He was sitting on the couch, extremely grumpy and upset.

Someone was coming over soon, and so I wanted to clean up the counters and sweep the floors from our messy breakfast.

But I stopped and looked at my kid.

“Go and comfort him.”

The thought came to my mind.

I’ve been trying to do better at following every little thought that I think, so I set down the stuff I was carrying from the counter.

“I should bring him a snack.”

He loves cheese sticks, so I grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge and walked over.

“Can I cuddle with you for a bit?”

He looked at me pretty grumpily and said “No” right away…

But then he paused and said, “Actually yeah”.

I gave him the cheese stick, he ate it, and we just cuddled.

And honestly I didn’t care about the messy floor and cluttered counter when the visitor arrived shortly after.

My kid needed comfort, and I knew that a snack and some cuddles were all I could do at the moment.

John taught about how Jesus would treat those who come to Him:

“For the Lamb… shall feed them,… and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”. (Revelation 7:17)

He will feed them.

And He will wipe away all tears.

I know, I know, the scripture is probably referring to spiritual nourishment.

But I can’t help but think about the loving, tender, caring act of literally feeding someone.

Preparing a meal you know they’ll love.

Grabbing their favorite treat.

Nursing an always-hungry infant. 

When we stop to feed (in all definitions of the word) and care for the people around us, we can serve as the Savior served, and as He will serve.

It takes some effort in a busy world where there’s always something on our list.

But I’ve never regretted time I’ve spent feeding and comforting.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post A cheese stick and some cuddles  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There may or may not have been some stories in the news about this recently…

It’s unfair to cheat.

It gives you an advantage that other people don’t have.

But when it comes to the battle with our adversary, we’ve been explicitly told in the scriptures all of the “plays” he will try in order to keep our hearts from turning to God.

We’ve been given the unfair advantage over the opposition!

John reveals one of the biggest tactics the adversary will use in the last days:

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 13:14) 

He will try to deceive us!

But what does it mean to be deceived?

It means we are convinced to believe something is not true even when it is.

So that means deception will be a significant tool the adversary uses on people who already believe in Jesus Christ.

Think about the truths you know about Jesus Christ.

Think about what Jesus does for you, and how much God loves you.

Has the adversary ever tried to convince you that those things were actually false AFTER you had already received your testimony?

Elder Neil L. Anderson counseled:

“Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them.”

The adversary wants to erode our trust with ourselves.

We had a strong impression that Jesus Christ loves us so so so much?

The adversary wants us to be deceived.

When it comes to the Savior, the adversary has been and always will be working overtime to make us doubt what we already know.

So what’s our play going to be?

How can we go on the offensive, knowing that our opposition is going to try to deceive?

To me, this means that it is always a good time to seek out more spiritual experiences.

I need a steady stream of CURRENT impressions and witnesses so that I can stay grounded in truth.

And with the inside knowledge that I have, I will be guaranteed to come out on top.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The opposition’s playbook  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

(You can probably guess where the story is going…)

I wasn’t paying attention…

and spilled the entire glass of bright red juice.

All over our white carpet.

My parents weren’t home, and I panicked.

It was like a scene from a movie where I was frantically running around.

I tried everything I could to wipe it up in every way possible.

Sure, I got some of it up.

But that stain wasn’t going anywhere.

There was always going to be a reddish pinkish spot on the carpet.

My mom walked in the door, and I was ready to face my fate.

I sheepishly showed her what had happened.

To my surprise, she laughed.

What?!

She said:

“We are actually replacing the carpet with hardwood and the installers are coming in three days. Don’t worry about it!”

The relief washed over me as I realized that I wasn’t going to have a permanent reminder of my one silly mistake.

Within just a few days, there was no trace of the stain.

In its place was beautiful new hardwood.

This little experience of good timing gave me a small taste of how Jesus can make the sins and stains on our hearts disappear.

“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

The righteous are not the people who had unblemished white robes all along.

The righteous are the people who had great tribulations, who made mistakes, who turned away from God, but then chose to use Jesus Christ’s atoning power to be cleansed into an even better state.

It should be impossible to get a blood-red stain out of white robes.

But Jesus did the impossible so that we could wash the stains, heartache, and pain out as often as we need.

Every little evidence of red can be replaced with the purest white.

It’s all because of, and through, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Red juice and white carpet  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.