The Top 10 of 2019 from April Yamasaki

In 2016 I wrote How to Pray for a Wedding Dinner, and it became my most viewed post in 2016—and in 2017, 2018, and now again in 2019. In fact, half of my most viewed posts in 2019 are posts from previous years and are all part of my How to Pray series.

When I look at just the posts I’ve written and published in 2019, the hunger for prayer is evident there too. Here are my top 10 posts published in 2019 with the most views:

#10 – How to Pray for Government Leaders

At the end of this post you’ll also find the list of all of the entries in my How to Pray series, including How to Pray for a Wedding Dinner, How to Pray for a Loved One Who is Dying, How to Pray About Mental Illness When You Can’t Find the Words, and more.

#9 – To Sing is To Pray Twice

This post features two music videos that have me praying twice: David Wesley’s “Evolution of Worship Music” and “God of Mercy” written by Paulist Father Ricky Manalo and Bob Hurd, and sung by Chris Brunelle.

#8 – Butterflies, Psalm 27, and the Beauty of the Lord

A photo reflection on Psalm 27 and the sad passing of blogger and author Rachel Held Evans.

#7 – The Lord is My Everything: Psalm 23 in the Letter E

Every so often I publish a paraphrase of Psalm 23 that focuses on a letter of the alphabet. This post is my attempt with the letter E, but so far I and others have done this for 15 of the 26 letters of the alphabet that you can see in this post. Please feel free to pick a letter, write your own paraphrase, and if you send it to me, I’ll add yours to my list.

#6 – The Hardship of Death is Real, But It is Not God’s Last Word to Us

This year I was invited to share a few words at a funeral, which I then shared on my blog as words of comfort and encouragement for anyone who has lost someone dear.

#5 – 7 Essential Steps to Declutter, Downsize, and Rightsize Your Books and Anything Else

In this post, I share tips from my experience of “rightsizing” my books when I moved from my church office with a wall of bookshelves to a much smaller space.

#4 – Can We Be Spiritual Friends?

Many thanks to my friend and blogger Michele Morin for this guest post on spiritual friendship.

#3 – When Your Wife’s the Preacher

I loved putting together this post of interviews with my husband and two other men sharing some of their experience. Thank you for your willingness to appear in print on my blog!

#2 – When You Feel Overwhelmed

This topic was suggested by a reader, and clearly resonated with others as this 2019 post has the second most views this year.

#1 – 25 Self-Care Ideas for the Heart: for singles, widows, married people, and everyone

This post is the first in a series on self-care ideas, so see also:

25 Self-Care Ideas for the Soul: for students, ministry leaders, and everyone

25 Self-Care Ideas for the Mind: for intellectual and mental health

25 Self-Care Ideas for Strength: for our bodies.

Writing/Reflection Prompt: I like to review this blog at the end of each year and do some planning for the next. This year I also wrote a Christmas letter for family and friends which included a more personal review of 2019. If you do an annual review, when and how do you do it? If not, why not?