Singing and joy and happiness are so intertwined.

So I know that He sings.

How do you think our Heavenly Parents sound?

I know They sing.

Singing is joy and praise.

But it doesn’t always feel that way, right?

When we open our hymn books in church to sing the opening hymn, it’s oftentimes routine.

(Or time to try and keep your kids from tearing pages out of the book.)

Yeah, yeah, opening hymn. It’s what we do.

But how would our congregations, and more importantly our own hearts, be transformed if we sang with joy and praise in our hearts?

Without a care in the world about technique or right notes.

My heaven is filled with a whole lot of singing.

“And they shall sing the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever.” D&C 133:56

It’s not gonna be somber when we see Jesus.

Reverence and praise work together!

And singing, with our hearts and souls and intent fully behind it, is a beautiful way that we WILL use to praise Jesus.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

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

Everyone’s experiences are vastly different, and they even vary greatly from pregnancy to pregnancy.

I’m halfway through my third pregnancy right now, and carrying a baby sure does a number on my body and my mind.

It’s a lot of work to bring a baby into this world.

I also recognize that there are so many who long for this experience and have not had this opportunity yet. My heart is with you.

There’s an entire baby that is completely dependent on you for everything from nutrition to hydration to comfort.

They just take everything that they need from your body, often at your own expense.

It’s pure sacrifice for another human’s sake.

And out of that is borne a great and pure love.

Righteous sacrifice can’t help but produce love.

“In his love, and in his pity, he redeemed them, and bore them, and carried them all the days of old;” D&C 133:53

He has redeemed us, He bears our burdens, and He carries us each day.

His constant sacrifice on our behalf produces the most pure love toward us.

It’s a simple formula, really.

Sacrifice = love.

Have you wanted to grow more love toward someone or a group of people recently?

Maybe you’ve even wanted to feel more love for God?

Sacrifice for that person.

Sacrifice your time talking to them more often.

Sacrifice your resources learning more about them.

Sacrifice to serve.

Willing sacrifice, performed with good intentions, will always produce greater love.

Christ loves us. Our Heavenly Parents love us.

Mothers and fathers love their children.

And we can grow our love toward others when we endure the cost of willing sacrifice.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Sacrifice, pregnancy, and love first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This is what He does.

He knows we will try, and that our faith might falter, and we’ll slip below the surface just a bit.

And He will always be there with His arm outstretched, ready to save.

Not annoyed that we need Him again, but instead, “mighty to save.” D&C 133:47

But if you’ve followed my account for any amount of time, you know that I prefer to get to the nitty gritty of topics.

What does it look like to be saved by Jesus?

Peter was able to be pulled out of the water, being literally saved by the Savior.

But for most of us, it’s much more abstract.

When I felt overwhelmed by a big change that was about to happen, to the point that I didn’t know how I was ever going to handle it, I collapsed in prayer.

I cried and shared everything that was in my heart, and I called on my Savior’s help.

Immediately, I felt a strong prompting of an action to take, and a blanket of peace covered me.

It was still a difficult change, but I felt like the Savior was with me, empowering me through each step.

Another time, I was drowning in a wave of inaction.

I knew what I wanted to be doing and what I should be doing to draw myself closer to heaven, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything.

I kept throwing half-hearted cries for help into heaven, but nothing was changing. I was stuck with my actions not matching my desires, and I felt like I was slowly sinking.

And then it was a talk at church, by a very average member of the ward, that included exactly the story that I needed to hear.

The one that shook me awake enough to recognize this was what I needed.

And this time I prayed with much more real intent to act on any promptings I received. And I received one, and I acted on it.

Those are examples of how I’ve been saved— promptings, prayer, peace, and action steps.

It can look different for everyone, depending on your relationship with the Lord, and what you need saving from.

But Jesus is always there to save.

Not just willing to save, but saving with the godly power that only He can.

Jesus is mighty to save.

Artwork by Yongsung Kim

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Mighty to save first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because there was someone who experienced almost everything in His mortal ministry alone.

It’s so easy to picture Jesus as a man who always had a smile on His face, surrounded by people.

But He was so misunderstood, even in His lifetime, right?!

Even His closest friends and dearest apostles didn’t fully understand what He was doing or what He could do.

When I feel all alone, this is my comfort to turn to:

“I have trodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me;” D&C 133:50

He knows true loneliness.

And He endured it so that He could comfort us.

Life can be very lonely sometimes.

When there’s no one to relate to, or a friend who forgets something important, or kids who make you miss that social event again…

It’s okay to feel lonely.

But we don’t ever have to actually be alone, because Christ knows exactly what this feels like.

He is always near me, though I do not see Him there.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Lonely but not alone first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was a really good parent before I gave birth!

Come to my home now at any time of day and you’ll see dried mac and cheese, cracker crumbs, yogurt or any other assortment of foods hidden somewhere on my kids’ faces.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still want my kids to have clean faces.

I’ve just changed my expectations of what “clean faces” looks like.

It doesn’t look like constantly clean faces.

Instead, it looks like constantly washing dirty faces.

“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” D&C 133:5

Being clean before the Lord seems like an impossibly high standard.

Because I’m getting “dirt” on me all the time.

A little splash here.

A little fleck there.

Staying clean constantly isn’t what I’m shooting for.

Instead, I’m deciding to never give up on washing the spots off.

I’m scrubbing here and wiping off there.

I’m taking full showers whenever I need them (which is often).

That’s what real repentance and change look like!

Not staying spotless, but committing to becoming spotless as soon as we realize we’ve gotten a bit dirty.

My kids vary greatly in how clean they are each day.

But I’m never going to give up on helping them get clean once again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Be ye clean first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.