April is my birthday month so every year I like to dedicate one episode to birthdays in general - maybe something you can come back to when your birthday rolls around. Of course birthdays are a time for celebration, for treating ourselves, for toasting to another year of life. They are also a good time for personal reflection. If you are someone for whom reflection does not come naturally, you may wonder why do it at all: We can't change the past so what's the point of looking back? What are the real benefits of reflecting on your life? I'm so glad you asked. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Purchase The Birthday Collection
• Episode 272: A Soul Minimalist's Guide to Your Birthday
• Episode 365: A Birthday Reflection for When You're Not Sure How to Celebrate
• How We Think by John Dewey
• Journal Club Check-In
• Get the monthly letter

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"

Some seasons we're more aware of the ways we need our lives to be saved. For me it's always good to keep a list and pay attention to the small and big things that are saving me. It's been especially good for me this month. Maybe in hearing the things on my list you'll be inspired to make and share your own. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• Joyful, Anyway by Kate Bowler

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

Inevitably in life, all of us will face unexpected turns and be required to navigate terrain we didn't choose and don't understand. What do we do when life is interrupted, when the story you were happy to tell is no longer true? When the crisis isn't obvious or clear or public? When the help we need feels as desperate as a house fire but it's not fully ours to ask for? I have a few ideas. Listen in.

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• 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

• Seasons of Your Heart by Macrina Wiederkehr
• The Quiet Collection app
• Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Find me on Instagram @emilypfreeman
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Today I want to share a bit more personally about my own journey this last 6 weeks. As always, my only hope in sharing with you my inner processing is that perhaps it will help you begin to make sense of your own. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

If you continue to struggle with knowing how to carry the hard stuff without becoming cynical, angry, or sad all the time and also how to carry the good stuff without feeling guilty or succumbing to toxic positivity you're in the right place. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Order Counterweights by Shannan Martin
• Join Emily and Shannan at Main Street Books Davidson on April 9th
• Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen Greensboro

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

I've been hosting The Next Right Thing for nearly nine years and through sharing simple, soulful practices for making life decisions, I've also offered a window into my own walk with God, including my questions, struggles, gratitudes, and growth. Like you, I've experienced a lot of change in nine years – from parenting middle schoolers to now having college aged kids; going to graduate school and becoming a spiritual director; from loving our church to leaving our church, and finding a new one, including becoming curious about the Quaker expression of our Christian faith.

In the midst of all these changes, many things have remained the same, one thing in particular and today I wanted to share more about what it has meant to walk with our friend Jesus through this winding path of life. I hope you'll listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Order your Next Right Thing Guided Journal and use code JOURNALCLUB40 for 40% off and free standard US shipping

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript

Today I'm sharing another phrase we might hear often – Protect your peace. I like that phrase and I also wonder sometimes if we take it too far. Does our peace need protecting? When and to what extent? How can we know when our next right thing is to protect our peace and when instead we might need to extend it or even step into discomfort on purpose? That's today's episode. Listen in.

LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Episode 383: How to Know if a Process is Worth Trusting
• New Heights with Taylor Swift
• David Brooks in the New York Times
• Find Brooke Romney on Instagram

FIND EMILY ELSEWHERE:

• Watch this episode on YouTube
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Download The Quiet Collection app
• Join The Soul Minimalist Substack
• Order a How to Walk into a Room
• Download the free discussion guide for How to Walk into a Room by visiting this page and clicking the button "Discussion Guide"
• Download the transcript