›› The Bouquets Vacation

1. Divide a sheet of paper into four horizontal sections. At the top of each section, write one of the following phrases: The Word, My Paraphrase, My Experience or My Plan, and My Prayer.
   
   
2. Choose a Bible verse that seems to have a special message for you at this moment in your life. If you can’t think of one, open to Psalms and read until you find something.
   
   
3. Read the verse in several different versions. Choose the one you like best.
   
   
4. Copy the verse into “The Word” section.
   
   
5. Write your own paraphrase of the text. Just put down what you feel the verse is saying to you about your current life situation. Put your name into the paraphrase if it will help it seem more personal. Imagine that this is what Jesus is saying to you.
   
   
6. Next, write down something of your experience to which this verse speaks, or write how you want to act now as a result of what the verse is telling you.
   
   
7. Follow this with a prayer of praise, thanksgiving, or supplication. This is your response to Jesus for the bouquet of love He has just given you.
   
   
8. Read the following quotation from My Life Today, substituting the word bouquets for “glad springs” and “precious truths.”
   
   

   Make the promises of God your own. Then when test and trial come, these promises will be to you glad springs of heavenly comfort.... The heart that is stored with the precious truths of God’s Word is fortified against the temptations of Satan, against unholy thoughts and unholy actions. (p. 28)
   
   

9. Underline each day’s bouquet in red in your Bible. Beside it write the date. Sometime when you feel discouraged, leaf through your Bible and enjoy your bouquets.

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Source: Dorothy Eaton Watts. Prayer Country: A Tour Guide to the Wonders of Prayer. Pacific Press Publishing Association, Boise, Idaho, 1993.