The D Word

Carol Montag — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 02:42:00 +0000

The month of June was a bit of a pivotal month for me due to the fact that I have in my life some pretty amazing friends. Friends who care enough about you to not mince words, who critique with kindness, encourage, and offer helpful suggestions and insights. I consider my life richly blessed to know these women and count them as friends and hope I can reciprocate for all their kindness. So, what have I learned or have known all along? After a survey, I realized that I have a lot of songs – songs that I have started, but never finished. This is because I usually write on the fly. Whenever the muse strikes, I grab whatever piece of paper is lying around and scribble a line or two. The result is multiple scraps of paper, multiple spiral notebooks with multiple songs that have a beginning, but no end – not yet anyway. (Starting them is easy, finishing them is… not so easy.) I sometimes get distracted by the laundry, the groceries, the dirty dishes in the sink, etc. It’s no coincidence that over and over I keep getting the same message – through my friends, through Bible study, through articles. So, what’s the message? What’s the problem? What’s the solution? Discipline. Plain and simple. I marvel at the simplicity of discipline and how a disciplined, orderly life is so completely freeing! One of my dear friends shared with me the following article by Carey Wallace. I love it and am excited to share it with you, especially if you struggle with discipline too.

http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/2778/

I’m expecting some good things to come by taking aim at this thing – but don’t expect to see the laundry neatly folded and a spotless kitchen. I’ve got more important things to do. Hope you do too.

Folk Alliance International Conference

Carol Montag — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:28:00 +0000

I was just on the phone this morning with fellow singer/songwriter and new friend, Mary McAdams. Mary and I met at the FARM (Folk Alliance Region Midwest) conference last October in Chicago. Mary is from Ankeny, Iowa, just a few miles south of Ames, where I grew up. Mary and I were discussing the pursuit of gigs and life in general when the subject of the Folk Alliance International Conference came up. The conference will be held February 16-20 in Memphis, TN. As a result of that conversation (and Mary’s bubbling enthusiasm), I am now registered to attend! This will be quite different in size and scope from the Chicago conference with some 2,000 in attendance. Mary registered much earlier and managed to secure a couple showcase slots – way to go, Mary! We’ll be sharing a room to help keep costs down. I’m excited to be going for the first time to see and meet so many great musicians I know will be there – not to mention getting away from these sub-freezing temperatures.