Describe your music in a Tweet (140 characters): "Quirky Pop/Indie/Alternative. Sonic pop ideals, but the songs were written and mostly built around spare organic instrumentation."

When did you decide to start doing music together? "When Tal was 16 and Acacia was 14. It was the year we lived in Russia with our family working in social services with The Salvation Army, specifically the humanitarian ministry the organization had established in the former Soviet republic in 1991."

Who are your musical influences? "Feist, Imogen Heap, Vince Guaraldi, Fiona Apple, Sixpence None the Richer, Natasha Bedingfield."

What was it like to work with producer Monroe Jones (Third Day, Chris Rice)? "We couldn't have found a more amazing person to work with. His personality, talent and direction really blew us away."

Who is your target listener? "We just want as many people as possible to hear the message of God's love in our music. We love all our fans, from the teens and college kids at our shows, and their parents who seem to enjoy our sound just as much."

Can you each pick a song from the album and explain the themes/sound behind it? Tal: " ‘Walkin' Your Dog' was inspired by the fact that when one chooses to walk with God, He doesn't guarantee the American dream. He guarantees more than material happiness, He promises things that can't be gained simply by getting what you think you want. Finding what He has for you personally requires personal time spent with Him."

Acacia: " ‘Merry Go Round' is all about living life in fullness. We so easily fall into our hum-drum commonplace duties instead of realizing that we live and serve a living God. ... I wanted [and] still want to be ‘filled to the measure of all the fullness of God' (Eph.3:19). I believe that if you are in His will and seeking Him as Lord, then your ordinary days can become extraordinary. So the song is that reminder to get off the ‘same old-same old' and find refreshment and life through His presence."

Since its explosion in the late 20th century, the Christian book market has witnessed a wide range of Bible products as demand continued to increase.

As a religious book retailer, you're often faced with a variety of buyers who are searching amid a wide array of diverse products. For instance, when a shopper walks into your bookstore with little or no Catholic knowledge and wants to buy a Catholic Bible as a gift, how do you determine which to offer?

Your role as the "religious book expert" is to identify the gift recipient's needs prior to making your recommendations. There are a number of different types of Catholic Bibles available depending on the gift recipient's age, need or specific event. From medium- to large-print to pocket guide Bibles, the offerings are endless.

Listed below are demographics along with suggested Catholic Bible resources:

Adults: The New American Bible (NAB) is the version most often used at mass. It accurately translates the original text into modern English. Family Bible editions are also widely available.

Adults may also enjoy a Bible study book that focuses on a topic of interest such as how to's, prayer, the saints, the rosary and more.

For adults entering the Catholic faith, a Catholic Answer Bible including the official NAB translation and information about Catholic beliefs and practices, with their foundations in Scripture, might be helpful.

Teens: Young readers will enjoy an NAB Bible that includes prayers, faith basics and extras tailored specifically to them. Areas of interest could also include confirmation and the saints.

Children: There are a wide variety of age-appropriate Catholic children's Bibles, including editions for first communion, Lent, Easter, Advent, Bible stories and the sacraments. Be sure to recommend titles with friendly illustrations and explanations.

Your product knowledge and keen selling abilities lend credibility as a solid and reliable religious book retailer. The more you learn about your products, the better prepared you are in delivering the ideal customer experience in meeting their needs.

Laurie Perolio-Bullinger is direct marketing manager for Our Sunday Visitor, a Catholic publisher of periodicals, books, curriculum, tapes, software and educational materials. www.osv.com.

"Home Entertainment" is movie industry jargon for the various forms films take as they come into a consumer's home. Originally just VHS, now it encompasses Blu-ray, DVD and an ever increasing number of digital solutions, streaming services and more.

The massive growth in home theaters and media rooms as families seek high-quality and impact entertainment at home holds significant sales potential for Christian retailers. Even churches are following this trend. The Barna Group reports that 88% of U.S. churches with greater than 250 members now have large screens used for playing multimedia and film for services.

And for the shoppers in your store, what's being played on many of those home entertainment and church systems? Faith and family films.

Unfortunately, far too many Christian retail stores are still squeezing DVDs into old music fixtures or sticking them spine-out on shelves in the back of stores at a time when the DVD category in the Christian retail market is experiencing sales 60% greater than 2008 (based on Nielsen SoundScan overall year-to-date top video unit sales Jan. 1-Oct. 15, 2009, versus the same period the prior year).

It's time to grab this category by both horns. Here are a few simple ideas to help grow and further develop your store's home entertainment sales:

1. Make a statement. While some stores may not have huge selections of home entertainment products, try pulling them together with music and software, creating a "Recorded Media" or "Enrichment, Education and Entertainment" section. A buyer or department manager focused on this new "department" will become more efficient, and highly specialized and responsive to new products and customer needs.

2. Expand offerings. If your selection in these recorded media product lines is lacking, expand the selection—now. They're out there. One important goal for any retailer is to be relevant, and shoppers want a wide selection of movies, music and other recorded media content.

3. Shout it out. Now that you're ready to grow your sales, tell your customers about the incredible new selection by including in local advertising, mailers/catalogs, out-of-store and in-store signage and on your Web site.

4. Provide value. It's next to impossible to compete with big box retailers on price. The only real weapons against them are selection and service. The competition is hit- and new release-driven, and finding even the most family-friendly movies requires navigating offensive and inappropriate content in the stores. A dedicated faith and family recorded media section in a Christian store will be able to offer the best content, in stock and in a trusted and safe environment. Try experimenting with things like "movie of the week," selling a selected film at or below cost, encouraging multiple purchases and leaving a "low price" message in the minds of your customers.

5. Grow with your customers. Don't stand still. Consider adding high definition DVD products (Blu-ray), more software formats (PSP, Apple, Nintendo DS), expand the audiobook footprint and add a wider selection of family-friendly or even challenging and thought-provoking films for parents/adults.

Rich Peluso is vice president of Affirm Films, the faith-based label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.