I originally intended to make this a page of general stress relief tips for harried mothers.  But you already know about the benefits of prayer, alone time with your mate, chocolate, bubble baths, massage, take-out food, frozen dinners, brisk walks, and all that, right?  So I've decided to share about two of my favorite ways to ease stress:  music and reading.

I'm sure you are well-acquainted with music's power to calm or energize, and with the way reading can help you unwind.  Music is an easy stress-reliever to fit into your day;  it can provide an invigorating or calming backdrop to chores, exercise, driving, nursing baby, and so on.  Reading is harder to work in when you've little ones to care for;  even so, I've managed to get in quite a lot of good reading while nursing sleepy babies and at bedtime. 

For me, good music and good books are nearly as essential as food and water;  I'm both music lover and bookworm!  Here you'll find titles of some of my favorite stress-relieving tunes and reads.  And you are most welcome to email me additional book and music recommendations!  If I like them, I'll add 'em to these pages for others to discover.  :0)
 
 

In the album lists below, I have included as many links as I could find.  You are invited to follow the links, read others' reviews and listen to the sound clips so you can get a better idea for yourself.  Enjoy and be blessed!

Robin Mark - Revival in Belfast - awesome live worship album, many beautiful songs including "How Great Are You Lord", "Jesus, All for Jesus" and my favorite, "Be Unto Your Name".

Maire Brennan - Whisper to the Wild Water - gorgeous songs of intimacy and exaltation performed in English and Celtic by the singer for the Irish group Clannad.  Equally good though with a very different sound is Maire, which showcases the singer's exquisite voice and harp playing backed by her sisters' vocals.  Many of the songs on Maire have a percussive, organic, almost wild feel, creating an evocative soundscape that carries the listener along.

Ginny Owens - an incredible talent, Ginny is "the complete package":  gifted singer, composer and pianist.  Her debut album, Without Condition, is a masterpiece, with reflective, insightful lyrics,  creative melodies, and brilliant piano.  Her second release, Something More, features Ginny's perceptive lyrics accompanied by lively, synth-laced mixes.  Blueprint includes acoustic arrangements of songs from her first two albums, plus one new new song.  On Beautiful, some songs have a relaxed, upbeat feel;  others are quieter and more contemplative, recalling her work on Without Condition.  My fave tracks include "Call Me Beautiful", "Ordinary Day" and "To Trust You".  Long Way Home has two of my favorite Ginny songs ever:  "Fellow Traveler" and the incredibly moving "Wonderful Wonder".  Check out Ginny's website.

Mary Barrett - A Breath Away - lovely, deeply worshipful songs to the Lord.  Her second album, In the Language, is great, too.  Here's her homepage.

Rebecca St. James - "powerful", "compelling" and "cutting-edge" all describe RSJ's musical style.  Worship God includes the best-recorded version of "Breathe" that I've heard, RSJ originals such as "Lamb of God" and "Quiet You with My Love", and an awesome hidden-track remix of "Omega".  Transform is simply superb, with powerhouse sound and compelling, anthemic lyrics.  My favorite track from that one has to be "Universe" - best played LOUD!  Pray and God are also excellent.  And her Christmas album is great to listen to anytime, not just during the holiday season.  RSJ's albums are for the most part neither quiet nor tranquil, but they're too great not to include.

Vineyard Music Group - live, Spirit-filled worship from the Winds of Worship series;  my favs are Winds of Worship #4: Live from Brighton, England, Winds of Worship #3: Live from Toronto, Canada and Winds of Worship #2. 

Fernando Ortega - a consummate musician with a gentle style and a heart for worship.  All of his albums are excellent, but my favorite ones are Meditations of the Heart, Hymns & Meditations, This Bright Hour, Give me Jesus, The Breaking of the Dawn, Storm, and Fernando Ortega.  Visit his official website.

Cheri Keaggy - her music is upbeat and worshipful, and makes a great listen whether you're in a sunny mood or have the blues or PMS.  Favorite albums include Child of the Father, My Faith Will Stay and What Matters Most.

Deniece Williams - Lullabies to Dreamland - lovely and gentle songs that will melt your heart and soothe your baby. 

