Some Left Woodstock & Some Are Still There

Posted on February 25, 2015 by eternalpioneer

In a recent radio interview with my old friend Charlie Olson, at East Texas Broadcasting,

KBUS Radio

he was excited to talk about Woodstock, because it is such an icon in American Folklore.

Whether you agree with it or disagree, everybody has heard about the Rock Festival in the ’60’s that came to symbolize the hippie movement.

I remembered a friend I worked with that had been to Woodstock, was a little older than me, and still grew his hair out past his shoulders, clinging to the image he had in the old days. I used to say to him, “you know, the difference between you and me is that I left Woodstock, but you are still there.”

I see this concept in all the “veterans” of Woodstock that I have met over the years. The ones who have left are usually found in churches, where their previous affiliation with the psychedelic sub-culture is seldom mentioned. The ones who are still there are usually

Woodstock Festival 1969

found on motorcycles, or in old pickup trucks with long gray hair and whiskers. The funny thing is, in Texas at least, they both share the same political views about the government. Leave my guns alone, kill the terrorists, and get out of my life.

The spiritual view is what is most important, however. The Bible tells us

“…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Also, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The popularity of the Woodstock ideology was that it would bring peace and love to the world, as if it could be a substitute for Christianity. Those who are still in Woodstock are still hanging on to these ideals – they do not want to forget those things that are behind them. Those who have left have found a new life in Christ, and have let Woodstock pass away.

Perhaps the ones who are in the worst shape are those who have become new, but have not completely left Woodstock. But that is a topic for another story.

I Remember When

Posted on February 21, 2015 by eternalpioneer

Read this excerpt from a good friend of mine from the Woodstock era:

Can’t believe how much I enjoyed reading your book!

Of course you know I could identify with all the high school and B’burg references.

Let tell you some of my memories of some of the specific incidents you wrote about:

I was with you and Gregg for the Hardees incident. I recall Slate showing up with a crow bar that be kept under the front seat of his Mustang.

From Woodstock To Eternity

I also ran into Bill on my way home from a summer construction job in DC and told him I thought he had been killed in Vietnam. Don’t remember if I knew he had died.

Also ran into Steve E at a head shop in Falls Church and he was pretty strung out at the time.

I had my draft physical the same day as crazy Jim and rode on the bus from C’burg to Roanoke with him. Remember him in his big black boots and white underwear for the group part of the physical.

I went to Atlantic City Pop Festival where I heard about Woodstock. But decided not to go to W because I knew I would miss some work and could not afford to do that. Did also go to Evansville though….

Nothing like an eye witness account to tell the stories!!

I believe there are many out there with bottled up tales that they would like to tell. One of the missions of this blog is to provide a forum for people to vent and tell their stories, so please… leave your comments.

Due to the nature of the culture, it may sound impossible, but kindly leave out the profanity, sex and crude talk. We want everybody to be able to enjoy it.

Help for New Self Published Authors

Posted on February 10, 2015 by eternalpioneer

Some articles and books are better than others in giving useful information about publishing your own book. In a discussion group on my LinkedIn

Promoting and Marketing Your Book

account (join and connect with John Cooper), I met this author and book marketing pro, Florence Osmund. She shared a link to a page with enough information to keep an aspiring writer and self publisher busy for days. I know I will be.

She gives detailed information about promotion, marketing plans, using Amazon and Kindle to full advantage, social media tips, book review tips, and much more – along with a long list of websites to research in each of these categories.

I think any new author who is dipping their toes into the self promotion, self marketing

world can get a great education by spending a few hours going through the web links and doing some in depth research.

Thanks Florence! I know this will help me, and I hope it helps others as well.

The Spark of Transformation: It’s Not Working

Posted on February 9, 2015 by eternalpioneer

From Woodstock to Eternity Excerpt:

When he was fourteen, he wanted to mock the rules of society and got his picture in the

From Woodstock To Eternity

paper for having long hair. When he was sixteen, he snuck out of the house to hang out with the beatniks in Georgetown. When he was eighteen, he went to Woodstock. By the time he was twenty two, he had his own marijuana distribution network. He got saved and started flying, but he never changed his stripes. Everything he did in his adult life developed into a master plan to pursue the pleasures of the old world while reaping the benefits of the new. Now, his plan is on trial, and the final verdict is obvious. With a slab of sheet metal for a bed, and four walls of cinder blocks for a room, he has to admit to himself,

“It’s not working.”

