I’ve had this experience recently, and I’ve been praying constantly for how to help solve this person’s problems so that they aren’t in so much pain. ⁣

But the impression that keeps coming back to my mind is: “This is their trial to deal with. What you can do is support and love and lift.”⁣

And I’ve taken that to heart. ⁣

I can’t take away the trial or the pain or the heartache.⁣

But I can love and support and lift this person through little acts of service, communication, heart-to-heart conversations, and lots of prayer. ⁣

So often, the story of Moses raising his hands in prayer to help the Israelites win their first battle in the wilderness is interpreted one specific way.⁣

But these words touched my heart as I read Exodus 17:12: ⁣

“But Moses’ hands were heavy; ⁣

“and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; ⁣

“and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; ⁣

“and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”⁣

Two friends. ⁣

One of them a brother, in fact. ⁣

Staying by Moses’ side until the sun set. ⁣

They couldn’t take away the heavy task that had been given to Moses, of staying with his hands raised in prayer. ⁣

But they knew that they could be there to love, support, and lift.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Love, support, and lift  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was towards the end of the day and she was crying from the pain. ⁣

She’s a super logical kid, so my husband and I comforted her and explained that the best way for sprained ankles to get better is to give them rest. ⁣

We told her that when she slept that night, her ankle muscles would start to relax and heal. ⁣

She eventually calmed down and went to sleep pretty soon after. ⁣

But when she woke up the next morning, she was not too happy to discover that her ankle still hurt! ⁣

“I rested it all last night, so it’s supposed to be better now! Why does it still hurt?!”⁣

I realized I needed to better explain that even though it is amazing that our bodies heal themselves, often it takes a lot longer than we want. ⁣

Within a few hours, she was running around like normal again and hasn’t mentioned her ankle since.⁣

But how often do we tell the Lord our own timetable for healing?⁣

“Okay, I took a nap, did some service, and prayed about it. Why is my emotional pain still here?”⁣

The Lord taught the Israelites: ⁣

“I am the Lord that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26)⁣

He has blessed us with beautiful bodies that are, for the most part, able to heal ourselves when we have injury. ⁣

He heals the wounds of sin. ⁣

He heals emotional hurt. ⁣

He heals broken hearts and broken trust. ⁣

He heals pride and contention. ⁣

He heals quickly and miraculously. ⁣

He heals slowly and gradually. ⁣

He heals in a completely different way than we thought we needed to be healed. ⁣

Elder Richard G. Scott taught that we must:

“Accept [Christ’s] invitation to let Him share your burden until you have sufficient time and strength to be healed.”

The Lord heals. ⁣

But how and when is up to Him. ⁣

How has the Lord healed you recently?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The sprained ankle  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As the Israelites escaped from the Egyptians, they, “walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” (Exodus 14:29)⁣

There have been so many times in my life where dangerous and chaotic waters are swirling all around me. ⁣

Lost jobs, financial setbacks, or emotional trials have made it seem like everything is piling up. ⁣

It has seemed overwhelming. Like I’m just one step from it all crashing down. ⁣

And anyone else looking into my life would see how turbulent it is. ⁣

But yet…⁣

My feet have stayed on dry ground. ⁣

I have felt peace. ⁣

I’ve had others join me on the journey so that I feel supported. ⁣

I’ve focused on just taking that next step forward. ⁣

All because of Jesus Christ. ⁣

He is the one who makes it all possible. ⁣

The chaos and the swirling waters pile up sometimes. ⁣

But they don’t need to mean my destruction when I have faith in Jesus Christ. ⁣

When I keep looking forward and taking a step. ⁣

Even when that step forward means the waters around me are getting even higher and higher. ⁣

There is peace in Christ.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Walking on dry ground first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I also remember him teaching me that when I was dunked under the water, it was as if I was being buried and then coming back to life, just like Jesus. ⁣

I thought that was pretty cool, because it’s as if we were acting out what was happening! ⁣

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that a lot of ordinances are accompanied with physical actions.⁣

Like when we take the bread and water for the sacrament.

But I’ve also learned that the action itself isn’t what causes me to make a covenant.⁣

Just eating bread and water itself isn’t what’s renewing my covenants each week.

Yes, ordinances are formal acts that are super important. ⁣

But we also have to make sure our mind is engaged with what we are actually promising.

