I’ve had my heart prepared to not be accepted into a program at school. ⁣

I’ve had my heart prepared for a struggle my son would have to face. ⁣

I’ve had my heart prepared before receiving a big calling that would affect our family a lot. ⁣

And as I’ve talked with others, many have shared other personal, sacred experiences where their hearts have been prepared for a huge financial setback, a move, or even the death of a loved one. ⁣

I know that God prepares our hearts in ways that are sometimes indescribable, and for experiences that we may be the only ones to know about. ⁣

God prepares hearts. ⁣

I also have learned that I can do my part to prepare my own heart for situations that I do know are ahead of me. ⁣

I’ve found literal priesthood power when I prepare my mind before entering the temple. ⁣

I’ve discovered genuine love when I prepare my heart to love and serve someone who seemed difficult to love and serve. ⁣

I’ve experienced great peace when I’ve prepared my soul to expect miracles. ⁣

“Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it”. (Ezra 7:10)⁣

Life is often busy and stressful and crazy. ⁣

But taking time to prepare our hearts or listening to promptings from God that prepare us for large tasks ahead will bring much more love and peace in the long run. ⁣

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparing hearts first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I wanted to be someone who “loved Conference,” even though I had no idea how to get to that point.

But I figured it would take a lot of effort, so I got to work.

I spent time reviewing previous talks. ⁣

I prayed with very specific purposes beforehand. ⁣

I did a lot of work beforehand so that I wouldn’t have to run errands or anything during that weekend. ⁣

And guess what happened when General Conference weekend arrived?! ⁣

I felt so immersed in every talk that I heard! ⁣

It truly was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and I felt like I was hearing the Lord speak, quite literally. ⁣

There was something powerful about really PREPARING for a spiritual experience. ⁣

The Lord even warned Moses to “Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” (Exodus 19:10-11) ⁣

The Lord wanted the Israelites to PREPARE for the amazing spiritual experience that awaited them. ⁣

He didn’t want to just spring it on them. ⁣

He gave them three days to prepare. ⁣

Preparation takes work. It takes effort to do things ahead of time. ⁣

But Bonnie Oscarson put it perfectly when she said:⁣

“Where much is required, much more will be given.”⁣

We choose how much to prepare. ⁣

How much to ponder about our covenants BEFORE sacrament meeting starts. ⁣

How much to do physically and mentally BEFORE walking through the temple doors. ⁣

How much to do BEFORE we open our scriptures to study. ⁣

How much to search for intention BEFORE serving in our calling.

But I have found that the more that I choose to prepare before what I anticipate to be a spiritual experience, the more that the Spirit is poured out upon me. ⁣

Preparation is for my own benefit.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The effort of preparation  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This has come to my mind a few times recently.

I LOVE connecting with God through the scriptures.

But things have felt a little… off?

Then I read a very simple scripture I know I had read many times before:

“Prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you”. ⁣(D&C 132:3)

Boom.

That was the answer that I needed. ⁣

I needed to prepare my heart a bit better to receive whatever I needed the Spirit to give me in these scriptures. ⁣

I had grown lax with my preparation.

So I prayed for a softer, more prepared heart. ⁣

I humbled myself and was ready to be taught. ⁣

And then I read the scriptures again. ⁣

This time, I found what the Lord wanted to teach me. ⁣

At least, I found what He wanted to teach me right then, because I’m sure there is much more that I can learn. ⁣

Sometimes, we just need to prepare. ⁣

Prepare our hearts to be sensitive to hard things. ⁣

Prepare our hearts to not worry about the stuff that we don’t need to worry about right now. ⁣

Prepare our hearts to be a little more humble and submissive to the Spirit. ⁣

So that’s what I learned. ⁣

Scripture study isn’t always easy. Finding inspiration isn’t always easy. ⁣

Maybe the scriptures will be easy for you. ⁣

Maybe you’ll struggle a bit as I did. ⁣

It’s all good. ⁣

But there is still always something to learn, and my testimony of that was strengthened even more as the Lord taught me about the power of preparation.

