Now that I have 12+ years of social media presence, every old post of mine that pops up is a trip down memory lane.

Was that an inside joke with someone?

Wow, that is a lot of pictures to post from just a night out with friends.

Why did I post so many song lyrics?

Let’s just say… I am grateful that I have changed in the last 12 years of my life.

Isn’t that such a human part of life?

We meet up with old friends and realized that we’ve all changed a lot.

We remember how we acted with our spouse as newlyweds and realize that we’ve changed a lot.

For better (and let’s be real, sometimes not-for-better), everyone is always changing.

So to me, it is such a relief to hear from the Lord:

“For I am the Lord, I change not”. (Malachi 3:6)

He’s not going to become more angry or more strict.

He’s not going to become more permissive.

He’s not going to become less loving.

He’s not going to stop sending prophets to declare His word.

He’s not going to want us to stop making covenants and serving others.

He’s not going to stop asking for our hearts and wills and desires.

My relationship with my Savior keeps changing because I am the one who is spiritually maturing.

But I always know what to expect from Him.

I’ve been taught about Him and His patterns my whole life.

I’ve studied the patterns again and again in every book of scripture.

The Lord does not change.

I change.

And thank goodness for both of those truths.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Unchanging Lord first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

There are so many people with wisdom and education and training that have helped me to become a better mom by teaching through social media!

It’s awesome.

I used to look up to a lot of these “parenting influencers” with the idea that I agreed with everything they said.

If they suggested this way to deal with a tantrum, then yup I’m all on board. If they suggested we try this new twist on a chore chart, then yup we are doing it.

There’s been one issue with parenting that I’ve been looking for some more support with recently, and so I looked to what many of these parenting experts were saying.

Their advice seemed to all be pretty much the same for how to deal with my situation. But I heard that still small voice whisper:

“This is not what your kid needs.”

And I felt peace.

The gift of discernment is more important on social media now than ever before.

Advice and ideas are everywhere.

Good advice and ideas even! Many of these parenting accounts have brought blessings into my life for how I interact with my children.

But I don’t just “follow” blindly.

I’ve learned that I can take each new idea to the Lord. He’s the best parenting expert out there and He can point me the right way.

Life coaches, health experts, news commentators, finance coaches, psychologists, and yes, even religious accounts (the irony is not lost on me!) are everywhere.

“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad”. (1 Kings 3:9)

Like Solomon, I’m learning I have to plead with God daily to be able to discern what is right and what is wrong.

For some things, I need to know what is right or wrong for my situation. (Like my parenting example! The Lord clearly told me it’s not what my kid needs, even though it works for others.)

But for other things, I’m having to literally decide whether it is truth OR truth twisted until it’s no longer pointing me toward God.

Understanding hearts, righteous judgments and discernments, we’ve gotta be asking for and claiming these privileges now more than ever!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Wisdom on social media first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Because of the internet. Because of social media.

We can choose to produce goodness, to share goodness, and to consume goodness.

When our house is completely dark at night and I need to take care of a crying baby, all it takes is one little light to allow me to see.

By being just a small light, we can make a bigger difference than we could ever imagine.

I’ve got a testimony of that, for sure.

Samuel told the people living in Zarahemla that the Lord needed to destroy the entire city because of their wickedness.

“But behold, it is for the righteous’ sake that it is spared.” (Hel. 13:14)

One righteous person can keep an entire city from being destroyed.

And one righteous person can shine a light and share goodness on social media.

We can choose to post wisely.

We can choose to avoid division.

We can check facts.

We can resist cheap digs.

We can create beautiful and powerful content.

And whenever we choose to share our opinions, we try to always be led by the Spirit.

And that’s how we transcend the darkness and bitterness around us.

We stand out in different and distinct ways from the rest of the world and our difference can be tenfold (or more) what it could have been 20 years ago.

Just one person. One post. One comment. One moment of restraint.

Can make all the difference between darkness and life-changing light.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Making a viral difference first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.