ChristiTutionalist Politics | Christian Perspectives on Constitutional Issues

CTP (S3EDecSpecial4) Stories That Stick

• Joseph M. Lenard | Christian Activist & Author in Politics • Season 3

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CTP (S3EDecSpecial4) Stories That Stick
Exploring more of the fascinating intersection of Activism, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond  
We share a candid conversation with author and creator Neisia Allen about testimonies that shape purpose, the Four Rs that bring clarity, and how a persistent mentor can change a life. Faith, humor, and practical steps weave through stories of provision, pruning, and starting again with intention.
• holiday schedule update and December Tuesday and Thursday drops
• how PodMatch and other platforms connect hosts and guests
• growing up in Muskegon and finding a relentless mentor
• youth leadership, Straight Talk show, and meeting real needs
• stories that stick as testimonies of God’s provision
• senior photos lesson on scarcity, gratitude, and faith
• humor as relief while holding serious themes
• writing the 21-day jumpstart spiritual business roadmap
• seeking God first before building ventures
• the Four Rs: Rest, Reflect, Repent, Reset
• letting go of idols and choosing purpose over stuff
• creative work, nonprofit service, and mutual pouring
• where to find Neisia’s book, site, and skits online  
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP   

A Short Story: A Lasting Legacy? book Trailer

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Author, Blogger, Podcaster

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, welcome to another episode of First Two Shorts Podcast. I am your host, Joseph L. Wonder at L-E-N-A-R-T at the Frank is not without a oh. Thank you for tuning in as Gram No Stay on his show. Let's get on with the show. Hello, everyone. A special introductory segment before getting into the episode. The remainder of December. Merry Christmas to all. And since I'll be using this opening through the rest of December, they will be Tuesday and Thursday drops here on out for December to help me get caught up with some interviews that I've got in the pile that have been recorded, waiting to be released to help with a backlog. I'm going to do two a week now, Tuesdays and Thursdays, the rest of December, as well as January and February. So in the background here, uh audio only, you're not seeing it, obviously, says Merry Christmas to soldiers everywhere who can't be with their families, showing a group of soldiers with Santa and elf hats on. But anyway, or at any rate, right? The ongoing oh, I said right again. I found I'm gotten to the habit of thing, right? Right? I gotta watch that. I gotta stop that. Anyway, let's get on with an interview. Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Christ Titutionalist Podcast. A little behind the scenes. I use a service, as does the guest that's on today, called Pod Match, where podcasters or podcasters like me and potential guests like uh Nisia, right? Nisha Nisha. I I got it. I confirmed it with her before I hit recording. I said Nisha. Sha. Okay. Like a knee. Yes. Sha. There you go. Okay. But anyway, we both use a pod match, is what it's called service. Podcasters and guests can come together uh so that you, the listener, which I coined the podcastee. I like inventing words, and there's another one of mine, right? You, the listener, are the podcastee, can then enjoy our coming together. I also am part of radio guest list, podcast guest list, and matchmaker FM as full disclosure. All right, Nesha, Alan. Thank you. Thank you for joining me today. And on PodMatch, I've got a printout of you from there. It says stories that stick, lessons that last. And that's all I needed to read. I I like that verbiage. It's similar to other sayings, of course, but I like how you phrased it. And I just released my The Book of Kennedy. Uh that's the Kindle cover, the plain cover. Okay. But anyway, I I'm hoping that will be a story that sticks and has in it lessons that will last for people, right? I not very clever, but I play that game anyway. I tie it all together, right? So, but let's let's back this thing up, right? Beep, beep, beep first. Let's start with who is Nisha Allen? Where were you born, raised, where are you now? Those kind of things.

