Being new and improved

Tony Hawk, skateboarding legend, had this to say when asked by TMZ about skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport in light of the Olympics dropping the sport of wrestling.

‘The Olympics needs skateboarding more than skateboarding needs the Olympics’

Out with the old and in with the new. Society now more than ever is looking for the new and improved of everything. You can see this over time with various consumer products. It seems after the release of the initial product a new and improved version shows up relatively soon to improve sales and profits.

How about with TV’s? There was black and white then color, plasma then LCD, analog then digital, cabinet models then portables and now flat screens. And due to all the changes screen sizes have increased substantially.

How about you personally? Are you new and improved or are you the same as you were when you graduated from high school or college? Do you hesitate to learn to use the new technologies in smart phones and computers? Have you changed physically or mentally? Gone to get additional training?

Some people make changes in themselves for personal reasons like getting a new job and some so that others will notice. Some make changes because they want to be better or achieve some other objective. People become Christians for similar reasons. The Christians who have the most impact on earth for God are the ones who choose to change and become like Christ and love God and love others. Loving others means loving all types of people in many situations.

We are all born with gifts and talents that God has given us. And by spending time in reading the Bible, by praying, associating with other Christians in groups for community and with more mature Christians who can mentor us and help us with accountability, by volunteering as well as attending services we come to grow and to realize what God wants us to do.  

Serving God is a noble and worth cause. Jesus came to serve and God wants us to do the same.

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 NIV

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Tony Hawk was one of the top skateboarders in the world by the time he was 16, and in his 17-year career, he won more than 70 skateboarding contests. Hawk started his own skateboarding company, BirdHouse and also has a successful line of video games and skateboarding videos. Through the Tony Hawk Foundation, he provides grants and technical assistance for new parks, especially in low-income areas.

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Wrestling in shock as IOC wields Games axe

(Reuters) …Contested in the first modern Olympics in 1896 and part of the ancient Games in Olympia, wrestling will now join seven other candidate sports battling for one spot in a revamped program.