The 5th Street Candle Collection - Stories
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This photo on the Millie's Warm Apple Cobbler Candle is me and my grandmother in 1966. We had just finished doing some sewing. She was also an excellent baker! This candle has her apple cobbler recipe on the tag. You’ll love the aroma of this candle with its warm apple, brown sugar, and light buttery aroma.
The story behind...Millie's Warm Apple Cobbler
A Warrior’s Heart for Ordinary - A Rolling Pin, Pie Tin, and Red Checkered Cookbook
- Taken from the book 'Heart of a Warrior'
By Shelly Thompson
My mom and grandmother were excellent cooks. They could make something good out of nothing. I am not saying they could make water out of wine, but they could make water into a meal with a few seasonings…somehow. Their cooking made the entire 5th Street neighborhood the best smell in all of Highland Park. Although I am not the best cook I was the lucky recipient of my grandma’s very old and extremely well used pie tin along with her green handled rolling pin, and my mom’s red and white checkered Better Homes and Garden’s cookbook.
One fall afternoon I lovingly retrieved their treasured old cooking items. As I turned the pages of my mom’s cookbook looking for her apple pie recipe, a few tears dropped on the pages thinking of all the times my mom had turned these pages too. After a brief nostalgic trip down memory lane, I was armed with my mom’s apple pie recipe, my grandma’s rolling pin and her pie tin. Soon I had the perfect apple pie cooling on the counter. As I looked at the counter with my mother and grandmother’s things I thought of all the times I saw them used. They seemed ordinary. But now, they seemed extra’ordinary’ I treasured them. I also discovered even though they are no longer here…using the recipe from my mom’s old red and white checked cookbook I could make a perfect apple pie. That was nothing short of a miracle.
My grandma’s rolling pin was caked with flour when I received it. I am sure that ‘caking process’ was years in the making. I guess she felt that caked flour on her rolling pin wasn’t the end of the world. My mom’s cookbook contained many small spills on its frequently used pages that showed years of use from finding recipes for different meals. In the 1940’s when my grandmother first bought her pie tin it was probably spotless. It was now worn with an aged patina from being in the oven hundreds of times. As I look with my heart I can see these seemingly ordinary things tell a piece of their story. These items represent them well. I’ve discovered clues about them even in the ordinary things they left behind.
They weren’t afraid to let life get a little messy...they knew that just like a pie, eventually everything in life would get mixed together and over time...God would see that it would come out exactly as it should. They knew life’s tough lessons might ‘cake them with a coating of flour’ or ‘stain a few of their pages’. They didn’t expect life to be perfect. In their wisdom, they also knew being baked sometimes created a unique beauty, like patina on the pie tin. Life without them has been so different. I think of all the seemingly ordinary days when these items were used for ordinary living and the special meaning they now hold.
I’ve learned I took for granted the ordinary...I never thought about getting these items out and baking when my mom and grandmother were no longer here. When we baked together it was just another day of baking. Of course it was fun and enjoyable but I wouldn’t have thought it was extra’ordinary’...it was an ordinary day on 5th Street. Those kitchen moments were the essence of life....the laughter...the spills...the discussion on the pie crust not being perfect...cleaning the dishes...the smell wafting through the house of warm apple or cherry pie...it seemed so absolutely ordinary, but I can see now those days were anything but…they were ‘extra’ordinary.
We saw pies in the making. God saw lives in the living. We saw ordinary...but God was actually giving us the extra’ordinary’...the small moments that turn into years...the years turning into a legacy and finally, a new appreciation in the true value of the gifts from the Father. We discover gifts that seem like ‘just another day’ are actually the essence of this life. Even the days we feel like we’re being ‘baked’ too long in situations...God’s watching the timer making sure the temperature and timing are just right. Because He wants to give us the ‘extra’ordinary...that creates a grateful heart towards Him and an appreciation for the everyday moments.
- Taken from the book 'Heart of a Warrior'
By Shelly Thompson
My mom and grandmother were excellent cooks. They could make something good out of nothing. I am not saying they could make water out of wine, but they could make water into a meal with a few seasonings…somehow. Their cooking made the entire 5th Street neighborhood the best smell in all of Highland Park. Although I am not the best cook I was the lucky recipient of my grandma’s very old and extremely well used pie tin along with her green handled rolling pin, and my mom’s red and white checkered Better Homes and Garden’s cookbook.
