There’s always something I should be doing, right?⁣

I remember, after being in school for years, going straight to BYU, immediately getting a teaching job and teaching for 4 years, and then quitting…⁣

I suddenly had a newborn to care for, and nothing else to do. ⁣

Sometimes, the newborn took a lot of attention. ⁣

But other times, the newborn didn’t need anything while she napped for a long time, and I felt like there wasn’t anything for me to do. ⁣

No homework to finish, no lesson plans to write, no papers to grade… Just, nothing. ⁣

And I felt so guilty just doing nothing. ⁣

Was I supposed to organize my kitchen now? Redo the laundry room? Prep dinners? Scrub a toilet?⁣

I now look back and think: “Oh, I wish I would have enjoyed that more and just relaxed, guilt free!”⁣

But I still struggle with thinking that the only reason I can truly relax is because I don’t have anything on my to-do list. ⁣

But what happened during the Creation?⁣

“And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among themselves to form; and sanctified it.” (Abraham 5:3)⁣

The day of rest was PLANNED. ⁣

It wasn’t just “Wow, we totally finished everything ahead of schedule! I guess we can take a day off to do nothing, since there isn’t anything else important to do!”⁣

It was deliberate— a day set aside for the ESSENTIAL purpose of rest. ⁣

What a concept. ⁣

So, if you are like me, and feel that weight of guilt that you always need to be doing something, let’s take a hint from the Lord God’s example: ⁣

Plan for rest.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Plan for rest  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It was stake camp, so on the ward level, we had helped the girls create their banners, make gifts, create cheers, and pretty much every kind of crazy preparation you could think of.⁣

And then the word came– wildfires in Arizona suddenly shut down the state land, including where our stake YW Camp was to be held.⁣

Camp was canceled at a stake level and turned over to the ward level with less than 2 week’s notice in the middle of the summer. ⁣

Girls were disappointed. Leaders were disappointed. Parents were disappointed. No one was happy about having to create camp from scratch with basically no prep time.⁣

A wise leader spoke to us at church that Sunday as frantic plans for a ward camp were being thrown together, and the message was one that we all needed to hear.⁣ The message:

This had not surprised God. ⁣

This was not a wrench in the plan that He had no clue would happen. ⁣

As we wrote skits and painted posters and designed t-shirts, God knew it wouldn’t come to fruition. ⁣

And He would sanctify every sacrifice we thought we had been making for the stake camp to bolster our ward camp instead. ⁣

And it was 100% true. The ward camp came together in miraculous ways, and everyone was spiritually uplifted.⁣

But that lesson has stuck with me. ⁣

God can’t be surprised. ⁣

Joseph even taught this about baptisms for the dead:⁣

“The Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the salvation of the dead who should die without a knowledge of the gospel.” (D&C 128:5⁣)

Baptisms for the dead wasn’t an ordinance of, “Whoops, a lot of people are missing out on essential ordinances! I guess we should come up for a way to kind of get the same blessings, too.”⁣

Nope.⁣

THIS WAS THE PLAN FROM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.⁣

Proxy ordinances have always been the plan, because they are the only way we all make it back together. ⁣

God will not be surprised!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Canceled camp first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Why didn’t He give Joseph a flow chart with all the callings and the priesthood offices?⁣

Why didn’t He give all the commandments and revelations that the whole church would need one right after the other, so that they could then move forward with all the knowledge they would need?⁣

It can be so frustrating. ⁣

Why?⁣

Why aren’t there clear answers and straightforward directions? ⁣

Even in my own life. ⁣

When I’ve wondered about a job or a move or a marriage or a friend or an opportunity…⁣

I’m not very often given the big picture. ⁣

No matter how badly I want it. ⁣

The Lord even gave Joseph and Sidney some instructions, and then abruptly said:⁣

“Now I give no more unto you at this time.” (D&C 73:6⁣)

He gave just a little reminder that they should start translating the Bible again. ⁣

And nothing else for right now. ⁣

He knows what we actually need to know. ⁣

And a word jumped out at me just a couple sections later when I read what the Lord taught again:⁣

“Calling on the name of the Lord for the Comforter, which shall teach them all things that are expedient for them”. (D&C 75:10⁣)

Expedient. ⁣

What is expedient for me to know? ⁣

God knows. ⁣

I know what I think I want to know. ⁣

But God knows what is expedient for me to know in order to become the person I need to be. ⁣

We were sent through the veil for a reason. ⁣

Knowing it all is not part of the plan. ⁣

But also, God will not let us wander. ⁣

When there are things that are expedient for us to know, and we ask in faith, He will reveal that to us. ⁣

And nothing else at this time.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post What’s the whole plan? first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I had zero intention of hiking down into the canyon and was very content staying up on the rim and taking nice shuttle rides around the park. ⁣

But there are warnings EVERYWHERE for those who are intending to hike down into the canyon. ⁣

Every brochure, every sign, every trailhead. ⁣

They say, basically, “Do you have a realistic plan?⁣

“Lots of people hike down into the canyon and are unprepared for how difficult it is to hike back out.

