“God's Special
Gifts to Me”
Read the Story
Words
in red are the personalized words
Note: Story shown here may not be exact.
| Standard Version | Easy Reader "God's Special Gifts to
Me" was created especially for Leah Marie Powers at the age of 7 Happy Easter! With Love From, Mommy & Daddy April, 2002 We are God's
children. He loves you, Leah Powers.
God made us and loves us all. Because God cares about you, Leah, He watches over everything you do in Eden, Texas.
He watches you wherever you go. God is happy that you like playing with Ty, Mom, and Grandma.
He is pleased when you are kind to others. 4 Leah, you live in a wonderful
world full of interesting and beautiful creations from God. Some of God's gifts are things you see,
smell, hear, taste, or touch and feel.
You enjoy these gifts by using your five senses. At times, these senses do not work as they
should. If a child cannot see or hear
well, God often makes the other senses work even better. God loves all His children! This is a marvelous place that God has
created for us, Leah. There are so many amazing things for you to enjoy with Ty, Mom, and Grandma. 7 God gave you eyes to see, Leah. During
your day, you can see the rising sun, smiling faces, fluttering butterflies,
blooming flowers, floating clouds and colorful rainbows. At the end of your glorious day, you see
the setting sun, the rising moon and the twinkling stars. Some evenings, you can also see blinking
fireflies or lie safely tucked in bed and watch lightning flash across the sky. God paints such a beautiful picture for
you each and every day, Leah! Please take time to enjoy His artwork. 8 With the nose that God
has given to you, Leah,
you are able to smell many things. Some
are good. Some may not be so
pleasant. You can smell animals at the
zoo, the farm or at your home. Leah, you
have plant smells in the outdoors. Some
of nature's scents are climbing roses, pine trees, honeysuckle vines and
freshly cut grass. God also gave us mouth-watering food
smells. We have pineapples, lemons,
oranges and strawberries. How many more
can you think of, Leah? 11 There are many happy sounds in the world,
Leah.
God gave you ears to hear all of them. His animals can talk to you and to each
other. Have you listened to what they
say, Leah?
Puppies bark, kittens meow, ponies whinny, cows moo, ducks quack and
birds chirp. Some of the best sounds are grandparents
telling or reading a story, children laughing and people singing. Sounds of
nature include the trees rustling in the breeze, a babbling brook in the forest
and the clap of thunder in a rainstorm. 12 The sense of taste is an incredible gift
from God. What would the world be like
if you were not able to taste things, Leah? Would you miss biting into a juicy apple,
orange, peach or a crunchy nut? What if
you could not taste salt water at the beach or stick out your tongue to catch a
raindrop or a snowflake? Aren't you glad that you can do these
things? The sense of taste is really
magnificent, Leah, especially when you are
hungry!!! 15 God gave us not only our hands but also
our whole body with which to touch His miracles. How grand it is to be able to feel so much throughout your day, Leah! Your favorite touches are probably the hugs
and kisses you give and receive. It is
nice to feel the wind on your skin, the soft fur of a pet, a smooth rock and
even the heart beating in your body. Close your eyes, Leah,
and imagine other things you would like to touch. What would they be? What
do you see - in your mind? 16 Because God loves you so much, Leah, He gives you other gifts. You could call them spiritual gifts from
God. These gifts are special because they help
you to enjoy every day of your life more.
You keep these gifts in your thoughts and your heart forever, Leah. Some of these gifts are love and
kindness, happiness and joy, faith and patience, truth and wisdom, forgiveness,
and the gift of prayer. These gifts
help you to get along better with other people, such as Ty, Mom, and Grandma. 19 God loves you, Leah. He wants you to love everyone. When you love Him, your heart is filled with
His love. You can share His gift of
love with others. Love is kind. You show your love for others with kindness. Leah, can you
remember some of the times when you were nice to Ty,
Mom, and Grandma? You must learn to treat others the way
you want them to treat you. This is
called living by the Golden Rule. 20 Leah, God also gives you the
gifts of happiness and joy to share with Ty, Mom, and
Grandma. When you do good deeds,
those around you are happy. God is happy with all His children,
especially when they say and do nice things.
When you smile and have happy thoughts, you have happiness in your
heart. It will bring you joy, Leah, to bring joy to others. This feeling of joy comes from knowing that
God always loves you. There is great
joy in being one of God's children! 23 Leah, faith and patience are two
gifts that might be a little hard for you to understand. Faith is trust. God wants you to be faithful and believe in Him. You can't see Him with your eyes, but He is
always there with you. Have you ever wanted something
"right now," Leah, but you couldn't
have it? Maybe you wanted a new toy;
however, you had to wait until a special day to get it. That is patience. We must have faith and patience to
believe that God knows what is best for us.
