One day, I finished returning an item at Target and gave the clerk behind the counter a gift. His eyes opened up wide and his jaw dropped a little. "It's a Bible," he said. If he would have said it was a dead fish, the look on his face would have been the same!

For the past five months, I've been giving away pocket-sized New Testaments to friends, work colleagues and complete strangers. A year ago, if you had told me I would be doing this, I would have said you were nuts. I've never been the dude who walks up and asks, "Are you going to heaven when you die?" So what gives?

On April 14 of last year, I was diagnosed with cancer – non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  I had never had any other health problems. When the doc told me the news, I cried. Was this the end? I was stage 4, which is the worst stage you can be. I did the R-CHOP chemotherapy regimen, which starts with an IV for four hours.

You can read about the side effects of chemotherapy but I’d rather get to the good part: On Sept 3, my cancer was declared in total remission! Reading The Bible made all the difference to me during this time. I bookmarked certain verses and read them over and over.

For example, Paul's description of the thorn in his side in 1 Corinthians 12 took on new meaning for me - when we are weak, then God moves in! I was a bit amazed that this book, the New Testament, which you might think is full of philosophy and high ideas (which it is), is really a manual for living. It's a guide for life.

As my chemotherapy came to an end, I decided I would buy New Testaments and give them away. I give away the New Testament because sometimes I don’t know if the person I give them to has ever read The Bible and The New Testament is the best place to start. So far, I've given away 200 New Testaments in about five months.

One day, I just walked in Starbuck's and gave them out. (I had an "urge" to do this, although maybe it was an urge for a mocha! Before I opened the door, a guy asked me for direction. I gave him a New Testament and again, another look of surprise but with a smile!) I've spoken at two churches and given some away. I gave my "testimony" at the halftime of my son's basketball game and gave away dozens.

Most people politely accept them. Some look at me like I'm a weirdo! All told, it's been more fun that I thought. I've already ordered the next case of 100 from Biblesbythecase.com. Can't wait to see the look on the next person's face when I give these away!