But something finally clicked:

Do as much work as possible the night before.

Bam!

When we prepare the night before, there is so much more PEACE in the morning.

And when I taught 6th grade, I always tried to plan my weeks out ahead of time. ⁣

That way, when it was time to prep for the specific day, I knew exactly what to do. Peace. ⁣

And when I performed in piano recitals, I would practice over and over so that the notes settled into muscle memory.⁣

When it was time to play my piece? Peace. ⁣

We can’t prepare for everything.

But when we know something is coming, using our mature sense of delayed gratification to prepare NOW for what we will need LATER is what will bring us peace. ⁣

The Nephites and Lamanites in the land spent at least a few months gathering all of their families, supplies, livestock, and food into one place. ⁣

They prepared enough for seven years. ⁣

“The Nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and cattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for the space of seven years”. – 3 Nephi 4:4

And so when the robbers attacked?

Peace.

They turned to God in prayer rather that turning from their enemy in fear. ⁣

And their preparation ended up being exactly what caused their enemy’s demise. ⁣

Because the robbers had not prepared. ⁣

They couldn’t live on “borrowed oil”. ⁣

So what can we do right now to prepare for the future? ⁣

Whether we need to get something organized, send an email, or strengthen a part of our testimony, the principle of preparation is a beautiful lesson in using our hard work NOW to make room for peace LATER.

“The great blessing of being prepared gives us freedom from fear.” – L. Tom Perry

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Crazy mornings  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Have you experienced one of these dog-piles of chaos and trials before?!

Health trials, emotional trials, physical trials, anxiety-inducing trials…

I was just a mess.

I knew I was in survival mode.

But I later realized that I was also in “spiritual survival mode”.

This was NOT the time of my life for lengthy scripture study sessions, devotional podcasts, and abundantly reaching out to serve others.

I was overdrawing from my personal spiritual bank account.

I was taking out a whole lot more emotional strength than I was putting in at the time.

And I think this is how it should be when these crazy moments hit.

I needed to draw on every ounce of spiritual testimony and peace that I had already found in order to keep my head above water.

A few months later, after my life calmed down a bit, I realized I needed to kick my spiritual preparation into gear again.

Captain Moroni teaches us something interesting about strengthening weak places in times of peace:

“In their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.” (Alma 48:9)

There wasn’t any contention going on at the time.

But Captain Moroni was spending time, energy, and resources to prepare for a future battle that he knew would happen.

You can’t really fortify during an attack.

It’s all about the preparation beforehand.

And if you are in a time of (relative) spiritual peace, then we know some sort of battle will come our way at some point.

It’s all about loading as many spiritual experiences, scriptural inspiration, and powerful prayer into our spiritual bank account so that when the chaotic parts of life come, there’s a fortress ready to handle the wear and tear.

It is essential to strengthen ourselves in times of peace.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Strengthen during times of peace  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“Nevertheless the Lord did strengthen the hand of the Nephites, that they slew the Amlicites with great slaughter, that they began to flee before them.” (Alma 2:18)

The Lord can strengthen us during tough times in our lives.

As the Amlicites came to battle against the Nephites, the Lord gave the Nephites that extra strength to be able to prevail.

But do you want to know what heartbreaking information is revealed in the very next verse as the battle nears its end?

“. . .There were slain of the Nephites six thousand five hundred sixty and two souls.” (Alma 2:19)

Wait, so the Nephites were strengthened to conquer their enemies…

But over 6,000 righteous individuals were still killed?

I’ve learned that living in a mortal world means that we can’t endure tough times completely unscathed.

Good people endure tragedies and live with lasting trauma.

Brutal chronic and mental illnesses stick around.

Hearts that have been healed still have tender spots.

But I’ve also learned that it is always better to go through tough times with Jesus instead of without.

In fact, the Amlicites lost dramatically more people than the Nephites did when you look at the ending tally.

Life with Jesus means we will still experience blows, heartache, and pain.

We aren’t always shielded from all harm.

But the Nephites were still victorious in battle.

And I know we can also still rely on His strength to carry us through as the ultimate victor.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Victorious but not unharmed  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Zeniff’s people had to fight against the Lamanites.⁣

Zeniff helped his people become good, righteous, and industrious. ⁣

And still, the Lamanites came. ⁣

He armed them with all sorts of weapons. ⁣

And still, people died. ⁣

And each day, on large and small scales, we are facing battles. ⁣

No matter how righteous we are. ⁣

No matter how much we have prepared and defend ourselves. ⁣

Real damage is done to our lives from these battles of all sizes that we are up against. ⁣

The ultimate difference between the wicked Lamanites and the righteous people of Zeniff?⁣

“God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might”. (Mosiah 9:18)

The people of Zeniff went forth with God’s might. ⁣

Both groups experienced the battle. ⁣

But only one had God’s might and power with them. ⁣

I find this so comforting when going through all of my personal battles, both physical and emotional. ⁣

I have God on my side. ⁣

To strengthen me.

