The 5th Street Candle Collection - Stories
The photo on the Wedding Day Candle is my parents wedding photo from January 29, 1960. The recipe on the candle is for Wedding Cake cupcakes and they are delicious! The subtle fragrance of this candle will give your home an amazing aroma of vanilla and buttery Wedding Cake. It's a pick-me-up celebration in a jar (or melts) for any day.
The story behind...The Wedding Candle
True Love
By Shelly Thompson
I went with my Dad to the cemetery for my parents first wedding anniversary after my mom went home. It was January 29, 2019. It was a wintery cold Iowa day. Fresh snow had just fallen on the already existing multiple inches of snow on teh ground. When my Dad and I arrived at where my mom was buried the snow was several inches deep. I had worn boots, but my dad just had his regular shoes on. It was a distance of several feet from where we parked to where my mom’s body was buried. I told my Dad I would walk over and place the small miniature red roses we brought (her favorite), but he insisted he would take them. I watched him stumble through the frozen snow until he reached the perfect spot to place the roses. He put them in the ground and then we both stood there for just a moment...winter wind blowing, yet a there was a stillness in the air. He began talking about the day they got married 60 years ago.
He began sharing his memories. Although the wind was blowing, there was a quietness as if time stood still as he spoke making the lifetime of memories seem like yesterday. He mentioned how the years were over before he knew it. It had all went so fast. I remembered the many times, my Dad put my mom and us girls first. It should have a picture of my Dad in the dictionary under loyal.
We quietly drove back to town and went our separate ways until we met later for dinner. My Dad casually mentioned it was good to finally get home and get his wet socks off. He had been busy after we visited the cemetery. I didn’t realize his socks had been soaked all day long from his walk in the snow. I know it’s crazy...because I am writing this in the middle of the night...but when I look at this picture...I just see my Dad’s shoes. Really??? His shoes???
By Shelly Thompson
I went with my Dad to the cemetery for my parents first wedding anniversary after my mom went home. It was January 29, 2019. It was a wintery cold Iowa day. Fresh snow had just fallen on the already existing multiple inches of snow on teh ground. When my Dad and I arrived at where my mom was buried the snow was several inches deep. I had worn boots, but my dad just had his regular shoes on. It was a distance of several feet from where we parked to where my mom’s body was buried. I told my Dad I would walk over and place the small miniature red roses we brought (her favorite), but he insisted he would take them. I watched him stumble through the frozen snow until he reached the perfect spot to place the roses. He put them in the ground and then we both stood there for just a moment...winter wind blowing, yet a there was a stillness in the air. He began talking about the day they got married 60 years ago.
He began sharing his memories. Although the wind was blowing, there was a quietness as if time stood still as he spoke making the lifetime of memories seem like yesterday. He mentioned how the years were over before he knew it. It had all went so fast. I remembered the many times, my Dad put my mom and us girls first. It should have a picture of my Dad in the dictionary under loyal.
We quietly drove back to town and went our separate ways until we met later for dinner. My Dad casually mentioned it was good to finally get home and get his wet socks off. He had been busy after we visited the cemetery. I didn’t realize his socks had been soaked all day long from his walk in the snow. I know it’s crazy...because I am writing this in the middle of the night...but when I look at this picture...I just see my Dad’s shoes. Really??? His shoes???
He didn’t have to take her flowers...he didn’t have to walk across the deep snow to personally place them, but he wanted to. I think of that song...I will rescue you. I am so lucky I have an earthy father who would do anything for his family, despite weather, age, or any obstacle. That's exactly the type of husband he was to my mom. He lived through in sickness and in health, for richer and poorer, for better and worse...and sometimes even worse. Yet, he was steadfast and faithful...until my mom's last breath on this earth.
