In the land of busyness, I’ve been quiet. I haven’t blogged as much, nor have I Periscoped as often. My emails aren’t all answered, and my phone social media has been off.

Because my perspective is changing.

If I could retitle my book, it’d be “Best, Not Next.” In other words, no matter how hard you and I try to eliminate busyness, it encompasses our world just by being a human in America in 2015. I could be on vacation and unless I turn my phone off (really off), I’m reachable to family, friends, readers, and even work.

Sharing life on social media means every funny or momentous event can be shared instantly with others, and you’re left wondering what’s the next thing you can share rather than keeping some things private, and just enjoying those who are with you.

And with the holidays, you’re already thinking about next–next year, the next event, the next season, the next time you can do something better. Living for next keeps you striving and robs you of contentment.

Are you guilty of this? I am.

I’ve pulled back from busyness since November 1 because Fall was incredibly busy. Then life happened. People died. People were diagnosed. And then nothing else matters.

And mass shootings happen. Women are in pain. Kids decide to be a missionaries. Then only a few things matter–God’s word and people. 

So I pour more into God’s word. To make sense of senselessness and receive truth in a world of lies. And it provides all that I need, from the hand of God Himself, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, through the revealing of the Holy Spirit.

I want nothing more than God’s best for now, rather than living for next.

Next year, at Christmas, our family will be missing people. My daughter will be serving orphans in Mexico and the doctors say another family member, more than likely, will be with Jesus. And that’s just what I know is up ahead.

So I’m not living for next Christmas. Or next year, or tomorrow. I’m trying to live the best for today with those most important to me, and where Christ has called me for now.

This fall, I missed some sporting events to minister the gospel of truth to women. That’s what was best for then. Some days, I don’t share with you because I need time with my family. In recent days, I’ve put off getting groceries because I’ve spend time with both of our fathers who, in their end of life reflections, share things deep from the heart.

Best in the now, with who needs you the most.

In the early hours of the morning, it’s usually me and Jesus.

Because I honestly can’t survive the days without Him.

My perspective’s changing as I read His word and observe humanity around me and the world. Can I be honest? There’s a shift in culture and the spiritual world. There’s an urgency to be about what’s most important and to know Jesus intimately. 

Not so you can have greater Instagram messages or have your kids get the more stickers on their memory verse cards.

But to know who Truth is (which is Jesus, the Son of God), to give His truth to others (children, and the hurting around you) and to be grounded in a world where evil is increasingly present.

May I ask you–are you ready?

Are you ready to face difficulty with a resolve that is deep and strong because you know Him and His character?

Are you ready to live without regrets because you’ve been intentional now?

Are you ready to let go of what doesn’t really matter for what really does?

Are you ready to stop feeding the lust of next, more, and better so you can live the best Today?

If not, don’t wait until Jan 1. Start today.

I’m starting a new social media campaign called #30daysofreal on Instagram and Facebook. I’ll be posting photos of real life around me and my home for 30 days which may or may not be picture-perfect.

I’ve guilty of lusting for more, next, and better just scrolling through Facebook for 15 minutes. Are you? 

So join me. Follow on Instagram or Facebook. When you post your own “real” photo and use the #30daysofreal and tag me @brendayoderpicketfence on Instagram or Life Beyond the Picket Fence on Facebook, I’ll enter your name in a drawing for a giveaway of my book in January. Join us, and share the contentment of life as it is–good, bad, and ugly.

And in the meantime. Shut off the phone and tablet. Join your family and be in His Word.

And live for now.

ALSO—-if you haven’t purchased your tickets for Who Do You Say I Am, a night for teen girls, get them online only until January 4, then they may only be available at the Red Wagon. Tickets are going fast. Get yours today!