MENDING THE BROKEN PIECES

Hello wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely friends.

Hope this meets you in great spirits. Yesterday, I did a live broadcast and the message was written before the broadcast. I wanted to share it here with you. I believe it would benefit you.

The Book of Genesis 1:1-3 says:

"1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

No matter how chaotic, dark and empty your life may be right now, God can and will make a way for you out of it. In fact, He's already made a way!

Have you ever been in a place of total shutdown due to a dashed hope, an unexpected disappointment? Or has someone you gave your heart ever lied about you and left you for the dogs? Have you or are you currently in a place of abandonment, a place where it seems like you are isolated, feeling broken, rejected and in complete despair?

Has something ever happened to you, that spiralled into multiple negative things happening all at once, that it left you feeling helpless, alone and like giving up on yourself?
If you have experienced any one of the above mentioned, you are in great company. It's time to let it all go!
 The Book of Romans 12:1-2 says:

"1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

The above scripture tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifice to God. It encourages us to renew our minds daily in order to be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.
What you may currently be going through, is not God's will for your life. God's will is for you to prosper even as your soul prospers(3 John 2). You've got to shift your focus from looking at your struggles to looking at what you desire.
You may be feeling rejected, alone and disappointed right now, but please, DON'T YOU DARE GIVE UP!
Don't give up on yourself or on God. Someone once said "as long as you've got a pulse, God's got a plan!" You matter to God and you matter to me. As someone who has always been a spiritual warfare fighter, I encourage to hold on to God. You already have the victory!

The Book of Psalms 34:19 says "many are the afflictions of the righteous but God delivers him out of all of them." God's got a plan to deliver you. In fact, your deliverance is already established but you've got to take it!
You need to know that each time you dwell on your hurt and pain, you're giving it power to multiply and increase. I want to encourage to stop showing love to your pain and hurt. Start looking up. Start by focusing on what you desire and I promise you, that your life will change dramatically for good!

You may be experiencing an illness today, I want you to start focusing on good health. You may be lonely and desire to be married, I want you to start acting like you're planning your wedding.
Make a decision today to put the enemy to shame by rising above his tricks. The pain, rejection and despair you feel are all his tricks.

Start speaking life into yourself and your situation and watch your life change right before your eyes.

Here's my encouragement list:
1. Start your day praying to God. Thanking Him for the good in your life and asking for those things that you desire. Study the word of God and memorize it!
2. Reject what you don't want.
3. Speak and prophesy what you desire into your life.
4. Get up and go for a walk or take a shower or watch a feel-good movie. Whatever you do, don't look at the problems long enough to lose hope. Introduce your BIG GOD to your problems through prayer and speaking the word!
Research shows that whatever you get emotionally involved with will begin to manifest itself in your life. Be determined to be happy and live life to the fullest. Stop watching scary movies and negative media. 

As you do these, I pray that the Lord causes His face to shine upon you and your household. I pray He elevates you above and beyond your biggest dreams in Jesus Name. Amen!!!

To your peace and prosperity,

Maryam

PEANUT BUTTER SCOTCH CHIP COOKIE RECIPE

Hello wonderful, amazing sweet and lovely friends. I hope this message meets you well.

As promised, here's the recipe to the most recent baking video I posted.

You may watch the video to see how to mix the ingredients together. Learning to bake takes interest and passion. You've got to have fun with it. You may fail but don't give up. Practice makes perfect. Until you truly start enjoying it, you won't continue long enough to master it.

Here's the list of ingredients you will need:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour(you can use all purpose flour but make sure to add baking soda about 1 tsp)

1 cup white sugar(granulated)

A sprinkle or 1/4  tsp of salt

1 stick of butter

1 large egg

1/2 a cup butterscotch chips

3 tbps peanut butter

Oven at 350

Vanilla extract(a splash or a tsp)

Timer 12 mins

A regular baking pan

Baking sheet

An Ice cream scoop

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine egg, butter, and vanilla extract. With a hand mixer or tool I used in the video, stir until all ingredients are one smoothe paste.

Get your flour, add the salt and mix with a fork.

Add flour to paste.

Mix until you form a mound of caramel colored dough

Add your chips and spread them until evenly distributed throughout the dough.

You're ready to cut your dough into serving size cooking to be baked.

Cut dough with ice cream scoop

Mold into balls with your palm(you don't have to do this part, it's how I did. Do what's best for you).

Get your baking sheet out

Press dough down with ice cream scoop

Place dough about an inch apart from one another

Preheat oven at 350

When oven is ready, place your cookie sheet on the lower rack

Set timer for 12 minutes

When timer goes off,

Get your cookie out and let cool for 5-8 mins

Now you're ready to serve!

