With an important Presidential election coming up in the United States in just a few short weeks, we are preparing to make decisions that don't only impact our own households but also the people who live all over this beautiful country and all over the world. No matter how you choose to vote, chances are you've experienced a fair amount of anxiety, frustration, and relational conflict during this season. What are some ways to stay grounded and clear-headed as we do our next right thing? Listen in.  Links + Resources From This Episode: Experience stamps.com with a four-week free trial with code "Next Right Thing" On Being with Krista Tippett: Arlie Hochschild Episode 103: Look for the Children: Mister Rogers and Decision Making Be The Bridge Podcast with Latasha Morrison Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

When the big picture is impossible to grasp but the next thing feels inconsequential, it can help to remember the medium picture instead. If you're questioning if your daily decisions are adding up to something good, holding on to the medium picture can be a relief. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Explore your creativity with 2 free months of Skillshare premium membership. Searching for Certainty by Shelly Miller Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Use code NEXTRIGHTTHING to get $100 off your first month on Talkspace On Racism: Learning to Speak and to Listen The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser One: Unity in a Divided World by Deidra Riggs Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison What Lies Between Us by Dr. Lucretia Berry How to Save Things on Instagram Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

In this final episode in our senses series, today we'll discover the role our senses might play in our life with God. One of the most life-giving discoveries I've made over the past decade or so has been to understand that our expression of faith doesn’t have to look just one way. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Discover new things with 30% off Kiwico The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle The Listening Life by Adam S. McHugh Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas To Bless the Space Between Us by John O'Donohue Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

Fear can be our friend because it helps us to survive by telling us to avoid dangerous things. But when fear works too hard, it's easy to lose our context. We can become hyper-focused on certain cues while ignoring other ones. When fear starts to work overtime, it can help to engage in this simple practice to bring us back to center again. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Uncover personal stories about your past at ancestry.com Rachel Pearl VanEtten's website Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

Questions of timing, next steps, and which path to take can consume our thoughts, causing us to be distracted, lose sleep, or make a decision in haste just to have it behind us. That’s because unmade decisions hold power. If you find yourself stuck in the decision-making process, it could help to re-engage in the world around you in ways that have nothing to do with the decision. Maybe it’s time to get out of your head and into your body.  Links + Resources From This Episode: Explore your creativity with 2 free months of Skillshare premium membership. Why We Have Our Best Ideas in the Shower: The Science of Creativity by Leo Widrich for Buffer Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist Hope*writers is open for enrollment! Learn more or take our 30-second quiz Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

In an attempt to disrupt the cycle of overthinking and get out of my own head, I'm working to pay attention to my body, namely my five senses. This is not my most natural way. If you can relate, I hope that intentionally seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, and hearing might prove to be a grounding practice as we consider our next right thing in several areas of our lives. Today I'm glad to have my sister, Myquillyn Smith (The Nester), join me for a conversation about how to start with our senses at home. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Uncover personal stories about your past at ancestry.com Episode 141: Redo Your Morning Routine  Welcome Home by Myquillyn Smith Myquillyn's Autumn playlist Emily's Autumn playlist Myquillyn's website, The Nester Atomic Habits by James Clear Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Get 30% off your first KiwiCo crate Episode 141: Redo Your Morning Routine My conversation with Susan Stabile on The Enneagram Journey Embracing The Body by Tara Owens Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Uncover personal stories about your past at ancestry.com Episode 76: Create a Simple Morning Routine Episode 90: Start with This Simple Rhythm Episode 140: Do the Opposite Shannan Martin's Instagram account Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Listeners of The Next Right Thing can get 2 free months of Skillshare premium membership here. Get The Between Places journal for 15% off with code NEXTRIGHTTHING here Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Get 30% off your first month and free shipping at Kiwico here. The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi Find Kendra on Instagram or online Cozy Minimalist Home by Myquillyn Smith Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download transcript

When it comes to the decisions we have to make, the choices we carry and the many potential roads we could walk down, its important to remember that we don’t face these decisions neutrally or at zero every time. Like a good novelist begins her story with the story already happening, that’s how we arrive at every decision we make. And that means we're carrying some things we may need to leave behind. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Episode 137: Remember What You Know Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi (Details about preorder bonuses here). Email me here with questions you may have for Kendra The Sacrament of Letting Go by Macrina Wiederkehr Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

From the scientists to the school board, no one really knows for sure what the next best step is in the midst of this continuing coronavirus epidemic — and those who thought they knew for sure before keep changing their minds.   We have to make decisions without all the facts, with a rapidly changing landscape of advice, and with fewer certainties we’ve come to rely upon. Now more than ever it’s essential to remember what we already know and practice doing just the next right thing. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Today's episode is sponsored by Ancestry.com. The Next Right Thing listeners can get their AncestryDNA kit and free trial here. Episode 33: Gather Co-Listeners Psalm 23 (MSG) Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

Today’s episode is inspired by a few comments I received after I shared on Instagram that I am a slow processor. Several of you raised your hand and said you are slow processors too and it’s good to hear from someone like me who continues to put content out weekly and seems to be a functioning human adult person but that I too am someone who thinks slow.   Is there room for slow processing in this fast moving world? How can we make thoughtful decisions when everything moves so fast? Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: The Next Right Thing listeners can get 2 free months of Skillshare! Details here. 10 Things To Tell You: Has The Internet Ever Changed Your Mind? Episode 60: Start Before You're Ready Essentialism by Greg McKewon Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: The Actor's Life by Jenna Fischer The Nap Ministry on Instagram Episode 88: Come Away For A While The Rest of the Body // A Guest Post by Tara M. Owens Embracing the Body by Tara Owens Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: The Next Right Thing listeners can get 2 free months of Skillshare! Details here. This Too Shall Last by K.J. Ramsey Psalm 13 (NIV) The Redemptive Edge: Creative Action Begins with Lament Whistling in the Dark by Frederick Buechner Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Sign up to receive my monthly newsletter The Book of Waking Up by Seth Haines With You Now by Ellie Holcomb Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

