May 29, 2026 | Pastor Ellen Beach

Every summer our family makes a glow up list. It is a collection of small, intentional adventures right where we already live.

We grab markers and posterboard and write it all out, then post it somewhere we will see it every day. Our list looks like read a book together as a family, ride bikes to the local ice cream shop, and plan a pool date with friends. One summer Eliana wanted to learn to braid her own hair. I wanted to learn to make sourdough. Gabriella set out to ride her bike, and Spencer started playing pickleball. Simple and intentional is key. Same family, same house, same little corner of our world, and yet new life shows up all summer long.

Here is the best part. When we get to live out one of the items on that list, we stop and soak in the moment together. We acknowledge that this little adventure was once just a quiet wish in someone's heart, and now we are actually living it. Then we celebrate. Family adventure plus laughing together plus celebrating one another adds up to a whole new level of thankfulness. And gratitude is a "glow up" of the very best kind!

I love this list because it reminds me of something true about how God designed us to grow.

We tend to think that flourishing requires a transplant. We imagine it waiting in a new city, a new job, or a season that finally feels like the right one. We assume the good growth is always somewhere we are not yet standing. The Bible paints a different picture.

"That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." (Psalm 1:3)

Planted. Not passing through, not waiting for a transfer, but planted. A tree does not produce fruit by relocating every spring. It produces fruit by sinking its roots deep into the soil it already has, staying close to the water, and trusting the season it is in. The most fruitful summer of your life may not require a single change of address. It may simply require you to be present, rooted, and awake to the goodness already around you.

This is what being planted looks like. It is the same soil with deeper roots, the same house with a fuller life, the ordinary made intentional.

So here is your invitation this week: Make your own "glow up" list. Write down the small adventures, the new skills, the experiences, the people, and the spiritual growth you want to enjoy this summer. Your growth ("glow up") is within reach.

You do not need a different life to flourish this summer. You need to be present in the one you already have. So plant your feet, make your list, and watch what God grows.

If you are in North Alabama this summer, join Building Church services at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. each Sunday…it’s a great place to grow!

Celebrating summer,

Pastor Ellen