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

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 the transcript

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.