fight to slow the spread of Covid-19, doing the next right thing has taken on an entirely new level of meaning.
As we move forward together I want to walk along with you as you navigate your next right thing - for yourself, in your families, with your friends, and as you carry so many question marks as it seems the world has shut down.
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today’s episode is for parents, caregivers, or anyone with children in your life who may need help with their next right thing.
Though this episode was recorded just a few days ago, a lot has changed in the world since then as our global community continues to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. I only address the pandemic for a moment at the top of the episode and then continue with the regularly scheduled conversation about helping children navigate their own decision-making posture.
Perhaps more than ever before this is a good time to talk with kids about keeping our minds on just the next right thing in front of us. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today’s episode is for anyone who has let something go and is now considering what it might look like to re-invite that thing back into your life in a new way. If you’ve been thinking about returning to something you left behind but aren’t sure where to start, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Weighing our options is important. But overthinking options and possibilities can keep us from actually making a decision. It's possible to be so distracted looking at the wall that we spend all our time there and we forget where we’re going and why we’re on the road in the first place. Here's a 10 minute reminder to keep your eyes on the road.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In our last episode, I talked about the HALT method and how using that can help when we have big decisions to make. In summary, try to avoid making big decisions when you’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Instead, do the next right thing - eat, breathe, find a friend, or go to bed
Today I've come up with another acronym to help us consider other states of being that could skew our ability to think clearly about decisions: FOGI (pronounced foggy - Are you annoyed with me yet? Hang in there!)
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you’re listening to this episode and you’re well-rested, well-fed, clear-headed, at peace, happy, even-tempered, and feeling basically great about life then this episode might not be for you today.
For the rest of us? The halt method could save us from making decisions more complicated than they need to be simply by asking these four simple questions. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In my letter to my readers last week I mentioned some loneliness I’ve been experiencing lately and a reader wrote back and asked me to share more about that.
My first response in my head was a sharp no way but then my second thought was maybe. And the ellipses that follow that maybe? Is today’s episode.
When we’re feeling lonely, what’s our next right thing? I can’t say I really have answers to that question, but I do have words and I do have stories and sometimes when you’re feeling lonely, words and stories land better than answers anyway.
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:As I pay attention to my own life and the life of people around me, I’ve come to the conclusion that we can trace a lot of our anxiety, stress, and feelings of overwhelm back to a single or a series of unmade decisions. It’s not always because we are putting those decisions off. Sometimes It’s because we don’t even realize we’re carrying them.
Today’s episode is a simple practice in uncovering decisions that need to be made and doing the next right thing to make them. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:A lot of what we talk about here isn’t necessarily about the specific decision you’re holding like which job to say yes to or whether or not you ought to marry that person. Instead, we talk a lot about mindset, posture, and cultivating a listening way of life so that when tough decisions come our way, we’re better equipped to move through them.
Today I’ll share two words we can eliminate from our vocabulary, especially when we’re talking about our roles, our work, or the roles and work of others. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:We all want to make our choices with wisdom, courage, and discernment. Today we come back home to one of the most foundational truths I hold on to when making decisions. On the surface it may not sound like it has to do with decision making at all. But these six words from Dallas Willard have changed the way I make decisions.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Since adults make over 35,000 decisions every single day, it’s no wonder that this idea of doing the next right thing feels like such a relief. But there are also times when doing the next right thing doesn’t seem like enough.
Maybe you’ve been practicing this simple discipline for a while now and still, it’s not leading to where you thought it would lead or bringing results you hoped to see by now.
If you can relate, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Back in Episode 70 we talked about The Best Time to Make A Decision. Spoiler Alert: Being a good decision-maker has less to do with having a certain kind of magically decisive personality and more to do with timing.
In today’s episode, I’ll share one simple practice that has helped me this very week to make better decisions for my own life. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Because I talk a lot about reflection and intention regularly throughout the year, when December/January come around and everyone else talks about it too, I find myself leaning forward to hear what they have to say.
So here on the last day of the month, the last day of the year and the final day of the decade, I’m asking myself as I share these words with you: do I have anything to add? I've decided that I do. It’s a simple observation that I hope will encourage you to walk at your own pace in freedom.
If you want a little no-shame companionship as you stand between the year you’ve just lived and the one you’re entering into, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today’s episode is a bit different than our usual format so I’m offering a brief introduction to welcome you to it and give a bit of background.
