I recently checked out Michael W. Smith’s latest album, A new hallelujah, or musical compilation as some would say.  For those of you who are not familiar with Michael W. Smith, he is considered one of the most influential artists of contemporary Christian music. I have been following and appreciating his music and writing abilities since the beginning of his career in the early eighties.

I have switched, like so many of us, to downloading my music online and loading it on to either my computer, MP3 or iPod player. The library is a great way to preview many of the albums that you might want to buy. That is what I was doing with Michael W. Smith’s latest. This album however, reminded me of why I believe compact discs still have a place  in today’s market place.

A new hallelujah although not hailed as a live album, is performed before a live audience in Houston, Texas. The flow of the songs because they are performed live, in my opinion, need to be played in order. While listening to the CD, I began appreciating the CD format. I was able to feel like I was right there with Michael W. Smith. Many of the  songs on the album have been performed by other artists such as Chris Tomlin and Hillsong United. They have been rearranged as only Smitty (as he affectionately is called) can do. The album highlights Smitty’s piano talent and ability to elicit audience participation.

The library has a large collection of music available for you to explore a variety of musical genres. If you haven’t explored the Christian music genre, I highly recommend checking out the Michael W. Smith collection that we have.  If you want a quick listen to what I think is one of the best songs on this album, check out this video of the song, Deep in Love withYou.

Christian fiction has changed in the last several years, especially titles written for children and teens. When I was growing up (which was not so very long ago), Christian fiction was, well, boring.  And a little too sweet for my tastes.  Now, there is so much more to choose from, in many different genres.  Realistic fiction has kids and teens facing real problems (broken families, romantic relationships, peer pressure) and hard solutions.  And then there’s fantasy and science-fiction and mysteries and even graphic novels.

The following is a list of a few of the authors and titles that you can find at the library.  On the fantasy front, Ted Dekker, who has written quite a few adult novels, and Wayne Thomas Batson both have series’ written for teens and tweens. 

Frank Peretti writes a mystery series, the first of which is Hangman’s Curse.

Stand alone titles include Perch, Mrs. Sacket’s and Crow’s Nest by Karen Pavlicin and A Friend at Midnight by Caroline B. Cooney.

There are plenty more that I didn’t mention, as well as some adult titles that might appeal to older teens.  Don’t forget to check out your branch’s paperback collection as lots of titles are not published in hardcover.  Some authors to look for are Melody Carlson, Stephanie Perry Moore (the Laurel Shadrach series and the Payton Skyy series), Wendy Lawton and Robin Jones Gunn.

I still haven’t found a really good site that lists authors and titles for this age group, but a quick Google search will find several and I know I can rely on TeensRead.com to highlight a few Christian fiction new releases.  Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite Christian author or title or know of a good website for updates on new titles.

‘Tis the season for not only receiving extra pounds, but also extra stress. For years yoga has been used as a wonderful exercise for improving dexterity, stamina, balance, and weight-loss; and yoga can also help you de-stress during the busy holiday season. Modern yoga draws mainly from one branch of the different traditions; Hatha Yoga which focuses on the body and its movements. The deliberate and mindful nature of the asanas (yoga poses) with pranayama (breathing) contribute to a meditative state for many yoga practitioners. Yoga has a long history of use in Indian religions and different schools of Buddhism dating back to the Bhagavad Gita. Yoga is one of those great activities you can do as much as you’d like with it; you can follow along with a DVD or class, you could study philosophy and meditate, you can practice while pregnant then later with the baby, and you can learn as much or as little as you’d like on your own.

My favorite materials available from DCPL:

Yoga Body, Buddha Mind: Cyndi Lee – More than just pictures of a wide variety of postures, a modern Buddhist and yoga teacher intersperses her poses with some background on yoga, Buddhism, meditation, and breathing. An accessible work for those interested in a little more than just the postures and exercise, but also don’t want to read a lengthly religious tome.

Power Yoga Stamina (VHS) with Rodney Yee – Pretty much any Rodney Yee videorecording is good, I like the Stamina best of all. This is a video for beginner-intermediate yogis as he be too fast for those who do not already know the asanas, but its just the right length of time and difficulty to get my heart pumping and my mind engaged.

Total Yoga Flow Series: Water – The three-part series includes: Earth, Water, and Fire each focusing on a different level of yoga and different focus. The Water is the intermediate level with a focus on flexibility and grace. All three are interesting and useful in their own way often including some extra like a guided meditation or breathing exercise, but the menus are a challenging to navigate and the scene selection was a bit off.

Yoga : the path to holistic health: B.K.S. Iyengar – Giant book of poses from one of the most respected teachers in the world. The asanas are photographed from various angles and health benefits are noted along with the entry fro each posture. An essential reference, especially for those learning without the benefit of a teacher.

The Shambhala guide to yoga: Georg Feuerstein – Interested in history, philosophy, religion, or other yoga traditions? This book is great for people who want a good introduction to what yoga is beyond ‘downward-facing dog’.

Emory University will host a series of events leading to the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an Emory Presidential Distinguished Professor October 19-22, 2007. Emory University is one of the leading centers of Tibetan philosophy and religious studies in the West and the only stop in the Southern United States for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Many of these events are free and open to the public culminating in a public talk in Centennial Olympic Park on Monday October 22nd.

For more information on the various events:

http://dalailama.emory.edu/

http://www.tibet.emory.edu

http://www.drepung.org