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ANDREA LENNON Sharing Truth Through Writing
Writing a book was the furthest thing from Andrea Lennon’s mind. She had established a successful ministry through speaking. She even had a tagline that guided her instruction: know the truth, live the truth, and share the truth. But women at her events still had a similar refrain: We love your guidance and instruction. Where can we find this material outside the event? “I would tell them, ‘Well, I’m not really sure,’” Lennon recalled. “This was stuff that I had written based on my personal quiet times with the Lord.” It was a friend who initially encouraged Lennon to pursue a book. But she needed more persuading. “I just prayed about it, and said ‘Lord, if you want me to write a book, then I need your help,’” Lennon said. “So, I sat down and wrote the table of contents for my first book, and that was the beginning of my writing ministry.” That table of contents provided a roadmap to her first book – on Romans 12:2 – and before she knew it, she had the beginnings of a book. “I always say to people now, just start,” Lennon said. “If you’re waiting for it to be crystal clear, it’s going to be really hard, but if you’ll just start with your main thought and develop it slowly, then, before too long, you will see that the book is actually helping you to discover the process.”
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Since that first book, Reflecting His Glory: From Conformity to Transformation, Lennon has penned three other books – On the Road with Ruth, Free to Thrive, and God in the Window. The impact on her, personally, and other parts of her ministry has been unmistakable, Lennon said. When she’s speaking at an event, she can see what is connecting with the audience; she can see their reactions and expressions, see when they lean in or take notes. “The writing develops the depth of the content, because it forces me to slow down and really think through what I’m trying to communicate and what is the best way to do so,” she said. “The speaking side brings the relational aspects, so it marries the two together. The final outcome is so much better because these two sides of the ministry work so well together.” Writing has been a journey of exploring life, faith, belief, and struggles. None more so than God in the Window, which shares Lennon’s personal experience of adoption, loneliness, and friendship struggles. On the other side of the book, Lennon says writing your personal story should be something everyone does. “As you sit down and process your life, you’re going to see some patterns of struggle, you’re going to see some strengths, you’re going to see different tendencies and you’re going to see things that God used along the way that maybe you forgot about,” she said. “It was a way for me to process what has happened in my life and deal with those things so I could make improvements and connect with God on a deeper level.” Another topic discussed in God in the Window is Lennon’s personal fight with dyslexia. “If you had told my third-grade teacher that I would write and publish books, or even stand in front of a group and read scripture, I am sure she would have thought that was a far stretch,” Lennon said. “But God, he gives us strength in our weakness.” No matter which of her books a reader picks up, Lennon wants them to connect with God and learn something new. “I want them to see something that maybe they have never thought of before and then also apply that truth to their life,” she said. For more information on Lennon and her ministry, including her books, visit andrealennonministry.org.