Every year my church here in Greensboro creates one of my favorite offerings called Lessons and Carols. It’s a service of music, both original compositions and familiar favorites, as well as a collection of readings from scripture that tell the story of Jesus, this year it was told through the lens of home, both the one we have here and the one we continue to long for.
Advent is a season of waiting and this night of lessons and carols is a time to remember how God’s people waited many years for the Messiah, how he chose to make his home among us, and how we wait still for him to come again.
This year, my friend and pastor Michael Van Patter asked if I would be willing to write a short piece to end the night, a reflection to close our time together. It was an honor, as a writer, to hold space for this idea of home, to listen for the ways my own longing mixes with my current reality and how joy and sorrow coexist for all of us. That can be especially true at Christmas.
I wish I had the rights to broadcast the entire night right here on the podcast so you could hear how the creative image of God is so beautifully reflected in the music of some of my dearest friends at Hope Chapel. That would be my first choice.
Instead, I’ll settle for my second choice which is to simply share with you that piece I wrote to close Lessons and Carols service.
Whether you’re surrounded today by friends and family who know you well or if you find yourself in an unknown place this Christmas, I hope these words will bring a bit of comfort and clarity as you continue to honor the tension you may feel between being where you are and longing for a home you miss.
And Merry Christmas to you.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today I'm sharing some trusted books I've turned to multiple times over the years. If you’ve been listening for any amount of time, these recommendations probably won't surprise you. But it seemed fitting to have them all in one place and dedicate at least one episode to some of the books I’ve turned to over the years that have helped to shape my own decision making process, path, and posture. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Spoiler Alert! Today's episode will have spoilers about Disney’s new animated film Frozen 2. Months before the movie released previews of some of the songs were made available and one of those songs was called The Next Right Thing.
As the host of The Next Right Thing podcast and the author of the book, many have wondered what I think about Disney publishing a song with the same title as my own work. Well today I'll share my response to that question and more; like what we can we learn from an animated princess about love and sorrow? And where did the songwriters find their inspiration for The Next Right Thing? Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Is there a way to enter this season thoughtfully with our whole hearts? How can we manage the holiday decision fatigue that seems inevitable? Is there a way to remain centered even in the midst of lots of activity? If you’ve had these questions too, listen in.
Plus: The Quiet Collection for Christmas is available starting today! Visit emilypfreeman.com/christmas to learn more.
Links + Resources From This Episode:For those of us in the US, this is Thanksgiving week which for many may mean a shorter workweek, a few days off school, lots of travel and/or preparation for the arrival of friends and family.
Whether this holiday comes as a welcome pause or an unwelcome interruption, or if you’re listening during a regular week with regular routines, I hope these few minutes we have together can be for you like a deep breath and a kind friend.
This week I’m carrying a question with me: In what ways has my experience at the table ministered the gospel to me? How can I participate in sacred table moments in the midst of everyday life? Can our time around the table really change the way I see myself, my family, my decisions, and the world around me?
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Sometimes decision-making is a straightforward choice between two things. Those things may be both great things, both not great things, or one is greater than the other but the choice is nuanced and not as simple as it seems it should be.
But then there are other times where choices are clouded by the personality and demeanor of other people, where this one thing looks great on the surface but you know this situation isn’t so simple and you wonder how to move forward in a situation that is clouded by interpersonal conflict or relational tension.
If you can relate, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If your concerns, decisions and complicated problems feel like they need an extra complicated solution, I hope you’ll listen in and find some relief.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In the midst of what might be a busy schedule, a life transition, a big decision, or the constant demands of everyday life, it can be easy to lose the thread of the story our lives are telling. That may not seem like it matters . . . until it does. And that’s what today’s episode is all about. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:As we celebrate 2 years, 100 episodes and 5 million downloads, it seems like a good time to learn more about who you are and to share a personal update about my own next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:I am not a tear it down kind of person. But keeping things intact is not a character trait. It’s a decision, and it’s not always a good one.
The painful truth is that sometimes in order to experience wholeness, first we have to tear something down. It sounds counter-intuitive, and you’d better believe it often feels that way, too. But God himself understands the necessity of being torn down to be remade.
We don’t want to be people who shut our eyes to reality, hiding in comfortable corners and declaring the world is not our problem. We also realize every story has nuance and there’s no such thing as an “issue.” It’s all people and stories of people and I’m learning to pay attention. If you’re learning too or at least want to learn along with me, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Making a decision is hard enough. But add the unpredictability of emotion to the mix and making a confident decision can feel nearly impossible.
