A couple people brought me delicious homemade dinners that we were so grateful for.

But my visiting teacher (#backintheday) texted me and said: “Hey, cooking isn’t really my thing. But I’m gonna grab Cafe Rio for you guys! Text me what you and Kyle want and I’ll bring it by at 5!”

This blew my mind! Because I don’t really like cooking dinners either.

But I had used this as an excuse to not volunteer to bring people dinner.

Instead, she still volunteered. And then made it work within what she was comfortable with.

Her example has stuck with me.

There is SO much power in volunteering to help and serve. Isaiah is a great example of this – always willing to serve and sacrifice in the ways the Lord asked him too.

But isn’t it easy to NOT volunteer?

Because we aren’t TECHNICALLY saying, “no”. We just aren’t the one who is saying, “yes”.

Cooking isn’t my thing. I’m not great at watching kids. I can’t even clean my own house! I’ve got too many things going on with my family.

We say these excuses and then miss out on rich opportunities to serve and connect with others. We hold back on giving them blessings, and in return, we miss out on blessings of serving. We miss out on love.

Instead, my visiting teacher taught me that I can still acknowledge my preferences and weaknesses…

… but then I can come up with a creative way to still make it work.

I don’t like cooking… but I’ll buy you dinner.

I don’t enjoy cleaning… but I’ll watch your kids so you can have some peace.

I’m really busy with my family… but I’m going to bring my whole family to help you so that we can all still spend time together.

It’s so important to know how to say “no” when we need to, but are we getting a little too comfortable with avoiding saying “yes”?

Here am I! Send me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post “I don’t like to cook, but…” first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

We use this to comfort loved ones who have made mistakes and think there is no way back to Heavenly Father. Of course there is! He still loves you!

But do we sometimes think that we are the exception?

That there is no way that God could still love US after that big mistake that WE made?

Or, I think even more common, that there is no way that God could still love us after all the good little things we AREN’T doing?

It is easy for me to think about all the blessings that I have. I was born into the gospel, I have easy access to the scriptures, I’m the member of a kind ward who teaches with love, I have a beautiful family that is trying to be better every day.

I am SO blessed.

And yet I am SO imperfect. 

I have all of these rich opportunities, and yet I waste many of them. 

I could be doing so much better. 

And sometimes, it is hard to envision a loving Heavenly Father when I see how far I am from where I want to be. 

But in 2 Nephi Chapter 19, after listing all of the unrighteous things that people will do, we are reminded repeatedly that “his hand is stretched out still.”

His hand is stretched out still.

I take this pretty literally. I picture his hand reaching out to me when I go to sleep instead of reading my scriptures. I picture his hand reaching out to me when I am lazy. I picture his hand reaching out to me when I get frustrated with my child. 

I picture his hand reaching out to me ALWAYS. 

Whether it’s one big sin, or innumerable little shortcomings.

He loves us, and his hand is reaching out to us.

And every single time we reach out to grab his hand, he will lift us just a little bit higher. 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post His hand is stretched out still first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I might be working, or making lunch, or chatting with a friend. But there’s always a song in the back of my mind!

And if you spend any amount of time with my two-year-old, you’ll probably hear her sing before she says a word. In fact, she is currently singing “Last Christmas” while pounding on the piano right now. Yes, the weird Christmas pop song. In February.

Now, when I think of strength, I think of specific times throughout my day when I need an extra boost of support.

When my 4-week-old cries out at 3 am and I need strength to just open my eyes and prop myself up to feed him. When my 2-year-old needs me to help her zip up a purse that she has unzipped for the millionth time. When I just feel tired.

So when I say that Christ is my STRENGTH and my SONG, I immediately have two thoughts:

1. He is my strength. He is there in those special moments when I need him even more than usual.

I can call on him when I’m tired, when I’m frustrated, when my body is ready to give up. And he’ll give me the strength that I need to go on.

2. He is my song. He is always there in the back of my mind.

It doesn’t matter where I’m at or what I’m doing. My thoughts are always running on autopilot to direct everything back to my Savior.

And I can rejoice in him as much as I rejoice when I accomplish a physical feat or when I sing a beautiful piece of music.

He is my strength and my song!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My strength and my song first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

One of the memories that still stands out to me a year later from attending that devotional was Sister Nelson’s talk. 

She mentioned distinct witnesses she had received in the previous year since her husband had been called as the Prophet.

She talked about how President Nelson now gets up in the middle of the night quite often to record thoughts in a yellow notepad next to his bed.

And she even mentioned one specific morning when she felt impressed to wake up early, get out of bed, and do things around the house for a couple of hours, after which President Nelson emerged from their bedroom telling her that she wouldn’t believe what had been occurring in their room for the past two hours.

I thought about this a lot as I read Nephi testifying that he had seen his Redeemer. And that he knew Jacob had seen his Redeemer as well. And then he quotes Isaiah who speaks about seeing his Savior.

Christ does not hide himself from his prophets. 

I have felt the Spirit witness that this is true.

But I also know that Christ does not hide himself from any of us who truly seek him. 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said in his final talk in April 1985: “In a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. 

“But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer”. 

Do we KNOW who our Savior is, just like Isaiah, and Nephi, and Jacob, and our modern prophets? 

Would seeing our Savior today change our faith, or just solemnly confirm what we already know?

Isaiah, as complicated as his writings can be, always centered his prophecies around CHRIST. 

What a pure reminder of our most important priority. Not serving in a calling, not having perfect church attendance, not staying up on Come Follow Me.  

But KNOWING who our Savior is. Recognizing his love. Praising him for his miracles. And then continuing to know that we know him. 

And when we are able to find that knowledge here, in this messy mortal state, imagine the joy that the reunion will bring in the next life! 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Knowing our Savior NOW first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Nephi quotes Isaiah in 2 Nephi Chapter 12 as he extensively narrates how pride will be the downfall of many.

“But I don’t think I’m better than other people. Trust me, I’m not prideful.”

Luckily, President Benson gave us one of the most iconic talks (“Beware of Pride”) filled with common but misunderstood examples of pride – all of which separate ourselves from God or from our fellow men.

• Pride from the bottom looking up: “Yeah, they are loaded. They’ll be fine.”
• Fault-finding: “Did you hear what the Bishop’s wife did?”
• Living beyond our means: “We need to buy this house so people will know we are successful.”
• Withholding praise that might lift another: “Yeah, she did great, but I’m sure she already knows and I don’t want HER to feel prideful.”
• Being jealous: “How does she always look so good? I’m not as put together.”
• Disobedience: “They shouldn’t be ‘above’ me so I’m not going to follow what they say.”
• Contention: “I am right, you are wrong, so I am better than you.”
• Dependence upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not: “I don’t believe I have intrinsic value, so I wait for other people’s judgments to build me up.”
• Personal Competition: “If you succeed, I fail.”

Whew. Some of those sting a little to read and think about.

Pride is referred to as the “universal sin” for a reason. I think we’ve all learned how to separate ourselves from God and others as a coping mechanism to avoid other uncomfortable feelings.

Sometimes, we are going to be disappointed. We are going to lose. We are going to see someone get something before we do. We will disagree with people.

And I think it’s a lifelong learning process to figure out how to go through life as a human without separating ourselves from the people around us and from God.

But it’s worth that constant refinement! It’s worth it to weed out each little manifestation of pride as soon as we recognize it, so that we can grow closer in love to our fellow men and closer to our all-loving at God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What is pride… really? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.