The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions

This book was refreshing, simple, calming, and also challenging. It's one I would recommend to anyone going through a season of change or transition. This book is probably one I'll pick up again to read in a few years when I need a reminder to just be and let God inside every single space of our hearts.

"The decision itself is rarely the point. The point is becoming more fully ourselves in the presence of God."

And yet we have to make decisions every day. Thousands of them, in fact. How can we do this without becoming paralyzed in indecision? How can we make choices that we feel good about, that speak to who we most deeply and truly are?

In her gracious and kind voice, Emily Freeman walks readers through this very real and very daily problem. Her primary advice is simply this: do the next right thing. And she spends the whole book unpacking just exactly how to figure out what your next right thing is. This book is both deeply soulful and immensely practical: each short chapter is followed by a prayer and a practice you can implement as show more you work through dicerning your next right thing.

This book is full of more great advice than I can absorb in a single read-through, and I imagine myself returning to it over and over again as I make try to make whole-hearted decisions in my own life. show less

Emily P. Freeman's book, The Next Right Thing, was a turning point for me. She writes with such simplicity yet her words are deeply rooted. Every chapter is titled with an "action phrase", like Chapter 2 is Become a Soul Minimalist and Chapter 13 is Don't Rush Clarity. This alone is one of my favorite things about the book. You can just read the Contents page and you will already be on the path to The Next Right Thing. Simple statements that make an impact.

She punctuates each chapters end with a prayer and a practice section. Both are great sections to meditate on and absorb. Even if you don't have clarity, you must act as mentioned in the book. The chapters flow with simple, soulful practices and wisdom that will guide you to keep show more moving forward.

If you are not looking for another guru, but rather a simple step by step guide you will not be disappointed. The Next Right Thing is on my favorites list!

*Thank you to Revell for my copy in exchange for my honest book review. All opinions are my own. show less

I love this book because it encourages me to slow down, breathe and trust God in doing the right thing as I make decisions. I used to be rather great at making decisions but as life has change so many things in my life, I've started to doubt myself and agonize over what to do - asking trusted family members over and over what they think I should do. This is very confusing and I'm not talking to the One who knows exactly what I should do - God. This book takes me back to that important square one of turning to the Lord when I'm not sure what the right next thing to do is.

Emily shares practices that we can apply to our decision making that has made it so much easier for me in my life. I really love the practical advice and common sense show more that she brings to this book, but most of all, I love that it's God-centered and Biblical.

There are so many great quotes throughout this book! I highlighted extensively throughout! One of my very favorite quotes was on page 79, "We can’t prevent storms from coming, but we can decide not to invent our own.” How profound is this? I am definitely a "what if" girl and this quote brought me back and grounded me in not inventing my own storms.

I also think her advice of putting down our phones, our tablets, and just being silent and connecting back into our lives is great. I'm realizing that social media can actually suck the like out of us and keep us from doing what is right for ourselves. Being quiet, talking and listening to God, are vital for making the right next decision.

I highly recommend this book! It's such a great book and truly life changing. It's a book that I will refer to again and again and I plan on reading it again right away. I give it 5 stars.

*This book was provided to me by Revell. I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this book. show less

We all know someone we’d describe as indecisive, maybe you are an indecisive person yourself, but author Emily P. Freemen seeks to help cure this indecisive-ness in her newest book The Next Right Thing. Named after her podcast, The Next Right Thing provides readers 24 chapters of strategies and insights to aid in making decisions.

“It’s estimated that adults make over 35,000 decisions every day” (p. 14). It is for this reason a book such as this is necessary. Freeman provides many useful tips and tactics for making the right decisions, some that seem rather common sense in theory but difficult in practice and others that take deeper soul searching. For instance, in one story Freemen discusses a time when she made a decision based show more on fear. Her lesson in this chapter is to name the underlying fear. By naming fear, you strip it of power, so rather than letting the fear push her around she took control over her own decisions and ultimately made the choice right for her at the time.

While this story houses some crucial lessons, it is important to point out the author’s spouse is a former pastor. Her religious background is on full display in this read as each chapter consistently ends both with a prayer and a practice. These small devotionals and exercises aid in moving Freeman’s teachings from the page to our real lives.

*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own. show less

In a different season of my life this review might be different, but I read this book at the absolute perfect time (in other words: I have a huge, looming, life-altering decision to make). I had this audiobook on hold for months and it arrived at the perfect time on the perfect day. It was exactly what I needed to hear and I devoured it in one sitting.

The format of the book is fairly simple. Each chapter of the book is about 9 pages, ends with a prayer and then has a practice suggestion to help you put this advice into your life. The author uses her own life situation to show how she lived by the advice: Do the Next Right Thing. Sometimes we can't see the whole picture, but we can do what we know is right at this moment of our lives. She does mention some Scripture and says that all advice and practices that she gives should be drawing you closer to God. And for the most part her Scriptural advice is good; although, there was one instance that I did not agree with her. Overall, I think her story is encouraging and shows that God is at work in the doors that close in your life. Don't show more stress over having to get every decision perfect, and walk closely with God so that you can do what is the Next Right Thing in the life you've been given.
***I received this complimentary book from Revell. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. show less