Sweet friend, we have a God...a Father in heaven...who does even more than my earthly Father! God never leaves us alone...He’ll walk on frozen ground...across oceans...down wedding isles...hospital hallways...prison cells...funeral homes...He doesn’t care if His Holy feet get wet pursuing His children. That’s love. Pure love. A love that lasts for eternity. A love that can never be taken. A love that is soaked in the blood of the cross. That kind of love can only come from our Father in heaven and His only son, Jesus Christ.
As my Dad demonstrated that cold Iowa winter day, I am deeply touched at my Dad’s devotion as a husband and a father. How proud God must have been of my Dads soaked socks.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:21-28
Sweet friend, we have a God...a Father in heaven...who does even more than my earthly Father! God never leaves us alone...He’ll walk on frozen ground...across oceans...down wedding isles...hospital hallways...prison cells...funeral homes...He doesn’t care if His Holy feet get wet pursuing His children. That’s love. Pure love. A love that lasts for eternity. A love that can never be taken. A love that is soaked in the blood of the cross. That kind of love can only come from our Father in heaven and His only son, Jesus Christ.
As my Dad demonstrated that cold Iowa winter day, I am deeply touched at my Dad’s devotion as a husband and a father. How proud God must have been of my Dads soaked socks.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:21-28
Welcome to 5th Street.
Welcome! If you've purchased a candle from the 5th Street Candle Collection, I personally, hope you are enjoying it. Welcome to something different 'The 5th Street Candle Collection' from our family to yours...tied with apron strings...faith in God’s plan...and love. These candles were created from the book 'Heart of a Warrior - A Legacy of Faith', now in it's 4th printing. 'Heart of a Warrior - A Legacy of Faith' was written after the passing of my mother. It's about my years growing up on 5th Street, a quaint little neighborhood tucked in Highland Park in Des Moines, Iowa. Our neighborhood was like the fictional Mayberry. There's so much of my history, my roots, on the big hill of 5th Street. It's where my story begins. If you can, visualize the tidy well manicured lawns of 5th Street, with small cozy homes lining the big hill...porches where you were always welcome and the neighbors visited over coffee and sweet tea as flags waved in the breeze...you're in the right spot, welcome to my childhood neighborhood.
In my book 'Heart of a Warrior' - A Legacy of Faith, I had the amazing honor to introduce readers to the ‘Warrior’s’ of 5th Street. A special place God planted a group of elderly women, mostly widows, that helped raise two young girls, as my mom was misdiagnosed and finally, even institutionalized. Among these faithful sweet women (I refer to them as the Aunt Bea’s of Mayberry in ‘Heart of a Warrior') was my sweet grandmother (Millie McKeever-Stout) and grandfather, four houses away. As my Dad spent time at the hospital with my mom, my grandparents, and God’s faithful Warrior’s of 5th Street...the Aunt Bea’s, helped raise two young girls. Each devotion in ‘Heart of a Warrior’ - A Legacy of Faith, introduces you to these Aunt Bea’s of 5th Street sharing their story in a tiny version of a real life Mayberry, where God moved mountains...in the ordinary small acts of His Warrior’s
The 5th Street Candle Collection was created to share the stories of the women of 5th Street from the book ‘Heart of a Warrior’ - A Legacy of Faith. These one-of-a-kind unique candles bring the devotions in 'Heart of a Warrior' to life. The simple brown tag on the candles have their favorite recipe (often the very scent the candle was created from) and part of their encouraging story. These candles light the flame of hope and encouragement, passed down from the 5th Street Warriors to you. A flame of love and devotion to God that will not be snuffed out from generation to generation.
The candles are made locally in Walnut, Iowa by a candlemaker. They are hand poured one at a time with pure soy and exceptionally high quality ingredients made only in the USA. These special candles tell a story. They're different. Just like the neighborhood on 5th Street, when you light the flame, you'll remember...a place where your memories and 5th Street intersect and your home is filled with the scent of cherished memories, laughter, and happiness in simpler times.
These candles are special...because they've been created to honor real people, real lives, and real women who had a story to tell. Welcome to 5th Street, relax sweet friend, you've found a place that is warm, welcoming, and filled with hope.