Enjoy!

Seal dough that is left with a plastic wrap of aluminum foil. Refrigerate until when needed.

Thanks for checking my blog out today. You're awesome!
Sincerely,

Sweet Maryam

MY NEW VEGGIE RICE RECIPE

Hello there! You sweet, lovely and amazing person. You guys are so amazing and I'm so glad to be back with fire.

Here's the list of recipe for today's video:

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
A dash of salt(about a teaspoon)
A full onion and 3 lovely garlic cloves(chop onion and garlic cloves)
Half of a bell pepper(red, yellow and orange)
3 hearty stalks of celery
A roll of knorr(two cubes)
2 cups of rice
Two yummy cuts of skinless boneless chicken breasts(chop or slice into tiny bits)
3 Sticks of yummy carrots
3 cups of water
Old bay seasoning
Season your chicken as seen in the video
A 1 gallon pot(whatever pot you have that can carry food for 8 people)
A wooden spoon or whatever kind you have

Directions:

Turn on your stove to medium high heat
Get your pot
Set it on the stove
Add your oil
Let oil sit for 2 minutes
Add your onions and garlic cloves
Stir lightly for about 60-90 seconds

Add seasoned chicken to the onion-garlic mixture
Let chicken sit for about 3 mins in oil browning
Flip it so the other side can cook about 3 mins also
Stir mixture
After about 5 mins
Add your chopped carrots, celery, and peppers
Add your Knorr, salt and black pepper(if you like it)
Let cook for about 5 minutes
Add your dry clean rice
Stir to combine all pot content together
 Add about 4 cups of water(make sure water level is about an inch above rice)
Cover your pot
Let cook for about 20-25 minutes
Check it every 5-6 mins to make sure the water is being absorbed and your rice is not burning
When the rice is softened and steamy(20-25 minutes later)
Turn off stove
Get yourself a bowl and serve some
Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until cool enough for you
Then proceed to enjoy your MASTERPIECE!

I hope this was an easy enough explanation for you. Please come back later for more fun and yummy recipes.
Until next time,
I love you for reading!
Yours sweet and lovely friend,
Maryam

MY 2019 IS GOING DELICIOUSLY WELL|| THANK YOU JOANNA GAINES

Zoe is camera ready isn't she :)


Hello wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. It's very nice to be coming to you today from my neck of the country☺️. Happy New Year to you all!!! It sure is unfolding as my best yet by the Grace of Almighty God.

So, my sweet man surprised me with Joanna Gaines' cookbook: Magnolia Table.  And I am loving it!
Most of you already know that I enjoy cooking but to have a book, that I was hoping for, it even makes my cooking a lot better. So, I'd like to share a couple of pictures of one of my favorite Joanna Gaines recipes with you all. Here we go:

Chicken and Dumplings Soup:

This book is a great assistant for me. Maybe it's because I love how Joanna Gaines loves Jesus and her family. The light of God shines and radiates from her and I admire that and she CAN COOK! I like how homey the book looks. It fits perfectly in my kitchen :). I've never had a recipes book that is so easy to follow and a joy to use like this one.

You should definitely try this recipe. I hope you can see the ingredients from the pictures posted. It's really good! My sweet man picked it out for me to make and we both can't stop talking about how amazing it is. Chicken and dumplings soup is great for a cold day. I already look forward to making it again. Thanks Joanna Gaines!

Anyways, my lovely friends, I hope you have a great day and an even more amazing 2019!

I will see you all on another post soon.

Until then...

Have a great day!

Now, lemme go search for another delicious recipe to make for my sweet family:).

XOXO

Maryam

My Dailylook Style Box|| ELEVATE YOUR STYLE

Hello wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely friends. How are you all doing today? I hope you’re having an amazing day today and you’re not allowing anybody steal your joy...  Welcome to Maryam’s Joyful Life! Today is a beautiful day.


This particular post should’ve been posted a few days ago but I finally got the pictures together today.
As a mom, it can be a little bit of a challenge to make time to pamper myself and look for pieces of clothing that would make me look and feel good. For a while there, I got too comfortable with whatever, so long as the family was happy and healthy. But every now and then, I'd wish that I took a little bit more time to take care of me. I mean, instead of taking a 30 secs shower, why not a 10 minute shower?  To ease off the stress and all. Instead of psyching myself out of buying a nice piece of clothing that costs $100 bucks because I’m so worried about the family, why not do something nice for myself and not worry. It’s like I’m constantly trying to get myself in the habit of seeing me as a priority just like I see everyone else lol...🤣

Well, I found a great solution to one of my style challenge. I’m super excited that I get to  Elevate My Style, using Dailylook. My stylist; Ashley did a very good job picking out some great pieces for me. Here are a few pictures I took in some of my pieces. It’s also my delight to share a coupon code with you and it’s MARYAM10 to get $10 off your first box.
Please click this link: DAILYLOOK to get yours today.

