Latest / Family Prayer Podcast / 25. Wright Brothers Day - Wednesday Morning

Transcript

25. Wright Brothers Day - Wednesday Morning · Family Prayer Podcast

• 0:00
  Good morning, Grace Harbor - it’s Dan!
• 0:03
  Happy Wednesday, and what a special day it is!
• 0:07
  On this day, 122 years ago,
• 0:11
  the Wright Brothers flew the world’s first successful motor-powered,
• 0:15
  human-controlled airplane near Kitty Hawk on the coast of North Carolina.
• 0:20
  It was December 17, 1903.
• 0:24
  If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you have Wilbur and Orville to thank!
• 0:28
  They hold a special place in my family because my grandfather was a pilot,
• 0:33
  and my mom even flew small planes too when she younger.
• 0:37
  Now, today is a cold day here in Grace Harbor,
• 0:40
  but at least the sky is clear and there isn’t much wind.
• 0:44
  For the Wright Brothers, it was an overcast and very windy day,
• 0:48
  with gusts up to 27 miles per hour.
• 0:51
  That made it feel miserable, but the wind was key to their success.
• 0:57
  What helps get planes off the ground
• 0:59
  is how the air curves around airplane wings.
• 1:03
  The air has to be moving fast enough to create lift,
• 1:06
  which is why planes we fly in today
• 1:09
  get going really fast on the runway.
• 1:12
  Their flyer had an engine, but it wasn’t very powerful.
• 1:16
  In fact, a few days earlier, they had tried to take off by sliding down
• 1:20
  a sand dune on the beach, hoping gravity would help them
• 1:24
  go fast enough - but all they did was crash!
• 1:28
  Well, 122 years ago today, a storm had just passed through,
• 1:33
  and there was lots of wind blowing in off the ocean.
• 1:37
  They might not be able to make their plane go any faster,
• 1:40
  but now the air itself was moving fast,
• 1:43
  and they decided to give it another shot!
• 1:46
  The brothers took turns, and on their first three tries,
• 1:49
  they managed to stay in the air for about 12-15 seconds, but
• 1:54
  they only went about 200 feet - which is a little over half a football field.
• 1:58
  On their fourth test flight though, Wilbur was able to stay in the air
• 2:02
  for 59 seconds - just one second shy of a whole minute - and he went
• 2:07
  852 feet - which is about two-and-a-half football fields!
• 2:12
  It was a success!
• 2:14
  They had done it!
• 2:16
  And do you want to hear something crazy?
• 2:18
  It would only take 66 years to go from the Wright Brothers flying
• 2:22
  a short distance across a North Carolina beach to Neil Armstrong and his crew
• 2:27
  flying a quarter of a million miles to land on the moon for the first time!
• 2:32
  And during that first moon landing,
• 2:34
  Neil had a small piece of the Wright Brothers flyer with him onboard.
• 2:39
  Last night, we talked about how sometimes joy can be contagious.
• 2:43
  When we choose joy and other people see it, they might feel joy too.
• 2:48
  And especially when we choose to let joy be the most important thing we feel,
• 2:53
  even when things are tough, it shows other people that they can choose joy too.
• 2:59
  The Wright Brothers worked really hard to show the world what was possible.
• 3:03
  And once we knew that flight was possible, once we knew that it could actually be
• 3:07
  done, we’ve built on their dreams and now fly
• 3:11
  all around the world and into outer space!
• 3:14
  Why don’t you take a minute and dream together as a family: what kinds of things
• 3:19
  do you think could happen if more people chose joy?
• 3:23
  Do you think it would be easier to make friends?
• 3:26
  Do you think there’d be less arguing?
• 3:28
  Do you think we’d have impromptu dance parties every Wednesday afternoon?
• 3:33
  Go ahead and share your dreams with your family.
• 3:36
  If you need more time, you can pause the podcast, and I’ll be
• 3:39
  right here when you get back.
• 4:10
  Now, who knows what can happen?
• 4:13
  You might have shared something that wouldn’t take all that much joy,
• 4:16
  and could even happen today.
• 4:18
  Some of you might have shared something that would take a whole lotta
• 4:21
  joy and maybe a miracle or two to happen.
• 4:24
  But you know what?
• 4:26
  Lots of people thought Wilbur and Orville Wright were just dreamers
• 4:29
  and that humans would never fly, and look at us now!
• 4:33
  So, go out today full of joy and full of dreams!
• 4:38
  One of the best things about joy is that when you share it with others,
• 4:42
  they get more, and you never have less!
• 4:46
  Let’s pray to close.
• 4:47
  If you want to, you can close your eyes, and fold your hands.
• 4:50
  But if you’re as pumped as I am right now, a wiggle prayer might
• 4:54
  be just what we need.
• 4:57
  Dear God,
• 4:58
  we thank you for the excitement of dreams.
• 5:01
  Joy is a gift from you, and in the same way
• 5:05
  you share it with us, we can share it with others.
• 5:08
  May our joy be contagious today.
• 5:11
  Amen.
• 5:12
  Alright, Grace Harbor, have an amazing Wednesday, and I’ll talk to you tonight!