As the Christian music industry gears up for its big day of the year—the Dove Awards ceremony, April 21—retailers are majoring on music in their promotions.

LifeWay Christian Stores offers savings on recordings by all the nominees, with Francesca Battistelli's My Paper Heart Deluxe, Jason Crabb's self-titled release and Toby Mac's Tonight among the titles reduced from $13.99 to $11.99 each. Casting Crowns' Until the Whole World Hears is reduced to $9.99, while Ten Avenue North's Over and Underneath is available for $7.99.

Parable Stores are taking 20% off all the nominees, reducing Mary Mary's The Sound to $11.98, Skillet's Awake to $13.58 and Tonight to $9.97.

Family Christian Stores (FCS) presents a $7.97 special running through April 23. Among the titles available are Hello Love (Chris Tomlin), A New Hallelujah (Michael W. Smith), The Altar and the Door (Casting Crpwns) and Beauty Will Rise (Steven Curtis Chapman).

The chain also offers MercyMe's forthcoming The Generous Mr. Lovewell for a pre-buy price of $11.99, down from $15.99, and a free "Lovewell" bracelet, value $1, commemorating a donation from the proceeds to FCS' The James Fund, partnering with the band to support well-drilling projects in the Dominican Republic.

Another FCS pre-buy offers Newsboys' Born Again, out July 13, for $9.97 instead of the regular $13.99.

Mardel Christian & Education's $5 Music Selection includes Chris Tomlin's See the Morning, Matthew West's Something to Say, Mandisa's Freedom and Rush of Fools' Wonder of the World.

LifeWay's email promotion also highlights its April 17, third annual Tax Savings Day, giving 10% off shoppers' entire purchase. FCS's promotion includes a coupon for 25% of any one regularly priced item or 10% off a sale item.

Jonathan Merritt author of Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet (FaithWords, April 21, 2010, $16.99 hardcover), speaks about Christianity and the environment.

How is creation care tied to our love for God?
"One of the ways we show our love for God is through obedience. God has mandated that we care for creation because he has buried the revelation of His attributes within it and because people that God loves depend on it. Another way we show our love for God is by loving what God loves. The Psalmist tells us that 'God is loving toward all that He has made.' If we love God, shouldn't we mirror this? No one perhaps summarizes these ideas better than Francis Schaeffer, who wrote the following in Pollution and the Death of Man: 'If I love the Lover, I love what the Lover has made'."

Do you think Christians have become more aware of creation care in the past few years?
"Definitely. Just take a look at the number of books being published now by Christians on this subject compared with 20 years ago. We now have a robust corpus on which to construct a solid theological and practical foundation for creation care. What a blessing it is to be able to stand on the shoulders of thinkers like John Stott, Alister McGrath, Calvin Dewitt, Matthew and Nancy Sleeth and others. These thought leaders are reawakening Christian communities to the need to live out the Gospel by obeying the Bible's creation  mandates and caring for 'the least of these'."

What do you think some of the hesitancies have been/are?
"Some people hesitate to embrace our responsibility to steward the earth because environmentalism is perceived as a 'liberal' issue. In Green Like God, I illustrate how we can develop uniquely Christian solutions to our world's problems that look less like Al Gore and more like Jesus Christ."

What trends give you hope for the future?
"I am so encouraged by the innovative and courageous initiatives being undertaken by missionaries, churches, and faith communities around the world. I've been bombarded with stories of Christians who've embraced the love for God and love for people promoted by the Bible and embodied in life of Jesus. I share a few of these in my book. God is on the move, and God's people are on the move."

In They Almost Always Come Home, American Christian Fiction Writers President Cynthia Ruchti draws the reader into a passionate journey of heartbreak and the redemptive power of love.

Although Greg's wilderness trips were not uncommon, his disappearance after a two-week canoe trip through the Canadian wilderness comes as a shock. His marriage was shaky, but his wife, Libby, can't come to terms with what the police think is abandonment after more than 20 years, made worse by the death of their daughter Lacey.