The 5th Street Candle Collection - Stories
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The Sycamore Log Church was built in 1933 by the people of the Garber community in the Ozark Mountains just outside of Branson, Missouri. Everything inside of the log cabin church is original. Services are held each Sunday morning at 9:30. It's a joy to attend this simple, yet powerful little church, where so many have worshipped before.
The story behind...Sycamore Log Church Candle
I love to visit Sycamore Log Church. It feels like home to my heart. Maybe that's because my mom grew up in a church much like this in the South.
It all started eight years ago while in Branson, Missouri, when my husband returned from golfing he said, “I found something you need to see”. He drove through back roads of the Ozark mountains and in 25 minutes, as we turned a curve on the mountain road there appeared the most charming little log cabin church. As I peeked in the windows I saw the old wooden pews, the wooden podium made from one of the trees that most likely had stood tall on this mountain, and each hand sewn wood beam...the log structure itself was breathtaking. As I stood at the window, I thought to myself...this would be an awesome place to bring a group of women someday. I remember thanking God for showing me a special little place called Sycamore Log church in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. I drew a heart that day on the window because that church had a special place in my heart from the moment I saw it.
It all started eight years ago while in Branson, Missouri, when my husband returned from golfing he said, “I found something you need to see”. He drove through back roads of the Ozark mountains and in 25 minutes, as we turned a curve on the mountain road there appeared the most charming little log cabin church. As I peeked in the windows I saw the old wooden pews, the wooden podium made from one of the trees that most likely had stood tall on this mountain, and each hand sewn wood beam...the log structure itself was breathtaking. As I stood at the window, I thought to myself...this would be an awesome place to bring a group of women someday. I remember thanking God for showing me a special little place called Sycamore Log church in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. I drew a heart that day on the window because that church had a special place in my heart from the moment I saw it.
I drew this heart on the window eight years ago when I first saw this beautiful little log cabin church in the woods.
Built in 1933, this beautiful log cabin church is a sanctuary in the Ozark Mountains to all who find its shelter.
I visited that little log cabin church many times over the next few years. It became sacred ground to me. I knew every inch of the ground the log cabin sat on. I had walked beside the quiet stream that flows along the church many times. I had seen God create beautiful backdrops for Sycamore Log Church of fall colored autumn foliage, summer breezes with birds happily chirping, and snow softly covering the mountain.
Five years after first seeing Sycamore Log Church…in November of 2022, I brought our first woman’s retreat to Sycamore Log Church. We sang and worshipped at this sacred little church. My heart remembered peeking in the dust covered window years before.
At our second women's retreat in 2023 we wrote special prayers known only to God, and prayed over them in the little log church. We left our bag of prayers and the congregation prayed over them too. Then they burned our prayers and scattered the ashes in the mountains.
Five years after first seeing Sycamore Log Church…in November of 2022, I brought our first woman’s retreat to Sycamore Log Church. We sang and worshipped at this sacred little church. My heart remembered peeking in the dust covered window years before.
At our second women's retreat in 2023 we wrote special prayers known only to God, and prayed over them in the little log church. We left our bag of prayers and the congregation prayed over them too. Then they burned our prayers and scattered the ashes in the mountains.
Our women's retreat group in November 2023 praying over our written prayers inside Sycamore Log Church.
My husband and I have attended worship at this special little sanctuary as often as we can, including the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in 2024. I have brought my granddaughters here.
A few years ago there was a small congregation of 11 at Sycamore Log Church. When we visited during the summer of 2024 the door of the church had to be open…because the church was so full (about 60 people) the overflow sat outside. By fall, Sycamore Log church had grown so much…they started another church in a remote area in an old school, Pine Top Church. Pine Top Church is beautiful and so tranquil surrounded by massive trees that appear to touch the sky.
A few years ago there was a small congregation of 11 at Sycamore Log Church. When we visited during the summer of 2024 the door of the church had to be open…because the church was so full (about 60 people) the overflow sat outside. By fall, Sycamore Log church had grown so much…they started another church in a remote area in an old school, Pine Top Church. Pine Top Church is beautiful and so tranquil surrounded by massive trees that appear to touch the sky.
This is Pine Top Church. The attendance has grown so much at Sycamore Log Church, a second church was needed to house everyone.
Only God could grow a mustard seed of faith in these remote mountains. Where the roads are winding and narrow. Rolling pastures filled with cows and wooded landscapes of the mountains dot the scenery. A beauty and peacefulness that makes heaven feel close.
Only God.
Have faith that what you've placed before the Lord, He can handle. He sees through the dust covered windows of your heart. He is faithful. Your mustard seed will grow.
This fragrance of the Sycamore Log Church Candle reminds me of walking alongside that church with my husband for the first time, with the groups of women I've taken there for our retreats, and the many times I've just stood on that sacred ground to pray. I hope it will be a reminder for you of the beauty God surrounds us with all the time in His amazing creation, and a reminder that He is faithful.
*Twenty percent of all Sycamore Log Church Candles and soap sales will be donated as an offering to Sycamore Log Church. The work they do is amazing and honors God.
Only God.
Have faith that what you've placed before the Lord, He can handle. He sees through the dust covered windows of your heart. He is faithful. Your mustard seed will grow.
This fragrance of the Sycamore Log Church Candle reminds me of walking alongside that church with my husband for the first time, with the groups of women I've taken there for our retreats, and the many times I've just stood on that sacred ground to pray. I hope it will be a reminder for you of the beauty God surrounds us with all the time in His amazing creation, and a reminder that He is faithful.
*Twenty percent of all Sycamore Log Church Candles and soap sales will be donated as an offering to Sycamore Log Church. The work they do is amazing and honors God.
Our women's 2023 women's retreat outside of Sycamore Log Church.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121:1-8
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 |