SPEAKER_00:

I was born in a small town, um, Muskegon, Michigan.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, not far from me.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Where are you at?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm in Windot. You can see Detroit on my uh Okay, I see it. I see it. I wouldn't have to do it. If I move there, move out of the way. Recognize the Renaissance Center. They don't recognize the Penobscot building and the other ones over there. The Renaissance Center, all the way. It's either the Rent's in Detroit or the mini mini version of it in LA. There's a copy of it in LA that's smaller. But anyway, so Muskegon, go on.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, I'm from Muskegon, but I actually I'm kind of jumping. Um, you stay right down the street. I used to live in Brownstown. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

You're right down the street.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. Well, up the street. Yeah, yeah. I love wind out. Right, Michigan. It's like you get right, get the uh you know, the hands thing, right? Detroit over here, wind out a little further south, town a little further south from that. And of course, we gotta do the trick question. Where is Windsor, Ontario, Canada? It's actually south of Detroit because Windsor kind of comes in like this, if I can get it right, underneath Detroit, really. You take the Windsor Ton Detroit Windsor Tunnel south to Windsor. At any rate, you know, odd facts for people in the south of the United States who Canada, what? Canada who? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I grew up in a small town, Muskegon, Michigan. Um, I was born to two two two teenage parents, um, grew up in a urban um neighborhood, went through some trials as a young teen, but even through that, as I reflect on my journey, I see that God's presence was always present. And so, even though my parents were a little young when they had me, and they weren't really equipped to give me all the tools that I needed, God was still in the midst of everything, and he strategically placed different people in my life in different seasons to give me what my parents couldn't give me at that particular time.

SPEAKER_01:

Various other mentors?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, yes, various mentors. One mentor that was really instrumental in seeding me was a gentleman by the name of Edwin Drake. He worked for a nonprofit organization called Campus Life. He used to come to our school and recruit children for Bible study. And he would come during lunch hour, he would walk the hallways, he would know our names, he would ask, are we coming? Let us know what time he's coming by to pick us up. And he was just relentless about getting these kids soul saved that were forgotten about in the hood. He had such patience with us. I mean, the neighborhood used to give him a hard time. I mean, he used to drive his white van through the neighborhood, and you know, they used to just really give him a hard time.

SPEAKER_01:

As long as the white van didn't say free candy on the side, right? For the benefit of the transcript, we're laughing.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a joke, people.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_00:

He was just an angel, and um he uh recruited me in to be in leadership for campus life, the youth group. In doing so, I was just excited to get pizza on a Wednesday. That was like my highlight. You know, I didn't know that God was moving behind the scenes and he was strategically planning things in me as it relates to ministry. So God worked in you through your stomach. Yes, he did. And that's real ministry where you can meet people right where they're at, where you can use their need to plant a seed.

SPEAKER_01:

Amen. Absolutely. That's right. You you can't expect people to come to you. Yeah. Uh you have to take the message to people, and as exactly as you said, reach them in the manner that which most suits that void.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, yes. And so I'm glad that the Holy Spirit moved him, and he was an open vessel to, you know, because it's one thing to be employed by an organization, but have the posture and the passion for what you do and who you want to connect with is two different things. The way that he poured into us, we had not only just Bible studies, but with the leadership group that he formed, we were able to talk about what we wanted to talk about for the upcoming Bible study. And what are the things that we were facing in high school as teens and at home? What's relevant in this to your life?

SPEAKER_01:

Not like reading whatever scripture that doesn't relate well to again, where you're at at that time, and of course, different things relate and reach us when we're younger as opposed to when we're older. We're at different places in our lives throughout our aging process. Yes. I just wanted a joke. Relax, people. This is just a joke. Yeah, it's such a shame because he would be so disappointed with how you turned out. Yeah, it's a joke, people. It's a joke. I'm playing with her. It's just a joke. Can we life it up, please?

SPEAKER_00:

I admire him so much. He didn't have any children and of his own, and he was a white Caucasian, and he was coming to an urban school that was 90% black, and he was recruiting us, he was loving on us, he was showing us the love of Christ. Um, he also invited me to be a host on a talk show on the network, the public access network. It was called Straight Talk, where I got to talk about different issues that teens were facing straight up. And he also was a musician. And there were a lot of things that he embodied that as I reflect on my life, that are direct reflection of who I am. And so as I reflect, I'm I do music. Um, I'm also into uh film and production, and I am in ministry. I have a nonprofit called the Love Foundation, where our mission is to pour love into at-risk youth and homeless individuals. And when I look back on my life and I'm just like, okay, God, you had a plan, and it was your plan and not the plan that I thought that I had for my life. You had a total different plan for me.

