The Next Right Thing

After a long time off, welcome all the way back to the podcast. I'm glad to be here and I hope you are, too. We'll begin as we often do around here: by looking back, starting back in February when I discerned my word for this year would be HEAL. On this first episode of fall, I'll share the view from here, what healing means for me in this season, and how to know if healing is on the horizon. Listen in.

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It's the last week of Psalm Summer 2026, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 62. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

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It's week five of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 62. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

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It's week four of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 54. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

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It's week three of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 13. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

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It's week two of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 8. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

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It's the first week of Psalm Summer, and I'll be reading three versions of Psalm 3. When this series is over, we'll have all the Psalms for you as a collection in The Quiet Collection app. Listen in.

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Today I'm joining in conversation with my friend James Bryan Smith to finally share something that's been in the works for over a year now.

Jim is the author of The Good and Beautiful book series. A founding member of Richard J. Foster's spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré, Smith is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and has served in various capacities in local churches. He earned his MDiv at Yale and his DMin at Fuller and is a theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where he also serves as the director of the Apprentice Institute for...

It's the last episode of our regular season but don't worry - we may pop in with a bonus episode in the next few weeks and we'll definitely be back in late June to begin Psalm Summer.

Before I sign off, I want to leave you with the heart of why I do what I do here and what I believe is the most important thing to remember when we have decisions to make. Listen in.

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There are a lot of reasons to feel pulled in many directions this time of year which is why I'm delightfully surprised by the invitation I've been sensing to slow down and the surprising source from which it comes. Listen in.

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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...

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.

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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.

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This episode originally aired on March 14, 2023.   Today I'll re-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 "O...

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.

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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.

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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 al...

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.

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What does it mean to "trust the process"? What qualifies as a process worth trusting? How can we discern the difference between when it's time to trust the process and when we need to disrupt it? Let's get into it together.

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Clearing the clutter on the inside will almost always lead to more confident decisions on the outside. If you're in need for a gentle inner-life wellness check, this episode is for you. Listen in.

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I'm glad to be back on the mic and to join you on Tuesdays to help create a little space for your soul to breathe as you discern your next right thing in love. The season of Lent begins this week so I welcome you to navigate to The Quiet Collection app as we have our Lent Collection once again available. I'll say more about that in a bit but first, here are 8 things saving my life this winter. I hope you'll listen in.

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It's the last episode of the year and I'm glad to welcome the season of Advent together with you. I hope you'll listen in.

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What does it look like for us to participate in hope? Listen in.

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Today I'm glad to welcome poet, writer and visual artist David Gate. His work centers around care for the individual and the nurture of community including culture, the earth and the environment, the dignity of others, and spiritual communities. He says the most important thing for us is to care for the world, ourselves, and each other and all of his work points in that direction. In his debut collection of poems and essays, A Rebellion of Care, he inspires us to rally for what makes life worth living. Listen in.

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It's time for our seasonal episode of What's Saving My Life Right Now. I'll be sharing the things that are life-giving to me during this current autumn season and I'll encourage you to make your own list. 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. So what's saving your life right now? Here's what's saving mine. Listen in.

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If you sense some parts of your life are feeling a bit over bedazzled and if you're looking for ways to quiet the outer chaos or the inner chatter, this episode is for you. Listen in.

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An often-unspoken spiritual practice – one that doesn't make it into sermons or how-to guides - is the unconventional practice of crying in your kitchen. More specifically, navigating surprising or unwelcome emotion with kindness rather than control. Listen in.

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Today I'm glad to welcome author, podcaster, speaker, advocate, educator, mother, Jen Hatmaker. From the power of her written word across 14 books including four New York Times best sellers, to speaking on stages, leading her own courses and book club communities, and interviewing countless visionaries on her award-winning For The Love podcast, Jen has an undeniable gift for reaching the hearts and minds of her community. It's an honor to host her today to have a conversation about her deeply personal memoir, Awake. Listen in.

