She’s recently learned how to read a whole bunch of words and is obsessed with trying to read anything she sees.

I had an article up on my computer that had the word “peacemaker” in the title.

Quin tried sounding out the word a few times and then asked me for help. (Those soft Cs are brutal!)

“Peacemaker”, I said.

“What’s a peacemaker?” she asked.

I was in the middle of getting work done while my other two little kiddos napped.

“Someone who brings peace,” I quickly said.

“What is peace?” she asked.

I heard the baby starting to stir. We had definitely talked about peace before, so I tried to think of the fastest way to explain it again.

“Peace is when we feel calm and quiet and happy,” I said.

“Oh, just like Jesus!” Quin said.

I finally realized what was going on and took my fingers off the keyboard.

Yes, we’ve been rocking family scripture study lately.

Yes, we’ve had lessons about peace.

Yes, she’s been to church and learned about peace.

But the real learning in my four year old’s brain was happening right here at the kitchen table on a Tuesday afternoon while I was trying to work.

I stopped what I was doing and we talked about peace. We talked about Jesus. She gave me examples of what brought her peace. We talked about being a peacemaker with her brother and examples of when she’s done that well.

Within five minutes, the conversation was over and I was soothing the baby.

Until the next day when she and her brother started fighting over a toy they both wanted.

I looked over to see her hand over the toy, find a different toy, and then offer to trade him a few minutes later.

The word “peacemaker” came to my mind.

I called her over, complimented her, and we had a quick little conversation about peace again.

And we’ve talked about it like five more times since then.

Teaching like that honestly takes some patience, vision, and even a bit of courage to start.

But real learning happens best in real life.

“Teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Teaching at my table first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was early, it was outside, and I had a million other things to do.

When I arrived, I was disappointed to learn that none of my friends from my ward had even showed up, even though they said they would.

Sooooo I spent the rest of the activity performing service with a not-so-great attitude.

Annoyed that I had come, tired, cold, and a little bit sore from all the hard work.

Clearly, I was missing the entire point of the service activity, and my heart certainly was not happy.

The Lord taught the Israelites to serve the poor and needy in their community.

“Thou shalt surely give him, and thine hearth shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him”. (Deuteronomy 15:10)

We are asked to give freely to those who are need, which is so important.

But we also need to make sure our hearts are not grieved, annoyed, or resentful when we give service.

So would it have been better to just sleep in that Saturday morning and not go to the service project? (Like all my friends decided to do?!)

I don’t think so.

Service was still performed. Someone else got to feel gratitude for a lightened load. The leaders who had organized it didn’t have to sacrifice as much time away from their families because so many youth bailed.

And it has now become an anchor learning opportunity for me about how NOT to perform service.

(But just to be clear, that was not an immediate lesson I learned. Reflection and growth take time and maturity!)

I still try to show up to things, even when I don’t totally feel like it because I know at least other people’s loads get lightened.

But it’s so much better when I prepare my heart and mind with love beforehand!

Giving with a happy and willing heart makes all the difference.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Happy heart to serve first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

God loves us so much.

He wants us to become more like Him and His Son.

That can seem a bit vague and overwhelming, so He also gives guiding commandments that help keep us on the right path of truth.

Most of us start our gospel journey because we realize how much we love God.

Whether you realized that as a young child, learned it as an adult, or anything in between, most of us have felt love and wanted to give love.

So then we start keeping the commandments to make sure that our “love” is actually developing us closer and closer into the Divine.

And then we sometimes get stuck here.

Keeping the commandments.

Just keep the commandments.

Tick those boxes. Get a perfect score.

Ahhh, totally fell off the track there. Try to keep the commandments even better.

And we slowly start to lose sight of the WHY.

Why are we keeping commandments?

Why are we given commandments?

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)

He wants our heart. He wants our soul. He wants our might.

But only if we are ready to willingly give them to Him.

Just to be clear, commandments are amazing and absolutely necessary, and doing our best to keep them is essential in molding our character.

But we’ve gotta keep that WHY in mind.

Does your heart really want to do what Jesus asks you to do?

Does your whole soul desire to be able to enter God’s presence?

Do you use all your might to listen to the Spirit and follow revelation and commandments?

THESE  are my life goals. To be able to firmly answer “YES” to all three of these questions.

It’s a huge, lifelong task, but what God really wants is my heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The commandment pattern first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.