Welcome!

Hi Friends! I no longer update this site (although it is fun to look back on what I did when my kids were little!) You can join me for some Bible Study over at Instagram- Account: equipped_2timothy3 
Blessings, Jenica 

SISTER'S COOKING FOR KIDS

SISTERS COOKING FOR KIDS

Thank you for stopping by! 

Ellie, Izzy and Milly McMaster have created this business in order to raise funds to purchase Christmas gifts for struggling families in Arizona this Christmas! Every year we make our famous cookies for friends and neighbors and this year we decided to sell our famous cookies and use 100% of the proceeds to purchase gifts for kids in Arizona! 

Our cookies make great gifts for co-workers, teachers, hostess gifts, cookie exchanges, party favors, Santa...we promise they will be a hit! They freeze perfectly, so you can serve them any time!

To order, please use the link below or email daveandjenica@icloud.com for other options. Upon receipt of your order we will contact you to schedule delivery. 

*NOTE: We also accept cash or check upon local delivery, just email daveandjenica@icloud.com with your order. We accept Venmo: @Jenica-McMaster

We will be donating gifts to the following places: 
Arizona Department of Chid Safety Toy Drive
Affordable Christmas benefiting Arizona Foster Care Initiatives
Arizona Helping Hands

 {Sugar Cookie with Candy Cane Topping}

 {Nana's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies}

 {Sugar Cookies with Gold Sprinkles}

 {Sugar Cookies with Red or Green Sprinkles}

{The Sisters behind the cookies!}

PRIORITIES

As I read posts and articles online during this current election cycle, it makes my heart grieve. We are living in a time with more access, more information, more technology, more government, more regulations, more.. more.. more. It occurs to me that what we need is LESS...Less of this world and more of Jesus! If God's people would get the following things down- THAT ALONE will create real change in our world! God's people NEED to be engaged in the political system- we have a voice and the values we represent are what actually make America great! 

>May we be more passionate about using words to speak life and encouragement into the lives of others than using words that prove us right or them wrong (Matthew 12:36-37)

>May we be more passionate about promoting Jesus than we are promoting ourselves (Galatians 2:20)

>May we be more passionate about the cause of Christ than we are about the causes of this world (John 12:26)

>May we be more passionate about our neighbor’s eternal status than we are about their social status (Romans 10:9-10)

>May we be more passionate about protecting Human Lives than we are protecting Animal lives (Genesis 1:26)

>May we be more passionate about providing homes and care for human orphans than homeless animals (James 1:27)

>May we be more passionate about meeting the needs of the poor and hungry as we are with our personal social calendar (Proverbs 14:31)

>May we be more passionate about using our time to focus on The One who is Eternally famous than using it on those who are earthly famous (Isaiah 40:28-31)

> May we be more passionate about Eternal rewards than earthly rewards or awards (Matthew 6:19-21)

> May we be more passionate about The One who holds the Government on His Shoulders than the ones who hold office in the government (Isaiah 9:6)

> May we be more passionate about seeking and depending on the only source of hope, prosperity and our future (Jesus) than those running for a short-term presidency (Daniel 2:21)

That is something to think about this season- More of Him, Less of Us! As followers of Almighty God, we must set these priorities and not fall into this trap of "mudslinging". 

Expecting The Miracle!

We spent the weekend in the hospital with Milly (our 3, almost 4 year-old), our little warrior had a ruptured appendix and a large abscess in front of it preventing the appendectomy. They told us we could be in the hospital 4-6 days or possibly up to 2 weeks based on her circumstance. Then we will go back (hopefully) in December for the surgery after the infection has healed up. We had hundreds of people praying for her and from the moment we checked in we started expecting and praising God for the miracle to come! Here is the thing that occurred to me; as followers of Jesus Christ, I believe that is the most natural reaction to adversity or tragedy. As we grow in relationship with Him and walk with Him through life, we learn that He does turn all things for good, He has a plan and purpose for us, He is faithful and His desire is for us to walk in power. He placed his Spirit in us to access that power and live as co-heirs with Jesus Christ himself (Romans 8:17). I love the reminder that "the same power that conquered the grave, lives in me." Here is a little something I jotted down during my quiet time at the hospital and thought it might serve as encouragement if you are walking through a hard time... 

