This writing included some of my thoughts on various gospel topics. ⁣

There were a lot of things that I was really impressed that I had written, and I was very proud of Cali-from-the-past!

But there were other things that I thought and wrote that made me literally cringe. ⁣

Some judgmental things, superficial things, things that I clearly had not really thought through but was just repeating what I had heard… ⁣

It was honestly a little weird to read some things. ⁣

And the reason it seemed so weird to me is because I have changed and grown so much on a spiritual level! ⁣

My soul has been stretched and refined and my testimony has gained more depth and love. ⁣

And looking at my words I had written years ago, I had this solid proof of just how far my spiritual maturity has come. ⁣

When I read the words of Psalm 66:16, I can’t help but add my testimony to it: ⁣

“Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”⁣ (Psalm 66:16)

How has God changed you from who you were 10 years ago? 5 years ago? 1 year ago? Last week? ⁣

What has He forgiven you of? ⁣

What understanding has He given you? ⁣

What refining has He done?⁣

What questions has He answered? ⁣

What love has He put into your heart? ⁣

What has God done for your soul? ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What has He done for your soul? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s a piece of parenting advice I’ve been leaning into recently. ⁣

I’ve proved it time and time again. ⁣

One of my kids kept doing something they shouldn’t do over and over, and any correction I was giving was clearly going in one ear and out the other. ⁣

“What you focus on, grows.”⁣

I wanted to keep correcting, but I decided to ignore the behavior and instead start asking them questions about a recent event we attended.

They got so excited and started talking all about it. ⁣

I was able to build positive interactions and compliment them.

The bad behavior stopped, and it ended up being a fun little connection moment.

“What you focus on, grows.”⁣

I’ve found it to be so true in my life, too. ⁣

When I keep complaining, my problems seem bigger and worse. ⁣

When I keep showing gratitude, my blessings seem bigger and better. ⁣

When I try to find more opportunities to serve, I serve more. ⁣

When I judge someone, I start finding more and more things to judge about them. ⁣

“Let God be magnified.” (Psalm 70:4)⁣

I want God to become more and more magnified in my life. ⁣

I want to continue to focus on Him day after day. ⁣

I want to think of Him, speak of Him and love Him. ⁣

I want to make more space for Him in my mind and in my schedule. ⁣

Because what I focus on, grows. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What you focus on, grows first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Between kids’ activities, church callings, work, and millions of other things on my to-do list, I honestly feel overwhelmed pretty often. ⁣

My mind usually starts to freak out a bit. ⁣

How am I ever supposed to get anything done?! ⁣

It’s impossible. This is all too much. ⁣

No solution in sight. ⁣

David gave a beautiful, heartfelt cry in Psalm 61 that surprised me because he was also talking about his overwhelmed heart:⁣

“When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalm 61:2) ⁣

I love that. ⁣

When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher that I. ⁣

Who is that rock who is higher than we are? ⁣

My Savior, Jesus Christ. ⁣

Jesus is the person I can turn to when my mind is racing and I don’t think there’s a way to get it all done. ⁣

He makes my priority list more clear. ⁣

He sends promptings to help me eliminate some items on that list. ⁣

He helps me feel pleased with what I have been able to do instead of overwhelmed with what I haven’t. ⁣

He helps me accomplish what is essential. ⁣

Jesus is that sure rock.⁣

He is higher than I am in perspective, in wisdom, in clarity, in light, and in love. ⁣

And so I join my prayer with David’s. ⁣

When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The rock that is higher than I first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was a unique life experience where I knew something really difficult was about to happen. ⁣

There wasn’t much I could do to prepare other than plead for heavenly assistance. ⁣

I joined my voice with David when he said:⁣

“Draw nigh unto my soul”. (Psalms 69:18) ⁣

I quite literally said in prayer, “I’m going to need Your strength a lot more. I need You closer to me.”⁣

I put the responsibility on the Lord. ⁣

He needed to come closer to me to help support me through this tough time, right?⁣

The Spirit often speaks to me by putting whole sentences or phrases right in my mind. ⁣

The response I immediately got was:⁣

“I’m already here. You know what you need to do to draw more of My power into your life.”⁣

It was exactly the message that I needed to hear. ⁣

How do we get Jesus to draw closer to us?⁣

We draw closer to Him. ⁣

Since that moment, I’ve tried to make the Savior an even higher priority in my life. ⁣

I’ve tried to make more time for Him, I’ve tried to speak with Him more, and I’ve tried to speak about Him more. ⁣