SPEAKER_01:

I can I can kind of relate to him. My uh ex-wife and I never had kids. So my sister, also who was married, they never had kids. So I I understand that the saying living vicariously through others. Well, yeah, I I dote on other people's kids because I didn't have any, right? Yeah, I was like, can I can I borrow your kid? You you certainly don't say that because that can be taken way the wrong way, but you know what I mean, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and as parents, we appreciate that though, because you get a break. We get a break. Go ahead. How long do you want them for? Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02:

How many days can they stay? Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, no. I want to give them back at night, you deal with them then, right? But yeah. Uh so what brought about the phraseology? Stories that stick, lessons that last, and what does it mean to you and how you use that?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh well, the stories that stick are um all of my testimonies. How whenever my audience knows I can't can't resist a bad pun, right?

SPEAKER_01:

It's not stories about a stick. You're not you're not hitting anyone with a stick. I can never pass the stupid puns. Yeah, no, I'm not hitting anybody with a spoiler. Although, although spare the rod spoiled the child does come to mind, right? Anyway, please continue now that I've interrupted.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know. I might have to um think about that kid thing. You know, you're talking about spare the rod and sticks, you know. I don't know that. Um, but it's my all of my testimonies, how whenever I was faced in challenging situations or um circumstances where I didn't have enough, God made enough. And so when you think about stories that stick, like I was saying, my journey, even in high school, I lived with other family members during my high school time. I want to say maybe half of 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, I lived with other family members. And in doing so, God always made provision. I could remember not having enough money for my senior pitchers. And when you're around other children and they're talking about their sessions and their peer pressure there, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, feeling left out of the crowd.

SPEAKER_00:

And yes, yes. Yes. And when looking back on that, I don't even know how this came about, but got orchestrated where somehow I found out that the actual photography studio, which was Paris Studios in Muskegon, Michigan, I'm not sure if they're still around or not, but I found out that they would allow you to have your senior pictures taken for free if you took the portfolios to school and showed your friends.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's nice, right? I'm not a big Rolling Stones fan, but the song. You may not always get what you want, but you might find you get what you need. Yes. And and also, uh Garth Brooks, sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.

SPEAKER_00:

What we want may not be what we really need. But in that situation, it was more than I needed because if let's say if my parents were in a financial situation to provide these things for me, it might not have even been at the at the amount that they gave me. I want to say they gave me like four different portfolios, and they were probably priced at like three, four hundred dollars a piece. And they gave me like half off my wallets, and they weren't they were inexpensive. So I got so much for a fraction of the price in my inability to God multiplied, He multiplied it. Yeah, five five loaves and two fish did. That's what he did. Yep, amen.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, exactly. And and valuable lessons like right, stories that stick, lessons that last.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, yes, and so with that, it's a story and a testimony to individuals who may be going through a season where they feel like they don't have enough, or um, they're not sure where the things are gonna come from that they do need. God is always present no matter what.

SPEAKER_01:

The other thing is too, had you had the money and you just paid it, and there would have been no second thought about it, right? You wouldn't have appreciated what you had as much through that, right, through that God's working through it. And indeed, uh as we're saying, the then you've got the story and the lesson. You you were put in a place of need because, in a way, it was what you needed.

SPEAKER_00:

And that lesson has stuck with me. Anytime I'm faced with anything, I know God, you're there. I know you are Jehovah Jarah, my provider, and I know you're making provision. I'm not gonna grow weary, I'm not gonna complain, I'm not gonna get frustrated. So when I look back on my life, I I complain, please believe me, I complain.

SPEAKER_01:

But I always joke, you know, when people say, How are you doing? I could be better, could be worse. So I when I catch myself whining, I remind myself and others, yeah, a lot of others have it worse, and it could be much worse. I'm on disability right now. Doctors want to send me for a bunch of tests. It's like, you know, this test, that test, another. They all want$50 co-pays. I don't know where that's coming from. I can't afford all these copays for all these tests, right? But you know, it is what it is, it's where I'm at, it's the way it is, and it isn't gonna do me any good to complain about it.