Most Rehabilitation programs start with the acknowledgement that you need help. Whether it is AA, Drug rehab, or Christian Ministries like Celebrate Recovery or Regeneration. This is because, the One who is the power behind all Recovery, Jesus Christ, described the process in The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.

Luke 15:17-19

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have

In the Pig Pen

bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 “and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”

Before you can fix something in your own life, you have to admit that something is broken. You will never move on to finding help and solutions without first coming to the conclusion that what you have been doing is not working.

Unfortunately, this process forces the difficult conclusion that we were wrong, and it sometimes takes a big hammer to break our pride enough to admit that. For Dustin Morgan, God had to put him into a jail cell, with the threat of even greater jail time ahead if he didn’t change.

This is not a bad thing. When you humble yourself and admit that what you have been doing is not working, God gives you grace and power and light to see the new direction. That is why humility and brokenness is the Spark that ignites the Transformation.

Transformation: FROM Woodstock TO Eternity

Posted on January 24, 2015 by eternalpioneer

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

From the old ways

The one question radio interviewers seem to want answered concerning the book, From Woodstock to Eternity is: “In one word, what would you say the main message of this book is?”

The answer is – Transformation

But not just any old transformation. Dustin Morgan doesn’t go down easily. His transformation is not a simple makeover like a visit to a make up artist or a plastic surgeon. No, the reason this story can touch any one of us, is he fights tooth and nail to keep going his own way before he slowly makes the change from old to new.

Dustin has to come to a point where he realizes that the partying, drug dealing lifestyle, which he thought was the right way to go, was in fact destroying his life. So, even though

New Man – New Wife

he resisted giving up his old ways, God stayed with him and ultimately brought him out of that lifestyle.

When God did finally bring him out of that lifestyle, what did He transform? Just his heart? Just his mind? Did he change on the inside only to stay the same on the outside? Did he insist that nobody judge him, but value him for what he truly was inwardly?

No. Like the Scripture says, ALL things had to become new. His heart AND his clothes. His mind AND his speech. Jesus doesn’t just transform one little bit of us – He transforms ALL of us, and every bit of our being should radiate the light of his glory.

The Cadet and the Water Fountain

Posted on January 22, 2015 by eternalpioneer

Excerpt: From Woodstock To Eternity: Culture Wars

From Woodstock To Eternity

Blam!! The door right in front of him slams open and spits out a skin headed kid in a gray ROTC uniform, his back ram rod straight, his arms fixed at his sides – slightly bent at the elbow, his neck locked in place in line with his back, his eyes straight ahead. He takes two steps straight out of his room in front of Morgan. Morgan jumps back, startled out of his fog, and fixes his eyes in amazement on the cadet.

He stops at attention for half a second, then brings his right foot back behind his left foot and performs a flawless right face. He marches down the hallway with perfect precision, not flinching, not wavering, exactly two inches from the wall. He marches right up to the water fountain sticking out from the wall, does a sharp left face for two steps, a sharp right face for two steps, another sharp right face for two steps, then a sharp left face to continue marching down the hall, exactly two inches from the wall.

Freedom That Brings Victory

Morgan stands transfixed with his mouth open. He has never seen anything like it. He’s blown away by the precision and discipline the cadet just displayed walking down the hall…

“What must it be like to be under such control?” Morgan asks himself. “That was so strange! He looks like a robot, but he’s a man. …They have sucked all the life and freedom out of this guy and made him into an automated, mechanical, brain dead, machine! I can’t believe anyone would allow themselves to be subjected to this.”

That’s what it was, it was subjugation. That cadet, and everyone like him might as well have had their minds wrapped a thousand times with bands and chains until they had no will of their own. Then their heads were opened up, and they poured in the instructions, the rules, the involuntary servitude, like a bizarre, science fiction nightmare. …

Later in life, … He could now see the value of discipline and training for success. It takes discipline to wake up and get to work on time. You have to follow instructions to do your job right. If your job is highly intricate, or carries a lot of responsibility, your degree of discipline and your ability to stay under authority could make the difference between success and failure, maybe between life and death. One day he was reading in Psalm 2,

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,

“Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”

Psalm 2 Freedom

He coined the phrase for this so-called freedom from the disciplines of God’s direction:

PSALM 2 FREEDOM

Bondage to Freedom Part 1

Posted on January 14, 2015 by eternalpioneer

The World’s Freedom Brings Bondage

The world says, “It is not good to be restrained, all things are permissible, there is no right or wrong, no one should judge you.” This is their “freedom” from the limitations of

Unrestrained free spirits

righteousness. However, this kind of freedom brings bondage to all those “permissible” things.

Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness

This says that when we were slaves of sin, we were free. This is what the term “In Bondage to Freedom” means. The people in this picture certainly think they are free. The so-called freedom of breaking away from limitations and constraints that God puts on us feels good and makes us think we are “free spirits”. However, the compulsion to reject all things that would restrain us makes us bound to do the opposite – be unrestrained and uninhibited.

The underlying power behind “bondage” and “slavery” is law – the concept of an outside

A controlling force

force compelling you to do something – whatever it is. To be a slave of sin would therefore mean that sin somehow is a force of law that compels you to behave a certain way. The compulsion is more subtle than that, however. A sinful perspective on life directs every thought and attitude – not just isolated sinful acts.

While the average person may not think they are in bondage to anything, the test comes when an alternative is presented. Do you do the righteous thing and refrain from doing such and so, or does your sense of “freedom” tell you to go ahead and do it anyway? This is when “freedom” becomes the force that compels you to do something you should not do.

Romans 7:19-20 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Coming Next: The Cadet and the Water Fountain

New Beginnings 2015 – Walking in Eternity

Posted on January 3, 2015 by eternalpioneer

2015 New Beginnings – Walking in Eternity

2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:2

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,

In a New Year, we like to put away the old and look forward to the new. We usually think of what will be new in our earthly lives, but God wants us to see a new beginning as to how we can walk in his eternal life. He wants us to “earnestly desire to be clothed with our habitation from heaven.”

Mansion in Heaven

This does not mean waiting for our mansion in the sky – as if it is some tangible thing in heaven that we get to inherit. The phrase, “a house becomes a home” is about all the house represents and exemplifies. The memories, the victories, the emotions, the love, the decorations that set the tone. The same is true for our heavenly home.

Strangers and Pilgrims

Hebrews 11:13-16

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

To earnestly desire our habitation from heaven is to desire less out habitation here. The first requirement is to change our perspective to see with eyes of faith that we have a city prepared for us. Our job is to transform our earthly lives so that the ways of the heavenly country become our ways on earth.

My grandparents came into this country through Ellis Island from France. When they set up residence, they made themselves “strangers and pilgrims” as far as France was

Ellis Island

concerned. They no longer acted as though they were from there. They stopped speaking French and doing French things, would not teach them to their kids, and put all their soul into living like Americans.

Press Toward the Goal

This is not to say we should disavow our ancestors, or our good earthly upbringing, but it is an analogy to show that while we are walking on this earth as representatives of Christ, we should do all we can to shun the ways of the world and put on the character qualities of Jesus. He laid hold of us to live His life through us. We are to press on to make that happen on a daily basis.

May He give all of us the wisdom and power to do this in this coming year.

Philippians 3:7-14

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus

Pioneers: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Posted on December 18, 2014 by eternalpioneer

How The 7 Qualities of a Pioneer can be used for good or for bad

Take into account that good visions, which produce noble actions, which result in grandiose achievements, can be switched to another track simply by a change in perspective. It all depends on the “lens” you see life through, and that lens is molded and developed in each of us by the influences in our lives. For Morgan, his lens became tainted, his perspective redirected, his exuberant pioneer spirit deformed until it took on a much different mold.

The wheels and pulleys of his life began to form the “lens” of his soul, which would take

Book excerpt – click image for free sample

his lust for adventure and put beads and flowers on it….

There weren’t any wagon trains anymore, but the West was still out there, and it still beckoned with the promise of wild exploits and untold opportunities.

The Good

Columbus

Christopher Columbus has got to rank as one of the top Pioneers of all time.

He dared to dream against all the conventional wisdom of the day. Based on the idea that the world was round instead of flat, he reasoned that he could end up in the east by going west.
He was willing to leave the known civilized world behind to discover unknown lands
Columbus the Pioneer
He was not content to remain in the Old Country with his old life, transporting goods around the Mediterranean Sea
He saw the doubters and nay-sayers as limitations that would prevent him from realizing the future opportunities.
He knew the risks – the odds were great that he and his whole crew would die at sea.
He refused to let caution and fear triumph over his dreams of glory. What he found changed the world forever, and resulted in the Land of the Free and the Home of the
Space Pioneers

Brave.

