Ace Collins - I Saw Him in Your Eyes

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ZONDERVAN

I SAW HIM IN YOUR EYES
Copyright 2006 by Andrew Collins

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 0-310-86255-8

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Collins, Ace
I saw Him in your eyes: everyday people making extraordinary impact in the lives of Karen Kingsbury, Terri Blackstock, Bobby Bowden, Charlie Daniels, S. Truett Cathy, and more / Ace Collins.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-226318-0
1. Christian biographyUnited States. 2. CelebritiesReligious lifeUnited States. I. Title.
BR1700.3.C65 2006
277.3'082'.0922 dc22
{B}

2005019453

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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For my parents,
whose sacrifice, faith, and giving
have been at the heart of everything they do

Contents

Nancy Coen

Elizabeth Swank & Ron Ballard

Pat Boone

Bobby Bowden

Karen Kingsbury

Dale Evans Rogers

John Cathcart

Truett Cathy

Charlie Daniels

Jerry Burden

James Scott Bell

Denise Davis

Fern Nichols

Larry Gatlin

Richard Stearns

Cynthia Clawson

Terri Blackstock

Don Reid

Crystal Bowman

Woody Wright

What person had the most profound impact on your faith?

Who was the person in your life whose actions and words best reflected the Lord?

In whose eyes did you first see Jesus?

They say the eyes are a window to the soul. Over the past fifteen years I have had the opportunity to interview a number of people and ask them, In whose eyes did you first see Jesus? The stories they have told me have been fascinating and inspiring. These stories have given me glimpses into the foundation of the faith of people who have changed my life. I hope and pray their stories will impact you as well.

The heroes found in these pages are some of the greatest voices in the Christian world. When you get to know these heroes of the faith, you will discover that they reflect what they saw and learned from others who mirrored Jesus. Thus, while each chapter is a single individuals testimony, each chapter is also the story of the witness who was behind that heros call to faith.

In these pages you will find the story of a Sunday school teacher who reached out to a quadriplegic, and, in the process, changed the whole world. Youll see the impact of grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, mothers, and fathers on the lives of young children who would later become well-known singers, businesspeople, and writers. And youll see how even the prayers of little-known neighbors and strangers made a profound difference in one womans life.

Thanks to Zondervan, I was able bring these special stories to life. Now you can read about the faithful everyday believers who inspired some of the worlds best-known and most- influential Christian voices. You can see how a simple touch, a look, or a word dramatically changed the world. You can even come to realize that if you put your faith into action, others will see it and want to embrace that faith as well.

I think these stories will inspire and move you. I believe you will enjoy this book and come to a greater understanding of the heroes profiled here. Yet I hope that something else also happens as you read I Saw Him in Your Eyes. I pray that you will remember the person in whose eyes you first saw Jesus. Then I pray that the next person who looks into your face will say, I saw Him in your eyes.

The Power of
Unknown Prayers

Nancy Coen

Founder of Servant
Ministries

Nancy Coen is a wife, a mother of three, and a grandmother, yet she has the energy of a college student and the enthusiasm of a three-year-old child. First appearances would lead most to believe she is a successful businessperson. She once was, but this dynamo is now the founder and leader of Servant Ministries, an organization whose main thrust is taking the gospel into areas where believers are persecuted and even killed. Traveling 380,000 miles a year, the diminutive woman with the big smile and booming voice constantly puts her life on the line in the most dangerous places on the globe. She really lives the Great Commission each day of her life.

Nancys story is a testament to the power of prayer. It is a dramatic narrative of stubborn resistance and faithful obedience. This story shines a bright spotlight on the dedication of those who simply will not give up on people.

As a young child I saw a lot of things that bothered me about the Christian faith, Nancy recalled. I was raised in a very legalistic church. As soon as I got away from home, I turned away from the church and vehemently turned against all things that I considered Christian. I would have sooner spit in the eye of a Christian than talk to them. At that time I even actively campaigned against Christian programs and missions.

As a young wife, mother, and businesswoman, Nancy wanted no part of God. Living in Indiana, she was a member of the local social set, a country-club regular, a loud boisterous woman who loved a party and embraced a live for the moment lifestyle. Though friendly and likable, she was a voice against any type of religion worming its way into her life. She didnt want to hear a prayer before a high school football game or have a local Christian youth group meet in the school. She taught her children there was no higher power and that Christian ity was a fable.

One day my daughter ran across the rural road where we lived to retrieve a ball that had landed in the yard of some folks who had just moved into our neighborhood. These were anything but my kind of people. They were poor and uneducated. They had no social skills. I didnt even like having them on the same street where I lived.