What do we do when we have a decision to make but we have such strong emotions surrounding that decision that we feel paralyzed to move one way or another? It’s a great question and I can’t say I have a clean, linear answer. But I do have thoughts and I hope you’ll listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In nearly every major and sometimes not-so-major decision, I’ve prayed for clarity. I’ve shared here before how in times of cloudy decision-making frustration, I’ve even Googled how to make a decision.
More and more, though, every time the word “clarity” comes out of my mouth, I hesitate. I’m realizing for me, clarity can be a more acceptable word for control. If I could just see the future, I could make a good decision about this part of my life.
Today's practice is to take a 10 minute timeout and consider a few simple questions in the presence of God. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:When the problems of life feel big and the way through seems impossible, the last thing we want to do is to consider what we most want or to look desire in the face. But what if clues to our next right thing are embedded in the last place we feel free to look?
Instead of talking yourself out of your crazy ideas, maybe it's time to listen to them. I’m not here to say listening to your crazy idea will lead to big things. But what I truly believe is that at least listening to your crazy idea is often the thing that will lead you home - to your greatest contribution and the place where God wants to meet you.
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:For a few minutes each Tuesday, our directive is to do the next right thing, not to think about doing the next right thing. Of course thinking is a part of doing. But they at least have to work together to bring about meaningful change.
We practice what we want to improve and certain things lend themselves well to our idea of practice - playing piano or a team sport, learning to paint, draw, dance or sing. In elementary school we practiced math problems, cursive letters, how to share our toys.
As adults, we may still practice some of those things, but we also practice in more nuanced ways, things that have to do with our faith, our identity, and our relationships.
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:It’s often the simplest phrases that have the power to change our lives. Like “I love you” and “I’m sorry” and “You’re not alone.”
Since adults make over 35,000 decisions every single day, it’s no wonder that this idea of simply doing the next right thing feels like such a relief.
My goal in these few minutes we have together on Tuesdays is to make one simple suggestion that could help ease the load of your own daily decision-making. If you’re feeling stuck, confused, hesitant, or overwhelmed today, maybe it will help to ask and answer the second question.
Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:We’ve been told not to borrow trouble and to be careful borrowing money, but when is borrowing okay, even welcome? Listen in.
*Content warning: This week's episode references the events of September 11, 2001.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Sometimes it’s the simplest things that help to ease our decision-fatigue the most.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you’re in the ellipsis in your own life right now, you might have more questions than answers, more furrowed brows than nodding heads.
But there are some things you can still choose - like making a place where roots are lacking, like believing for sure that God is with you, like doing your next right thing in love.
Links + Resources From This Episode:I talk a lot about the importance of creating space for your soul to breathe. One question I often hear is how?
What does it look like to create space for your soul? Practically, on a Tuesday, in the middle of your regular life?
Links + Resources From This Episode:In our last episode I shared about my plan to take a six week sabbatical, but going away to plan, pray, and create is only helpful if you return. Today I'll share about the equally important task of coming back.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Is there a difference between a vacation, a sabbath, and a break? How can we tell and why does it matter?
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Creating space for the soul is part of being a healthy human. For some of us that phrase sounds delightful. But for others, not so much.
What does it mean to create space for the soul and why does it matter?
Links + Resources From This Episode:The second most often quoted phrase from this podcast is one I didn’t even say. The first phrase people repeat the most is obvious, do the next right thing. Want to know the second most often quoted phrase? Well it comes from James Bryan Smith and here's where he'll share the story behind it.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Grief descends as a permanent part of our rhythm of life, coloring everything, reshaping the narrative, changing us in ways we would never ask for but there it is anyway. Death changes every part of life, including our ability to do our next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:This is a practice that has changed my life and, I believe if you do it regularly, will change yours as well. Here's a step-by-step explanation of how I reflect on my life and some questions I ask that make it both simple and meaningful.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Today I’m stepping away from the daily nuts and bolts of decision-making to remind us what it’s all about. Yes, we want to make better decisions. More, we want to make decisions in a better way — but what does that mean, exactly?
Links + Resources From This Episode:Are you facing the end of something but find yourself dragging your feet to the finish line because you aren't sure what will come after?
Today I'll offer 3 things to consider just before or right after an ending as you discern your next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Today I’ll offer a short blessing for all the mamas everywhere - both the newest ones, the most experienced ones, the ones who are still waiting as well as those who don’t think of themselves as mothers but they mother us in their own ways.
Maybe you'll see yourself in a few of these lines or maybe you'll see a friend, a sister, a cousin or a daughter. We all need to be mothered and this is a small celebration of the mother-work all women are doing in the world.
I raise my coffee mug to you.
Find me at emilypfreeman.com or on Instagram @emilypfreeman.
If you are a graduate, have a graduate, or love a graduate, this episode is for you. It's help for that question people keep asking: So what will you do after graduation? Here are 3 things to remember as you respond and plan your next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Do you have a no mentor? Someone who helps you find both your brave yes and your life-giving no?
If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you know my sister Myquillyn is my No Mentor and today I’m thrilled to host her as my guest.
Where to find Myquillyn:
If you feel like you don't have enough time in the day, here's one way to open up some space: Refuse to take offense. It's not easy, but it is interesting. Let's get curious about it.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Do you prefer to make decisions quickly, acting first and thinking later?
This episode is part of a short series we’re doing this month to celebrate the release of my new book, The Next Right Thing.
Today's guest is sitting my dear friend Kendra Adachi and I’m sitting down with her to talk about her decision-making habits, regrets, quirks, and questions.
You may know her as The Lazy Genius and she hosts a podcast by the same name where she teaches us all how to be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t.
Links from this episode:
Find Kendra at thelazygeniuscollective.com and if you just can't get enough of the two of us together, you can listen in to another conversation on The Lazy Genius Podcast episode 102.
Want to know your decision-making style? Join over 15K people who have taken our decision-making style quiz: It's short, it's fun, and from what we've heard, it's pretty accurate. Go here and click on "quiz" at the top of the page to get started.
What if you try to do the next right thing but later you look back and realize it wasn’t the right thing after all? What do we do when our next right thing turns out to be wrong? And how do we handle regret?
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you've ever felt unable to move forward because you’re worried there’s only one right answer and you don’t know what that right answer is, today’s episode is for you.
This is part of a short series we’re doing this month to celebrate the release of my new book, The Next Right Thing. I’m sitting down with a guest to talk about their decision-making habits, regrets, quirks and questions.
Today I’m thrilled to talk with my dear friend Annie F. Downs, bestselling author, nationally known speaker, and podcast host based in Nashville. Her recent books include Remember God and 100 Days To Brave and you may also know her from her fantastically entertaining That Sounds Fun podcast.
Listen in to more Emily + Annie here: Episode 131 of That Sounds Fun.
If you set a goal and haven’t been able to meet it, it doesn’t mean you set the wrong goal. Maybe it means you’re measuring it the wrong way.
Instead of starting over, here's how to start again.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Listen in as we gathered in my hometown the night before The Next Right Thing book released into the world! You can now grab a copy of the book wherever books are sold - learn more at NextRightThingBook.com.
With special guests Kendra Adachi (The Lazy Genius), and Myquillyn Smith (The Nester).
You never know how your simple next right thing could have an impact on people 100 years from now. Today is the official US release of The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions -- and it all started with a little poem written 122 years ago.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Where is your fixed point in the midst of life transitions? I want to suggest that fixed point can be found in the morning and it's simpler than you might think.
Links + Resources From This Episode:On Tuesday March 12, 2019, fifty people in six different states were accused by the Department of Justice of playing a part in a major college admission scandal.
Our belief informs our action. What we believe will always direct our next steps. So what happens when we believe something that isn’t true?
Links + Resources From This Episode:Don't miss these!
We all approach our decisions from our own unique point of view, our own set of personal filters, and a particular posture that’s baked in to our personality.
Today’s episode will narrow all of that uniqueness down to three simple categories we’ll call your decision-making style. Take the quiz to find out yours!
Links + Resources From This Episode:Today’s episode is all about the one thing I’m doing in my work that is saving my life this year.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If we want to make life decisions in a better way, then we can’t wait to start with the decision. We actually need to start with the life. That’s what a rhythm of life is for. I’d love to help you create one.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you’ve ever felt like you could make better decisions if only you had more time or wished for time to stop just for a while so you could catch your breath, today’s episode is for you.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Being a good decision maker has a lot to do with timing. When is the best time to make a decision? Research has some actual answers. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:One life-giving choice I’ve made when I’m feeling overwhelmed with indecision is to decide not to walk through it alone.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If your fear of making a wrong choice is keeping you from making any choice at all, this episode offers 3 simple things to remember.
Links + Resources From This Episode:So much of our lives are filled with waiting but no one really ever teaches us how to do it. How do we know when we need to wait? How do we know when it’s time to move?
There’s several kinds of waiting, today I’ll share four: the kind we talk about, the kind we don’t talk about, the kind that sneaks up on you, and the kind that needs to stop.
Links + Resources From This Episode:When an ending is difficult, it's easy to color the entire reality through the lens of how it ended, whether it's a relationship, a job, a dream project, or a life. The ending does not get to define the whole story. Maybe it's time to take back the narrative. This could be a life-giving part of your healing. This could be your next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:One question can make the difference between living with all consuming daily stress and a lighthearted sense of hope.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Before you make any major decisions in the new year, here's a 3 minute blessing to start things off.
We don’t want to wait until the other side of Christmas to finally pause and say, hello soul. I’ve missed you this month.
Instead, we work to create space now. For a few minutes today, we’ll make room, we’ll take a moment to acknowledge our soul and remember the miracle of God With Us.
Links + Resources From This Episode:During Advent, it’s true we wait expectantly. It’s also true we’re preparing for an arrival.
What does preparation look like for you today? Might it include creating some space? Making some room? Clearing some clutter - and not just the kind you can see?
Links + Resources From This Episode:
If you want to find relief from seasonal anxiety, I would love to help.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Our choices define our lives - not just the ones we’re carrying now about our future, but also the ones we’ve already made in our past.
Wouldn’t we do well to bring them to mind and see what they have to teach us?
In this episode I’ll share my own simple rhythm of reflection in hopes that it could inspire you to come up with your own.
Links + Resources From This Episode:And here’s that big announcement from last week, just in case you missed it!
Starting before you’re ready moving even when you’re not sure where you’re going is only possible when you have a next-right-thing mindset. Today I'll share a story from my own life and, in the process, offer what I hope will be as fun an announcement for you to hear as it is for me to give.
Links + Resources From This Episode:And here's that big announcement!
It’s possible to be surrounded by silence everyday and completely miss the point. It’s also possible to lead a full, loud life and still receive the gifts God has to offer us in the pockets of silent time we can find.
You can be busy and soulful at the same time. The key is in paying attention.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In 2012 singer John Mayer had surgery on his vocal chords and was ordered not to speak for two months or sing for six. His healing depended on his silence.
While his need was physical, perhaps silence is required for all kinds of healing: the wounds of the body and of the soul. Today's episode offers a short practice to help ease into silence, one small moment at a time.
Links + Resources From This Episode:To take action and make a decision requires something of you. But make no mistake — putting decisions off require something too, and that may be even more expensive.
Links + Resources:Focus is hard because there’s both so much going on and often not enough information. When you have a big idea but aren't sure where to start, listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
There’s a skill to walking in the dark: you have to go slow, trust what you know, and take it one step at a time.
After the winds and rain of hurricane Michael knocked out power in the city, we navigated our way through our dark house, not a beam of light from a street lamp or a night light or even the moon.
Whether darkness comes as an absence of light or a waning faith, the way to walk through it is by doing the next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:In a world that seems to only value a twisted kind of angular strength, let’s find ways to receive the curves, to be nurtured by God and one another.
Links + Resources From This Episode:The rest from decision fatigue doesn’t descend upon me when my work is finally finished. Instead, it comes slowly as I'm willing to allow the present to be imperfect.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
Decision fatigue can creep into our life for any number of reasons, but one isn’t as obvious as some others.
When change rises slow or comes up from behind, it can turn your life a different color so gradually you don’t realize it until you compare things to this time last year.
Discover what slow change might be happening within or around you and see if that might help clarify your next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you are feeling overwhelmed, carrying a heavy decision, or live with what seems to be a growing imbalance between the work you do during the week and the rest you’re supposed to be doing on the weekends, choosing a pastime could be a worthy next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Last year I decided to enroll in grad school. But first, I lost sleep, asked everyone's opinion, and made myself crazy. Here's what happened next.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Making the decision to move forward with an idea is hard enough, but one thing that can keep us feeling especially stuck is trying to move forward with a decision alone because we are afraid.
When it comes to collaboration it takes a certain amount of courage to say yes to an invitation. But for some of us it takes courage in even greater measure to extend the invitation in the first place.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
As we continue to make our way through an ever changing set of circumstances, the seasons will keep rolling on, bringing with them both dreaded and hoped-for hellos and goodbyes.
You may be holding on to a hopeful vision for your future, but perhaps you're questioning what that means for today. What do we do while we wait for seeds to grow? Listen in.
When someone around us is struggling, what is our next right thing? Listen in.
Both the light and the shadows have an important role in our lives and embracing them both helps us grow towards our next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
We want see evidence of growth in our lives, but it can be discouraging when we can't figure out how to release old habits.
Perhaps true maturity and a growing faith show up not in our ability to stand up straight and blameless, but in our willingness to turn, again and again, back to the face of God.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
If you know you need to make a move but something is holding you back, listen in.
You can read the transcript to this episode here.
Instagram: @emilypfreeman
Website: thenextrightthingpodcast.com
Psalm 139 is a familiar chapter, but what does it take to let your heart be searched by God and be led in the everlasting way?
It sounds lovely, maybe a little terrifying, but mostly out of reach. Maybe it isn't as hard as all that.
Maybe we just need a little bit of silence. I hope these few minutes will lead you right to it.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Studies show our brains process spoken and written language differently.
We may often sit to read scripture, but how often do we allow scripture to read us?
It might be surprising how a small amount of intentional time can begin to smooth out the chaotic edges of your soul.
This continues our summer series of still moments.
When we take a deep breath, it sends our body a message: You're going to be okay.
In the beginning, God breathed life into mankind -- breath was the beginning. So it makes sense this is the first step to decluttering the soul, especially in the midst of transitions as we learn what it means to begin again.
Today I'll share how I am working to maintain the integrity of my own offering to you by creating some space for my own soul to breathe.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Beneath our hectic schedules, our proud accomplishments, and our self-sufficiencies, we simply long to be loved and cared for right where we are, no strings attached.
Maybe in these few minutes we have together, our God will father and mother us in all the ways we need the most.
Links + Resources From This Episode:The voice of the critic can keep us from our next right thing. But not all critical voices are created equally. Here's help to discern who to listen to and who to ignore.
A few links from the episode:
This one simple sentence from a New York pastry chef could help you shift your perspective and take your next right step. Listen in.
Links + Resources From This Episode:With our full schedules and daily concerns, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with even the slightest disruption to our routine.
With that in mind, today’s suggestion might seem counter-intuitive: disrupting our routine can sometimes be exactly what we need to get unstuck.
Two things guaranteed to make your day more complicated: unawareness of your current situation and exaggeration of your future inability to handle it.
Here's one simple practice to help you stay in today and simply do the next right thing.
Links + Resources From This Episode:When you're on a roll in Hollywood, you don't leave the industry. But that's exactly what actress, producer, and author Candace Cameron Bure decided to do.
In the midst of the fear and second-guessing, one character trait remained certain throughout her life and career transitions - kindness.
Listen in as she shares her story, because when you're in the midst of making a big decision, it helps to hear the decision-making process other people go through.
Links + Resources From This Episode:
The decisions that add to our fatigue aren't always big and significant ones. Sometimes things in life that are meant to be fun and delightful - choosing a paint color, wrapping a present, picking out plants - turn out instead to be one more decision we feel incapable of making.
What is the next right thing in situations that overwhelm us but shouldn't? How can we move forward as a beginner in areas where we may not feel a lot of confidence but wish we did?
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you are facing a big decision that could lead to a new start, perhaps you don’t need a collection of gurus as much as you need a a group of co-listeners. Here’s how I found mine.
Find show notes and a complete transcript at thenextrightthingpodcast.com
Find me on instagram @emilypfreeman
At a time when I felt pulled in many directions, I realized I was looking outside myself for a plan when I needed to look inside for a vision. My email inbox told me the story and this time, I had the good sense to pay attention.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Visit The Next Right Thing for a complete transcript of this 12 minute episode.
It's one thing to experience a new beginning, to usher in a time of new roles, new adventure, and new season of life. No matter what kind of new beginning a transition might bring, it also brings a new identity for us: a beginner.
I've discovered I don't love being a beginner. I'd rather be an expert, thank you very much. But being a beginner is an unavoidable part of life transition.
Let's close the gap between the joy of a new beginning and the dread of actually being a beginner by simply doing the next right thing.
For Writers!
The way we move through our days is a lot more instinctual than we care to admit. We like to think we have clear reasons for things when in fact, most times we are feeling our way through.
Do I feel safe? Do I feel seen? Do I feel heard? Do I feel in control? Do I have what it takes?
On the surface, the decision could be as simple as deciding to join the PTA or not join the PTA. But deeper down and further in, it isn’t always quite so clear cut.
Today rather than tell you one of my own stories or the story of someone who has inspired me, I want to guide you through telling yourself your story, particularly as it relates to a decision you’re carrying.
New! Grab the free downloadable Practice Guide: How to Make One Decision at A Time right here.
When you hold a dream – to craft a song, write a book, open a shop, get a degree – it can be hard to let it go even when the dream no longer fits. It feels like more than a loss, it feels like failure.
But it doesn’t have to. In fact, what if the letting go was actually a making room?
The real art isn’t the song, the book, the shop or the degree. The real art is something more, something deeper, something good.
Today I'll share a story of a couple who realized their next right thing was to let a long-held dream go. But because they understood the real art, the dream lives on.
Download a complete transcript at thenextrightthingpodcast.com
Links + Resources From This Episode:Any de-clutterer knows the only way to make room is by letting stuff go. It's true for your house and equally true for your soul.
Today I'll share 3 ways standing on your head can make room for something good - even if you never physically get upside down.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you are distracted and overwhelmed by a particular decision and you just can't seem to move forward, you might feel like either something is wrong with your process or something is wrong with you.
Neither one of these has to be true. In today's episode, I'll share two things you can let go of today that will help you take your next right step.
Links + Resources From This Episode:If you prefer reading to listening, download a transcript of this episode right here.
Doing the next right thing in relationships starts with how we enter a room. It can mean the difference between connecting with them or comparing ourselves to them.
Fair warning, today’s episode is brought to you by some healthy self-reflection and a dash of narcissism. It's for a good cause. I hope you'll stick with me.
Links + Resources From This Episode:The only person you’re guaranteed to be with every day of your life is you. Maybe your next right thing is to make some peace with yourself and come back home.
When I have a question, the first thing I want is an answer. Sometimes answers are fairly easy to come by – How do you make pizza? What should I wear today? Who can drive to piano practice?
But so often, the questions we have in life that give us trouble are the ones that aren’t so linear. In my experience, these usually have to do with things like faith, vocation, and relationships.
Today I'm sharing about a time in our life when my husband John and I desperately wanted answers but what we got instead was a series of arrows. This is a story of where they led.
Links + Resources From This Episode:How can we discern our next right thing when we're confronted with unpredictable people? Today we'll explore the difference between a loving intention and a fear-based agenda.
More From This Episode:When you finally find, name, and move toward the things you feel most called to, you will quickly discover some roadblocks in the form of some kind of limitation like time, money, fatigue, or support.
Instead of fighting those, perhaps your next right thing is to embrace them.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Visit The Next Right Thing Podcast show notes to download a complete transcript of this episode.
What do you do when you can't make a decision and you’re too close to even know what you want and don’t want?
You need to find a No Mentor and eventually, learn to be your own.
Links + Resources From This Episode:With computers in our pockets, the truth is we all have low-grade anxiety that messes with our ability to discern our next right thing.
Today I'll share practical steps to take to eliminate of one of the most common anxiety triggers: the ones that show up in our feeds, our follows, and our online accounts.
Mentions in this Episode:In January it's tempting to search the horizon for what might be next and open ourselves up to new opportunities.
But decision fatigue can set in when every opportunity that comes our way seems to have potential. How can we choose which opportunities to take and which ones to pass up? That's today's episode.
Links + Resources From This Episode:Astronaut Scott Kelly was the first American to spend 340 consecutive days in space. But the night he returned home, the news cameras were looking in another direction.
In our last episode of 2017, we'll take a few moments to consider what it means to wait with great hope during one of the busiest months of the year.
Mentions in this Episode:
When it comes to discerning your next right thing, maybe this one small word will make a difference for you as it has for me.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for a full transcript and a copy of today's prayer.
Mentions in This Episode:During the holidays, the transition from our regular schedule to extended time with family can be great in theory but more difficult in practice.
Here's one simple step you can take to help you be a sane person with your people this week.
Mentions in This Episode:
Find complete transcripts at thenextrightthingpodcast.com
In 2014, Nancy Writebol was one of the first Americans diagnosed with the Ebola virus infection in West Africa.
What happened after that could provide surprising comfort for anyone who feels stuck or discouraged in the midst of a hard time.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for resources mentioned + a full transcript.
Join our little tribe at emilypfreeman.com/join and say hi on instagram @emilypfreeman.
Knowing what you want is not selfish; it's actually crucial to making decisions. It builds confidence, hastens healing, and is a gift to the people you love.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for resources mentioned in this episode + a full transcript.
To connect beyond the podcast, join our little tribe at emilypfreeman.com/join for weekly reminders to help create space for your soul to breathe so you can discern your next right thing in love.
We usually save this conversation for January, but maybe we need it now more than ever.
If you feel busy but not productive or rushing to get somewhere but never feel like you’ve arrived, it's time to focus on what is essential.
To connect beyond the podcast, join our little tribe at emilypfreeman.com/join and find me on instagram @emilypfreeman
Mentioned in This Episode:
Scattered and rushed doesn't have to be the norm. Listen in for one simple way to gather yourself and practice presence today.
Come join our little tribe for even more help to create space for your soul to breathe: emilypfreeman.com/join and find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman.
Mentioned in This Episode:Perhaps today, your next right step is simply to release something you no longer need so that you can move one step closer to becoming who you already are. And no, this episode title is not a metaphor for something else. Today, we need to have a talk about pants.
Visit the thenextrightthingpodcast.com and click on episode 11 to download a copy of today's prayer for self-acceptance.
Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman or here: emilypfreeman.com
If your to-do list feels never ending, here is one action and one question to help you take your next right step today.
Visit The Next Right Thing Podcast for show notes + full transcript + more resources to help you create space for your soul to breathe today.
For weekly reminders to do your next right thing, join our community right here.
This week, our country grieves after the horrific mass shooting Las Vegas. We belong to each other. But how do we move forward together without losing hope or becoming overwhelmed that we can't do anything at all?
One way to discover your next right step in the aftermath of tragedy is to push away blanket statements and generalities and instead, start to be specific.
To print out today’s prayer and/or a complete transcript of this episode, visit The Next Right Thing Podcast.
You can also find me on Twitter + Instagram.
Mentions in this episode:
Fear of choosing wrong or missing what's best can lead to an obsession with clarity and the quick fix.
Today’s collection of stories shows how often the best parts of life can't be planned and how God often works in small surprises in the midst of the long haul.
If you’ve left a review or just want to say hello, visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com and tell me so I can thank you directly!
You can also find me on Twitter + Instagram.
Mentions in this episode:
Fame is messing with us, interfering with our ability to discern our next right thing because maybe we're waiting for the next big thing. What a singer, a cyclist, and a make-believe boss have to teach us about faithfulness, fame, and the gift of obscurity.
If it seems like the people around you are taking big steps while all yours feel small and inconsequential, listen in.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for show notes + a full transcript. Find me on instagram @emilypfreeman
Sometimes indecision is the result of a busy schedule or a hesitant personality. Other times, though, it's because there is something within us that remains unnamed.
In today's episode: what a robocall and a New York chef have to teach us about the power of naming to help us take our next right step.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for show notes + resources mentioned. Find me on instagram @emilypfreeman.
It can be easy to dismiss our work as ordinary or even unimportant, especially when we consider all the pain and heartbreak in the world around us.
How can we simple do the next right thing in our work when it doesn't seem like enough? That's today's episode.
And here's that offer I mentioned to help you have a sane September:
The Quiet Collection - set your mind before you start your work.
Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman + show notes at thenextrightthingpodcast.com
Indecision is often a direct result of overwhelm. Even the most grounded and professional among us can suffer from decision fatigue given the right circumstances.
In today’s episode, we’ll take a look at what happens in otherwise sane people when we are hit with unexpected overwhelm and I'll share a few tips to ease the burden of hustle when it comes. And it always comes.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for resources, a transcript and a free gift. Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman
There's at least one major flaw with the typical pro/con list. In today's episode, I'll share how you can make a different kind of list that will help inform all future decisions.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for show notes + a full transcript. You can find me @emilypfreeman on Instagram + Twitter.
Is there a decision you know you need to make but you keep putting it off? There could be many reasons why this particular decision is giving you trouble, but I want to offer one question you can ask that could help you move forward.
Access show notes + a full transcript at thenextrightthingpodcast.com and find me on Twitter + Instagram @emilypfreeman
When a decision requires the deep work of discernment, it can be difficult to move forward when our minds and souls are filled with clutter. Let's talk about what it means to be a soul minimalist and how it can help clarify the decision-making process in just 5 minutes a day.
Visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com for show notes + a full transcript of this episode. Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman
Created for anyone who struggles to make decisions, it's a brand new podcast! Because I'm never more open to advice, guidance, direction, and discouragement than when I have a decision to make. Maybe you too? Inspired from the commonly quoted advice to simply "do the next right thing," let's move forward together to discern what that might mean. To learn more and download a transcript, visit thenextrightthingpodcast.com
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.