com·mence  [kəˈmens]

VERB

commences (third person present) · commenced (past tense) · commenced (past participle) · commencing (present participle)

1. begin; start.

“his design team commenced work” · “a public inquiry is due to commence on the 16th”

synonyms: begin · start · start off · get down to business · get the ball rolling · get going · get under way · get off the ground · make a start on · set about · go about · enter on · embark on · launch into · lead off · get down to · set in motion · ring up the curtain on · open · initiate · institute · inaugurate · go ahead · get cracking on · get stuck into · kick off · get the show on the road · get weaving (on)

from the Oxford Dictionaries

In this season of commencement addresses, I realize that I most often see graduations – commencements – as an ending.  In my own life, commencement speeches have marked the end of high school, the end of college, the end…  But “the end” is the antonym listed in the Oxford Dictionaries under “commencement.”

I find the synonyms to be much more lively: “begin, start off, get down to business, get the ball rolling…”  I have let my writing ball drift of late.  The last few years have been full of wonderful projects, but I keep longing to write and to finish some long overdue projects – to get back to work on Mabbat and shape it into a better tool – not just for me, but for other people who are working through their own baggage.

So today marks a commencement: I am commencing the blog again, and I am commencing with my editorial schedule to finish the works that have been languishing in idea purgatory.

My plans for Mabbat include writing about dealing with loss and depression and how to work through them with healthy coping skills.  I also can’t write without sharing my faith, so I plan to continue to share posts about what I’m reading in my Bible study and how it applies to our daily lives.  And I want to share my passion for developing artistic work in everyone’s life.  God calls us all to create, and I have not been living up to my creative potential by using well the gifts he has given me to write and to paint and to do the “artsy-fartsy stuff,” as my husband so eloquently describes it.

I’d like to stand boldly in my best super hero pose and say that my floundering and procrastinating ends here and will never return, but this is real life.  I know there will be ebbs and flows, but I do want to look back and say that this commencement moment is where I really honed the discipline it takes to write well and productively.  I’m asking you to join me on your own journey.  Find your artistic gift, develop it, and share it.  That’s what Mabbat will be about.  We’re going to get the ball rolling now.

If you’d like to jump in, I have created a Mabbat Facebook group that you can join where I will share daily prompts.  It is a closed group, so it will be moderated, and I hope you feel confident enough to share your work in progress.  You are always welcome to post in the comments here on the blog as well, but that is public domain, so I understand if you’re hesitant to interact much here.  My door is always open, and on the web, that looks like an e-mail address and a FB group for now.  (Maybe soon that will look like some live gathering events to meet face to face and share in person.)  So let’s get down to business!