In the United States, we place a high value on our independence, on our ability to choose for ourselves, and to have things the way we want them when we want them. And while I know I’m speaking in broad strokes and this doesn’t necessarily describe every US citizen, it does in many ways describe us as a whole. But this is not necessarily a shared value around the world. Why is it so hard for us to make decisions? Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Literary London with Tsh Oxenreider In Europe, little refrigerators hold a grand reason for less waste by Evan Kleiman for the LA Times Sheena Iyengar's TED Talk The Art of Choosing and her book by the same title How cultures around the world make choices by Amy S. Choi What's Your Decision? by Fathers Michael Sparough and Tim Hipskind Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: On Racism: Learning to Speak and to Listen Ephesians 2 (NIV) One by Deidra Riggs Start Where You Are by Rashawn Copeland One by Deidra Riggs Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 114: Welcome Your Loneliness Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Annie F. Downs and her podcast That Sounds Fun That Sounds Fun Network Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Brownicity and Dr. Lucretia Berry Osheta Moore on Instagram Download a transcript of 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: My interview with Anne Bogel on What Should I Read Next My book, Simply Tuesday Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary How Ramona Quimby Helps Kids Make Sense of This Unstable World by Rachel Richardson At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Grace Discipleship: John Freeman Here and Now by Henri Nouwen hope*writers: We're open for enrollment May 18 - 22, 2020! The War of Art by Steven Pressfield Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: 10 1/2 Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said by Charles Wheelan Life Without Lack by Dallas Willard Souvenirs of Solitude by Brennan Manning Episode 81: Listen To This Before Graduation Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Psalm 23 (NASB) You Learn By Living by Eleanor Roosevelt Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 01: Become a Soul Minimalist Episode 88: Come Away For A While Episode 84: A Beginner's Guide to Self-Reflection Episode 73: Design Your Rhythm of Work – Theme Days Episode 121: How to Discern and Decide A Case for Single-Tasking by Jason Fitzpatrick for Lifehacker Episode 90: Start with this Simple Rhythm Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Colossians 1:27 The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser 2 Corinthians 4 Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Discern + Decide, my online self-paced course. Enrollment open until April 8, 2020 Will the Circle Be Unbroken? by Sean Dietrich Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Discern + Decide, my online self-paced course. Enrollment open until April 8, 2020 That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief from the Harvard Business Review Episode 120: What to Do When the World Shuts Down The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser Parks and Recreation on Netflix Proverbs 20:27 Get the ebook version of The Next Right Thing for free via Amazon Prime Grab a physical copy of The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Psalm 31:14-16 Get the ebook version of The Next Right Thing for free via Amazon Prime Grab a physical copy of The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 94: Ask the Second Question Too Small to Ignore by Wess Stafford Families Where Grace is in Place  by Jeff VanVonderen Mark 10:15-16 Grab a copy of The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 11: Wear Better Pants My book Simply Tuesday - small moment living in a fast-moving world Zechariah 4:10 Grab a copy of The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Learn more about hope*writers Learn more about Tsh Oxenreider and Literary London Episode 100: Tell Me About You (and I’ll Tell You About Me) Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 115: Before You Decide, HALT Episode 21: Find a No Mentor Episode 80: Don't Take Offense Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 114: Welcome Your Loneliness Episode 109: Wait Until The Morning Jean Yang's tweet from December 6th Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Episode 113: Decide to Decide Matthew 11 Sign up to receive my monthly letter Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing  What Now? by Ann Patchett Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: A Million Little Ways The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: You can find all of Dallas Willard's books here Psalm 23 My book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript  

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: Hope*Writers is accepting new members through Friday, January 17th Start here if you want to take the Hope*Writers quiz My book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Bonus: For Anyone Longing for Home Episode 108: Walk at Your Own Pace Episode 70: The Best Time To Make a Decision I share my morning routine in Episode 76: Create a Simple Morning Routine Leeana Tankersley on decision making Review The Next Right Thing on Apple Podcasts The Next Right Thing book Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Discern + Decide, my online self-paced course Sign up to receive my monthly letters The Next Right Thing by me Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: My book, The Next Right Thing  Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Hearing God by Dallas Willard Invitation to Retreat: The Gift and Necessity of Time Away with God by Ruth Haley Barton Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer You Learn by Living: 11 Keys For a More Fulfilling Life by Eleanor Roosevelt The Listening Life by Adam S. McHugh Atomic Habits by James Clear Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown The Next Right Thing by me Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert My book A Million Little Ways LA Time's story on Frozen 2 and the song The Next Right Thing The Quiet Collection for Christmas Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: 5 Books for Advent Reading The Quiet Collection for Christmas  Episode 90: Start With This Simple Rhythm To Bless the Space Between Us by John O'Donohue Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript

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: Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist The Broken Way by Ann Voskamp Episode 16: Walk Slow and Carry Questions Grab a copy of my book, The Next Right Thing Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman Download Transcript