All posts by Keith Thompson

Indian Springs Georgia

Uncategorized

I love history and I really love historic hotels. I have sold probably 20-25 historic hotels over the years that date back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. With each one I dig deep into its history and am fascinated by its past and how the people lived in that time period.

Probably one of the most amazing and interesting stories I have ever encountered is about Indian Springs Georgia. The town is about 60-70 miles south of Atlanta and today has a Georgia State Park on the land that once was an Indian reservation. The area has waters falls, camping, cabins and all the components you would expect in a state park. Indian Springs has also been known for centuries for its naturally produced healing mineral water. People would travel hundreds and even thousands of miles for the water. It is produced by a natural underground stream and the mineral water is so dense it smells like rotten eggs but is said to have healed all manner of diseases from arthritis, kidneys, and various wounds to cardio vascular issues.

120 years ago it also had (as I believe) the first Indian Casino in the country. Yes gambling. Today is just a State Park where you would go for camping and picnics and there is also the little town of Indian Springs just above the park and that is where this story begins.

Elaine and I were down there a couple of years back and we went through an antique store just looking around. While we worked our way through the store we went into a back room and they had these large pictures on the wall of hotels. I mean big hotels. Well as you can guess, it peeked my interest and I began asking questions about the hotels. The story is that around 1895 – 1905 there were 10 hotels at Indian Springs that catered to tourists. This flabbergasted me because there are no hotels there now and to my knowledge had never been. The story is that Indian Springs used to be like the Vegas of the east coast 120 years ago. People would travel via railroad from all across the country to vacation in Indian Springs. They had restaurants, bowling alleys, drinking, gambling and added to that the healing waters. It was basically a very desirable resort area that was known nationwide. Ha.

In 1920 the Government initiated Prohibition which made it illegal to sell alcohol and the big hotels in Indian Springs all got into financial trouble. The people that enjoyed all the gambling, liquor and other activities stopped coming. Shortly thereafter several of the large historical hotels mystically burned to the ground all within the same week. I can’t image why that would be. Can you? Ha. The remaining hotels slumbered through the recession years and were eventually torn down. When that happened the resort town of Indian Springs Georgia returned back to a little town existence with a State Park.

The story of Indian Springs Georgia is one of those tales of lore about a time period of great prosperity and vibrancy that only lasted a short number of years. When I think about these type stories, I think of the people that are all long deceased and the lives that changed during that period in the early 1900’s.

It still gives me pause wondering what it must have been like during that time. Hope you enjoyed this little American history lesson. KT

Someday

Uncategorized

We all have hopes and dreams of a someday in our life.

It goes like this; someday I will be happy, Someday I will be confident, someday I will have friends, someday I won’t be afraid, someday they will love me, someday I will be accepted, someday I will be in shape, someday I will know God’s plan for my life, someday I won’t be intimidated, someday, someday, someday.

I am here to tell you that God’s someday is today. He is the God of hopes, dreams and desires and he wants you to have the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4 says “Take delight in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Your someday starts with having a real prayer with God about what is going on in your life. Not just a prayer where you ask God to forgive you your sins and let the sun shine tomorrow. A real fervent prayer where you ask God how to start and where to begin.

There are many people that pass away with “someday” dreams that will never be realized. You choose. Yes, It is your choose. When you choose God and his will for your life, I believe he starts immediately helping you get to the place he wants you to be and begins the process of turning “someday” into “today.” KT

Gilded age

Life

For some reason I am enamored with the gilded age of America. The term refers to 1870-1905 when industrialism was king in the US. It was a time of peace for America and accretive wealth for those people that owned companies that specialized in steel, manufacturing, building, newspapers and with the beginning of the automobile.

The examples that come to mind were the families like Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Goodyear, Firestone and families that owned steel companies, railroads, newspapers etc.

The time period 1870-1905 was a euphoric time of peace, prosperity and happiness. For a select few that is. The automobile, radio and telephone were new inventions and the future of America seemed endless. Mansions of Newport Road Island, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and Millionaire’s Village on Jekyll Island were examples of the expression of wealth these families wanted to portray.