“The condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to spiritual things.” – Gerald N. Lund

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post When the scriptures don’t inspire  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 logic. ⁣

After my formal teaching training and degree, I finally had the first opportunity to teach a full lesson in church to a youth 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 usually wouldn’t think to share. ⁣

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. ⁣

Or maybe I was the only one who needed to learn the lesson that day. ⁣

“It shall be given thee in the very moment what thou shalt speak and write”. (D&C 24:6)

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, 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 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 Writing lesson plans  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It made me laugh a lot because a few years ago, my husband’s family decided to do a 5K on Thanksgiving morning. ⁣

I am NOT a runner. Like. At all. ⁣

But due to peer pressure, I signed up and started training with my husband. ⁣

It took a few weeks, but eventually my speed and my endurance started picking up. ⁣

By the day of the race, I felt pretty good! I wasn’t super fast, and I had to walk a couple times, but I finished the 5K. ⁣

“Preparation” is a funny concept. ⁣

Because, you could say that I prepared for that 5K. ⁣

And, I did! For the month beforehand. ⁣

But I also had not gone running for months before that. ⁣

Imagine what I could have done if I had been running every day for a year, or five years before that race. ⁣

I could have won the whole thing! Or at the very least, it could have been a total breeze. ⁣

And this is not to beat myself up for what I did at all – I am still proud of my “couch-to-5K”. ⁣

But I’ve learned that preparation never stops. ⁣

We are CONSTANTLY preparing ourselves for the future – whether we are doing so intentionally or not.

The Lord warns us in D&C 1:12, “Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;”⁣

We are preparing for the future right now – for better or for worse. ⁣

We are preparing for the next General Conference, for that upcoming competition, for that big life decision you don’t even know about yet. ⁣

And ultimately, we are preparing for Christ’s Second Coming right now. ⁣

There’s not some future day to “start preparing”. ⁣

Just like my 5K, I may formally decide to do something new to prepare for my Savior’s return someday. ⁣

But in reality, everything I am doing right now is shaping who I will be, what my abilities are, and what my mindset is. ⁣

And ultimately, we are always preparing for something.

So what will you choose to prepare for today?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparing for a 5K first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

But He said to NOT travel to find Him?

You had to stay at home.

How would you prepare mentally and spiritually?

When I know something spiritual is about to happen, my preparation makes a huge impact on my experience.

I’ve had stake conferences where I’ve embraced preparatory challenges or talks to study from my stake leaders.

I’ve also had stake conferences where I completely ignore them because I’m too busy.

And guess which stake conferences have been more meaningful to me?

The ones where I put in the hard work and sacrificed my personal time to prepare!

When Christ told the Nephites that He would be returning the next day, they all spread the word and went to work.

“An exceedingly great number, did labor exceedingly all that night, that they might be on the morrow in the place where Jesus should show himself unto the multitude.” (3 Nephi 19:3)

Preparation can be hard work.

It can be a sacrifice.

But putting in the effort to prepare for experiences with Jesus will always be worth it!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparing for Jesus first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

As I’m sure most others do.

He was the guy who was foreordained to prepare the path for Christ, preaching fearlessly and using his priesthood power to baptize.

John the Baptist was amazing.

In Isaiah 40:3, we read this prophecy:

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord”.

But… what if we turned that prophecy around and looked at ourselves for a bit?

How do you and I prepare the way for Jesus right now?

We absolutely are working together to prepare the earth for the Second Coming of the Savior, gathering Israel and getting ready for Christ’s return.

But what about on a smaller, more personal level?

I’ve been thinking recently that I want to prepare the way for Jesus to come into the hearts of everyone that I meet.

It’s a lofty goal.

But I want to prepare the way for Jesus to get to other people.

I want every interaction that I have to leave everyone feeling so seen, loved, and noticed, that the Spirit has a place to enter into their hearts and testify of a truth that they need.

And no matter their religious affiliation, I think everyone needs a little message from Jesus in their heart.

Whether they are old or young.

Whether they are a member of my family or not.

