Hi, I’m Rebecca. I write books and I write here at This Joyful Mess to inspire everyone to find JOY in the everyday messes of life. Here you’ll find inspiration, educational resources, and so much more. Please explore and connect—I’d love to hear from you!
A Sweet Slice of Thanksgiving: Some Resources to Enrich Celebration
As Thanksgiving approaches, I can't help but look for little things to do or add to make the holiday more meaningful and memorable. Especially since Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of gorging oneself before (finally!) turning on the Christmas music (actually, I start Christmas music in early November - can't help myself). Thanksgiving gets lost, slipped in between the fun of costumes and candy and the magic and mystery of Advent and Christ's birth.
A Family Christmas Resource You Won't Want to Miss!
Joy of Advent is a virtual daily devotional reading for children and adults. Each email also has curated music videos and classical (usually) works of art that are truly breathtaking. The Joy of Advent daily readings are structured around the Jesse Tree, in part because the Jesse Tree is a beautiful, ancient tradition, and because it gives us the opportunity to pull a scarlet thread from the tapestry of Scripture.
Walk Through Lent With JOY!
Those of you who are familiar with Lent and what it’s all about will understand why the title: Walk Through Lent with Joy, is surprising. Lent is a time of penance and repentance, of fasting, of giving up joy … isn’t it?
The Tenth Night of Halloween: Boggart Tales
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
The Ninth Night of Halloween: A Quick Bite About Vampires
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
The Eighth Night of Halloween: Do you Believe in Ghosts?
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
The Seventh Night of Halloween: Gobblin' Goblins
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Unlike a heap of creatures we've already looked at that date back to the earliest human records, goblins can be traced to European folklore beginning in the middle ages
The Sixth Night of Halloween: Witch Myth is Witch?
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Witches, like many Halloween creations, long predate Halloween itself. In fact, as long as there have been animistic cultures, there have likely been "witches" of one sort or another - women or men who have a deep connection with the spirit world. Witch myths abound across the globe, from Africa or China to Native Americans.
The Fifth Night of Halloween: Zombies!
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. The cultural origin of zombies may surprise you. While there's mention dead rising up to eat the living as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 bc), stories much closer to our modern zombie emerged in Haiti during the 200+ year enslavement of Africans on the then-French-controlled island.
The Fourth Night of Halloween: The Mummy Legend Unwrapped
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Snuggly mummies? Maybe not snuggly, but mummies are nothing new. They've been around for more than two thousand years. But while the mummy (ceremonially preserved body) isn't new, the Legend of the Mummy is.