The Next Right Thing

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: A playlist of the Psalms we’ve done so far 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

It's time for Psalm Summer and today I'll share a few words about why I hold a tension with the Psalms. I'm hearing it among my friends, at retreats I've led, from graduate students I teach, and in the spiritual direction chair -- we have a complicated relationship with God, with the Bible, with people who make up the church. Complicated doesn't have to mean bad and it doesn't have to be negative. It just means there are a lot of layers and we've lived a lot of life together. We have love stories to tell, heartbreaks to grieve, faithfulness to celebrate. The Psalms don't tell us how to live, they reveal the many ways we might respond to life. They are songs and poems written by those who are angry, heartbroken, bereft, and elated. The words in the Psalms are not a rule book but a refuge, a record, a reality of human life in all its complexity. Today I'll share a few words about why I'm glad to bring Psalm Summer back. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: A playlist of the Psalms we’ve done so far 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 “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: Supergoop Glowscreen Westmore Beauty 60-Second Eye Effects For the Love podcast with Jen Hatmaker A playlist of the Psalms we've done so far More of what's saving my summer life 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

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: Episode 184: The Next Right Thing In Marriage with John Freeman Episode 237: For When Things Are Changing (with John Freeman) Episode 167: Spiritual Direction for Beginners Episode 178: How to Find A Spiritual Director Order Sacred Companions by David Benner Follow John on Instagram @freemanjohn gracegreensboro.org 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

In today's episode, I'll be sharing some of my favorite summer-time decisions and then we get to hear from YOU! If you're already feeling in a summer rut, I hope these ideas will help if you find you need a little extra inspiration heading into summertime. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Episode 181: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Summer Episode 229: A Blessing for the Graduates 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 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: We want to hear about your favorite summer decision! Do you have a tip, a hack, a mindset, a question, or an activity you've said yes to and you're so glad you did? Or maybe it's something you decide to stop doing every summer? Whatever it is, we want to be inspired by your next right summer. Leave us a voice memo and be sure to share your name, where you live, and your favorite summer decision in 90 seconds or less. We can't wait to hear from you. Share your favorite summertime decision here. What Now? by Ann Patchett 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

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: The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary McBride Episode 276: Why Self-Care Isn't Selfish with Taylor Elyse Morrison Get my monthly letter 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

I'm glad to welcome author Taylor Elyse Morrison, who's turned being bad at self-care into a career. She's the founder of the media company Inner Workout and the author of a book by the same name. She's a founder, facilitator, coach, and serial entrepreneur making wellbeing and personal development more accessible. She's all about supporting people's journey to know, care for, and become their full selves. I hope you'll listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Find Taylor Elyse Morrison on Instagram Find Inner Workout on Instagram Inner Workout by Taylor Elyse Morrison Find Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith 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 Download the transcript

Today I'm thinking in threes: three categories of reading, three books I recommend and three questions to help you reflect on the last several months before heading in to the new season that's upon us. Listen in.   LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Jami Nato  Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman Start with Hello by Shannan Martin The Lake House by Kate Morton The House at Riverton by Kate Morton 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

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: 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