AMAZING STORY
Decorating to Reflect the True Meaning of Christmas
By Michelle Wilson
The 700 Club
CBN.com -700 Club reporter Michelle Wilson says, “These days there are thousands of Christmas ornaments. Some are fun and cute while others stir up warm memories of Christmases past. Here at ‘Scrolls and More’ Laura Derk hopes her ornaments will remind people of the true meaning of Christmas. She calls them scripture scrolls, and they tell the story of Christmas using verses from the Bible.”
Laura shares, “The scroll carried God’s Word a long time ago. And He impressed upon my heart to use a scroll format to put His Word on to hang on our tree.”
Laura drew inspiration after being challenged by her husband about the true meaning of Christmas.
Michelle Wilson asks, “Talk about how you and Joe began to question what Christmas was all about.”
Laura says, “Joe didn’t like the commercialism in Christmas at all. I didn’t realize that I was actually doing that, or I was involved with that.”
Joe recalls, “It did not have the true meaning that we knew about. So not knowing, I said to her something along the line of, ‘maybe we shouldn’t have a tree this year.’”
Laura prayed about it and felt God showed her how to bring back the true meaning of Christ in Christmas.
Laura remembers, “He impressed upon my heart that if I would hang Scripture, His Word, on my tree, that it would not only please Him but it would please Joe. And so that year after Christmas, in the springtime, I started to design a scroll.”
So Laura started gathering scriptures from Christmas cards she had received over the years. She showed me the first scroll she ever made.
Laura says, “When we first started I would hand write each one of them and then I realized when they got wet the ink would run. In fact on the back I didn’t even know that they made gold cardboard so I used to spray paint the cardboard gold.”
Laura landed her first big order in 1994 and for years made scrolls at her home. Then in 2011, she opened ‘Scrolls and More.’ While Joe oversees the daily operation, Laura does what she loves best - creating scrolls. She and her employees hand make thousands of printed scroll items throughout the year.
Michelle Wilson says, “So Laura, this is an example of what a Christmas tree looks like with scripture scrolls.”
Laura says, “This is my tree and I am very excited about this tree. This tree will tell you the Christmas story. We have 25 verses on the tree. This is for people who like to do an advent tree. They can put one on the tree starting with December 1st and there is 25 in the set and you will finish up on Christmas with the last verse which is Luke 2:20, ‘For the shepherds went out glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard.’ And at the top of the tree we have a gift with the scroll that says, ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above’ James 1:17.”
Laura and Joe say they’re thankful for their success, but what excites them more is the opportunity to help people remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Michelle asks, “People probably have already started buying their Christmas trees. They’re thinking about what kind of decorations am I going to put on my tree this year? What do you want to say to them? What do you want to remind them about this holiday season?”
Laura shares, “I just think that Christmas is an opportunity for us as believers to stand out.”
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