God has a purpose for your life, Leah,
and for everyone. 24 Truth and wisdom are two more gifts for
you, Leah.
God gave you a brain and a heart to know the difference between right
and wrong. When you respect, obey and
love God, He will teach you many things. Your family also helps you learn the
rules that God wants you to follow. Do
you think it is right or wrong to take something that doesn't belong to
you? Do you believe it is okay with God
if you lie, Leah? Always try to be honest and truthful, Leah. God is
sad when any of His children do something they know or feel is wrong. God is happy to help you do the right thing. 27 What would your life be like, Leah, if you did not have the gift of
forgiveness? The words "I'm
sorry" are very special when someone says them to you or when you say them
to others. Did Ty, Mom, and
Grandma ever make you really angry?
When you forgive a person, your heart is filled with God's love and it
shows. We all make mistakes, Leah. Only God
is perfect! If you do something wrong,
tell God and ask Him to forgive you.
God is always ready to forgive you because He loves you and cares about
you. 28 Leah, one of God's greatest
gifts is the gift of prayer. Do you
know what prayer is? It is talking to
God in your own way, either out loud or in your thoughts. There are many times that we can pray to
God each day. Are you thankful when you
eat your food? Tell Him! Have you ever felt afraid, Leah? You can
pray to God, and you won't feel alone.
You will know that He is with you.
Before you go to sleep, end your day with a special prayer of thanks. You can talk to God about anything, Leah. He
listens, and He is always there for you. 31 Leah, this is a special bedtime
prayer that many little boys and girls say each night: Now
I lay me down to sleep. I
pray the Lord my soul to keep. God,
go with me through the night, And
wake me with Your morning light. Author
unknown 32 God created Heaven and
Earth. God created the animals and
plants. God created you, Leah Powers. God is happy with all of His creations, especially you! 35 1.
Religious Faith ______________________________ 2.
Religious Teacher ______________________________ 3.
Place of Worship ______________________________ 4.
Favorite Song or Hymn ______________________________ 5.
Favorite Religious Activity ______________________________ 6.
Favorite Scripture Verse ______________________________
Leah Powers
"God's Special Gifts to
Me"
was created especially for
Leah Marie Powers
at the age of 7
Happy Easter! With Love From,
Mommy & Daddy
All
He asks is that we try to do things that are right.
When
God looks down from heaven, Leah Powers can feel
His gaze.
At 7 years old in Eden, Texas,
she is blessed in many ways.
Leah
thanks God for mornings that turn into bright days
Filled
with friends and story times beneath the sun's bright rays.
He
must have taken special care when giving Leah Powers
sight
to
see the butterflies by day and shining stars by night.
Leah's
nose is such a wondrous gift; it smells all kinds of things,
like
fresh cut grass and hot fruit pies and flowers in the spring.
Leah
listens very quietly while Mommy reads a book.
Where
is that music coming from? The window,
take a look!
Leah
loves to picnic at the beach; she's
happy she can taste.
The
sweetness of fresh fruit galore; none
ever goes to waste.
Leah
uses God's gift of touch when giving friends a hug,
and
with her finger she explores cold water, rocks and
bugs.
With
friends and loved ones all around, Leah knows she must be kind.
In Eden, Texas, everyone agrees she's
the best friend you can find.
The
gift of thoughtfulness is grand. Leah uses it each day
to
help when someone needs a hand.
"Thank you!" her friends all say.
God
wants us to be helpful, and at 7 years old, it's
true;
Leah
is the biggest help around when there's a job to do.
Sometimes
it's hard to wait when Leah wants something
"Now."
She knows
she must be patient; God will show her how.
When
Leah must make a choice between what's right and
wrong,
God
shines His light of truth and guides Leah right
along.
God
knows Leah will make mistakes that leave her feeling sad,
but
God forgives us all our sins, and this makes Leah
feel glad.
Because
Leah loves to talk to God, her prayers are always heard.
She
is so thankful God is near to hear her every
word.
Leah's
bedtime prayer:
Now
I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord
my soul to keep.
Angels
watch me through the night and wake me to Thy golden light.
Oh,
and, God, bless my family, and bless my friends, Ty,
Mom, and
Grandma. Amen.
In
her hometown of Eden, Texas,
Leah Powers is quite well known
for
being one who's thankful for
the
things no one can own.
To her friends she often
says,
"Please
listen carefully.
I
want to tell you all about
God's
Special Gifts to Me!"
Leah Powers
Place of Worship
______________________________
Favorite Sunday School
Teacher
______________________________
Favorite Bible Song