In the Twentieth and Twenty First Centuries, that same Pioneer Spirit has taken us into the frontier of space, reaping untold riches and advancements for mankind.

The Bad

Highway Pioneers

Looking at these two images conjures up a variety of emotions. Most people probably recoil in irritation at the thought of being stuck in a traffic jam on a freeway, navigating the flow of high speed traffic, or breathing smog.

Wagon Pioneers

On the other hand, how would you rather go to work – at 70 mph in an air conditioned car, or 20 miles a day in a covered wagon?

In this sense, the rewards of the Pioneer Spirit can be mixed. We have undisputed benefits from the efforts of those who went before us, but not without some side effects.

The Ugly

Adolph Hitler had a dream – It just wasn’t seen through the right “lens”. There is such a

Deranged Pioneer

thing as evil. There is right and wrong.

He was willing to do whatever he needed to do to fulfill that dream. He was determined to eliminate all limitations and opposition. He knew the risks, but he went ahead anyway. What has always puzzled me is how he was willing to sacrifice his own countrymen and ultimately take his own life when it didn’t work out.

Deranged results

The only way to stop him was with a greater opposing, liberating force. The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun.

Moral of the story: A Pioneer Spirit is a powerful force. Use if for good, and you can change the life of your family or a country.

7 Qualities of a Pioneer

Posted on December 15, 2014 by eternalpioneer

California Dreamin’

From Woodstock to Eternity – Free Look Inside!

The Pioneer Spirit is so essential to having a vibrant, productive and successful life. At least it is essential to having an exciting life. I guess you can be productive and successful without being particularly daring, but all of us share at least some of these qualities, as they are part of the human makeup. For those who have all these qualities and more, I say, keep on truckin’. If you don’t, let these motivate you to get up and do what you have wanted to do all along. Just don’t use them in the wrong way.

A Pioneer dares to dream: It may sound cheesy, but even the Bible says, “without a vision the people perish” Proverbs 29:18. Motivational speakers, network marketers, visionaries, preachers, everyone says you need a dream to pursue. Life has dealt some people so many disappointing blows that they feel they cannot dream again, but don’t let the past win out over your future. Old things have past away, behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Pioneers are willing to leave their old life behind: This is a deal killer for many. They don’t want to leave family, or friends, or what they are familiar with to take the next step. But think of Abraham – he left everything in his old land of Ur to follow God’s promise. For the Christian, it’s more than a new job, or the chance for a promotion – it’s believing you have heard the will of God and you are willing to follow it, no matter the cost.
A Pioneer is not content to remain the same: Sameness is a disease, a torture to the pioneer spirit. While he understands the logic of building a foundation and a reputation, once he has done that at one level, he must break out and pursue another level. The adventure is not necessarily at the end of the rainbow, it is in the pursuit of the rainbow. The experience of moving onward and upward is the adventure.
A Pioneer is compelled to make the effort: Since the pioneer spirit has dreams and a lust for adventure, he always wonders what is out there that he hasn’t discovered yet. If a particular challenge presents itself, he envisions what “success” would look like and realizes that he may not even be able to fathom where life could take him. Then, the possibilities become the prize, and he cannot go through life not knowing what could have happened if he didn’t at least try. He is compelled to try, or he will be miserable the rest of his life wondering what would have happened.
A Pioneer sees present limitations as hindrances to future opportunities: What some people may consider to be normal and reasonable to take into account, a pioneer sees as an excuse to not take the chance. Rather than accepting limitations as constructive or rational, he looks at them as hurdles that are meant to be jumped. The phrase, “Son, we all have to know our limitations” is not in his vocabulary.
A Pioneer knows the risk: Far from being naive, or simple minded in his pursuits, the pioneer know full well that his attempts may fail.
Danger on the trail

To a cautious person, that is enough to make them content to stay where they are. To a pioneer, it is the price of admission to a glorious undertaking. Torpedoes? What torpedoes?
Pioneers refuse to let caution triumph over glory: This may sound foolish to some who like to have all the contingencies figured out before they do anything. It’s like the difference between Patton and Montgomery. The British Field Marshall Montgomery was known as overly cautious. He would not mount an attack until he had all of everything he needed. Supplies, troops, Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. American General Patton, on the other hand, just charged ahead, annihilating the enemy with lightning speed. He got so far ahead of his supply trucks that his tanks ran out of gas! On a more reasonable note, preparation is good, but too much fear of the unknown, or consequences if things go wrong can stifle any progress or innovation.