Greetings from Manitou Springs

1st Timothy 6 offers some time-honored principles about our attitude and activity:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.   There are principles here that are applicable, no matter what our financial statement looks like.   If God has blessed us, He desires for us to use what He has given us for His glory.   We can regard possessions, periods of time, and people as expendable, and toss them aside, when the Lord wants to use us in ministry - our material resources belong to Him, our schedules likewise belong to Him, and if we regard each person as someone created in the image of God, then He will give us a capacity to see them through His eyes.   God will give us a sensitivity to ministry as we surrender to Him, and allow His Word and His Spirit to control our lives.

In 1st Peter chapter 4, we get a glimpse into Biblical stewardship, honoring God with what He has given to us:
9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Comedian and late-night show host Johnny Carson said that there was actually only one fruitcake in existence and it was passed from one person to another.   You can actually find fruitcake references dating back to the Roman empire, according to the website, WhatsCookingAmerica.net.   Fruitcakes began to turn up in Britain in the 1400s when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived. 

In the 1700s in Europe, a ceremonial type of fruitcake was baked at the end of the nut harvest and saved and eaten the next year to celebrate the beginning of the next harvest, hoping it will bring them another successful harvest. After the harvest, nuts were mixed and made into a fruitcake that was saved until the following year. At that time, previous year's fruitcakes were consumed in the hope that its symbolism would bring the blessing of another successful harvest.

Claxton, Georgia, in fact, lays claim to the title of "Fruitcake Capital of the World", where two bakeries In  make more than 4 million pounds of fruitcake each year.   Corsicana, Texas also claims that title.

And, Manitou Springs, Colorado annual pays homage to the fruitcake in an odd, satirical way, with its annual "Fruitcake Toss".   The next one is scheduled for January.   Here's what the city's website says about it:

Launch your fruitcake into space with a variety of mechanical and pneumatic devices.

Once again the fruitcakes will fly at the 2013 Great Fruitcake Toss.  Compete in the Hand Toss, Kid’s Toss, Launch, Pneumatic Gun or Cannon, Team Catch or Accuracy division.  The cost of competing is a non-perishable food item, to be donated to the Westside Cares food bank. A limited quantity of fruitcakes are available to rent, however, we encourage you to bring your own fruitcake. Snacks and beverages provided by the MS Kiwanis Club.

Sounds intriguing, right?   Fruitcakes launched from a cannon, or caught be a team after being "launched" - that's right, no hand tossing in that competition.  

I believe there is actually a spiritual application here, and that deals with what we tend to toss away in our own lives.  There are certain resources and people that we might tend to toss away from our lives, figuratively speaking. 

Perhaps there are possessions that we do not value - if we do not have a stewardship attitude, we might acquire expendable things that either go to waste or that do not really benefit us.   Our identity is not found in the amount of our possessions, and often we have tossed away what God has given to us on superfluous possessions.

And, there are activities that we deem to be expendable.   In the way we structure our schedules, we might find ourselves eliminating time with God or time with family - we can toss away periods of time in favor of idle activities.   We have to be careful that we are trying to make the best use of the time that God has entrusted to us, investing wisely.

Unfortunately, there are people that the Lord has brought into our lives that we toss away - it may be a friendship that you have set aside, or a tough family relationship that you'd rather not deal with.   Maybe it's a stranger that has crossed your path, but you have tossed him or her aside.   There are people that are, as we might say, by the side of the road, and we adopt an attitude of tossing them aside for whatever reason.

We toss possessions, periods of time, and people aside, when God wants us to develop a greater senstivity to His plan, and invest what He has given to us to bring life and light into our lives and the lives of others.