It had been a few days since dishes had been done, and for some reason, everything seemed to have multiplied. ⁣

There were stacks of random things on the counters, the sink was piled high, and the stove was covered in pots and pans, too. ⁣

I kept looking around. ⁣

I didn’t even know where to start. ⁣

I felt overwhelmed.⁣

I kept pulling my phone out to find the perfect podcast to listen to while I cleaned.

And then I remembered I wanted to eat some snacks before I started.⁣

And then someone texted they would come over in a half hour.

This was it– I HAD to get this kitchen clean. ⁣

Finally, I had the thought: ⁣

“Just start! It doesn’t matter where you begin!” ⁣

I picked up the piece of junk mail nearest to me and threw it away. ⁣

Then I noticed the other junk mail on the other counter and grabbed that. ⁣

Pretty quickly, it snowballed into me getting to work, and I was able to tackle the kitchen pretty well before the friend arrived. ⁣

Section 80 in the Doctrine and Covenants can often be written off as “one of those mission call sections”. ⁣

Stephen Burnett asked for a revelation, and the Lord gave him a call.⁣

But there was one element of this mission call that made me laugh a bit. ⁣

In verse 3, the Lord tells Stephen:⁣

“Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss.”⁣

IT MATTERETH NOT, FOR YE CANNOT GO AMISS. ⁣

In other words: ⁣

There’s literally SO much missionary work to get done– just go somewhere and start, and you’ll be good.⁣

How many times have I waited to be prompted on who exactly I should serve?!

Which new family I should try to help feel more welcome in our ward?

How exactly I can serve a ministering sister?

I’ve prayed for specific promptings on what to do for each of those. ⁣

(Which I don’t think is bad, in and of itself!)⁣

But meanwhile, the Lord is probably lovingly looking at me and saying:⁣

“Oh Cali, just do SOMETHING! ⁣

“There is so much work. ⁣

“You cannot go amiss.”

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

Where to even start… 

The post Where to even start…  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

When we are listening to a spiritual message or reading our scriptures, any of these three things can come to us:

1) Something we should start

2) Something we should stop

3) Something we should continue

This blew my mind because I think the third one is often overlooked.

I feel like I learn plenty of new things that I should start.

Start serving more. Start adding more authentic intent. Start saying better prayers.

And I get prompted often of things I should stop.

Stop being on your phone so much. Stop being prideful. Stop ignoring the important stuff.

But that third one is awesome:

What should you continue?

Do you think God is pleased with anything you are doing in your life right now?

Sometimes we focus so much on becoming better people that we forget we are already doing great things! ⁣

When Jesus chose to be baptized, God the Father expressed how pleased He was with His son’s actions.

“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

It was the ultimate, divine ‘pat on the back’.

God knew He didn’t need to correct anything that was going wrong.

He instead wanted to draw attention to what was already going right.

So what’s something good you are doing right now that you can continue to do?

If you come up a little blank, try taking this question to the Lord in prayer, and see what comes to mind.

When I’ve asked God what things I should CONTINUE doing, I’ve given Him a chance to show me personally what He approves of in my life.

And there’s always a lot more goodness than I expect.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Start, stop, and continue  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.