Chapter 1

With sweeping brush strokes, God painted his creation

across the emptiness.

“Let there be light,” he called into the darkness, and a

sweep of brightness blazed across the blank canvas. He called

the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” That was

day one.

On day two, God called out into the light, “Let there be

space between the water above and the water below.” He called

this big blue area “sky.”

“Let the water gather in one place so land will appear,” God

commanded on day three. And it was so.

Then God said, “Let the land produce plants and trees

bearing fruit.” And the sweet smell of lilacs and apple

blossoms filled the air.

On day four, God said, “Let the sun shine on the earth to

mark the day, and let the moon and the sparkling stars mark the

night.” And it happened.

Then, on day five, God said, “Let creatures fill the oceans

and rivers, the lakes and the streams. Let birds fly high in the

sky.” And sunfish and porpoises splashed in the waves, while

eagles and robins soared above them.

On the sixth day, God said, “Let living creatures roam the

earth.” And animals of every shape and size and color

appeared.

Then God stepped back, pleased with his creation. And it

was all very good.

But something was missing. God made the earth, the sky,

and everything in it, but this was not God’s entire plan. He was

not finished. The best was yet to come.

On this same day, God did his finest work. He created

people in his own image. God created a man named Adam and a

woman named Eve. He now had a part of creation that he could

have a close and loving relationship with.

Then God stepped back, took a look, and said, “This is

very, very good!”

Life in God’s beautiful garden was off to a great start. Adam

and Eve made themselves right at home hiking trails, splashing

in clear streams, and racing across green fields.

Adam and Eve spent their days watching the animals

romping and roaming around their new playground and spent

cool evenings counting stars. At bedtime, they drifted into

dreams as larks sang them to sleep.

Life was good in God’s perfect world.

The food in God’s garden was plentiful. After all the hiking,

swimming, and climbing, Adam and Eve were hungry. God

showed them the delicious buffet awaiting them: crispy-sweet

carrots, mouth-watering mangoes, crunchy nuts, and plump

berries.

But when Adam reached for the fruit in the center of the

garden, God spoke up. “Anything but that one, Adam. That

fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is not for you

to eat.”

So Adam and Eve obeyed … for a while. But one day, a

sneaky snake enticed Eve to try the forbidden fruit. “Try thisit’s

the best in the garden! One little bite won’t hurt.” So Eve

plucked a piece and took a bite, then gave some to Adam.

When God found Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes, he

knew they had disobeyed.

“I will always love you,” God said. “But since you

disobeyed me, you cannot live in this beautiful garden

anymore.”

Adam and Eve were sorry they could no longer be with

God in his garden. They left with heavy hearts. But they were

thankful they had not lost the most important thing of all-their

heavenly Father’s love.

Many years passed. Adam and Eve had children who had

more children who had more children. Soon, there were people

all over the world. But they turned into selfish and greedy

people. None of them cared about God. No one, that is, except

Noah. Noah was a good man who loved God.

God made a plan to start all over with Noah.

“Noah, because you love me, I will save you and your

family. But you have to do your part. Go and build an ark-a

huge boat. Collect animals of every kind and food to feed them

all. Take your wife, your sons, and their wives too. Then watch

and wait. I will send water from heaven and water from the deep

parts of the earth to cover the entire world. The flood will wipe

out everything, but you will be safe inside the ark.”

Noah believed God and obeyed him. Noah built the huge

boat and marched the animals into the ark-every bird and beast

and creeping thing: panda bears and pythons, camels and

chameleons, elephants and egrets. When the animals were in

place in the ark and Noah and his family were settled in their

new home, God closed the door and sealed it shut.

Then God opened the windows of heaven and rain poured

down out of the sky. The lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans

surged over their banks. As the fountains of the deep poured

over the earth, the water rose and the land and mountains

disappeared. Days, weeks, and months passed. Noah and his

family lived on the ark for more than forty days and forty

nights waiting for God’s signal that it was safe to leave.

First it stopped raining. Then the water began to go down.

Noah released birds out of the ark to see if they could find a

place to rest. When he sent out a dove for the third time, the

bird did not return. This meant the dove had found a dry place

to live.

It was a great day when Noah and his family and all the

animals joyfully left the ark to live on the earth again.