Why is it easier for us to accept and agree with human diagnosis as opposed to expecting and asking God for a miracle? As children of the King we have the opportunity to walk through life expecting miracles and huge things from the Father, because that is His nature, that is who He is. He gets the glory and if we allow Him, we get to partake in that glory! We have His spirit of power in us, when we learn of adversity or walk through a life circumstance we should not approach it from a place of defeat, fear or pessimism, that is not living in the nature of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9-10) that we are members of. That approach stands in agreement with this earth, which we are not defined by (John 17:15-17). We get to approach every situation from a place of victory, not agreeing with the world's outlook, but standing firm in what God says about us: we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:31-39), we can do ALL things through Christ (Phil 4:13), He commands His angels regarding us (Ps 91), no temptation will overtake us (1 Cor 10:13), the Angels of the Lord encamps around us (Ps 34:7-9), He will uphold us with his righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10), He has given us the victory through Jesus (1 Cor 15:57), He works ALL things for good (Romans 8:28), He strengthens us (Ps 89:21), He is our helper (Ps 118:7), He comforts (Isaiah 49:13), He keeps us in PERFECT peace (Isaiah 26:3-4)... We have access to the power of God and should be walking through life expecting great things to happen in advance simply because we know the nature and promises of the God we serve. We can speak the victory over our circumstance with confidence because the victory has already been won on our behalf through Jesus Christ. Expect excellence, He has earned that expectation! Following Christ does not mean we will not have hard times, in fact, He tells us we will absolutely have hard times on earth (John 16:33). We, as His Children get to approach adversity with a different posture, a posture of victory, hope and expectancy. It is thrilling to expect and praise God for the miracle before hand!! Do not let doubt, fear, insecurity, mistrust or guilt steal the wonder and expectation out of our relationship with God, His will for us is victory every.single.time. 


Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Delightful Warm Chicken Salad

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes with you. I originally learned about this recipe from my precious Suzy and it has been a favorite since! I make it for play dates, at baby showers, for dinner- it is one of those recipes that is good for any occasion!

Warm Chicken Salad:

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

>2 Cups (or more) of Chopped Chicken 

(You could use Rotisserie chicken or I just sauté 10 or so Chicken Breast Tenders in Avacado Oil and it is so yummy and tender) 

>1 can Quartered Artichoke Hearts- Drained and Chopped

>1.5 cups of Italian 4 Cheese Belnd

>Mayo and Dijon to taste- just enough to be wet

>3/4 cup Slivered Almonds (toasted)

Stir together and place in a greased 9x13 pan

>Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan Cheese

Cook for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees 

Serve alone, with crackers, apples, on toast....however you like! 

ENJOY!!!!!

Prayer for School-Aged Kids

It is no secret that I am PASSIONATE about praying for my girls. When I was pregnant I was compelled to pray over spiritual and physical health for my babies, thus writing PrayerWithPurpose: 90 Days of Prayer for Your Unborn Child and then when they were born to continue praying over them with PrayerWithPurpose: Passionate Prayers for Children. However, as I have entered and been entrenched in this new season of "Public Elementary School" for the past four years, I have struggled with "control" and how to pray for my girls. I want to pray for total protection, but I want to pray for the Lord to sharpen them and refine them- allow them to experience things that will turn them to Him. I want them to be confident and independent, but I want to shelter them from the craziness of the world. As the years pass, the amount of control we have over our children (who they are friends with, their influences, what they eat, their interests, their hobbies.....) drastically declines. I will admit, I do have "control issues", I am an event planner for crying out loud, so this decline in control sometimes has me FREAKING OUT (by the grace of God he continues to free me from my "issues" and gives me freedom in faith and trust- He is a MUCH better planner than I am!). I'll give you an example, we met one of my oldest daughter's (3rd Grade) new friends and her mother for ice cream last week. This child proceeded to pull out her personal cell phone, pull up Kim Kardashian's show and encouraged my precious/sheltered/non-TV watching daughter to check it out with her. When I approached them, I asked what they are watching and she looks at me like I am NUTS and says "don't you watch Kim Kardashian?" If I am honest, my first internal response to this sort of thing is always- "well, we are never playing with THAT child! I cannot trust what happens when I am not there!" There is obviously some level of parental intervention that needed to happen, but the reality is this, my child is with that child for 6.5 hours in a day Monday-Friday and she is with me 5-6 hours in a day- most of which is spent doing homework, going to an activity, eating or getting ready for school. I have to give the Lord opportunities to refine her and to teach her to depend more on Him than she does on me. I also have to give her the opportunity to be light in a dark world. So, I have struggled with what this looks like, to slowly release my "control" and yet protect them from dangerous or unhealthy situations. It boils down to daily discernment from the Holy Spirit. There are times when I just know a sleepover is a bad idea, and times when I give in to a safe situation and let the girls experience childhood. I must not let fear drive my decisions, I have to let the Lord LEAD! 

