Jeff Allen: A Comedian Who Helps Lighten My Heart

One of things I like to do on the show is to help speak to the trauma of the dumpster fired, the, the, the heart ache that's going on within a caregiver and help them get to a place of safety so that week we can start to learn to let go. Some things we can live a calm or healthier and even more joyful life. Listen the Scripture that our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy and they said among the nations. The Lord is done great things for them. The Lord is done great things for us. We are glad and and that is that is that is a powerful Scripture for us as caregivers. Those who us who who live with suffering and we watch it all the time we watched these things and yet Scripture says that we can be filled with laughter and our tongues can shout with joy when we recognize what the Lord has done for us and he has.

That's the whole point of the gospel and that even though there are brutal things we still walk through for the rest of our life. Sometimes we know that this is not the end of the story I want to speak to that place and want to help you get to that present will help myself get there. And part of what I do is I have learned to that of the importance of crying healthy tears so that that laughter can come that joy can come because if we don't cry healthy tears were to cry tears of rage and despair and as believers were go to grief, but we want to grieve as those who have no hope. Once we understand that concept.

It is not too many steps for will find out. Even as the tears are drawn on her face, working, learn to laugh regular to have a good time.

As believers and as we minister to one another that anybody else told you that and you maybe can raise an eyebrow, but my resume is a caregiver's 33 years. I watch at 80+ surgery. She has 100 5200 small procedures had one last week. Both of her legs amputated.

She's not known. A day without pain. Since Reagan's first term means serious serious pain.

12 different hospitals hundred doctors seven different insurance companies well over $10 million and yet the two of us have found God's faithfulness, his love is provision, and his joy greater than all that is what you do that together. Part of what I do is I like to introduce individuals to you who help me do that and I heard this guys voice years ago and is listen to a comedy channel in the moment I heard his voice to know anything about I just heard his voice heard his delivery. I love stand-up comedy love it and that's part of my own journey of recovery is a caregiver to the learn how to recover the ability to laugh as I listen to a lot of stand-up comedy so much without.

There is just you know is not worth listening to. But when you find those ones that are, you grab a hold of and this guy did that for me and the moment I heard his delivery his voice his cadences material. Everything about the way he looked at life. I got a get to know this guy who is his guts out when I just listened to so much of his stuff and asked Jeff valid and he's with us today. Jeff good morning Margaret how are you. You know I am thrilled to have you here. I am so glad that I wanted to introduce this audience to you and and talk about your journey. Talk about you as it is your view of life the way you handle comedy and I just thank you for get up early the morning doing this auto problem at old Maryland docket number, but we have for a brand-new puppy so we have a built-in alarm clock were up at five every day tell me this. There are easier ways to make a living than to be a standup comedian you out too young or too ignorant to know we didn't dawn on you that this is what you go to do this is how you go to spend your professional life water hundred 22 that no one would go in it a night. I got lucky in 1978 when I started the comedy club was just starting. By 1980, it exploded. I had a chance to young man of 24 at that point, travel around, make a few bucks and learn the craft when I met my wife. I was about eight years in Newark and the headlining comedy club so I was making a living for the got serious when I had a wife and children to fight better. Yeah.

I could actually the career park.

I got a college open show. I would work.

The business side of that, I will when you started comedy a lot of things were different then than they are now what all for me. What will Fred forever, but what was the big change for you but what's what's different now than it was back when you started water relationship with Christ.

Back then I was great.

Alcoholic had bought alternative to a marriage: it took about a year to realize your counsel and I got rid of the food drug and began writing out a journey with me quite a while, eventually almost look relationship with you. That changed everything that absolutely changed. I went from a pretty angry bitter, cynical comic who long for a technically critical spirit. It was the transformation though changed everything for my marriage to my career for sure will deed you want to things I do not like is this one comedians get there and rant and rave and work out their eggs on on stage and that that is just unpleasant to watch it in they get applause they don't listen to get laughter right and God knows I guess not who you are well anymore.