“We have to do a lot of rescues, either by ranger or by helicopter. ⁣

“Make sure you really know what you are getting yourself into, and that you are extremely physically fit to do this hike.”⁣

I can only imagine the kinds of stories that have caused these warnings to be plastered everywhere. ⁣

People choose to hike down into the canyon (the easy part), and then get caught off guard doing the uphill climb while they are already exhausted. ⁣

And then realize they completely miscalculated their abilities. ⁣

And that they need a lot of help. ⁣

And the park service has to spend a lot of manpower and expenses to get them out. ⁣

Thanks goodness the Lord is with us to the end, right?! ⁣

Sometimes, life is like a walk down into the Grand Canyon. ⁣

But other times, it seems like we’ve been asked to hike out of a giant hole in the ground in scorching noonday Arizona heat. ⁣

(Or maybe we are just riding the shuttle around in the rim, with air conditioning.)⁣

But literally no matter what our pathway is, our Lord is with us to the end. ⁣

“I will be with them even unto the end.” D&C 75:13⁣

For those who ask for the Lord to travel with them, He will be there the entire time. ⁣

He isn’t rolling His eyes when He has to come rescue us again. He isn’t frustrated that He has to stop what He’s doing to give help in a situation you got yourself into in the first place. ⁣

He’s just there. Whenever we ask. ⁣

What a kind, wise Heavenly friend.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Grand Canyon warning first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I watered it once.⁣

And then I forgot about it and it died.

The end. ⁣

Was I shocked that it died?

Absolutely not.

I had done nothing to nourish that poor little plant. ⁣

Just like this short-lived plant, Alma asks us to consider if we are NOURISHING or NEGLECTING our seeds of faith.

“If ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root.” (Alma 32:38)

From a logical standpoint, it makes sense.⁣

If we do nothing to nourish our testimony every day, it will eventually wither away.

⁣But when we are actually down in the trenches and living life, it seems easy to lose sight of this logic!

We get tired.

We get busy.

Or we get a little complacent.

That’s when we need to really step back and consider if we are doing our best every single day to nourish our testimony.

Are we taking the time to NOURISH?

Are we reading the scriptures even when they don’t make sense, or praying even when we don’t feel a connection? ⁣

Are we watering the plant, even if it doesn’t immediately perk back up, but having faith that if we continue to add more every single day, life will come again?⁣

We are either nourishing or neglecting.

There is no middle ground!

So what kind of care can you give to your living testimony of Jesus Christ today?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post My forgotten plant  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

You can start with an anticipatory set to pique interest, you can read from a common piece of literature and analyze different components, or you could go inquiry-based.

And… I love them all!

To me, crafting a lesson plan is exactly that— a beautiful craft of mixing creativity and teaching concrete topics.

After my formal teaching training and degree, I finally had the first opportunity to teach a full lesson in church to a youth Sunday School class.

I jumped into “lesson planning” mode and crafted prompts and stories that were going to perfectly take these kids through the concept of “tender mercies”.

Sunday arrived, and I was so excited to teach the lesson.

I walked into the classroom, and within five minutes, I knew what I had prepared was not going to work.

These kids needed something different.

A common teaching mantra popped into my head:

“Teach the kids, not the lesson.”

I said a silent prayer and felt prompted to share a lengthy personal story with the kids— one that I would usually avoid because it involved me just talking for a long time, which isn’t always engaging.

I have no clue why I was prompted to share that story. No kid ever said anything to me afterwards, other than a customary “thanks for the lesson” as they walked out the door.

Maybe I was the only one who needed to learn the lesson that day.

Because I learned that the Spirit gives me words to say and to write.

That was the first time that I can remember having my formal plans being completely overthrown by a spiritual prompting.

But it’s happened time and time again since then.

I plan out a post to write, and as I start writing, I completely change direction.

I think of a testimony to bear, and while speaking, I share completely new thoughts.

But letting the Spirit guide me doesn’t mean throwing caution to the wind and relying on Him to do all the work.

I still prepare.

I still lesson plan and craft and create.

But it’s the calm feeling that I know I might follow my plans to a T, or I might throw them out the window.

And either way, it’s all good.

Amazing preparation + being filled with the Spirit = the best teaching possible.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparation and the Spirit first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.