Customer Reviews

Mustard Seeds: Thoughts on the Nature of God and Faith

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Mustard Seeds by Lynn Coulter is a wonderfully uplifting devotional about finding little things that can help your faith to grow. Coulter suffered from a horrifying number of tragedies and frustrations in a short period of time: her husband lost several jobs and then moved hundreds of miles away to take a new one. Her mother passed away unexpectedly, and her father began to fail with the heartbreak of it. Coulter shattered her shoulder, and the events nearly shattered her faith as well. She uses each chapter to encourage your faith in God to grow, like that of a tiny mustard seed. Jesus said that if we only had as much faith as the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains. Coulter uses hers to move the mountains of doubt, anger, grief, and pain and return to the God who never left her. Her honesty is refreshing, like a cool drink of water. I enjoyed spending time every day with Coulter.

In the span of several years, author Lynn Coulter lost both her parents, her husband lost his job and she shattered her shoulder. These blows very nearly shattered her faith, but through God, Coulter was steered back on course. In her debut Christian book, Mustard Seeds, Coulter chronicles her walk of faith, pondering mercy, love, patience and grace.

When Coulter was a child in Sunday school, she received a mustard seed necklace. The piece of plastic may have cost mere cents, but Coulter held it in high esteem. Like her faith, Coulter misplaced her mustard seed necklace, and never recovered it. She was more fortunate with her faith.

Mustard Seeds --also an appropriate title for this avid gardener--comprises 15 essays. These morsels of Coulter's life are melded together with scripture and blended with prayer and "seeds of faith."

The result is an uplifting, lovely read on the simplicity and healing powers of prayer in times of distress. And, as Coulter points out, things will go wrong. But that too is part of life. Coulter herself weathered natural disasters, watched her husband live in a trailer park, juggling odd jobs to make ends meet, and navigated the concrete jungle of Atlanta's roads.

Through the book and through God, Coulter navigates her way to the other side using the God signs she sees.

I'll admit that the Christian genre is not something I'm usually drawn to. Lynn Coulter's voice woven throughout scripture makes Mustard Seeds a hard book to put down.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting story of one woman's faith journey.

I could not put this book down. I laughed and cried and did not want it to end. I felt I was looking in a mirror and having a friend there beside me holding my hand. I immediately went a purchased 6 copies and gave it as a "love gift" to my sisters, mother and best friends.

From page one on Coulter draws in the reader with her engaging story telling in Mustard Seeds. She does this by using her mustard seed trinket from her early faith as a metaphor of a child-like faith rediscovered in a grown up world. The narratives compellingly weave in Coulter's real-life experiences to candidly share how we can misplace our faith--just like her mustard seed trinket--in our post-childhood days with the distractions of devastation, busyness, and just about anything else that takes our eye off the ball in matters of faith. Coulter is a winsome and poignant traveling companion on the journey of faith. Her insights and overcoming faith found in this gem have deepened my faith and nurtured my soul. Mustard Seeds is a must read.

Lynn Coulter's Mustard Seeds takes the reader through a honest, heartfelt recounting of how her faith suffered during a time of tremendous personal loss in a short time span. Coulter relates how her faith was restored in ways both large and small and in so doing shows her readers that many things we take for granted are actually opportunities for spiritual growth. I started reading the book from the perspective of how to find God's love during times of stress but soon realized that the beautiful lessons shown in each chapter can strengthen one's faith during good times as well. Mustard Seeds is a perfect gift to yourself or anyone else you care about!

Mustard Seeds is truly a book that feels like spending time with your best friend. Lynn Coulter gently takes your hand, assuring of God's deep and abiding love, especially in the midst of your most difficult times. A gifted writer, she shares her own "lifequakes" with honesty and intimacy. Her words are eloquent and simple, giving many visual "seeds" promising to nurture, water, strengthen and grow your faith. My favorite chapter is "A Fragile Peace". Tender, comforting and filled with wisdom, Mustard Seeds touches with a warm embrace of encouragement from a dear and trusted friend. This is a book I will read again and again. I cannot wait to read Lynn Coulter's next book! As with faith and friendship, Mustard Seeds is meant to be shared, and is perfect for gift giving.

Excellent book because it is a gentle but truly stated experience that the author has with God. I enjoyed reading how she lives her life with God as her focus and it brought me more understanding in my own faith.

Thanks for such a nice easy read that brought a calmness to my soul.

Mustard Seeds offers encouragement and hope to the reader. The honest writing of Lynn Coulter is a tremendous faith builder. Perhaps we have not gone through the surmountable trials as the writer but for many of us we have walked in those footsteps. Hold on, trust God, even if that trust in our faith is no bigger than a Mustard Seed.
It is so beautifully written and the jacket illustration sets the pace for the personal story that awaits us.
One reviewer wrote that "a book that feels like spending time with your best friend," perfectly said.
Thank you Lynn for your story and again for the comforting hope that Faith Prevails.