Hi everyone! Ever had one of those moments where the goodness and faithfulness of God in your life just overwhelms you? We recently returned from a wonderful week in Mexico City with our annual Cornerstone Mexico Network Conference. It is always great to hear and see all that God has done throughout the year and is doing throughout the country of Mexico. On this trip in particular I was so moved by all that God has done, how the network has grown and is gaining influence and momentum throughout Mexico. My heart was so stirred at God's faithfulness! Seven years ago God connected the hearts of Pastor Ofir Pena and his beautiful wife Tere` with the vision of Cornerstone Toledo and my husband Bishop Michael Pitts. Five years ago with a small number of churches and a few hundred people the vision expanded to Mexico and with Pastor Ofir leading the way the first Cornerstone Mexico Network Conference was held. What a joy this year to see over 40 Cornerstone Mexico churches representing 13 different states in Mexico and to see a crowd of 4000+ gather. Each church is growing and working to reach out into their community and make a difference. We are proud of each of them. On Friday afternoon we had the opportunity to meet with the pastors at a Network luncheon planned just for them. You could feel the excitement in the air as the pastors were encouraged and challenged by both my husband and Ps. Ofir. There is nothing more encouraging and empowering than VISION. Proverbs reminds us that without VISION we wander aimlessly but Habakkuk tells us with it we RUN. I so loved watching the pastors' hearts be stirred to keep running as they listened to this year's dreams and challenges.


This year we prayed for and declared over the younger generations to rise, find their Kingdom voice and begin to speak - our sons and daughters are rising and they are prophesying! On night two we prayed for and declared strength and strategy to our pastors and on night three we saw miracles. Broken bones were healed, ears opened and we believe many were set free from bondage of every kind. We prayed for women who were experiencing problems with fertility - I can't wait to hear about and meet all the new miracle babies next year!

I began by telling you I was nearly overwhelmed. I stood with tears in my eyes as I watched hundreds of men and women 30 and under dance, praise, shout and cry out to God to save and deliver their nation. I stood filled with love and awe at the 40+ pastors who everyday fight the good fight of faith to overcome challenges like violence, poverty and a government that is not always favorable toward them. They fight because they believe, because they love. I stood energized as the power of God moved through the auditorium healing and delivering.

I also stood humbled that God would allow me to be apart of it all - nearly speechless to see that those dreams that were in my heart even as a child were actually happening right in front of my eyes. It's a real story of God's faithfulness! I thank God for every man and woman of God, including my parents, who sowed the Word of God, demonstrated the power of God, taught me to recognize the presence of God and let me dream of impossibilities because they knew we served a possibilities God.

From the journey of building Cornerstone Toledo to all that God is doing through all of our network churches both here in the USA and internationally I am continually amazed. The future looks even better. We are still dreaming, still SEEING! Be encouraged today - know that the dream in your heart was His dream first. He gave it to you and will be faithful to complete what He started. Listen carefully, put your faith out front and keep moving forward. Just watch those steps get steadier and that path get brighter!

Living & Loving,

Kathi

Do The Thing You Cannot Do!

"You gain strength, experience and confidence by every
experience where you really stop to look fear in the face.
You must do the thing you cannot do."
Eleanor Roosevelt

We were not created to live in fear; we were created to overcome it! What an empowering principle...God created us with the capacity to face our fears and overcome them. We all have them...no secret there. And our fears are as unique as we are. What one person fears another doesn't give a second thought to. Our fears can be real or perceived, tangible or intangible. They can be fears that are a result of past experiences or that have been imposed on us by others. What we fear or how we arrived at them is not really that important. The point is are we working to overcome them or are we allowing our fears to stop us, to immobilize us? Fear, in both great and small in form, has the inherent ability to make us believe that we CAN NOT. Nothing could be further from the truth. We were created to overcome!

God can do anything, you know—
far more than you could ever imagine or
guess or request in your wildest dreams!
He does it not by pushing us around but
by working within us, his Spirit
deeply and gently within us.
Ephesian 3:20 (MSG)

I think we often find it easy to believe that God CAN. What is more difficult for us is our ability to believe that we CAN. Especially with those fears that are intangible in nature. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God can do anything but how amazing to read that the way He does the anything, above our wildest dreams is by working within us. So ultimately if we believe that God CAN then we must also believe that we CAN. Here's why...because it's not just us working anyway. It is His Spirit at work within us. The more we learn to place our complete trust in God the more we open ourselves to the working of the Holy Spirit in us and through us.

Our fears are overcome when we choose to stand, confront them and allow the Spirit of God to work within us. Romans 8:14-16 tells us that only when we forget that we are sons and daughters of God does the bondage of fear have the ability to hold onto us again. We become slaves to fear, slaves to the CAN NOTS of our lives. When we actively seek to live a Spirit led life the Spirit of God connects with and infuses our own spirit to reassure us that we are not walking this life alone but we have all of heaven working in our behalf. We are empowered to overcome every fear that would attempt to stop us from walking out the plans of God for our life. Psalm 23:4 reminds us that even when we are walking through places where fear lives - dark valleys - that God is with us.

Be encouraged today! There is no fear, no obstacle or roadblock that can stop you. With each conquered fear our faith is also increased, your journey grows stronger and you realize the depth of God's love for you in greater degrees.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
II Timothy 1:7

God has given you all that you need to overcome so until next time...live fearlessly! You were created for it!

Kathi

I Love the Church!

Well, we are several weeks into 2010. I don't know about you but I am sensing such an excitement in the air for what God has in store for us. I believe with my whole heart that it is going to be a great year for the Kingdom of God. That more than ever we are going to find our strength and courage in Him to rise and build His Kingdom like never before. I believe in the local church. Local groups of people gathering together to worship, serve and love. I love watching people from such diverse backgrounds - each reaching out in their own unique way to serve, to love, to worship all the while demonstrating the power unity.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. ^12-13You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body.
I Corinthians 12:11-13 (MSG)

Nothing excites me more than to see one of my sisters step forward and use her gifts to touch and change her world and the lives of others. She does her part, I do mine, others do theirs and before you know it the sum of the parts has brought lasting change and impact to a life, a family, a school, a neighborhood and even a city. What a beautiful picture of the church...each person, each local congregation doing and being who God has purposed them to be. Think about how significant that makes each of our roles. The same way each part is important to the human body each gift and call on our lives is important for the Church to function fully whole.

I pray as you move through this new year that your passion to serve, to love and to live out your gift will be stirred anew in you. Let the whole Church arise!


A special invitation...

Our ImpactWoman Conference is just a couple weeks away - come be refreshed by moments with God, inspired to dream again and enjoy fun & giggles with God's beautiful girls! All the lovely details can be found at

www.impactwoman.us