I’ve drawn closer to Him, even though it’s seemed like He has drawn closer to me. ⁣

And other times, I’ve forgotten. ⁣

I’ve thought, “Where is He? Why do I feel so out of touch?”⁣

And then I remember. ⁣

Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father are certainly not out of touch with me. ⁣

As a caveat, I do fully believe that the Lord can send extra measures of His Spirit when we are in need, and I don’t believe that we can force spiritual experiences by our actions. ⁣

God is divine and can do according to His desires. ⁣

But I needed the gentle but firm reminder that day that when I’m hoping that God will come closer to me, there’s probably only one of us who is actually being distant. ⁣

It’s on me, with righteous and pure intent, to seek Him out. ⁣

To stretch out my hand to accept His help that’s been there all along.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Draw nigh unto my soul first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

And it’s absolutely true. ⁣

“Be still, and know that I am God”. (Psalm 46:10)⁣

But I can’t stop thinking about the second half of this phrase. ⁣

Like, I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.

“Know that I am God.”⁣

Do we know who God is?⁣

Do we know what it means for the God of the Universe to also be our loving Heavenly Father?⁣

Do we know that God knows everything?

That He knows the end from the beginning?

He knows our divine worth and our weaknesses. ⁣

He creates. ⁣

He orchestrates. ⁣

He loves. ⁣

Do we know who God is, what He knows, what He does, and who He loves?⁣

Because when I reflect on the glimpses of truth that I know about my God, I want to find even more still moments. ⁣

My problems don’t seem as big. ⁣

My priorities become sharpened. ⁣

My desire to share selfless love with others is strengthened. ⁣

My distractions seem silly. ⁣

Yes, it is vitally important for us to find stillness in the craziness of life. ⁣

But I think it’s even more important to know what to do during those quiet times. ⁣

Ponder. ⁣

Worship. ⁣

Love God. ⁣

Be still. ⁣

And know who God is.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Be still and… what?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

News outlets, storytellers, and even advertisers know that our minds gravitate toward and remember the extremes. ⁣

We want to be shocked that someone is so wrong or different than we are, or we want to be amazed that someone did something so awesome or selfless. ⁣

The same is true in our own lives, right?⁣

If I asked you what your top 3 spiritual moments are, I bet you’d have a list. ⁣

If I asked you the 3 moments when you’ve felt the lowest or most depressed, I bet you’d have a list, too. ⁣

I’ve been trying to focus more recently on finding the beauty and godly power in the seemingly mundane middle parts of life. ⁣

I’m not experiencing my lowest lows right now, and I’m not experiencing my highest highs. ⁣

But there is spiritual power in the middle. ⁣

Like when I watch one of my kids choosing to do something kind.

Or when I have a really good conversation with a friend.⁣

Or when I read a scripture that just gives my heart a little bit of peace after a long day. ⁣

In our church, we love to use a phrase for these little daily miracles: “tender mercies”, which was first coined in these psalms. ⁣

In Psalm 40:11, David writes: “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord”. ⁣

They aren’t the extremes. ⁣

But that doesn’t mean I want to notice them any less. ⁣

They are the little signs and support that God gives more often than my brain usually realizes.

Even though they might not be as memorable ten years from now, or honestly even next week, the tender mercies that I am given are what can really sustain me and show me that He is involved in the very details of my life. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Tender mercies first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve had to ask myself that question many times. ⁣

I’ve had other people ask me this question many times. ⁣

Because it’s been grounded in the wrong places before. ⁣

It’s been grounded in that fun leader who made me enjoy going to church. ⁣

It’s been grounded in having cool callings. ⁣

It’s been grounded in girls camp. ⁣

It’s been grounded in really nice people. ⁣

It’s been grounded in having a good social life and network. ⁣

And many more places that aren’t necessarily bad places to be at all. ⁣

But those things aren’t lasting. ⁣

So I’ve had to ask myself, “What do I really believe? What is this all about?“⁣

It’s Jesus. ⁣

It’s His words and His teachings. ⁣

It’s His commandments and His covenants. ⁣

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” (Psalm 19:7)⁣

My soul is now deeply, deeply converted to Jesus’ perfect word. ⁣

His word was given in ancient Old Testament times. ⁣

His word was taught and lived as an example in New Testament times. ⁣

His word was practiced and experienced in Book of Mormon times. ⁣

His word was reiterated in modern times. ⁣

The law, the commandments, the teachings, the covenants. ⁣

They aren’t new. They are everlasting. ⁣

And they truly and completely convert my soul. ⁣

It’s all about Jesus.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What am I converted to?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Who would my teacher be?! ⁣