SPEAKER_00:

And they may say, you know, you have to take all these tests, but God may be saying, I'm keeping you healed and whole, where you don't have to need to take all these tests. If you don't have the means and the finances to take it, I'm keep I'm preserving you anyway. You don't need to take it. I am your source and your provider. So I think a lot of When we look at situations, if we look at our cup as not half empty of God, but half full of God, and look at it through a different lens, it'll change our whole life experience and just our perspective on everything. So I have so many stories that stick and lessons that last about life and God's presence, and this too shall pass.

SPEAKER_01:

My audience knowing I can't pass the pun you said lens. Speaking of lenses, I need new glasses. Well, I'm a well I'm gonna believe that for you. These are jokes, people. These are jokes, people. So you're a comedian as well. Yeah, well, uh, you know things are so serious. Yeah, even in my terror strikes coming soon to a city near you book about terrorism, although I say it's not about death and destruction, it's about life and living. And obviously a book about terrorism you don't think of as a Christian book, but it is very much a Christian book nonetheless. Even in that book, that with dealing with that seriousness, there's a comic relief chapter making the point we got to keep a sense of humor on right, insane in the membrane, as uh who hold on, forget the group now. But yeah, I remember that.

SPEAKER_00:

Insane in the membrane.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you know who I'm talking about, but I forget who it is now. But yeah, now I got our train off the track here with my lame jokes. You are an author. Yeah, uh, you did mention a book, I think, already. Do you have it there handy to hold up? All right, for those looking at behind the scenes video, you could see today the number, oh no, 21-day jumpstart business blueprint spiritual roadmap, Nisha Alan, and that's N-E-I-S-I-A. Alan, of course, when we're done, I'll be putting that on a scroll at the bottom of the screen for behind the video, but I spell it for sake of those listening on the 25 plus audio platforms and the benefit of the transcript. Again, that's N-E-I-S-I-A Alan with an E day A L L E N, not A-N, two L's in there. Do you have another book in the works?

SPEAKER_00:

I actually do. I have a book that I am working on, and it's about my journey, and it's called It's Four Rs, and it's called Rest, Reflect, Repent, and Reset.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I'm glad you have Reflect in there. I've got a few episodes on that because and in the life of Kennedy too is I mention people that are right, the me, me, me kind, and the the world revolves around them, and they need the message. No, sorry, it doesn't. But the need to self-reflect, the Michael Jackson song. I'm starting with the man in the mirror. You got it. Rick Springfield on his karma album has a song called Prayer, which is like his version of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror, where he sings, uh, I send a prayer to heaven for the chance to be a better man than the man I see, right? Self-reflection. So few can do it. It's sad.

SPEAKER_00:

So a part of my um journey, I went through a series of events, but also a time period in my life where I was just so unhappy, unfulfilled, and overwhelmed. And I feel that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, yes, there, yes. Yes, I I don't like to talk about it, but I feel required. I feel compelled, I feel called to mention it, right? I'm not happy about saying it, but I am a suicide attempt survivor. Everybody's situation is different. So I can't say I was in your shoes, your shoes are different than mine. There's similar situation happened that put us in bad places. Negative net that little devil on the shoulder whispering in the ear that we might be susceptible to at that point. And again, the book of Kennedy, all about life and living, and indeed, all lives have value and meaning. Whether you see it on a daily or ever, you may not right. It's not like it's a wonderful life where Clarence the Angel comes down and shows you life if you weren't here, but that doesn't mean you know you didn't stop a pharmacist from poisoning a child, or you didn't save a brother who went on to be a war hero. You that's a dramatic movie. Yeah, little little things, little things add up that you might not see and realize your life has a major role to play. I like to say it's like the Panteen commercial. You remember that? They tell two people, then they tell two people, then they tell two people. Pretty soon you've got financial movement, or the movie butterfly effect. Yeah, right. Small things add to a tsunami over there. Yeah, you might not see it, you may not know it. Yeah, you help somebody who then has a child who goes on to cure cancer. Right. Your forced smile that made their day better may have led to curing cancer, and people don't see those dots to connect them.

SPEAKER_00:

If we just sit back and just reflect, like you said, a lot of people don't even take the time to pause to reflect. And so I went.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, life is so hectic and we want to rush and hurry, hurry, rush, rush, forward, forward, forward. Yes, Mac Davis, you gotta stop and smell the roses.

