Plans for Joy

         Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Listen to God’s joyful voice as He pours your special serving!

            Isn’t it neat how a newborn baby knows his mommy’s voice? According to an online article (babycenter.com), amazingly, babies can recognize their mother's voice even before birth.

In one study, researchers recorded pregnant women reading a poem out loud, and then played the recordings to the unborn babies, still in the womb. The heart rate of babies who heard their mom's voice beat faster, while the heart rate of those who heard the recordings of another mom's voice slowed down, showing that the babies did distinguish between the two.

The researchers theorized that the slower heart rates occurred when the babies were trying to "figure out" what they were hearing, and the faster heart rates corresponded to excitement at hearing their mother's voice.

            Do you recognize your Heavenly Father’s voice?  He speaks to us much like the mother of a newborn….with love, patience, compassion, and joy.  With wisdom and love He guides us…sometimes withholding things that are not good for us, molding us into mature Christians that become more like Him.  Let’s listen for the sound of His voice.  He wants us to know that He has a plan…and it’s full of hope and joy.

            Listen as God speaks in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”