Today, I need to slow down for just a few minutes to take a breath, to take a beat here in the middle of December. And so I want to offer you a four minute and thirty-eight second meditation for being okay. It's from one of the Advent collections in The Quiet Collection app called Compassion. It's track eight, named simply Okay. It's one of the simpler ones, but it's one I personally return to over and over again. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Learn more about The Quiet...

Emily Ley is the founder of Simplified, which is a bestselling brand of planners and organizational tools for busy women. She has spent nearly 13 years empowering, inspiring, and equipping women in the areas of organization, planning and simplicity. She's the host of the Simplified podcast and author of national bestselling books, but today, we're going to talk about concepts she writes about in her newest book, Near in the Night: A Collection of Reflections on Finding God's Peace and Rest....

There are a lot of reasons why the season of Advent might be a difficult one for you this year. Among them could be because you don't currently have a church or a faith community or it looks different than it used to, or you're about to move or make a change, or you just moved and made a change and it's all impacting your current reality, and you're feeling some kind of way about it all. If that's you, I hope you'll find welcome in today's conversation. Listen in.   LINKS + RESOURCES FROM...

It's time to share the scoop about this year's Advent resources in The Quiet Collection app. I've got good news, I've got medium news, and I have some fun news. You want to hear it all? Listen in.   LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: The Quiet Collection app Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack 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 feeling pulled in all directions, looking for grounding words but unable to form them, here’s a short prayer of welcoming some things we need, some things we want, and others we would rather do without. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack 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...

What do we do when we realize our next right thing is to apologize? And how do we do it in a way that the person we're apologizing to will know that we're sincere? I'm so glad to welcome bestselling author, TEDx speaker, leadership consultant and psychologist, Dr. Jennifer Thomas. Jennifer is the co-author of The Five Apology Languages with Dr. Gary Chapman, and together they've also written a book in partnership with Paul White called Making Things Right at Work. With a PhD in clinical...

In honor of the 300th episode of The Next Right Thing, I'm giving you the microphone to ask me your questions. I love hearing your voices whenever I can and I think this will be a lot of fun. I'll do my best to offer some solid responses, if not answers. Listen in.   LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack where I'll be answering more questions in this week's essay The Quiet Collection app Episode 32: Stop...

How can we know the difference between a yes, an absolutely yes, a maybe, a probably not, and a no? And what do we do with the simple one line advice that doesn't always seem to apply? Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack The Quiet Collection app Ask Emily anything Essentialism by Greg McKeown Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers Episode 219: 20 Questions to Ask Before You Say Yes to a Great Opportunity...

Today's question is a continuation of a conversation we started over 100 episodes ago, all about spiritual direction. I mentioned at the beginning of every episode that I serve as a spiritual director, and maybe you've heard that and wondered what it means or what that looks like. Well, I'll answer some of those questions about that today. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack Spiritual Direction...

When it comes to spiritual practice and life with God, it might be your default to think you're doing it wrong. Even though I've walked with my friend Jesus for many decades, have written many faith-based books, hold a master's degree in Christian spiritual formation and even teach in a master's level program on the same topic, I still carry around that childlike question sometimes without even realizing it. Am I doing this wrong? Am I on the right track? Am I going to be okay? Let's talk...

What's saving your life right now, specifically when it comes to autumn? 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 fall, everything counts. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack Our Unforming by Cindy S. Lee Get the monthly letter My Autumn playlist My sister's Autumnal playlist...

In this episode, I'm sharing about one of my next right things. For the last two-ish years, I've been working on my next book and it's finally time to tell you about it. If you're standing at a threshold, this book offers a framework for knowing when it's good to stay and when it might be time to move on. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Preorder How to Walk Into a Room Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided...

Today I'm talking with not one, but two guests. From their rural homestead in Charlottesville, Virginia, it's husband and wife duo Daniel and Lauren Goans, known as Lowland Hum. With the release of their brand new album From Self, With Love, this seemed like the perfect time to have them on the podcast to talk about some of the key decisions they've made along their way. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack Find Lowland Hum on...

Our emotions and feelings can take up a lot of space at the table. There may have been times we've gotten in trouble for them, either because we've shared too much and regretted it later, or we've been scolded or blamed for being too sensitive or too much or too something. That's when we've tended to label our feelings as not okay. But this is not the only story there is. How do our feelings impact our ability to make wise decisions and what good role can they play? Listen in. LINKS +...

Today's questions, what do decisive people know that indecisive people don't know? Is there a common skill or mindset present in people who consider themselves to be decisive that those of us who are more indecisive might lack? Can we learn it? Can we cultivate it? We'll talk about it. Listen in.   LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack The Quiet Collection app Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a copy of my book The Next Right Thing...

Today's question: when is good enough great? We'll talk about when perfectionism keeps us stuck. I hope you'll listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack Episode 325 of the Lazy Genius Podcast: Dealing with Differences on How Something is Done Mythical Me: Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison by Richella Parham Marketing Made Easy: Why You Aren't Taking Action The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown The Quiet Collection app...

The kitchen is the room of our house where we make many of our daily decisions which means it also has the potential to be the root cause of a lot of decision fatigue. Today I’m glad to welcome one of my in-real-life friends, Bri McKoy. Bri is an accidental home cook, a lover of gathering people around her everyday table, and the author of two books: the first is Come and Eat and the second is her brand new release: The Cook’s Book, the only cookbook I’ve ever read cover to cover. I’m...

If we're going to be on the internet, because we are, how can we stay sane and remain soul minimalists in the midst of the constant stream of information? That's today's question. Listen in. LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack "Our Brains Are No Match for Technology" by Tristan Harris Episode 32: Stop Collecting Gurus Atomic Habits by James Clear Depression, Creativity, and the Dangers of Being Constantly Plugged In by Ally Fallon The Quiet...

Today’s questions: why do I feel so exhausted? How can I remain a soul minimalist while having a maxed-out schedule? Does our soul have rules? And if so, what the heck are they, and how can knowing them help us in our next right thing? This isn’t a conversation about pitting your schedule against your soul, but it is to elevate our awareness that trying to tackle soul things with a scheduler’s mindset will almost always lead to frustration, disappointment, and exhaustion. Listen in. LINKS +...

This week I'm thrilled to celebrate another milestone: six years of The Next Right Thing podcast. Can we even believe it? Reflection is a key part of my own rhythm of life, so when I approach anniversaries of any kind, but maybe particularly annual ones, I like to pause and look back before moving ahead. Listen in.   LINKS + RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE: Subscribe to The Soul Minimalist on Substack Episode 238: State of the Podcast 2022 Episode 198: Be Present Not Perfect with Shauna...

It's the last week of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading Psalm 63 from the New Revised Standard Version, then from the Contemporary English version, then from the Message. At the end of this series, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in. 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 week three of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading Psalm 40 from the New Revised Standard Version, then from the Contemporary English version, then from the Message. At the end of this series, 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...

It's week two of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading Psalm 1 from the New Revised Standard Version, then from the Contemporary English version, then from Psalms for Praying by Nan C. Merrill. At the end of this series, 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...

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...