Our heart and our mind have to be involved with some level of intention. ⁣

When Moses was instructing the children of Israel on how to perform the Passover to avoid their firstborn sons dying, he referred to the act of painting their door frames with lamb’s blood as an “ordinance”. ⁣

So the Passover was an ordinance for the children of Israel! ⁣

The physical act of what they did was so important… but so was what their hearts were doing at the same time. ⁣

Look at what they were thinking about as they reflected on this ordinance: ⁣

“It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt… And the people bowed the head and worshipped.” (Exodus 12:27)⁣

They worshipped. ⁣

I think it is so cool that so many ordinances have physical acts associated with them that can help us ponder even deeper on the covenants being made. ⁣

But I also know that just “going through the motions” isn’t what saved the firstborns during the Passover.⁣

And “going through the motions” isn’t what will help our hearts become molded to what the Lord wants them to be. ⁣

The sacred action + engaging our minds = true worship and lasting change!⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Why ordinances?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Anytime we sat down at the table, no matter what time of day it was, he insisted that we pray first. 

Sitting down to play a game? Pray first.

Sitting down to eat a snack? Pray first.

Sitting down just to sit down? Pray first.

But as he grew older, he started to ask many questions about “why” we do what we do.

His insisting on praying turned into asking WHY we always pray before we eat a meal together.

As we’ve worked to develop our family habits of praying and reading the scriptures together, I’ve started trying to be more conscious of how I talk about these habits. ⁣

Instead of: “It’s time to read and pray before we go to bed”

I’ve been trying to do more: “It’s time to read scriptures so we can learn more about Jesus!” ⁣

When the Lord taught the Israelites about this new Passover ordinance, He warned them that their children would ask about it.

“Your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?” (Exodus 12:26)

The Lord wanted His people to teach their children WHY they repeated this Passover ordinance and celebration. ⁣

It can be so easy to get caught up in just trying to get our kids to cooperate in saying prayers, in staying quiet at church, in paying tithing, in setting goals, in serving and showing kindness…⁣

But the Lord wants us to also teach the WHY. ⁣

Why do YOU try to be reverent at church? Why do YOU say prayers, and pay tithing, and attend the temple?⁣

When we can share our own testimonies and our own “why”s with our kids, we are sharing our hearts and truly teaching our values in authentic ways.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Mom, why are we praying?! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Kids would ask me a question and I felt like I needed to know every answer. ⁣

I needed to be the knowledge authority in my classroom, right?!⁣

But the best and worst part of teaching sixth grade is that the kids would start to (respectfully, for the most part) call me out when I said something incorrect. ⁣

It took a few months, but I finally realized how ironically empowering it was to admit that I didn’t know something to my students. ⁣

“Mrs. Black, why did you say THAT part of the story is the climax? Wouldn’t it be THIS part instead?”⁣

I figured out that it felt SO much better (and by the way, MUCH more effective for teaching) to say:⁣

“Oh interesting! Why do you think that? I could totally be wrong!”⁣

The discussions that comments like this would spur were AMAZING. And tons of class members would start to chime in with their opinions, too. ⁣

Real learning would occur. ⁣

I loved it. ⁣

And I feel like right around this same time at the beginning of my teaching career was when I started to adopt this humility into my personal life, too. ⁣

Instead of thinking I had the right answer in my marriage, or in my church callings, or in other decisions that I had to make, it was so much more empowering to recognize that I COULD be wrong.⁣

Replacing pride with humility one little step at a time has brought nothing but peace to my life. ⁣

In a gospel context:⁣

“Humility enables us to have broken hearts when we sin or make mistakes and makes it possible for us to repent.” —Elder Steven E. Snow⁣

I have found that it’s actually so freeing to acknowledge that I’ve been wrong. ⁣

I’m not perfect at it at all. ⁣

There are some sins that I want to cling to, like an insecure middle school teacher who insists they know the right answer. ⁣

“How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me?” (Exodus 10:3)⁣

I hope I don’t take too long, though, to loosen my grip on those favorite sins, those rationales, those prideful tendencies. ⁣

Humility is much more freeing than pride.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post I have to be right! first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And I used to LOVE Sundays.

I loved feeling refreshed and renewed and connected to Jesus. I loved learning and being social with my ward family. ⁣

But having a husband with a super busy calling, having two very young kids, and being pregnant with my third added up to lots of rough Sundays. ⁣

Each Sabbath ended up being exhausting, pretty lonely, and not quite as spiritually rejuvenating as I would like. ⁣

It was hard to see the blessings of the Sabbath. ⁣

One exhausted Sunday, I tried asking for help in prayer specifically about seeing blessings. ⁣

I needed a lot of help seeing where the hand of God was on Sundays. ⁣

And this is exactly what happened:

“I witness that Jesus Christ loves us and can give us eyes to see—even when it’s hard, even when we’re tired, even when we’re lonely, and even when the outcomes are not as we hoped.” -Michelle D. Craig⁣

I asked for the eyes that could see the hand of the Lord, and I was given them. ⁣

I mean, I was still tired. Still by myself a lot. Still exhausted. ⁣

But I was also blown away by the little blessings that were absolutely everywhere. Making life just a bit easier. Helping me to still feel love. Giving me opportunities to connect and serve. ⁣

“Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them”. (Exodus 8:19) ⁣

Pharaoh’s priests decided to see the hand of God in the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed. ⁣

And Pharaoh decided to harden his heart and not see any evidence of the Lord. ⁣

It’s not always easy. I can attest to that. ⁣

But the Savior wants to give us eyes to see the hand of God in our lives, no matter what our circumstances are. ⁣

Because His power and influence and miracles are truly everywhere.

