About

My Testimony: In the spring of 2022, several years of anxiety and insomnia finally got the best of me despite trying everything the world had to offer for a solution from herbal remedies, diets, yoga, therapy, hypnotism and both over the counter and prescribed medications.  I was functioning but still haunted by these symptoms. They finally brought me to my knees in my living room when I cried out to God screaming,"ARE YOU REAL?!! CAN'T YOU SEE ME DOWN HERE STRUGGLING?! I TRIED EVERYTHING AND I'M AT THE END I TELL YOU THE END!!! PLEASE ANSWER ME I NEED YOU AND I DONT KNOW WHERE ELSE TO GO!"  I collapsed into a sobbing mess on the floor and as I started to calm down I felt a still small voice inside me tell me, "Remember the Bible your friend gave you a while ago and you stored away in the basement? I guarantee if you go and get that and try reading it again I promise you will get the answers that you seek."

I told myself (and Him) "Really? I'm at my wits end and you're telling me to go get that Bible and READ?!" I was hoping for a sign...a miracle...a healing that God would appear to me in my house and touch me on my forehead and make all of my pain go away but that isn't what happened. However, since I was so certain that what I "heard" was not from me and had to be God answering me I begrudgingly went down into the basement, found my Bible and took it upstairs.

The person who gave it to me years ago told me that when you start reading the Bible to start with the book of John because it reads like a story.  I started reading it and it actually started making sense this time. I could connect with it better and the more I read, tears would form in my eyes and then roll down my cheeks onto the pages.  I couldn't put it down and slowly over time I started to pray more, look for teachings on You Tube, listen to Christian music and I eventually found a book in a used bookstore called The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.  

I started to experience positive changes in my life but I swore, "I'm NOT going to one of THOSE churches with people that lift their hands in the air when they sing." "Please God," I said, "Don't make me go to one of those churches." Well I'm happy to report that eventually I did give some churches a try and found a church home called Lifestone Church in the Southside of Pittsburgh and I love it.  I walked in there with my guard up on Father's Day in June of 22 and have been going back ever since...defenses down...and I am...ME...I'm one of those people with his hands raised in the air singing songs of praise to the Lord. Why? Because not only did I eventually find strength and peace about my sleep disorder and anxiety but I got SO MUCH MORE.  I have a NEW LIFE. One that I would never have imagined or planned for myself but I have joy, love, and a peace that I didn't know existed. This is just part of my story.  Hopefully if you're reading this testimony, today may be the turning point in your story that you'll be encouraged to share one day as well. 

After becoming a committed follower of Christ some pretty amazing things started happening to me that were too coincidental to be coincidental.  I realized I had much to learn so I asked a good friend who is a pastor if he would be willing to mentor me.  Fortunately he agreed and invited me to his office because he had a book he wanted to share with me called: "The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus" by John R Cross.  When I walked into his office for the first time I was blown away by the wall of books he had filling his bookshelves. I immediately had even more respect for him since I could see that, unbeknownst to me all the years that we were friends, that this man has been busy studying the Christian faith. It is no wonder he is such an excellent pastor and speaks with such wisdom.  I told myself that day that if I was going to be serious about following Jesus that I needed to get my nose in some books too.  

I have been blessed to have a number of books come my way through recommendations or just by chance and would like to share the words in them that spoke to me and redirected the way I live my life.  I must disclose I'm not a pastor or a seminarian but someone who has experienced a profound transformation in his life that can only be explained by my new found relationship with God and the reading of His Word. 

To quote the words of R. Kent Hughes in his book Disciplines of a Godly Man, "If you know Christ...you have the essential heart qualification to share him - even if you don't have all the answers...and the key to ongoing effectiveness is perpetual freshness in your growing knowledge of him." 

This podcast and website is simply that...sharing Jesus and the "perpetual freshness" of knowledge I have found through the reading of inspirational Christian books and the Bible. Hopefully, the scriptures, discussion and references shared in this podcast will encourage someone out there in need of answers to earnestly seek them as well and discover hidden treasures along the way that will change their life.

Words That Speak aims to leverage modern day technology to relay the message of the Gospel to as many people as possible by sharing inspirational books about Jesus and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

In addition, as part of this ministry, the proceeds made from the affiliate program with Christianbook will provide funds needed to replenish the outdoor free library in front of my home church in the Southside of Pittsburgh.  Our hope is that curious people walking by may have the courage to take a book and have it speak into their life. God only knows what happens from there but knowing God we have no doubt He will take those seeds and spread them wherever they are needed.