Blessings, Shelly Thompson
Author and Publisher of The Notebook Cafe - Inspired Words for the Journey
Welcome! If you've purchased a candle from the 5th Street Candle Collection, I personally, hope you are enjoying it. Welcome to something different 'The 5th Street Candle Collection' from our family to yours...tied with apron strings...faith in God’s plan...and love. These candles were created from the book 'Heart of a Warrior - A Legacy of Faith', now in it's 4th printing. 'Heart of a Warrior - A Legacy of Faith' was written after the passing of my mother. It's about my years growing up on 5th Street, a quaint little neighborhood tucked in Highland Park in Des Moines, Iowa. Our neighborhood was like the fictional Mayberry. There's so much of my history, my roots, on the big hill of 5th Street. It's where my story begins. If you can, visualize the tidy well manicured lawns of 5th Street, with small cozy homes lining the big hill...porches where you were always welcome and the neighbors visited over coffee and sweet tea as flags waved in the breeze...you're in the right spot, welcome to my childhood neighborhood.
In my book 'Heart of a Warrior' - A Legacy of Faith, I had the amazing honor to introduce readers to the ‘Warrior’s’ of 5th Street. A special place God planted a group of elderly women, mostly widows, that helped raise two young girls, as my mom was misdiagnosed and finally, even institutionalized. Among these faithful sweet women (I refer to them as the Aunt Bea’s of Mayberry in ‘Heart of a Warrior') was my sweet grandmother (Millie McKeever-Stout) and grandfather, four houses away. As my Dad spent time at the hospital with my mom, my grandparents, and God’s faithful Warrior’s of 5th Street...the Aunt Bea’s, helped raise two young girls. Each devotion in ‘Heart of a Warrior’ - A Legacy of Faith, introduces you to these Aunt Bea’s of 5th Street sharing their story in a tiny version of a real life Mayberry, where God moved mountains...in the ordinary small acts of His Warrior’s
The 5th Street Candle Collection was created to share the stories of the women of 5th Street from the book ‘Heart of a Warrior’ - A Legacy of Faith. These one-of-a-kind unique candles bring the devotions in 'Heart of a Warrior' to life. The simple brown tag on the candles have their favorite recipe (often the very scent the candle was created from) and part of their encouraging story. These candles light the flame of hope and encouragement, passed down from the 5th Street Warriors to you. A flame of love and devotion to God that will not be snuffed out from generation to generation.
The candles are made locally in Walnut, Iowa by a candlemaker. They are hand poured one at a time with pure soy and exceptionally high quality ingredients made only in the USA. These special candles tell a story. They're different. Just like the neighborhood on 5th Street, when you light the flame, you'll remember...a place where your memories and 5th Street intersect and your home is filled with the scent of cherished memories, laughter, and happiness in simpler times.
These candles are special...because they've been created to honor real people, real lives, and real women who had a story to tell. Welcome to 5th Street, relax sweet friend, you've found a place that is warm, welcoming, and filled with hope.
Blessings, Shelly Thompson
Author and Publisher of The Notebook Cafe - Inspired Words for the Journey
‘Heart of a Warrior’ - A Legacy of Faith
Now in its fifth printing, this special book shared so many of those cherished moments from 5th Street. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, buried in between encouraging and inspirational posts on The Notebook Cafe Facebook page, I’ve shared the words God has put on my heart about my family, growing up on 5th Street, a legacy of faith handed down from generation to generation, laughter and joy a family celebrated life with, deep grief and loss including saying goodbye temporarily to my mom until the great reunion in heaven...and so much more. In His beautiful design...God shared the ordinary lives of 5th Street, and expanded the neighborhood to include so many people across the United States...thousands have ventured back to 5th Steet through the pages of ‘Heart of a Warrior’ - A Legacy of Faith, and became part of our story. Seriously, I am so overwhelmed and humbled by all that God has done. So much more than I could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). Click here to learn more...the book ships free. Heart of a Warrior |