You were right about it work right out. Yeah, I would figure comedy was cheaper there. I got paid. You that the euro yeah I was I was working on not know why I got sober 31 years old so I have a lot of issues to deal with all the relief a lot of it on stage.

Obviously, I was getting last so apparently eventually I realized that managing that when you change the change you comedy James all those kinds of things.

What was the biggest professional component of how you approach comedy now that you're sober you not angry.

You got a different type of worldview. How did you press the whole concept of while probably going early on right when you get to heaven.

One question on your other joke and said joke about all of going on my my job.

I feel like kinda looking for both parts of my life. Maybe have caused pain and know what they say comedy and tragedy plus time as find you general I do what I look that's great. I would talk to Jeff valid this is.

Hope caregiver will be like that you have a struggle to trust God when things happen to you.

I'm Gracie Rosenberger in 1983 I experienced a horrific car accident leading 80 surgeries in both legs and became it. I questioned why God allowed something so brutal to happen to me. But over time I questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God that understanding along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs led me to establish standing with help more than a dozen years we been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people on a regular basis. We purchased ship equipment and supplies and with the help of inmates in a Tennessee prison. We also recycle parts from donated lambs all — is to point others to Christ. The source and my help and strength, please visit standing with help.com to learn more and participate in lifting others@thatstandingwithout.com. I'm Gracie.

I am staining with help the show for caregivers about caregivers hosted by caregiver IEP Rosenberger bring you three decades of experience to stay strong and healthy as you take care of someone who is not, and we are thrilled to have you with us.

He put this love in our heart and because of that we can laugh we can rejoice, even though were dealing with hardly could have brought in a God to help us all do that little bit better as Jeff valid Jeff Allen comedy.com. One of the funniest guys out there. This is who I listen to to help me work out some of the eggs to my heart is the listen to somebody to guide me back from the cliff little bit. Jeff your attitude right now. It's called of the America I grew up in Dallas data tell us a little bit about the America you grew up in what kind of a target.

Look at a look back like most people, and what you look at the current generation good football that's basically fighting.

I look at it well. My granddaughter to the grocery store will be of the mandatory and McCarthy. I'm not against Dorothy, but I'm tired of Stratford and likable like a NASCAR driver to go pilot I have to get a Diet Coke 54 pounds, to get a hernia holler in and out of our and I finally looked it up on the Internet to try to figure out what age order to fit a seatbelt on five ATP Drive school diploma you get the ride home like a big boy today it's it's got about a handful foot nine that's with the electric 4 foot nine, which reads the entire female Olympic gymnast at the right in a booster seat to the gym. We walked on mine.

We really have no you did you live in the national area and even when Opryland was still amusement park ouster ice to go out there with the kids and I took my wife out there with my wife and become a double amputee.

Both legs and we had we actually literally had an argument with the guy because he didn't want to run a particular ride because you had to have at least three working lambs and will stay on.

I promise you, they'll stay on for Philip. I attempted to make it.

I get better at whatever you limbs that was to cut off if you pardon the expression that you you look at this and you poke fun of a lot of things in a goodhearted way, but it just it it just show the absurdity of where we come to an id you like to look at those things. It just drawn out of this a couple of folks and I got asking tell me about tell us about the dry ice in the jar all about what we ought we all children admit how you learned not to turn out and hurt you but suffering God microphone so anyway I got a figure.

No pain is a part of life that I have to learn to deal with example I was a 12-year-old. Nobody gets ocular baldric character know my mother can think I have one of those and they should dry ice put in the jar with a lid on it so I have quote of 12 okay from the blowoff armor to do it so I were to get dry for the ice cream man. So one day the instruments, down my street. I lowered my mother's care chart that I have never dry ice. You know what it is jar with a lid on it and it can explode ice cream and smooth cool. You dry. That is the America I grew up in the court that night, my mother said at the kitchen table put the chart the glass like hornet and my father came in. Now that happen.

I'll come up will be put Drive to apologize will blow up. