The Next Right Thing

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 2022, 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: It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download the transcript

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: A Million Little Ways In the Shelter by Padraig O'Tuama The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download the transcript

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: Listen to Pantsuit Politics Order To Bless the Space Between Us by John O'Donohue The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman  Download this episode's transcript

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: The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Find a full transcript of this episode at emilypfreeman.com

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: Follow @davidgatepoet on Instagram The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Find a full transcript of this episode at emilypfreeman.com

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: The Life Council by Laura Tremaine Visit Laura Tremaine's website Find Laura Tremaine on Instagram Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First by Laura Tremaine The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download th

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: The Life Council by Laura Tremaine Visit Laura Tremaine's website Find Laura Tremaine on Instagram The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Find a full transcript of this episode at emilypfreeman.com   DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT 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: Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser The Lazy Genius The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this episode at emilypfreeman.com

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: Seasons of Your Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Find a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.  

You have a decision to make or a move to discern. You ask a friend to listen and help you figure out your next right thing. And then they ask the question that is as dreaded as it is simple: "Well, what do you want?" If your response to that maddening question is no answer, no direction, no clue, then this episode is for you. Listen in.   Links + Resources From This Episode: The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about fear, how and when it shows up, ways it lies and tells the truth, and what it means for us as we do the hard and holy work of making life decisions. Listen in.   Links + Resources From This Episode: The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman

Today I'm glad to welcome our favorite hope dealer and host of the podcast Human Hope, it's Carlos Whittaker. His brand new book How to Human, just released last month. In it he shares candidly from his own life about how he's wrestling through some of the biggest cultural issues of our current time and simple ways he's learning to refuse to let our disagreements define us. In his honest, relatable, Carlos way, we're invited on a path of radical love—one that requires us to become builders rather than demolitionists. Listen in.   Links + Resources From This Episode: How to Human by Carlos Whittaker The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.

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: The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.

Doing the next right thing is just that -- it's the next right thing for now, not forever. It's the next right thing as far as we understand what is good and right and next. Today I'll share my own story of continuing to discover what it means to do the next right thing in love. Listen in.   Links + Resources From This Episode: The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.

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: Episode 242: Are You Afraid of Choosing Wrong? Episode 162: Is It Time to Move On? Episode 145: When You're Afraid: Start with Your Senses Episode 136: Decision-Making for Slow Processors Episode 226: When Someone You Love is Indecisive Episode 119: How to Help Children Make Decisions Episode 167: Spiritual Direction for Beginners Episode 172: Make These 2 Lists Now Episode 219: 20 Questions to Ask Before You Say Yes to a Great Opportunity A Great Wagon by Rumi The Quiet Collection app Get my monthly letter here Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram

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: Take our survey to be entered to win a $250 gift card to bookshop.org. Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.

On this final episode of the year, I'll share my list of what worked in 2022 as well as a few tips and resources for you if you want to make your own list. Listen in! Want help looking back before moving forward? Download these 10 Questions for Reflection and Discernment.   Links + Resources From This Episode: ThredUp - Here's $10 off your first order I'll share my list of what didn't work in my letter to subscribers at the end of the month. Get it here. Created Colorful Episode 189: How to Use The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.  

A blessing for you and yours on this week before Christmas. You may recognize these words from Day 10 of last year’s version of The Quiet Collection for Christmas (2021). I hope they extend a welcome to you on this Christmas, when we mark the day God moved in and everything changed. Amen. Listen in.   Links + Resources From This Episode: Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.

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: Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer Episode 01: Become a Soul Minimalist Episode 204: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Christmas Episode 215: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Spring Episode 181: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Summer Episode 193: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Autumn The Quiet Collection app for iPhone The Quiet Collection on the App Store (Christmas Collection available as an in-app purchase) The Christmas Collection for non-iPhone users (Available December 8-16) Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.  

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: The Quiet Collection app for iPhone The Quiet Collection on the App Store (Christmas Collection available as an in-app purchase) The Christmas Collection for non-iPhone users (Available December 8-16) Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download a transcript of this, and every, episode at emilypfreeman.com.