We just have to be willing and humble enough to look.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Difficult Sundays  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

A holy place, to me, is a place where I feel closer to God. ⁣

It is different than the ordinary. It is special. ⁣

⁣Unique. ⁣

And when I think of holy places, there usually is something different that I do with my outward appearance in order to reflect the holiness that I feel.⁣

⁣One of my favorite parts of learning about Moses seeing the burning bush is one of the first things that the Lord says to him:⁣

⁣“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)⁣

⁣Moses was asked to make a change, a symbolic change, to reflect how his heart felt about entering a holy place. ⁣

⁣My church building is a holy place to me, a place where I partake of the sacrament and renew powerful covenants. ⁣

And so I dress a little nicer than I do the rest of the week.⁣

⁣When I attend the temple, I also dress nicer as I enter, and I prepare for more opportunities to make my outward appearance reflect the uniqueness of the temple spirit. ⁣

⁣I know that God is with me in the casual moments, in the messy house and the undone hair and the random sprinkles of shredded cheese that somehow always make it on the floor. (Anyone else?!) ⁣

⁣But I also love being able to take opportunities to show God that I am willing to make an effort to show my gratitude for the holy grounds that I am able to walk on.⁣⁣

What is one way you show God gratitude for your holy places?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post  Holy places  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I almost always get a carton of eggs during our weekly shopping trip.

It’s a staple in our household for baking, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sandwiches.

So when the egg prices started to climb last year, I was shocked each time I added them to my cart.

So expensive!

And then, one week, there were no eggs available.

None.

“No big deal,” I thought. “We can do without eggs this week.”

But then, the next week, there weren’t any eggs either.

And still again, the next week, there weren’t any.

Finally, on my next shopping trip, I found the shelves filled with eggs again!

As I put a carton in my cart, my heart filled with gratitude.

I don’t think I have ever been grateful for eggs before…

But having to wait such a long time allowed my heart to feel that dependence on and gratitude for the Lord for such a simple blessing as eggs.

The Israelites had suffered for a long time.

So when they saw Moses and Aaron’s signs and heard their testimony that they had been sent from God to free them,⁣

“The people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.” (Exodus 4:31)

When I have to wait for a blessing for a long time, my gratitude increases exponentially. ⁣

Maybe that’s why the Lord likes to let us wait sometimes.

He knows that our hearts need the training.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Grateful for eggs first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was of absolutely no use that day, since I had recently found out I was pregnant with our first, and I was beyond sick. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

But my husband was doing great! ⁣⁣⁣⁣

My heart sank as I looked at our completely empty apartment, though. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Because even though our stuff was all gone, there was so much CLEANING that still had to happen before we handed the keys back to management the next day. ⁣⁣⁣

And my husband’s grad school schedule meant the cleaning would all fall to me. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Even though I was so sick and so tired. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I remember my husband suggesting we just give the apartment back as it was, willingly forfeiting our deposit. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

But it was a huge deposit, and I wanted to get that money back. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I prayed that night that I would feel well enough to clean. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

That next morning, I woke up to a text from a lady in our ward that we were leaving:⁣⁣⁣⁣

“Hey Cali! I heard you are feeling really sick! My family wants to come clean your apartment today so that you don’t have to. We’ll bring all our own cleaning supplies and make sure it’s super clean. You just rest and relax today!”⁣⁣⁣

I never set foot in that apartment again, and a month later, we got our full deposit back. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I’ve thought a lot about this lady’s ridiculously kind offer, her teenage kids that probably weren’t super happy to learn about their family activity that evening, and her charitable heart that acted immediately after hearing a need. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

I also have thought about how the Lord COULD have given me strength to clean my apartment. He could have caused my sickness to subside. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

But instead he gave this family a chance to serve and to act. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

“We will surely be blessed with opportunities to be instruments in His hands”. -Elder Ulisses Soares ⁣⁣⁣⁣

It’s a blessing to be able to do what the Lord would do. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

He could make it all happen on His own, without any of us helping.⁣⁣⁣⁣

But He generously gives us the blessing of being able to act in His behalf. ⁣⁣⁣

Moses got this blessing, too. ⁣⁣

There were many ways the Israelites could have been freed. ⁣Yet the Lord was kind enough to let Moses lead.

“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.” —Exodus 3:10

How could the Lord be calling to you to invite you to be part of His work as a massive blessing to you right now?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The apartment cleaning deposit first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.