Would I like them? ⁣

Would it be a good school year? ⁣

We’d park and run up to the printed class lists that were taped on the side of the front office window at our elementary school, eagerly looking for our fate for the year. ⁣

Classroom teachers have such a big impact on their students and to what degree they are able to help each kid throughout the year. ⁣

And as a former classroom teacher, I know the weight and responsibility I would feel as I’d get MY class lists, knowing that kids and parents would be counting on me to do my job. ⁣

But what about real, adult life? ⁣

Wouldn’t it be nice to be assigned to an amazing teacher who would make sure you were learning everything you needed to know, helping you out when you struggled, and cheering you on all the time?⁣

Well… I think we actually might all be in the same class. ⁣

And we’ve been assigned the greatest, wisest, gentlest, happiest, kindest teacher of all. ⁣

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) ⁣

Jesus is our shepherd. ⁣

He’s the one leading. ⁣

We won’t want any other teacher or feel jealous of that other class…⁣

Because we’ve got the best. ⁣

And we’ve all got Him. ⁣

Young and old, whether you are in a classroom this year or far from it. ⁣

We actually all belong on the greatest class list of all time. ⁣

With Jesus as our shepherd, if we choose to follow Him, we’ll have the greatest year ever. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Class lists first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I wanted to do it right the first time and get her trained as quickly as possible! ⁣

To my surprise, all of the latest research said to NOT do rewards or sticker charts because that gets the kids dependent on the outside rewards, instead of getting them intrinsically motivated to use the toilet. ⁣

It made sense though, and I moved forward with training my daughter without any immediate rewards or prizes, other than my verbal praise. ⁣

To be honest, she trained herself very quickly and caught on like a champ, although there were certainly plenty of accidents along the way. ⁣

But I was filled with such pride for her that I wanted to get her a new stuffed animal as a reward. ⁣

I remembered the warning about extrinsic motivation, but I also felt that I really wanted to give this to her. ⁣

I gave her a gift, she was super excited, and it didn’t affect her bathroom journey at all. ⁣

Now bear with me as I make the weird comparison between potty training and our gospel progression….

I know that God doesn’t want us dependent on immediate blessings in order to have us keep His loving commandments. ⁣

He doesn’t want us reading our scriptures and then assuming everything will go perfectly that day, or saying a prayer asking for more patience and then immediately getting it. ⁣

He wants us to obey out of our love and devotion to Him, to be intrinsically motivated. ⁣

Job certainly learned this lesson. ⁣

But Job also learned another important lesson about the nature of God. ⁣

In Job 42:12, we read: ⁣

“So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning”.

God still wants to bless us because He loves us so much. ⁣

We don’t need to be motivated only by the blessings, hoping we’ll get another sticker on the eternal sticker chart. ⁣

But our loving Heavenly Father will always give us more than enough blessings to make up for anything we have lost, even if it means waiting until the next life.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post She still got a reward first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I practiced for a few weeks leading up to the race. ⁣

I’d push a stroller with a kid in it and run around the neighborhood. ⁣

At first, I could only run an embarrassingly small amount without stopping. ⁣

When I’d look at my phone to see how much I still had to run, I would almost quit. ⁣

It was too hard. I couldn’t do it. ⁣

But slowly, I built up my stamina. ⁣

On the day of the race, the cold morning air was sharp in my lungs.⁣

I started the race. ⁣

There were many times that I wanted to quit.⁣

My lungs were on fire and my calves started to cramp. ⁣

But I kept going because I knew the end point was near!⁣

I crossed the finish line, and immediately rested and drank tons of water before climbing in our heated car. ⁣

I pushed through my discomfort during the race because I knew it wasn’t going to last forever. ⁣

Isn’t this is the kind of perspective that can give us hope here on earth, too? ⁣

Some races are short and intense, some are long and grating. ⁣

But we know there is going to be a finish line with a greater reward than we could even imagine at the end. ⁣

Job was a powerful example of this. ⁣

He knew exactly what the reward was, and he had faith that it really would happen.⁣

Job bore this sweet but powerful testimony: ⁣

“I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” (Job 19:25-26) ⁣

Jesus Christ lives, and we will be resurrected! ⁣

That is the glorious finish line waiting for each of us. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The finish line first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.