SPEAKER_00:

I found myself at a place where I was so empty, and so I really had to lean into God. So I had to take a rest so that I can reflect on how did I arrive here? Because I had found myself so so much in a dark place where I didn't want to live anymore. I didn't want to live anymore, I didn't want my life anymore, I couldn't make sense of her. I was so empty, I couldn't make sense of it. But right, you felt like there was no meaning and no purpose.

SPEAKER_01:

But again, whether we see it or not, it's there.

SPEAKER_00:

I read a devotion called Jesus Calling um daily. Well, actually, I listened to it. I had the app on my phone and I listened to it. And so after listening to it about for about six months and having my private devotional time with God, my mind shifted, and things that used to matter didn't matter anymore. And I realized that I was carrying and I was carrying things, and I was on this hamster wheel of working and acquiring things that had no meaning and no value, and they were draining me, and then they became an idol, and uh spiritual leaders became an idol, and I was worshiping all these things and people, and God said that's why you're empty because you're full of everything that's not me.

SPEAKER_01:

I've done a lot of songs today. I mentioned Michael Jackson, Rook Springfield, Rolling Stones, Mac Davis, one more, Disney, right? Let it go, let it go. You break it, yes. Let it go. Thank you, Elsa. That I mean, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Let it go. Yes, let it go. And in the season of my life, I have less things, but I'm much more happier, I'm much more freer. My life is so much more purposeful. I have more impactful people around me that are not pulling from me, but are pouring, and it's a mutual pouring relationship. It's not just one-sided. Um, I finally took time out to write my book. God put the idea for the book in me in 2019, and it took me all the way to 2025 to be obedient and do it because now I had the time and I had the clarity, and um, I didn't have other things that were in the way. And I'm like, okay, God, you want me to do this book. You want me to use my experience of doing building businesses or going into businesses that you did not plan for me to do, and that was a part of my emptiness. So the first chapter in the book is called Seek Ye First. And that's what we should do when we're going into business and when we're starting new ventures or whatever we're doing, we forget to really seek him. We just do, we just follow the numbers, we follow other people's expectations, and we follow suggestions, but we don't follow God and say, God, is this what you would want me to do? Is this the right business? And so I wrote the book based on my experiences. And each chapter, it starts off with a scripture and things to build that particular I I do the same thing in terror strikes coming soon to a city near you.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. There's even a couple Quranical quotes in there, but mostly biblical scriptures. Again, not terror strikes coming soon to a city near you. You wouldn't think of it as a Christian book, but that helps makes it a Christian book. Yeah. But indeed, that's why I I'm on disability. I haven't been working since 2004. That's why I'm an author now. Found the time for me to do this. Yeah. You're not gonna do that anymore. Uh, and it took years, including after a suicide attempt, for me to realize this is what he wants me. This show and these books are what he wants me doing.

SPEAKER_00:

Good. That is that that is a story that sticks.

SPEAKER_01:

Bringing it full circle. That's a great place to wrap it up. Do you have a website for people to reach out to you?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, they can reach out to me on www.neshaallen.com. And on there, you can purchase my book, and then you also can see more about me. I'm also an interior designer. I do film and uh project management, events. Um, I do a plethora of things. God's already designed my interior.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. Again, I can't pass the stupid puns, no matter how bad they are.

SPEAKER_00:

And you can catch me on social media, Nisha Allen. Um, at Nisha Allen, I also act in uh skits. Shout out to uh Who is Jordan Jackson and Shell Purcell. Um, they're producers of some skits that I am also an actress in that are on YouTube. On YouTube and Facebook.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, that's great. Thank you, Nisha Allen. Talking about stories that stick, nothing to do with an actual stick. Lessons that last. Thank you. Take care, God bless. Thank you. Thanks for having me. God bless you. Like and subscribe to Christitutionalist Politics Podcast and share episodes. We need your help. Thank you for having tuned in to another Christitutionalist podcast show. I really appreciate that you stop by. Again, please like, share, subscribe. We need you to help spread the constitutionalist movement. Thank you again. Take care. God bless. Love you all.

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Joseph M Lenard

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