Thursday, July 22, 2010

Ministry Updates

After almost a 2 year sabatical, I [Laurey] am finally feeling clearance about revisting, revamping and reviving ministries that God allowed me to create back in Oklahoma City.

The 2 ministries I am referring to are the "Miss L Music Ministry" & "Fearfully~Wonderfully".
For those of you who may not know, these ministries are imbedded into my heart. The Lord revealed them to me within about 6 months of each other in 2007.









In 2008, as soon as a I graduated with my Masters in Youth & Young Adult Ministry, God lead me to audition for a Christian Girl Group. I made the cut and through prayer and fasting, left my corporate job as a video producer, as well as 2 established ministry positions with Northwest Baptist Church and Youth for Christ in Oklahoma City to pursue this new venture in music. I left 25 years of memories, including family and friends for this new season of life. Through peace, I packed my bags and moved to Dallas, Texas where our group was commissioned to live.

I was blessed enough to live with my aunt and uncle and I even got a job as a nanny. Not only was I working in music ministry, but I was employed .... 2 HUGE blessings! Our group, which was still unnamed was under 220 Management out of Lakeland, Florida. 220 manages Group 1 Crew of Orlando...the hottest Christian Hip Hop/Pop group right now. They are so talented and such awesome servants of God! Manwell ["Manny"] was acting as our producer. So, here we were....5 girls in the studio, getting to know one another, training with a Dallas Cowboy trainer, writing songs and being exposed to the possibilities of worldwide exposure. It was overwhelming to think where God was going to take us!

We weren't able to get much work done in the studio because of unavailability of resources and producers, so our manager called one day and requested that we all move to Orlando. While this was always a possibility, we never thought it would happen so soon. [Side note: this was great for me because at this time, Brian & I were in our courtship and had agreed that we couldn't move into anything more serious until God gave us the "green light" by moving me to Orlando. Needless to say...this was my green light!]

I packed up my bags and put in my 2 week notice at work. I was ready to move for ministry and begin the process of engagement with Brian. Four days before I was about to move, I got the call. The other girls were not going to move. They were not going to sign the contract. We disbanded.

With all doors in Oklahoma City closed and Dallas now just a city, not an opportunity, I felt that Orlando was the ONLY door that was open. "But, Lord where will I work? Where will I live? What will I do?" My questions were only answered with peace. No tangibles thoughts or wisdom...just the peace of the Holy Spirit.

So, I moved. I packed up everything I owned in my little 2005 Chevy Cobalt [Coby, for those of you who know her] and I made the 26 hour trek half-way across the nation to Orlando, Florida. I got here and immediately found an amazing brother & sister pair who needed a roomate. Not only were they Christians, but they lived only 5 miles from Brian's house! For those of you who live in central Florida, you know that this is a miracle!

After 7 weeks of endless job searching, unemployment and humility in Christ, I got my first break as a case manager at a homeless youth shelter called Covenant House. It was awesome! Although I caught a horrible case of bronchitis [with no insurance, of course!] I really fell in love with the homeless and at-risk youth population of Orlando.

Only 4 weeks after I began working, I got another job. I was blessed to be an Abstinence Educator and travel around central Florida speaking to over 2,500 teenagers about saving themselves for marriage. ThinkSmart has been a blessing to my life and I am so grateful that God moved me here for such a time as this.

Now, that you know how I got here I want to share with you where I am going. "Miss L Music" & "Fearfully~Wonderfully" are not dead. In fact, they are quite alive! Please join with me in prayer over the next few months because I will be reformatting these ministries and there will be some re-direction.

I am currently in the process of re-doing all the websites, but for now, please feel free to check out the Myspace sites listed below.

www.myspace.com/misslmusic

www.myspace.com/fearfullywonderfully_made

Thank you for you prayers and for everyone's encouragement while I have transitioned from an Oklahoma girl to a Floridian. God has held me every step of the way and it has been very hard at times, but I know that in the end, HE will get the glory through all the ups & downs. It is His name that I want to make known!

God bless!

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might..." ~Ecclesiastes 9:10

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

God Gave Me You

I made this video as a gift for Brian to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. It has a lot of highlights from our courtship days and 1st year of marriage.

Our newest song (especially after year 1) is "God Gave Me You" by Dave Barnes. Enjoy the song and the highlights!




1 Year Down....75 to go! :)

In celebration of our 1 year wedding anniversary, I put together a little video slideshow of our wedding pictures. By far, the best day of my life. Enjoy!


June 27, 2009


Mr. & Mrs. Brian Nelson




Blessed to Worship

Hello all!

First Baptist Orlando just posted the worship service from July 18th! I was humbled and privileged to lead with the worship team and wanted to share this link with you. Click on the link below and go to "Discovering My Ministry" July 18th on the top right hand side of the video player.

The actual worship set begins at 22:35 and runs until 39:30. We sang 3 amazing praise & worship songs:

-Cannons
-Our God
-Christ is Risen

Make sure you let the whole video buffer first to fully load.

Thank you for your prayers of encouragement. I know that the Lord was lifted up and His name was praised!

http://www.firstorlando.com/Home/Multimedia.aspx

Valencia to UCF!

I just want to take some time to brag on my hubby for a bit!



Brian is seriously the hardest working man that I know. To top it off, he is full of integrity and honesty. It is easy to just work and do the bare minimum, but God has woven excellence into my husband. He gives 110% to everything that he does and he never ceases to amaze me at the extra mile he takes to make sure that things are not only done, but done well.





Brian has a corporate job serving as a network engineer. Don't ask me much more than that because it is way above my head! While working full time, he has devoted himself to higher education as well. This past May, he graduated with his AA from Valencia Community College. Talk about a proud moment for me! With his work schedule up to 50 hours per week, he still managed to be disciplined in his schooling. Even though he can only take 1 to 2 classes per semester, he keeps truckin'....with excellence!




Brian was accepted to the University of Central Florida and just began classes to complete his Business degree at one of the nation's top business programs. His first class had an INSANE amount of workload to be completed. He took the Business Cornerstone class where he was paired up with 7 other classmates and commissioned to collaborate with a local non-profit organization and host fundraising events and a final educational event.



TEAM HOPE chose to pair up with Boys Town of Central Florida. They hosted many fundraisers and received private donations for the at-risk youth at Boys Town. Brian contacted Boggy Creek Airboat Rides and got 50 rides donated for the kids and staff, as well as free use of the facility. I was asked to come speak on behalf of ThinkSmart Florida and give the youth a message about positive life choices and abstinence until marriage.




The event was a major hit, complete with airboat rides, great food, fun, education and fellowship. Brian put in MANY all-nighters to make this project the BEST it could be. Along with this project, he also had to take a business cornerstone lecture class which consisted of more than 6 hours of online lectures per week. Again, all-nighters for Mr. Nelson!



I am so happy to say that Brian not only got an "A" on the project and lab portion of the class, but also an "A" in the lecture portion, finishing up in the top 10% of his class. WOO HOO! I am so extremely proud of him! We had to sacrifice time together as a couple, but I know that striving to graduate with honors is important to him, so I am happy to sacrifice for his goals for a short time. All of this was completed while still working 50+ hours at his job and balancing his time with marriage and ministry. He is doing a great job and I am happy to support him while his head is in the books!



So, here's to the newest Golden Knight...my hubby, Brian Nelson! I can't wait to see how God is going to use him!