or the planets in the sky

or our delicate and complicated ecosystems that work flawlessly virtually all the time

I am amazed at how much care our Heavenly Father put into the small details of this world. ⁣

And he did it all for us!

The littlest of details matter to Him.

And how much more important are we than the digestive system, Saturn, or the water cycle?!

“The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:30)

I like to think that this is literal and not a figure of speech—

—that He really knows how many hairs we have. ⁣

He knows exactly how many hairs fell out of your head after you gave birth.

He knows when bald spots start showing from stress or disease.

He knows when your hair starts turning gray earlier than you hoped.

If you care about your hair, so does He.

He knows about all the details.

Everything that you are so worried about that you think no one else even notices.

The little efforts that you make that you wonder if they even make a difference.

He sees it all.

He sees even more than that.

He notices and counts and loves.

There is nothing too small for the Lord.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post He counts the hairs first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was terrified!

I sat in my classroom that morning.

My door faced the outside hang-out area, so I could hear as the students started arriving and making lots of excited sounds.

And I just sat in my classroom, so scared out of my mind.

I had JUST graduated college.

Did I actually know how to teach?

What if this was all some big giant mistake?!?

I looked at the pictures of my husband, family, and friends that I had taped up behind my desk area.

I said a little prayer.

I realized that EVEN THOUGH I was terrified, I also knew that I was doing the right thing.

I felt that little reassurance in my heart that this is what I loved doing.

That yes, this might be difficult, but I was also going to be able to figure it out.

The bell rang, and I could hear kids starting to line up outside my door, whispering about their “new teacher”.

I closed my eyes, whispered a little prayer, and pushed the door open to invite the kids inside.

One little moment of courage introduced me to an entirely new experience in a job that I loved!

I like to think that the woman who touched Jesus’ hem had this same, although much more serious, moment of courage.

When she heard about a Savior who could heal her, she went to Him.

She had faith.

And in one moment of courage, she touched His hem, confident that this would be the answer.

“When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.” (Mark 5:27)

What seems scary and intimidating to you right now?

What’s a change you know you need to make, but you know will take a lot of effort?

What opportunity keeps calling to you even though it terrifies you?

One moment of courage is all it takes to change the trajectory of your life completely.

If we want that change to be for the better, then we also need to rely on the Savior.

We can reach out to Him, utter a prayer in His name, and expect His strength.

One moment of courage can change everything.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post One moment of courage  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

The blessing promised healing.

The next day, she was asked if she wanted to be administered to again.

She responded:

“No, I have been anointed and administered to. The ordinance has been performed. It is up to me now to claim my blessing through my faith.”

Two blind men approached Jesus and asked for mercy.

He asked them, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?”

And they simply responded, “Yea, Lord”. ⁣

Christ’s response is, “According to your faith be it unto you.”⁣ (Matthew 9:28-29)

They were healed.

They were healed because they had the faith to be healed.

President Kimball taught:

“The need of faith is often underestimated.

“The ill one and the family often seem to DEPEND WHOLLY on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the GREATER responsibility is with him [or her] who is blessed…”

Our own faith is powerful.

Jesus shows that time and time again: it is the faith of the ones He is administering to that allows them to be healed.

Of course, the will of the Father has to be aligned.

Some are tasked with having the faith to not be healed.

But when wills are aligned, we play a huge part in choosing to be healed.

In trusting that we are capable of change.

In believing that God can actually help us change.

We play our part in having the faith to be healed!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The faith to be healed first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As part of my planning, I was trying to find the best quotes, scripture stories, and examples.

So I really started to ponder:

How have I personally learned the importance of service?

Story after story popped into my mind of watching my parents, teachers, and leaders and observing how they helped others.

And even more stories popped into my mind of when others had served me in a moment of quiet need.

And then I laughed!

Here I was trying to teach a lesson about service in a classroom through quotes and presentation, when the best way to learn about it is actually by watching others serve.

“We not only teach with words; we teach also by who we are and how we live our lives.” —Thomas S. Monson

In Matthew 10:1, Christ calls all twelve of His disciples.

“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”

He gave them the priesthood power to serve and perform miracles!

But how did these disciples know how to use their priesthood power appropriately?!

They had just watched the Savior do all of these same things!

He lived it.

And then He invited them to do the same. ⁣

Are we asking people in our lives to be kind and patient but not giving them the kind and patient example to follow?

Are we asking people we love to study the scriptures without modeling what meaningful scripture study can look like? ⁣

Are we asking people to be more loving, without showing more love to them, too?

Jesus taught by using His words and then living a life that completely backed up and even elaborated on what He said.

Now, we aren’t going to be as perfect as the perfect example.

Have I raised my voice in frustration to yell, “Why can’t we all be calm and happy?!”

Yup.

But we’ve got the goal.

And we can realign and repent and try again over and over.

The best lesson we can ever teach is how we live our lives.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post How to teach about service first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.