No one may ever know that you changed the song on your playlist to the next one because you realized it wasn’t a song that invited the Spirit.

That you taught your kid about how much you love Jesus while they were playing a game.

That you spent extra time preparing the lesson for family night, praying for what each family member really needed to hear.

That you brought dinner to someone when your life was already chaotic.

That you paid extra fast offerings because you know you area needs it.

That you pulled out your scriptures to read just a couple verses instead of going to sleep like you so easily could have.

That it was really difficult to say “yes” to that calling and to actually show up to fulfill it.

That it was a huge personal sacrifice for you to follow a prompting.

That you chose to not complain when you so easily could have.

There is so much. SO MUCH.

So much goodness that we do in the quiet corners of rooms and homes around the world.

That no one will ever recognize with an award, or even be aware of its existence.

But that’s okay.

We don’t do it for the awards.

We aren’t following Jesus for the accolades and pats on the back.

We’re just trying to follow Jesus and keep our covenants because we love God.

But even if we don’t need the appreciation…

There is someone who is actually completely and totally aware of each little sacrifice that we make to bring more goodness and righteousness into the world.

He sees it all.

Those little moments of courage. Those small efforts. Those quiet displays of solid faith.

And He is actually ready to more than compensate each of us for any sense of sacrifice or effort on our parts.

“Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:4)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seeing in secret  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

“How do you do that all alone? You are superwoman!”

We praise people for doing things all on their own, from toddlers to busy moms to leaders and everyone in between.

Of course, basic independence is great.

But we aren’t supposed to do it all alone.

We aren’t here on earth to glorify ourselves.

We are here to glorify Him.

“No matter how capable, educated, brilliant, or strong we are, we cannot cleanse ourselves from our sins, change our bodies to an immortal state, or exalt ourselves. It is only possible through the Savior Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement.” —Elder Paul V. Johnson

Being educated, brilliant, and strong are great qualities.

But they aren’t the ultimate goal.

Jeremiah, in his weakness, cried:

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved”. (Jeremiah 17:14)

We can’t heal ourselves.

We can’t save ourselves.

We can’t perfect ourselves.

We need Jesus.

We need His atoning sacrifice and we need covenants with Him.

We need His Spirit and we need His grace and mercy.

And I think we need to help each other a bit more in the process, too.

Life isn’t meant to be “figured out” alone.

Life is meant to turn us to Jesus time and time again.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post All by yourself first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Each time I’ve had to navigate a tricky decision with education, medical interventions, or social situations, this has been so comforting to me.

I’m not a perfect mom.

But I’m the perfect mom for my kids.

And I don’t even think that this means I’ll always make the perfect decisions with my kids.

It doesn’t mean that I already have the perfect knowledge for how to raise them.

But I am the perfect mom to receive personal revelation to give my kids the mortal experiences that they will thrive in best here on earth.

I’ve been prompted to follow my gut instincts.

I’ve had concepts come to my mind that I learned years ago in a child development class.

I’ve had promptings to ask other moms for their experiences and opinions.

I’ve pleaded with the Lord.

I think about Esther in that moment when she realized all her people, her friends, her family relations, were about to be put to death.

The pressure seems like too much. How could she do this? She wasn’t that uniquely special or qualified?!

And Mordecai’s comforting words to her?

“Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

He implied that she was in the perfect place with her unique experiences to solve the problem in front of her.

She was the perfect person to receive personal revelation from the Lord on what she should do and how she should do it.

She was the perfect person to act in the ways that she knew best.

And it all yielded the best results.

We aren’t perfect in any title that we claim.

There is only one person who was.

But when we turn to Him and plead for direction and promptings, we become the perfect people for the tasks placed in front of us.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Perfect for the task ahead first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.