June 20 - Bald Eagle Day

The American Bald Eagle is an amazing bird! Here are just a few facts I've learned...

• They can have a wing span of 8 feet.
• They can fly about 30 miles in an hour, and dive at 100 mph.
• Bald eagles almost became extinct; with only about 417 mating pairs of bald eagle in all of the lower 48 states in 1963.
• The largest eagle nest has been recorded as 20 feet deep and 9.5 feet wide. More normally their nests are 2-4 feet deep and 4-5 feet side.
• A bald eagle lives for about 30-35 years.
• And most importantly, the bald eagle is our national bird. An eagle is found on the seal of the United States and is seen on the $1 bill.
  

The bald eagle is really an amazing bird!  It is reported that an eagle flying 1,000 feet in the air can see its prey over an area of almost 3 square miles!  Their wings are very strong. Pound for pound, their wings are stronger than an airplane. (That means that if the eagle weighed the same as an airplane, their wings would be stronger than the same sized airplane!)  They can soar over 10,000 feet into the air with their God-made, specially designed wings.

Isaiah 40:31 says, "They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles..."  That's the kind of strength I want!  It's not talking about muscles, it is talking about discipline.  If I wait and trust the Lord, God will give me strength to be disciplined and say "no" to bad choices, and "yes" to good choices.  Strength like eagle wings!

We have a lot of eagles around  here. Have you ever seen one?  Why not ask your parent to drive you to a place where the eagles live -- maybe along a river, or maybe out by Tracey's house!!

---