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In a world of comparison, competition, and constant performance, it's easy to turn inward, guard our energy, or measure our worth by what we haven't yet done. But what if, instead of striving, we chose to cheer? What if your next right thing wasn't about you at all, but about seeing someone else clearly and naming their goodness out loud? Even if it's not their special day of the year, finding someone to root for can be one counter-intuitive way to combat loneliness and discouragement.

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Today I'm exploring one of the things I crave that has nothing to do with food: a desire for space - body, mind, and soul. Here are some ways clearing space is helping me in my decision-making life. Listen in.

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If you're feeling far from wonder, or disconnected from your own faith, today's episode is an invitation to listen, notice, and remember. Listen in.

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I'm so glad to welcome Kate Strickler, the creator behind the extremely popular blog and Instagram account Naptime Kitchen. She's known for her down-to-earth practicality and home and parenting hacks, and when she isn't working or wrangling the kids, you can find her in her happy place: experimenting in the kitchen. Kate lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, Nate and their four children and I'm so glad to have her join us today.

She's written her very first book called I Just Wish I Had A Bigger Kitchen: And Other Lies I Think Will Make...

The things we read, watch, listen to and generally consume will almost always contribute in some way to a conversation we're already having in our heads. It may not be obvious at first, it may take some time to connect the dots. But eventually, the work and words and lives of others – if we're paying attention – will have some kind of impact. If we're lucky, they will help us to articulate something we've worked to do on our own for quite some time. If we're smart, we'll keep a record of it.

That's what I'm attempting to do t...

The things we read, watch, listen to and generally consume will almost always contribute in some way to a conversation we're already having in our heads. It may not be obvious at first, it may take some time to connect the dots. But eventually, the work and words and lives of others - if we're paying attention - will have some kind of impact. If we're lucky, they will help us to articulate something we've worked to do on our own for quite some time. If we're smart, we'll keep a record of it.

That's what I'm...

It's our first episode back after our summer hiatus and I'm so glad to welcome my friend, partner, and husband, John P. Freeman. (Yes, his middle initial really is P!) Aside from being my biggest cheerleader, John is also a pastor who served for 12 years in two different churches as a youth pastor until 12 years ago when he walked out of the room of official church ministry and walked into the room of our actual home where he worked for several years as a stay-at-home dad. For the last decade, he's been  running his own nonprofit called Grace Discipleship, w...

The things we read, watch, listen to and generally consume will almost always contribute in some way to a conversation we’re already having in our heads. It may not be obvious at first, it may take some time to connect the dots. But eventually, the work and words and lives of others - if we’re paying attention - will have some kind of impact. If we’re lucky, they will help us to articulate something we’ve worked to do on our own for quite some time. If we’re smart, we’ll keep a record of it.

T...

This summer, I'm re-airing some of my favorite decision making episodes. This one originally aired on November 15, 2022.

This summer, I'm re-airing some of my favorite decision making episodes. This one originally aired on October 12, 2021.

It's the list we all know to make when we're stuck in the decision-making process. There are helpful things about the pro/con list but we all know they don't work all by themselves. This type of list could be a good starting point, but what do you do next? I dedicated The Next Right Thing to anyone who's ever made a pro/con list in the middle of the night. If that's you, listen in.

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This summer, I'm re-airing some of my favorite decision making episodes. This one originally aired on March 8, 2022.   We underline a quote because it mirrors, questions, or inspires something in us. But it does no good for us if we don't have a way of recording and organizing it for later use and reflection. Today I'll share my four bucket system for capturing and organizing my favorite quotes so that they might make a difference in my everyday life. Listen in. Say Yes by Scott Erickson When Everything's on Fire by Brian Zahnd Evernote The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane Episode 167: S...

This summer, I'm re-airing some of my favorite decision making episodes. This one originally aired on April 6, 2021.

If you want to incorporate journaling into your daily rhythm but don't know where to begin, here's how to use just one word to get started. Listen in.