I love the Disney movie, "The Emperor's New Groove."

I love the story line.

I love the music.

I love the humor.

But I love the lesson most of all.

If you've never watched this movie, you should rent it this summer and see what you think.

As I've ventured through this first week of summer, I've found myself feeling a little like Emperer Kuzko.

As Kuzko enters his throne room, dancing away, he backs into an elderly man who "throws off his groove."

Watch this short clip and you'll see what I mean.............

I've found that somehow I've backed into summer (my figurative elderly man) and it has definitely "thrown off my groove" for blogging.

Now, I don't want to throw summer out the window like Kuzko chose to do with this poor old man, but I  know I am going to have find a "new groove" that works for me.

A groove that feels right in the midst of yard work, house cleaning, errand running, and catching up with friends I have missed throughout the school year.

Here's one thing I know:

My blog holds me accountable.

And even though I often think, "Noone is reading my blog daily anyway, so why do I worry when I don't post?"

Deep inside I know it's not so much about you reading my blog daily that concerns me, it's about me not being still enough to reflect on life and God's constant presence in my life that I miss.

I want a new summer groove that is healthy, rewarding, and meaningful.

I don't want to click away at my computer keyboard just to "check something off my list."

I decided long ago that if my blog ever became a chore, it was time to stop blogging.

And the truth is, my blog is far from a chore.

It's so much a part of who I am.

It's kind-of like a diary for me.

A place to jot down snippets of my life and share how God is working through them or in spite of them.

A place to react to Scriptures that inspire me, confuse me, convict me.

It's my little corner of the world where nothing changes even though so much around me changes constantly.

It's Sunday morning, and I can't remember blogging on a Sunday in a long, long time.

I need to go get ready for Sunday school but this morning something strange happened that woke me early.

Peppy, one of our dogs, barked and somehow it stirred me in a dream.

As I was still sleeping I saw two clocks on the floor beside my bed begin to fly away with wings and in my dream, I could hear myself singing, "I"ll Fly Away, Oh Glory, I'll Flay Away."

Then suddenly, I opened my eyes and looked at my real clock which said, "7:11."

Now, if you've known me for a while, you know that 7-11 was Nick's little nickname he gave himself when he learned of his second tumor at age 11 (His first tumor was at age 7.)

The 7-11 number combination became a huge part of Nick's fight with cancer and still means so much to me and to many of Nick's friends.

I don't know what this dream meant this morning, but I do know this.

Time flies, doesn't it?

Even when the pace is suppose to be slower, life has a way of rushing by if we're not careful.

Yesterday, Tim and I went to two friends' houses for graduation receptions. One was all afternoon.  The other was in the evening.

As I sat with my two girlfriends at their homes, we reflected on how quickly our children have grown.

Maybe the clocks were symbolic of Matt and Andrew's lives, my two friends' sons.

Maybe the clocks were symbolic of the lives of my friends as they have watched their kids grow up.

Maybe it was just a weird dream I had because I drank a McDonald's Caramel Frappe late at night and wen to bed regretting it.

Who knows?

All I know is this, it woke me up enough to realize that I needed some quiet time with God.

I'm thankful for Peppy's bark this morning and for a dream that startled me enough to look at my clock at 7:11.

I want to find a new groove for summer blogging, and I want you all to know that even when I don't write, I am thinking of all of you and saying a prayer that your day is filled with special moments.

I am going to do a summer fun give-away this week!

I'll let you know when I gather up all the things I want to share with you!

For today, know that I love you, I'm lifting you up in my prayers, and I am always available at tammynischan@yahoo.com if you need to chat.  I've made some beautiful friends through email, and one of the things I look forward to about Heaven is meeting these friends in person!

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Psalm 90:12

"Teach us to number our days, that

we may gain a heart of wisdom."