This brings me to my quiet time today! My absolute favorite thing after I drop my girls off at school is to take the first hour (or 2 in today's case) to go somewhere (not home- there are too many distractions there) and drink coffee, read my Bible and listen to worship music. It is literally LIFE to me! Anyway, I am reading/journaling through the book of John right now and I came to John 17:15-17 and it rocked my world! [Side note, it absolutely thrills me that I can study the same book (The Bible) for nearly 30 years and it still rocks my world every.single.day! That is "alive and active" friends!] Here is what the verse says  (background, Jesus is praying for his disciples before he is handed over to be crucified) 

"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."

I always have my BibleGateway App with me when I am reading my Bible, I love to look at different translations and commentaries and I love The Message version of verse 16- it says "They are no more defined by the world, Than I am defined by the world". As I prayed this over my girls today, I was in tears because it said what I have been longing to articulate- they are His kids, He ALONE can protect them from the evil one. No amount of sheltering on my part is going to protect them in this world, God alone is their protection, their truth, their light. 
My prayer is that this world is so shocking to them that they long for purity. I pray that their spirits would be so unsettled around evil that God alone is their peace. I pray that they are so secure in who God made them to be that they turn to God alone for identity and strength. I pray that the screams and pressures of this world would be silenced by the name of Jesus on their lips. I pray that when hard times come (and they will according to John 16:33 "“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ) they will know that God is their shelter, He is their go-to, He is who they run to, He is their light, He is their shield, He is their strength- and that they are not defined by this world- they are daughters of the King. .
As I continue to walk through this journey of motherhood, this is my war cry...because sisters, we are at war with this world and it's desire to have a hold on our children. We need to raise a generation of warriors for the Lord, because they will not have the luxury of being "casual Christians", I believe that our Children will have to be absolutely unwavering to survive in this world. God ALONE can protect them from the evil one, while they are still in this world and not locked in our box. As I was reading John 14:30b Jesus says "for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me." Praise God we are one with Christ Jesus and we can also say, He has NO HOLD ON ME or my family. I pray that you will join me in this prayer. Ephesians 6:12 NLT says, "for we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." This is not a "mommy war" it is a battle for our kids against this world! Let's do this! 

GIVEAWAY: The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson & PrayerWithPurpose

I have read a lot of books on prayer through the years. I am passionate about prayer- I see the POWER of prayer every day. It blows my mind that the Creator of the Universe would allow us to change the course of HIStory through our prayers. He allows us to be a part of the action! I am finishing up the Beth Moore study on "Breath" right now and she discussed "The Valley of Dry Bones" from Ezekiel 37 (you must read it if you haven't) and it just thrills me that God Almighty would allow man (Ezekiel in this case) to be a part of the action. He could have resurrected those bones himself- with a snap...but He allowed Ezekiel to witness and have access to the power and wonder of God. I love that He lets us in on the action....I want more insight, more access, more of the Spirit, more wisdom...more time with Him! 


I recently started reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson- it has revolutionized my prayer life. This book sort of sums up all of my favorite things in all of the other books on prayer that I have read. When I was pregnant with my girls I wrote PrayerWithPurpose: 90 Days of Prayer for your Unborn Child for this very reason (I just didn't know that I was praying "circles"). I wanted to cover every spiritual and physical desire for my babies in prayer. When they were born, I did not want to stop "circling" them, so I wrote PrayerWithPurpose: Passionate Prayers for Children. When I read The Circle Maker, it gave me such confirmation that The Lord has already answered so many of those prayers for our family and gave me renewed endurance to continue praying and praising Him for what He will do in the future. I love when Mark Batterson says, "Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. God isn't offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren't impossible to you, they are insulting to God. Why? Because they don't require divine intervention. But ask God to part the Red Sea or make the sun stand still or float an iron axhead, and God is moved to omnipotent action. There is nothing God loves more than keeping promises, answering prayers, performing miracles, and fulfilling dreams. That is who He is. That is what He does." (The Circle Maker p.15). Hebrews 4:16 tells us to "come boldly to the throne of our gracious God", this book really encouraged me to be bold with the Lord and The Spirit convicted me that what I though was humility before the Lord, was really a lack of faith. I was just sort of going about my prayer time with the attitude of "Lord just do whatever you want and I am in" and throughout the Bible it shows that He wants us to ask him, He wants to engage us, He wants to give us access, He wants to hear from us! 
SO, I am going to give away SEVEN copies (because 7 IS the perfect number) of The Circle Maker AND SEVEN copies of PrayerWithPurpose: Passionate Prayers for Children for your summer reading/journaling (so 14 winners total). I want you all to be ignited to pray bold prayers with me! So share the giveaway and I can't wait to send them out to you! If you don't win- please get the book- you will love it!