I’ve been praying for more personal discipline recently. ⁣

Being a stay-at-home mom and being self-employed have really tested the extreme boundaries of my personal discipline. ⁣

I’ve prayed a lot. I’ve cried. I’ve done research. I’ve listened to podcasts. ⁣

I’ve thought about it a whole lot. ⁣

And then finally, I just started making little changes. ⁣

I stopped trying to wait for the perfect strategy or the ideal calendar. ⁣

And when I would try something, I’d learn pretty quickly or not if it worked. ⁣

And all of a sudden, I’m realizing I’m doing a whoooole lot better than I used to. ⁣

It’s like a combination of the law of attraction, and the snowball principle. ⁣

The Lord teaches more about this skill in D&C 88: 40, and He actually gives a bunch of really cool examples: ⁣

“For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own”. ⁣

We attract what we already have. ⁣

And we grow what we put effort into. ⁣

Learn some truth, seek for it earnestly, and you’ll be given even more truth. ⁣

⁣Start studying the scriptures, put effort into learning more, and you’ll get even more knowledge about them. ⁣

Give some mercy, pray for an even softer heart, and soon you’ll have so much more mercy to give. ⁣

So what do you want more of in your life today? ⁣

Start with the basics.⁣

Put in some effort. ⁣

(Remember, the Lord LOVES effort.)⁣

And you’ll attract even more of it.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What do you want more of? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

So many factors to consider, so many strategies to try, so many ways to craft a lesson plan to optimize engagement and learning. ⁣⁣

It was fascinating to me. ⁣⁣

Especially because growing up in the church, we put everyone in “teaching” callings and call it a day!⁣⁣

But there is so much research behind how to actually be a good teacher, and it blew my mind. ⁣⁣

I loved learning it, and I loved putting it into practice. ⁣⁣

Here’s the thing about church teaching assignments, though. ⁣⁣

You don’t have to know anything about the most up-to-date pedagogy. ⁣⁣

In one of the most comforting verses for teachers ever, the Lord reminds us:⁣⁣

“Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you”. (D&C 88:78⁣)⁣

Diligent teachers have the Lord’s grace with them. ⁣⁣

Grace that covers gaps in teaching skills, or engagement strategies, or even doctrinal knowledge. ⁣⁣

Don’t get me wrong, I still love learning from masterful teachers. ⁣⁣

But I’ve had teachers who focus on entertainment more than bringing the spirit. ⁣⁣

And I’ve had teachers who probably read too much during the lesson, ask obvious questions, or don’t really engage as well as they could, where the Spirit still speaks powerful words to me because I can tell they are doing their best. ⁣⁣

Feel like you aren’t the best teacher, and yet you’ve been asked to teach?⁣⁣

The Lord’s grace will attend you.⁣

I’ve felt this time and time again as I’ve taught, sometimes using my best teaching strategies, and other times being pulled in a totally different direction. ⁣

If we as teachers are diligent in our preparation, both of the material and of our hearts, the Lord’s grace will cover any gaps.⁣

And His Spirit will do the real teaching.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post For the teachers first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

My heart broke as I heard a dear friend say this to me recently. ⁣

She was going through some rough stuff. ⁣

And she expressed how she felt like all she did was complain. ⁣

My response? ⁣

That’s not how I saw things at all. ⁣

This is the beautiful thing about life. ⁣

We ebb and flow in our give and take. ⁣

Sometimes we are the sun. ⁣

Sometimes we are shining bright and lifting people up. ⁣

This friend in particular is always taking other people dinners who are in need, offering to help with anything, and has been there in very serious moments when I’ve needed immediate help. ⁣

She shines bright a whole lot. ⁣

But then, the sun goes down. ⁣

And we are the moon. ⁣

We don’t have much of our own light to give, and so we rely on the light we get from other people. ⁣

And she totally gets to be a moon right now. ⁣

There’s a time to serve and a time to be served. ⁣

There’s a time to love and a time to feel love. ⁣

There’s a time to shine the light of Christ and there’s a time to rely on the light that other people have. ⁣

“They give light to each other in their times and in their seasons…⁣

“The sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night”. D&C 88:44-45⁣

There are times and seasons for all things. Times for the sun, and seasons for the moon. ⁣

We have the light of Christ within us not to just shine and bring glory to ourselves. ⁣

But we have the light to give to each other in the times and seasons that we need.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Sun and moon  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This has been a fascinating journey for me. ⁣

Especially in the streaming era where I have access to thousands of shows with various ratings and content. ⁣

Many of us were taught to stay away from certain ratings. ⁣

That’s the behavior that culturally gets taught, either in families or in church. ⁣

And then you start to wonder… why?⁣

Would it really be that bad to watch a movie with that rating?⁣

Is that really doctrine?⁣

Good intentions from teachers and parents turn into kids wondering what the truth really is. ⁣

Teaching behavior can sometimes fix behavior. ⁣

But you know which strategy has been recommended by the Lord?⁣

“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.” D&C 88:77⁣

Doctrine. ⁣

“The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” -Boyd K. Packer⁣

What’s the doctrine behind media choices?⁣

The doctrine is that we do SO much to have the Holy Spirit’s presence with us as often as we can. ⁣

We repent and get baptized and take the sacrament so that we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. ⁣

When we have the Spirit’s presence with us, we are literally accompanied by a member of the Godhead. ⁣

We feel more peace, we receive direction, we feel comfort, we are warned… there are countless blessings from having the Spirit with us. ⁣

And there are warnings for what happens when we harden our hearts and make choices that keep the Spirit away from us. ⁣

Powerful doctrine, right?⁣

When the conversation shifts to doctrine, behavior changes a whole lot faster. ⁣

What’s that practice or application your loved one is really struggling with?⁣

Take the time to consider what the DOCTRINE is behind that action, and try starting there. ⁣

Studying behavior can certainly change behavior. ⁣

But for the real, long-lasting effects and for our hearts to be in the right place, we need to focus on teaching the doctrine.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Doctrine and behavior  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.