To make the damage not quite as bad as it could be.

To help me prepare even more. ⁣

The trials are still there, but I don’t ever want to face them without the calm and peace that come from going forth with the Lord’s might.

“We are not and never need be alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with heavenly help.” — David A. Bednar

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Battling with the Lord’s might  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

(Which doesn’t happen too often!)

Now, I know “the news” doesn’t always have the happiest stuff to report.

But I was still baffled by how many controversial news stories there were!

By the end of the half-hour broadcast, I was exhausted with how many emotional, legislative, social, or even physical “battles” were occurring.

And they all wanted me to “pick a side.”

Jesus wisely counseled:

“My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight. . . but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36)

Jesus knew which battles to fight and which battles to ignore.

He knew what was actually important in the grand scheme of things.

He knew the battle that was eternally significant.

I take solace in knowing I don’t have to jump into every “battle” I see.

Let’s be real, it seems like every comment section on social media has people getting angry over some brand’s marketing decision.

Conversations with coworkers can turn into gossip and faultfinding.

And news outlets expect us to have fully formed strong opinions on every event that happens.

But I find solace in knowing I don’t have to be a soldier taking a side in each item of contention, both big and small, I encounter.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean I ignore important issues or stand complacent while others gossip.

There are causes and values worth raising our voices for, as we feel the Spirit urging our hearts and minds to do.

But I can stand firm in knowing what the real battle is!

It’s to learn about Jesus, be like Jesus, get rid of sin in my life, and proclaim the truths He teaches.

His kingdom is not in this world, and I can keep my sights set on eternity to know what matters most.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Pick a side!  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I gave birth to my little boy in January, and adding a new human to the mix always makes things a little more chaotic, with a lot less sleep.

And then, in early March, I started having random, intense abdominal attacks and my doctor had no clue what was going on.

And then, I had the realization that my sweet baby boy had a vision impairment.

And then… the world shut down, bringing insecurities of every kind, but especially social isolation.

And so our family navigated multiple doctor’s appointments, meetings with specialists via Zoom, an ultrasound, scan, emergency hospital stay, unexpected surgery, MRI under anesthesia, diagnosis…

All during a pandemic.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was in “survival mode”, as I know many others have been.

I was overdrawing from my spiritual bank – taking out a whole lot more emotional strength than I was putting in at the time.

As it should be in times like that.

But a few weeks ago, I realized that the biggest storms had passed, and yet I was mentally still in a war zone.

My family is doing great now. Barrett has his diagnosis and resources to help him move forward. I’ve got one less organ in my body and I’m not in constant fear of another painful attack.

This is my time of peace. We are good.

But I haven’t been ramping up my spiritual protection as much as I should be.

Captain Moroni used his times of peace to fortify cities against future attacks.

You can’t really fortify during an attack – it’s all about the preparation.

And so now that my mental and physical “attacks” have subsided, I’m choosing to switch back into preparation mode.

I’m now hoarding all the spiritual experiences, the immersion in the scriptures, the special moments praying.

I’m putting it all into my spiritual bank.

I’m building up that fortress.

So that the next time I have to go to battle (because I know that difficult times are still ahead for me), I’ll have a wealth of knowledge and strength to draw on.

Because I have strengthened in my times of peace.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Strengthen in times of peace first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Zeniff’s people had to fight against the Lamanites.

Zeniff helped his people become good, righteous, and industrious.

And still, the Lamanites came.

He armed them with all sorts of weapons.

And still, people died.

And each day, on large and small scales, we are facing battles.

No matter how righteous we are.

No matter how much we have prepared and defend ourselves.

Real damage is done to our lives from these battles of all sizes that we are up against.

The difference between the wicked Lamanites and the righteous people of Zeniff?

The people of Zeniff went forth with God’s might.

Both groups experienced the battle.

But only one had God’s might and power with them.

I find this so comforting when going through all of my personal battles, both physical and emotional.

I have God on my side.

To strengthen me. To make the damage not quite as bad as it could be. To help me prepare even more.

And I feel that calm and peace as I go forward, into battle, with his might.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Bringing his might into battle first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.