Everyone needs a little more of the Spirit of God in their hearts, delivering any message that they need to hear in that moment.

I want to prepare the way for Jesus to come anywhere that I go.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparing for Jesus  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I’ve had my heart prepared to not be accepted into a program at school.

I’ve had my heart prepared for a struggle my son would have to face.

I’ve had my heart prepared before receiving a big calling that would affect our family a lot.

And as I’ve talked with others, I’ve had them share other personal, sacred experiences where their hearts have been prepared for a huge financial setback, and even the death of a loved one.

I know that God prepares our hearts in ways that are sometimes indescribable, and for experiences that we may be the only ones to know about.

God prepares hearts.

I also have learned that I can do my part to prepare my own heart for situations that I do know are ahead of me.

I’ve found literal priesthood power when I prepare my mind before entering the temple.

I’ve discovered genuine love when I prepare my heart to love and serve someone who seemed difficult to love and serve.

I’ve experienced great peace when I’ve prepared my soul to expect miracles.

“Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it”. (Ezra 7:10)

Life is busy and stressful and crazy.

But taking time to prepare our hearts or listening to promptings from God that prepare us for large tasks ahead will bring much more love and peace in the long run.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Preparing hearts first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

This is where we keep any shoes that are used often enough to stay downstairs.

It’s a good-sized basket, which means that sometimes shoes fall to the bottom, making them difficult to find.

When it’s time to leave the house and put shoes on, sometimes I’ll notice that one of my 2 year old’s shoes has fallen to the bottom of the basket.

So I’ll dig his shoe out and place it on top.

And THEN I’ll ask him to go find his shoes and put them on.

He goes and finds his shoes and puts them on by himself, and I cheer him on like crazy! He loves putting shoes on.

He might think the task is still difficult.

He still gets frustrated sometimes when he can’t find a shoe that seems to be obviously placed on top of the pile.

But he has no idea that I made his task much easier and much more appropriate for his abilities.

This is similar to the spiritual foresight that the mighty prophetess and judge Deborah had.

Barak was terrified to go against the powerful Canaanite army.

It seemed like a difficult task.

He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t see the path forward that would end in success.

But Deborah wisely said:

“Is not the Lord gone out before thee?” (Judges 4:14)

She knew that if the Lord was asking them to accomplish a task, then He had made it doable.

She knew He had prepared the way, removing obstacles that they might not ever be aware of.

She knew He knew exactly what their abilities were, and what they needed in order to be successful.

It’s fun to see the obvious hand of the Lord preparing our paths— when the house suddenly becomes available, or that person returns your call, or that teacher has a change of mind.

But other times we just have to trust that the Lord is preparing our paths in ways that we aren’t aware of.

He is before us, and He will prepare a way to help us accomplish anything we are asked to do.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Deborah’s foresight first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I spent time reviewing previous talks.

I prayed with very specific purposes beforehand.

I did a lot of work so that I wouldn’t have to do that much during the weekend.

And guess what happened when General Conference weekend arrived?!

I felt so immersed in every talk that I heard!

It truly was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and I felt like I was hearing the Lord speak, quite literally.

Although I’ve always loved General Conference, there was something powerful about REALLY preparing for a spiritual experience.

The Lord even warned Moses to “Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” (Exodus 19:10-11)

The Lord wanted the Israelites to prepare for the amazing spiritual experience that awaited them.

He didn’t want to just spring it on them.

He gave them three days to prepare.

Preparation takes work. It takes effort to do things ahead of time.

But Bonnie Oscarson put it perfectly when she said:

“Where much is required, much more will be given.”

We choose how much to prepare.

How much to ponder about our covenants BEFORE sacrament meeting starts.

How much to do physically and mentally BEFORE walking through the temple doors.

How much to do BEFORE we open our scriptures to study.

How much to search for intention BEFORE serving or loving someone.

But I have found that the more that I choose to prepare before what I anticipate to be a spiritual experience, the more that the Spirit is poured out upon me.

Preparation is for me.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Benefits of preparation  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.