I thought about telling people beforehand, because it would have been nice to have some help, but I didn’t want to seem like I was just looking for attention.

When I got home, I was ready to eat ice cream and relax the rest of the day.
And then my visiting teacher texted me asking if she could stop by for a quick visit.

I was in no state to have someone visit me, so I told her that I just got home from the hospital and needed to relax and recover.

She responded: “What?! You are supposed to tell your visiting teachers when this happens so we can help you out and bring you treats!”

Fast-forward a little bit and I was meeting with a sister on my ministering route.

She told me about a recent surgery she had that I had no idea about.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I asked.

“Oh I hate telling other people when things are going wrong. I hate asking for help,” she said.

Fast-forward to last week as I was being admitted into the hospital for surgery.

I was exhausted and my phone was dying. I just found out that I needed surgery and would unexpectedly be staying in the hospital for a few days.

My immediate family knew, and I thought, “Ugh. No one else needs to know about this. I don’t like drawing attention to myself in this way or asking for help.”

And I think something finally clicked.

Have I ever thought that someone just wanted attention when they were sincerely asking for help? Nope.

Would it be nice to have help and prayers right now? Yes.

Do I have people who probably want to help me but just have no clue what I’m going through right now? Yes.

People can’t help if they don’t know that you need help.

And so I asked for help and prayers and support.

And it came.

I just had to ask.

And our Heavenly Father expects the same thing. He has told us time and time again in the scriptures that we must ask in order to receive.

And even when our mortal friends fail us, our loving Father will always give us exactly what we need.

He just requests that we do our part to lay aside our pride and ask.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Just have to ask first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I want to do things that bring me joy and make me feel comfortable.

I want eat food that makes me feel comfortable.

I want to earn an income where I can live a comfortable life.

Which means, the sins and the bad habits that I have in my life are ones that usually keep me feeling comfortable.

Sister Elaine S. Dalton taught, “Move outside your comfort zones. Push yourselves. Expect more.”

It can be scary to give up our sins because it means giving up a lifestyle that is just comfortable.

And yet the Lord beckons us to fear not.

To not be afraid to be uncomfortable.

To not be afraid to let go and grow.

It can be scary to give up a comfortable life.

But it doesn’t have to be.

Because on the other side of comfort and sin, is pure love and joy.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Outside the comfort zone first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My husband nodded. He knew exactly what calling he was going to be getting that day. He had known it since the phone call to meet with the stake presidency member came.

Me on the other hand? I was SHOCKED.

My husband? A counselor in the bishopric? We just moved here three months ago. We know virtually no one in the ward yet. I’m super sick from my pregnancy. We’ve got one little girl so far, and then our little boy will be here in a few months. Did the Bishop even give him the right name for this calling? What if this was a mistake?

(And that’s only a small portion of the thoughts that ran through my mind.)

But my husband knew.

And the stake presidency member knew that my husband knew.

How?

By the Spirit.

The Spirit actually had taught my heart a completely different lesson leading up to that day about not feeling resentful about time that my husband spends in his callings.

The Spirit didn’t need me to know what my husband’s calling would be. He just needed me to start preparing my heart to know that I could handle a big time commitment on my husband’s behalf.

I remembered a few year’s previously when I was waiting for a program acceptance as a part of the teaching program at BYU. I KNEW that I was getting accepted for a special student teaching program. Not in a cocky or prideful way, but because the Spirit told me I would get in and that we could make life plans around it.

I remembered when I applied to be an EFY counselor. I KNEW that I would get the job. Even when I initially did not get any contracts for weeks to work, I knew that somehow I would still get to work because the Spirit quietly told me and prepared me.

The Spirit can make things known to us that we have no other ways of knowing.

I’m not sure why we get the privilege of learning some things, and why others are left mysteries.

But God can tell us things through His Spirit.

Things that we usually just know we should keep to ourselves until a later date.

We can know through the manifestation of the Spirit.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Knowing through the Spirit first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

(AKA I’m totally missing it right now #choirwithdrawals)

So when I connect that love of singing to the gospel, I can’t help but connect with what Alma asks about our hearts.

Are our hearts taking advantage of the opportunity we have every single day to sing the song of redeeming love?

Or are we giving it up for some lesser options?

Sometimes, I catch myself just humming.

Here I am, surrounded by miraculous stories, Spirit-filled experiences, God’s word, and a prophet of God.

And I’m just kind of humming along. Remembering to read my scriptures here and there, trying to feel the Spirit sometimes… still in tune, but not fully participating.

And other times, I realize I’ve started mouthing the words.

Going through the motions. Keeping up appearances. But not having much substance behind what I’m doing, and taking no joy from it.

And yet other times, I realize that I don’t know what notes I’m supposed to sing.

The responsibility is mine to create opportunities to feel the Spirit, and I’ve dropped the ball. I haven’t prepared my heart in the way that I know I should.

And then, other times, I get to SING.

I get to sing out. I sing the right notes. I create harmony with those around me who are also doing their best. I keep my eyes on the director, who knows the big picture.

That is pure joy.

Singing with a full heart and a full voice.

So when was the last time we fully sang out?

Has it been a while since we felt that joy of being “all in” with our mightily changed hearts?

And if it’s been a while, what changes can we make to feel that JOY of singing the song of redeeming love again?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Singing the song first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Coaches may or may not have put me in those positions due to my less-than-speedy running rate, but I ended up loving these positions the most!

As the fast and athletic forwards were trying to score goals, my attention was always on the other team and how they could try to steal the ball away.

I was playing a game of strategy the entire time.

I was actually a pretty good goalie, and I attribute that to the fact that I never breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed like our team was in good hands.

I think sometimes we think that if we are up front or intentional with talking about sin in our lives, that it might invite more sin in.

Wouldn’t it just be easier to pretend like everything is fine all the time?

But virtually every knowledge source, from child development experts to the scriptures, remind us that we HAVE to be up front and intentional about driving out bad habits and sins in our lives.

When we see the wolf, drive it out!

When we feel temptation to search for bad things on the internet, we talk about our struggles and set up safeguards.

When we see that poor communication is happening with our spouse, we call it out for what it is and try to improve together.

When we see that our self esteem is taking a hit and we start wallowing in our pride of being worse off than everyone else, we start unfollowing accounts that make us feel less-than, and we surround ourselves with things that remind us of our worth.

When we see the wolf, we have to call it a wolf. We can’t ignore it.

And then we can drive it out.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Drive the wolf out first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.