John Michael Talbot - Come to the Quiet - prayerful and beautiful;  many psalms and scriptures as well as St. Francis' Peace Prayer, all set to quiet music.  I also highly recommend For the Bride: gentle songs and joyous tone poems celebrating the marriage of the Lamb and His bride, the Church.  Sections include "Psalm 45", "The Annunciation", "The Magnificat" and "Song of Songs".

Céline Dion - if you thought all Céline does is belt out big songs, you should check out one of her French albums.  These are for the most part gentler and more heartfelt than her albums performed in English.  The lyrics are better, too, especially those written by Jean-Jacques Goldman.  My favorites are D'eux (The French Album), Live à Paris, and S'il suffisait d'aimer.  If you understand French, you'll appreciate these songs for their depth and lyrical beauty (and of course that fabulous voice!!)  Even if you don't know the language, the songs will move you. 

Natalie Cole - Unforgettable and Stardust are equally good in my opinion, though I know many critics feel Unforgettable is the better album.  But Stardust is full of great songs, too, further elevated by Cole's incomparable, velvet-smooth voice. 

Sting - Nada Como el Sol Sting also did these in English, but I think these lovely songs sound even better in Spanish and Portugese, especially "Mariposa Libre" and "Fragilidad".

Neil Young - Harvest Moon one of my favorite NY albums, wistful and contemplative.  The final song, "Natural Beauty", is beyond awesome, multi-layered and beautifully performed. 

U2 - War and The Unforgettable Fire are two of my favorites by this group:  bracing and driven, with Scripture woven in here and there.  Very Cool essential recordings, not exactly "tranquil", but they make great driving or weightlifting music.  Other U2 favorites:  Achtung Baby, The Joshua Tree, and All That You Can't Leave Behind.

Valerie Smith - Valerie has a lovely, warm voice, and she sings with much heart and joy.  She is backed by the first-rate bluegrass group Liberty Pike.  My fave Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike albums are Patchwork Heart, Turtle Wings, That's What Love Can Do, and the all-gospel Wash Away Your Troubles.  Here's Valerie's website.

New Coon Creek Girls - An all-girl group with a great bluegrass sound!  For touching ballads and shreddin'-excellent fun, check out Our Point of View.  Also great is their album of gospel tunes, Everything You Do.

Nicolette Larson - Sleep, Baby, Sleep I have given this CD a number of times as a new baby gift.  It's been our babies' favorite lullaby music and has always gotten them to sleep by the fourth or fifth song, when nothing else would.  Lovely melodies and Nicolette's beautiful voice wonderfully soothe mother-stress and baby fussiness.  Here is a memorial site.

Jerry Read and Lisa Marie Smith - Homecoming Another great gift album, this is now part of the two-CD set, Strayaway Child Trilogy.  Beautiful original tunes, traditional airs and hymns performed on hammered dulcimer, flute, and other instruments. 

Dougie MacLean - Craigie Dhu Heartfelt, evocative tunes, by turns wistful and lively.  I also highly recommend Riof and Tribute.

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
Everybody Digs Bill Evans - Bill Evans
A Charlie Brown Christmas:  The Original Sound Track Recording of the CBS Television Special - Vince Guaraldi Trio
New Chautauqua - Pat Metheny.  Other favs by the Pat Metheny Group:  Works I, Still Life (Talking), Pat Metheny Group, First Circle, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, and Secret Story (by PM)
Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories) - Haden & Metheny