In Newport Road Island there are streets filled with historic mansions and the wealthy families that owned them would spend their summers in Newport. They would host and or attend nightly parties at different homes. The objective seemed to be having the best party that was bigger and better attended than their neighbor’s party. It was a social status thing and there were many nights that several families would have parties and the guests would go from party to party. It was told that the first party host would do almost anything to keep the people from leaving and attending someone else’s party. Again a pride, ego and status and social thing.

While is hard to believe, these families would have a clothing budget for the summer of 20-30 thousand dollars each. Their party budget was several hundred thousand dollars for the summer. To give you some perspective on how much money that was in 1900, the average US citizen earned $9.00 a week. A school teacher’s salary was $6.30 a week. So when these wealthy families would spend 200k on parties for the summer you can get some idea of what I am talking about.

Why am I talking about this? Many of these families were unchurched, unsaved and died with no eternal salvation. Their God was money and status. Outside of the gilded age, there is no period in US history where wealth had clouded common sense as much as then. Many of these people literally lost their minds when they became older and could not show off their wealth and compete with the younger ones. It was a thing that drove many of them mad because the need to compete and impress was so powerful, it destroyed many of their lives. Also keep in mind that many of these families did not earn a dime on their own and many were the children of wealthy industrialists that were living off of their parent’s financial success.

Every generation has to find its own footing and anchor in life. I think it is great to see people have some success in their life and not change everything about who they are and still be the same people. During the Gilded age, people just seemed to have lost all control over perspective. Go to google and look up “Newport mansions” and then hit the “images” tab and you will see what I mean. The pictures you see were their summer homes. ha

Keeping it real should be our objective. KT

Do you need God when things are good?

Family, Life

Many people don’t think they need Jesus when everything is good. When the bills are paid and children are healthy and the job is going great, some people don’t really think they need a relationship. Are they correct? It is amazing to me how that attitude changes when the situation changes.

You have heard me tell this story but it is worth telling again. Imagine you are at the beach with your girlfriend and you are a little on the skinny side. Along comes a big muscular guy who steals your girlfriend. You get mad and start doing pushups and sit-ups. Ha. The problem is it is too late to start working out at that point. That is how many people think spiritually in that they only need to start praying and seeking God when something bad has happened.

I think he really savors our prayers and thanksgiving when things are good in our life and not just when we get into trouble.

I hear a bunch of people saying that they are atheist and do not believe there is a God. I will tell you that anyone who says that has never been in trouble or ever had a sick child. One thing I am certain of is that during war time there were no soldiers that when into battle saying there is no God. The opposite is probably true. They called out to God for protection and wanted him near.

I believe it is especially sweet to God when we are faithful in the good times and not just when we are down. That is why I believe tithing is so very special because believe it or not, it is always easier to give when you need God’s help and much harder to give when things are going good. Percentage giving keeps things on an even basis and the giving amount moves with the income. It is the consistency of faith or the act of faith that moves God.

I believe we need God even more when things are good because we need his wisdom and guidance even more at that time. It is when things are going good that we need to be the most vigilant and most careful about our thinking. One of the finest men I have ever known was as passionate in his prayer life in good times as well as bad. When you heard him pray you would never know if things were up or down in his life. He was always the same.

God wants to hear from us in all situations of life from the small to the large, from the important to the seemingly insignificant, when things are good as well as when thing are troublesome, in need or in lack, in health or in sickness. He already knows everything going on in your life and he will not be surprised by what you tell him. He just wants to hear your voice reaching out to him. KT

I never got that far in my dreams

Uncategorized

When Bubba Watson won the masters golf tournament last year, they were interviewing him afterwards. He said while growing up and dreaming about a career in professional golf, “I never got this far in my dreams.” He was crying and so very humble. It made you want to pull for him.

What a profound statement. “I never got this far in my dreams.” Think about that a minute. We probably all have experienced that. I know that when Elaine and I were just starting out, I could not even dream of the life we have today. With no formal education, my biggest dream was good job, healthy family and a stable life.

I believe God looks at us and knows our dreams but he also knows our potential. His dreams are always far and away larger and so much bigger than we can imagine. I believe if you let him, he will take you to a place you never could imagine being.

Our level of dreams are based largely on our environment and the people around us but God’s dream and perfect will for our life is the unimaginable and the gift from God almighty. KT