May 4 - Bird Day

There really are at least three days in the year that celebrate, this one is just called "Bird Day".  It was established in 1894 at a school in Pennsylvania as a special day to watch birds, all birds.  Did you know there are about 10,000 different species of birds  in the world, and only about 1,100 live in the United States.  And the researchers say that only a few over 400 live in Minnesota.  

Have you ever got up early in the morning and listened to the birds? It is so pretty to hear them sing in the morning. Do you think they are talking to each other? What are they saying? Do you think they care about you watching them?  Can you guess what the most common Minnesota bird is? You could look that up on your computer.

Even though there are only 400+ kinds of birds in Minnesota, there are thousands of many of them.  I don't know if anyone has a count on how many total birds there are in Minnesota. I can't even begin to guess, can you?  One place I read said that the second most common bird in June to July in Minnesota is the Song Sparrow.

Jesus know how many birds there are in Minnesota.  He watches every one of them.  Jesus said in the Bible in Luke 12:6-7, "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God." Jesus is telling the people that sparrows are important to him, but then he goes on to say, "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."  

When we think about how God specially designed these little birds to know how to sing in the morning, how to fly south in the winter, and how to make a nest out of sticks -- that's pretty amazing.  But God made you even more special than that, he know how many hairs on your head -- and you are so valuable.

Today -- spend some time counting birds and thank God for watching over you!

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