The picture I "saw" today was of a small rickety step ladder, reminding me that when we try to elevate ourselves, metaphorically, our lives are potentially in a precarious position. However, if we humbly wait for God to elevate us and direct our lives we can be assured that He is taking care of us and that His timing is perfect. "And God will exalt you in due time if you will humble yourselves under His mighty hand by casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you". (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Birds have to flap their winds to gain momentum and altitude. Then they are able to glide for some time with the moving air, with the wind. If God creates change in your life, although there might be a need for some active adjustment from you, you will be more at ease with the change if you can but learn to "go with the flow". Sometimes the wind of change can be quite dramatic as when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to fill all His followers waiting for His replacement here on earth once He had died and been resurrected. "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind cane from heaven and filled the whole house ... they were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:2). Let us learn to trust God more and glide with the winds of change.

Do we thank God with expectation, as Jesus exemplified when He was here on earth? For instance Jesus thanked His Father on the two separate occasions before He abundantly fed the groups of 4000 and 5000 people with a little bread and a few fishes. "Rejoice always, pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's Will for us in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Thanking in advance requires more trust than asking, as the latter has an element of 'Will we receive what we have asked for or not?'

I saw stones on the Lisbon waterfront being painted in beautiful vivid colours. What a good reminder of the "colours" that God wants to inject into our lives and for us to pour out to others and in praise to Him. "Vivid" comes from the Latin root word vivere, to live. The bible is alive with descriptions of colours. For example the Old Testament priests in the Tabernacle, where God met His people, wore tunics of "gold, and of blue, purple and scarlett yarn, and of finely twisted linen - the work of skilled hands" (Exodus 28:6). Let us live our lives vivaciously and excellently for we have a God of eternal life and vibrant colour!

This picture is reminiscent of our lives which are in God 's hand. Yes, we have free will to make our own choices but think on the many significant people who, and occasions which, have impacted our lives without our planning. "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:13-16)

Man has an amazing capacity for vivid imagination and we love hearing myths and legends which inspire us with their mystery and adventure. However, we don't want to be taken for fools for believing in fantasy. Jesus is so far removed from fantasy. Until we experience Him personally in our lives, it is difficult to have Him explained to us. He touches deep into our soul, filling a gap that we may not even have known we needed filling. "Never doubt God's mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination" (Ephesians 3:20).

The Lord is wanting to bless you in a positively explosive way. This is along the lines of the last message with a dandelion clock, whereby when we sow liberally and joyfully into God's Kingdom, we will receive abundantly. "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need you will abound in every good work. As it is written, 'They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever ' ". (2 Corinthians 9:8-10)

In the same way that the white fluffy seeds on one dandelion stalk can be scattered over a vast area to be re-seeded, let us live a life of giving out. In so doing, without expectation of specifically receiving, we will find that our lives are enriched. "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered". (Proverbs 11:25).

There is nothing wrong in helping yourself feel good by keeping yourself erect, stretching arms up high and wearing something special, whether it be items of clothing, some make-up or a new hairstyle. God wants us to project from our hearts the confidence of His love for us and the fact that each and everyone of us is beautiful to Him. There is nothing wrong in heightening that sense of inner personal beauty with external accessories that give us a boost of confidence. This does not mean we rely on external trappings. Our reliance is in our Lord. 1 Peter 3:3-4 tells us "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment ... Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight".

In the past I have seen two white rainbows, for the purposes of these Daily Pictures, but today the emphasis is on a white fogbow which is created when the sun hits micro fog droplets which are one hundred times smaller than rain droplets. What a lovely reminder of God's light impacting minute aspects of our lives as well as the big. The very hairs of our head are numbered (Luke 12:7) and "the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (Psalm 121:8)