Scarlatti - best recordings I've heard so far are Mikhail Pletnev's sublime Domenico Scarlatti - Keyboard Sonatas, as well as the excellent Vol. 2 and Vol. 5 of Naxos' series Domenico Scarlatti: Complete Keyboard Sonatas. 
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 3 - I really like John O'Conor's playing style;  he makes these pieces sound easy!  I'd love to have his complete box set of Beethoven's piano sonatas.
Ravel: Piano Works - Pascal Rogé's electrifying performance of Gaspard de la Nuit is alone worth the price of this excellent 2-CD set.
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4;  Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Wild and Horenstein.  My favorites are Concertos 2 and 3;  these performances are superb. 
Dreams of Love: The Ultimate Romantic Piano Album - very nice for setting a mood or simply as an introduction to some of the most popular pieces in classical piano repertoire.
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, Ormandy (my very favorite symphony of all)
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Karajan (my 2nd favorite symphony)
Mozart: Symphonies No.35 "Haffner", No.40 & No.41 "Jupiter" - more favorites;  excellent performances by the Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of George Szell.
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel, Solti, Fassbaender, Popp.  The music to this "children's opera" is beautiful throughout, as are the vocal performances on this recording.
Mozart - Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622, Brymer and Marriner, with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  The version I have was recorded in London in September of 1971, and it has been released and re-released by Philips in combination with various other works.  The two releases I have are now out of print.  Of note is that this is the "original recording featured in 'Out of Africa'", according to my CD liner notes... so if you've heard it, you know how awesome it is.  Evidently this particular recording is now available as part of a highly-rated Mozart compilation. 

Point of Grace - A Christmas Story - beautiful harmonies, fresh tunes, great lyrics.  "O Holy Night" is amazing;  other favorites include "One King" and "Not That Far from Bethlehem".

Amy Grant - Home for Christmas - a mix of contemporary and classic songs, including two co-written by Amy herself, "Breath of Heaven" and my favorite, "Emmanuel, God with Us".

Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas (1984 album) - some of the tunes are a bit silly/synthy, but there's also the lovely "Bring A Torch, Jeannette, Isabella" and the hushed and moving "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night).

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording of the CBS Television Special - a laid-back, jazzy backdrop for your next holiday celebration, or anytime you'd like some mellow music to unwind or think by.

Rebecca St. James - Christmas - RSJ's unique rock style enlivens traditional and modern tunes, including the excellent "Sweet Little Jesus Boy", "Silent Night" and the gentle "A Cradle Prayer".

Michael English - Michael English - not a Christmas album, but it does have my favorite version of "Mary, Did You Know".  Includes other great songs like "Solid as the Rock" and "In Christ Alone".

Fernando Ortega - Home - not a Christmas album either, but on it you'll find the lovely "Winter Song", about the beauty and meaning of the first Christmas.

Marilynn Mair - The Sounding Joy: Music for the Winter Holidays - beautiful, peaceful music performed on guitar and mandolin;  mostly very old tunes.  Lends a wonderful medieval or renaissance ambiance to holiday gatherings. 

American Boychoir with Atlantic Brass Quintet - Trumpets Sound, Voices Ring: A Joyous Christmas - this magnificent 2-CD set is my favorite Christmas collection.  There is nothing like hearing these holiday songs and carols sung in the boys' beautiful, pure voices.  If this album doesn't move you and get you into the Christmas spirit, nothing will!  Transcendent performances of "Mary Speaks" (see the text on my favorite poetry page), "This Christmastide", "Gabriel's Message", and many more.  The album we have is a Musical Heritage Society release that's available only to Society members (visit their site to join and/or inquire about the album).   Other Christmas albums by the American Boychoir may be found at Amazon.com (select Music in Amazon's drop-down search menu, then type "american boychoir" in the search box).

A big favorite is Joe Zawinul's Dialects, especially the first track, which my kids say sounds like a Star Wars robot party.  They also really like The Immigrants.
Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown! - this album is a lot of fun.  Great tracks by David Benoit, B.B. King, Joe Williams, and others.
Jeffrey Khaner, French Flute Music - one day when our fifth baby was not more than a couple of months old (and fussy), we heard Poulenc's Sonata for Flute and Piano on the radio.  Baby turned his head to listen, and was captivated (and calmed!) throughout the performance.  Thanks to the radio station's website, I was able to locate the exact recording, so that we could enjoy it again and again. 
Music from the film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - the whole family likes this album.  A great score by Hans Zimmer, with songs written and performed by Bryan Adams.

A few of the albums my teenage daughter really likes:

Rebecca St. James - aLIVE in Florida, Worship God, Transform and Christmas
Jaci Velasquez - Heavenly Place and Jaci Velasquez
Point of Grace - Girls of Grace
Amy Grant - Heart in Motion
U2 - War, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and All That You Can't Leave Behind
Benjamin Gate - Untitled

Go on to Part Two, Readings for Growth and Enjoyment.