One fall afternoon I lovingly retrieved their treasured old cooking items. As I turned the pages of my mom’s cookbook looking for her apple pie recipe, a few tears dropped on the pages thinking of all the times my mom had turned these pages too. After a brief nostalgic trip down memory lane, I was armed with my mom’s apple pie recipe, my grandma’s rolling pin and her pie tin. Soon I had the perfect apple pie cooling on the counter. As I looked at the counter with my mother and grandmother’s things I thought of all the times I saw them used. They seemed ordinary. But now, they seemed extra’ordinary’ I treasured them. I also discovered even though they are no longer here…using the recipe from my mom’s old red and white checked cookbook I could make a perfect apple pie. That was nothing short of a miracle.
My grandma’s rolling pin was caked with flour when I received it. I am sure that ‘caking process’ was years in the making. I guess she felt that caked flour on her rolling pin wasn’t the end of the world. My mom’s cookbook contained many small spills on its frequently used pages that showed years of use from finding recipes for different meals. In the 1940’s when my grandmother first bought her pie tin it was probably spotless. It was now worn with an aged patina from being in the oven hundreds of times. As I look with my heart I can see these seemingly ordinary things tell a piece of their story. These items represent them well. I’ve discovered clues about them even in the ordinary things they left behind.
They weren’t afraid to let life get a little messy...they knew that just like a pie, eventually everything in life would get mixed together and over time...God would see that it would come out exactly as it should. They knew life’s tough lessons might ‘cake them with a coating of flour’ or ‘stain a few of their pages’. They didn’t expect life to be perfect. In their wisdom, they also knew being baked sometimes created a unique beauty, like patina on the pie tin. Life without them has been so different. I think of all the seemingly ordinary days when these items were used for ordinary living and the special meaning they now hold.
I’ve learned I took for granted the ordinary...I never thought about getting these items out and baking when my mom and grandmother were no longer here. When we baked together it was just another day of baking. Of course it was fun and enjoyable but I wouldn’t have thought it was extra’ordinary’...it was an ordinary day on 5th Street. Those kitchen moments were the essence of life....the laughter...the spills...the discussion on the pie crust not being perfect...cleaning the dishes...the smell wafting through the house of warm apple or cherry pie...it seemed so absolutely ordinary, but I can see now those days were anything but…they were ‘extra’ordinary.
We saw pies in the making. God saw lives in the living. We saw ordinary...but God was actually giving us the extra’ordinary’...the small moments that turn into years...the years turning into a legacy and finally, a new appreciation in the true value of the gifts from the Father. We discover gifts that seem like ‘just another day’ are actually the essence of this life. Even the days we feel like we’re being ‘baked’ too long in situations...God’s watching the timer making sure the temperature and timing are just right. Because He wants to give us the ‘extra’ordinary...that creates a grateful heart towards Him and an appreciation for the everyday moments.
Putting this into action – Do you think of the everyday moments as gifts from God? Do you use His gift of time creating extra’ordinary’ moments wisely? If you really understood that someday someone would use your material possessions like a rolling pin, cookbook, and pie tin after you were gone…would this create memories for them of how much you loved and served God? Would they be able to relate what you leave behind with your love for God and your capacity to love them?
There is not one single moment of our lives God has not seen. He sees things from the beginning to the end. He knows what we’ll leave behind. I hope someday my legacy receives that empty pie tin and God shows them all the memories created in that stained old pan with years of patina…and their hearts will know that they were anything but ordinary…they were ‘extra’ordinary’ moments creating the heart of a Warrior.
Putting this into action – Do you think of the everyday moments as gifts from God? Do you use His gift of time creating extra’ordinary’ moments wisely? If you really understood that someday someone would use your material possessions like a rolling pin, cookbook, and pie tin after you were gone…would this create memories for them of how much you loved and served God? Would they be able to relate what you leave behind with your love for God and your capacity to love them?
There is not one single moment of our lives God has not seen. He sees things from the beginning to the end. He knows what we’ll leave behind. I hope someday my legacy receives that empty pie tin and God shows them all the memories created in that stained old pan with years of patina…and their hearts will know that they were anything but ordinary…they were ‘extra’ordinary’ moments creating the heart of a Warrior.
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 6th 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 6th 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
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‘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 |