No. 10 Stop Bothering God!
A little story from my daily life, one that seems almost insignificant now reached the position of tenth most-read in the last year. I wouldn't have expected it to be that interesting to anyone else, but I guess real life stories are always more interesting than the most well-crafted theoretical writing. I know I'm more likely to read a story than a homily. Go ahead and give it a read if you missed it.
No. 9 Thoughts of a Typical Catholic at Sunday Mass aka Sixty Minutes of Daydreaming
This is one of those funny and perhaps a little too relatable to too many Catholics (to our shame). It was fun to write and fun to re-read. I still giggle every time I look at the memes I crated for the post. Too real. It was actually meant to be an introduction to a series on the real meaning of the different parts of the Mass, and hot to connect and focus during Mass, but I didn't get down to doing the necessary study and so those posts still aren't written. Should I work on them in the new year?
No. 8 The SAHM Series: Why do Stay-At-Home-Mums Stay at Home? (Part 1 of 3)
This was an unusual kind of blog post, more of an interview-style or a magazine article. I primarily shared other women's stories and experiences, and put in very few of my own opinions. I think it got so many readers because one of the moms who shared her story shared it on her Facebook and a lot of people were very interested in her life and family. Should I write more articles like this - sharing other people's stories?
No. 7 Ten Catholic Trivia Questions Most Indian Catholics Will Get Wrong
This was another unusual one - it was actually a quiz that I created and embedded into the post. I had seen some of these quizzes before that were ridiculously easy and seemed to be created just in order to make people feel good about themselves. I confess I went a little bit in the opposite direction, making it so tough that almost no one scored full marks. Full disclosure: Even I didn't really score full marks because I found out only after creating the quiz that I had wrongly assumed something about canon law. Also confession: I didn't write all the follow up posts explaining each question. I wrote three, got distracted and then started writing about something else. Did anyone notice? Anyone still waiting for answers or clarity on some of the quiz questions?
No. 6 The Time I Confronted a Priest
Just the name of this post sounds kind of attention-seeking, but I promise it was a real and thoughtful encounter, and one of the most crucial ways in which God allowed me to grow. The post is more about how to confront someone in a Christian way, an area I think every parish and Christian organization needs to train their members and leaders in. Seminaries, are you teaching this? Once again there was a follow-up post I haven't written yet - Receiving Correction Graciously. When should I get to that?
No. 5 You Are Delightful
I'm so glad this one reached the Top Five, because it is one of my personal favourites, and I think I need to re-read it again and again. If you haven't read it yet, please do! Sometimes God clearly speaks His truths through my writing (other times it's just me being boring), and this is one of those posts that has God's fingerprints all over it.
No. 4 Divine Renovation: Practical Ways to Renew Your Parish
This was a cross between a book review and a list of tips to renew your parish with excerpts and ideas from Fr. James Mallon's book, Divine Renovation. Imagine my excitement when I saw Fr. James retweeted my blog post. (Yes, I'm on Twitter: @SueZanna86). So that's probably why it reached the Top 4. I'm sure Fr. Mallon was happy for the publicity, and I was happy to publicize a worthwhile and helpful book. I still hope parish priests read it. Maybe you should send them my blog post? And gift them a copy of the book? Do it!
No. 3 Valentine’s Day Special: What It Is Like To Have a Catholic Boyfriend
Of course the post with the words VALENTINE'S DAY and BOYFRIEND was the third most read post of 2019, possibly also because it was a relationship announcement, and I've been the Single Cat Lady TM for so long that I have years' worth of posts on being single. Come to think of it, I would read random acquaintances' love stories if only they would write about them. Come on, guys. Share your lives! (P.s. I DID get it passed by Joel before I shared it.)
No. 2 Quick Thoughts on the New Graham Staines Movie
This was just a movie review, but it was about a movie that not many people were writing about. My husband has been encouraging me to write more about the current day intersection between faith and culture, and about modern-day issues that Catholics are trying to figure out, I think I'd like to, but it means being disciplined enough to write fast, and not wait for months by which time the issue has faded from people's minds. That is the kind of writing I would like to read - informed and faith-filled Indian Catholics writing about Indian issues. American Catholics have plenty of those kind of articles, but we seem to be lacking in our social media presence.
No. 1 The Wedding Chronicles: God Designed My Wedding Dress
This one actually reached my all time top ten most-read posts. then again, it does have the words WEDDING and WEDDING DRESS in the title, so is that even surprising? But you know what, this story deserves to be read, because it was written by God, and I need to do better at retelling the cool stories he writes in my life.
That's all, folks! Thank you, faithful blog readers and especially patrons for reading, commenting, sharing and donating. On the days when I don't feel motivated to write, I remember some stray feedback from someone, and I realize that perhaps God IS using this blog, and I should push myself to start writing again. Happy New Year, dear readers!
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