Mine recently has been this theme of LACK vs ABUNDANCE.

On a personal level, when I think that I don’t have enough time to get something done, I act panicky.

Or when I think I’m running out of time to help my children grow into good people, I am not happy.

Or even simple things, like trying to ration bananas because I think we are going to run out… but then they all grow brown before we eat them all.

But on a spiritual level, LACK shows up everywhere, too.

Feeling like I don’t have enough energy to get the things done that I need to in order to feed my spiritual connection with God.

Feeling like I don’t have enough time to fulfill my calling.

Feeling like I can’t ever find time to go to the temple.

And this week is the perfect week to explore that LACK vs ABUNDANCE tension because so many of these Old Testament prophets used these same exact concepts to show the contrast between people who made and kept covenants with pure intent with God, and those who forgot everything spiritual.

In fact, Ezekiel had a famous vision that dove into this idea more.

Dry bones are one of the best representations of LACK that I can think of.

No water. No life. No beauty. No joy.

And what did the Lord ask Ezekiel to say to these dry bones?

“O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:4)

That is where we find abundance.

In the word of the Lord.

The law of the Lord.

The commandments.

The scriptures.

The covenants we make in the temple.

Slowly but surely, as we stick to the word of the Lord, He turns our lack into abundance.

Service becomes a joy that we certainly have time for.

There will always be more great opportunities to teach your children.

Attending the temple becomes a top priority.

The scriptures become your lifeline to heaven.

You feel generous with sharing everything that you have, no matter how small it may seem to the world.

So rise up, dry bones!

It’s time to take life, drink some everlasting water, and hear the word of the Lord to live in true abundance!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Dry Bones first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Camp Ritchie is right by a lake, and surrounded by a majestic forest.

But its most defining features are the large granite boulders.

They are everywhere!

They serve as seats, steps, pathways, foundations, and places to repel down.

Each of my six years attending camp there, I could count on the granite boulders to be there.

They didn’t change.

I remember a leader of mine telling our group on a warm, starry night that she was grateful Christ was the immovable, unchanging foundation of her testimony, just like the rocks that were always waiting in the same place, year after year, at Camp Ritchie.

But I was never the same girl up at camp.

I think of 12-year-old Cali running into camp looking for a good time.

I think of 14-year-old Cali walking into camp with some big questions about whether God was real or not.

I think of 16-year old Cali hoping camp would give her some direction and peace, expecting answers with a sure testimony.

I changed so much at and between girls’ camps.

And the boulders stayed the same.

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart… and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)

We don’t want stony, stagnant hearts.

Hearts that stay the same over the years.

Hearts that “are just the way that they are”.

We want moldable hearts of real flesh, that grow and change and feel and love and hurt and heal.

But all this change is only possible because of the steadfast, unchanging rock of our redeemer.

He is the rock we can depend on to remove the stony places from our heart.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Camp Ritchie first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me”. (Ezekiel 33:7)

Prophets have weighty calls.

But… I’m not totally off the hook.

I do have responsibility for teaching some people.

Who do I have stewardship over?

My family members should always be my top priority.

I want to do my absolute best to make sure they know how to make and keep covenants and why I think it’s the best decision that they can make.

But I also have the opportunity to fulfill my calling.

Formal callings like teaching and duties like ministering assignments.

I want to also make sure I speak openly about Jesus and help them to come closer to Him by interacting with me.

And then even in casual settings.

When I speak with friends, when I interact with someone at the store, when I post on social media.

I can find opportunities to bear simple or unspoken testimonies of what I believe and how that affects who I am.

Even though we don’t have the same weight that prophets do…

Even though I don’t have to declare everything I know to the whole world…

I can still do my part to make sure I am sharing God’s words, teachings, and love with everyone I come in contact with!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Watchmen for my own people first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.