Here are a few pieces:


I don’t remember what I was thinking about when my sweet man took this picture lol. But I really like how my jacket and jeans make me look, like a sweet mama who cares about herself, just as much as she cares about her family 😊.


I’m so happy and grateful now that when I have a meeting or date to plan for, I can ask my stylist to put a box together for me that will #ELEVATEMYSTYLE for the occasion 😬.





Date night has got a lot more fun baby😍,  in this not so Little Black Dress. If you notice, I still have the tag on. I’m still loving it and cherishing the sweetness of it before taking the tag off😬.

This blouse and pants are speaking business meeting 😊ready to me. I’m still going to take more pictures in them but enjoy this picture for now.


Here’s a full outfit from last Sunday. Church service was at 2:00 PM. It was a cold fall day and your girl, put these pieces together from my box from Dailylook. I really love how I look in this. What do you think about my outfit? The sweater and jeans are so cute and very well made. Hey, if you want to feel as good as I’m feeling, you may want to sign up today. The styling fee for the box is $40, but there is no obligation to purchase! You pay for what you love and send back what you don’t! To get styled and try your own box today, remember to use my code: MARYAM10 to get $10 off your first box.
Thank you so much for being very supportive. I love you all and can’t wait to see your styles on Instagram. Please tag me on your pictures Instagram: @MaryamShumate
Until next time.
❤️😘
Maryam

MY SWEET, AMAZING APPLE PIE RECIPE

What's up wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. How are you all doing today? I hope you're all having an amazing day today and not allowing anybody steal your joyyyyy. Welcome to Maryam's Joyful Life. Today is a beautiful day and I've been doing A WHOLE LOTTA IMAGING!

I have been doing a lot of studying about why I think the way I think and how that related to the kind of results I'm getting from life. I must tell you that it's been both eye-opening and mind-blowing. Life doesn't have to be very complicated. But see, I didn't know that. I know that my Bible tells me that God is a god of principles but I didn't know that getting money or achieving great feats also have principles behind them apart from working really hard. I mean, I sort of knew but ONLY very little about it. Well, not anymore. I know now that the universe is controlled and governed by principles set by God. Understanding these principles and how to apply them will give me access to WHATEVER I desire in life.

Matthew 7:7 states that "Ask and it shall be given..." is true. It shouldn't be complicated. It didn't place any limit to how much you can ask. So, I have been asking for BIG THINGS.

The Bible says "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." I am learning to control my mind and reject what I don't want more than ever before because I've got to "guard my heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life." This is from Proverbs. Anyways, I'll just leave you with this: Whatever you want out of life, don't think about reasons why you CAN'T get it, just fix your eyes on it and start acting the way you would as though you already had it. Yes, I'm disciplining myself to do more of that. Let's be GREAT TOGETHER, sweet people! This was supposed to be a recipe post. Sorry, I had to share some sweet life recipes first. Here is the original recipe I had imaged and wanted to share with you.

MY APPLE PIE RECIPE 

You need 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, an egg, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup of olive oil, a cup of apple pie filling, 1/3 cup of water, half a cup of brown sugar, 3 whole apples and a baking pan. Get your oven preheated at 350 degrees.

Here are pictures to show you:

Chop the apples:

Flour, salt, egg, water and olive oil:

Mix flour, egg, water, salt and olive oil together. Use your hand to combine together. Do it right, it looks like this:

Roll dough on a cutting board with a pin:

It should look like this:

Place it in a pan that was greased up:

Now let's move on to the next. Cooking the chopped apple in water and brown sugar:

Cook the apple for about 10 mins. Then pour content into the pan:

Take some another egg. Beat it and get a brush and brush the top of the crust. Then take the other rolled out dough and place on the top of the filling.

Cut off the excess dough. Like the picture above.

Take your sweet pie and place in the oven:

45 mins later, here's your delicious apple pie!

From the heart of a home-cook, to your homes; My sweet, amazing pie!


ENJOY!

I'll see you next time.
Don't stop dreaming BIG!
LOVE,
MARYAM

HEY MOMMAS|| IT'S REVIEW TIME|| GHOSTBED LUXURY SHEETS

Good morning, wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely mommas. How are you all doing today? I hope you all are having a great day today.

Since I became a mom, I find it exciting to share products that I love with other mommas. It's so funny because I didn't think I would be like this 🙂, turning  a simple product suggestion into a full on conversation about motherhood and babies. Oh boy, what motherhood can do to you is both beautiful and amazing.

Well, on my list of recommendation today is  GhostBed Luxury Sheets; they are a keeper and highly recommended on my list this time. They are made in America, with great quality materials. Each GhostBed Luxury Sheet set includes: A unique and luxurious blend of Supima Cotton and Tencel Fibers Ghost Grip, so your fitted sheet will stay on securely and never pop off! They also offer Free Shipping and Industry leading 3 year warranty. Who doesn't love a great warranty?! I sure do 😀.
I love how soft and silky smoothe they feel on my skin.

Here's a video review I made. In this video, you get to see the unboxing and use of it. I hope you enjoy!

I have made it easy for you to check out GhostBed Luxury Sheets and you do so by clicking the highlighted name: GhostBed Luxury Sheets.

I rate GhostBed Luxury Sheets a 5/5 stars. It's truly a high qualityproduct and I'm enjoying sleeping on it. The only thing I am skeptical about is the name of the sheets, lol 😀

Well, this brings me to the end of this review post. Thank you for stopping by today.

I hope and pray you have the best day yet!

Cheers,

Maryam

I CAN FEEL MY BODY IS GETTING READY FOR A BABY

Hello wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely friends. I would like to welcome you into the month of March. May this month bring you a lot of love, joy, peace and financial prosperity in Jesus Name! Amen!!

Yesterday( Feb. 28, 2018) was a great day. I had the privilege of serving the homeless at A Higher Calling, Inc., Griffin, GA. We served some freshly cooked breakfast and they were so thankful for it.
I'll be adding a few pictures to this post. Anyways, I also wanted to say that I can feel my body. It's telling me to take it easy because my baby is close. I love my work in the community but I also want to be wise with how I handle my body. Thank God for my friend; Bernita, who came to help me. I didn't realize how tired I was until I picked up a couple of gallons of juice and I could tell that I've reached a point where I need to take a break.
I may organize one more event in this month of March and take a break afterwards till my sweet baby is born. Just make sure to follow me on my various platforms to keep up with me.
Thank you to everyone who support my nonprofit: DREAM BIG CORP. May the Lord bless and meet you at every point of your needs in Jesus Name!

To see more pictures, go to our Facebook page: Facebook.com/dreambigcorp.
Here's a video from the event. Enjoy!



XOXO

Maryam

HOW PINK BLUSH MATERNITY IS HELPING ME STYLE MY BUMP

Hi guys. You must be thinking that something is up😳 because this is my second post today. LOL... you're right 😀😀. Apart from the fact that God has been so good to me and my family, I'm also trying to get back into regular blogging as I am with my vlogging on YouTube: Maryam's Joyful Life.
I thought about my readers the whole time I was MIA. I will try to keep the posts going because I've got a whole lotta goodies to share about my time away with you all. All I can say is that God has changed my life!

Oh right! This is supposed to be a post about my love for Shop Pink Blush Maternity. Prior to learning about them and being Pink Blush Style Ambassador, I didn't think that it was possible for me to find stylish maternity clothes that look and fit great. I'm loving it and I can't wait to rock my clothes after my sweet baby is born. That's another plus. Many maternity clothes won't fit or look good after your baby is born because of the weight loss after pregnancy but not Shop Pink Blush Maternity. Their clothes have a beautiful stretch to them that make it easy to rewear after the sweet baby is born.
Here are my most recent deliveries and links to purchase them:

Black Gold Sequin Embellished Chiffon Maternity Dress

                                                           I'm 6'2, wearing Size XL.

I love this Gold embellished maternity dress. I will plan a date night where I wear it for my sweet man.

Burgundy Lace Off Shoulder Fitted Maternity Dress

I love this dress! If you love it like me, please click the highlighted name link to get yours. I got this in Size XL.

Plum Solid Short Sleeve Ruched Maternity Dress

This plum t-shirt dress got me feeling bright. I got a ton of compliments from friends for this dress. I got this in a Size XL. Although I feel like I would've pulled off the L. Welps, my belly is growing and I'm in my last trimester. This gives me clothes security for as my belly doubles in size within the next few weeks, this dress will have room to contain it 😀😀😀.

Thanks for reading this to the end and sticking with me. 

Until next time.

XOXO

Maryam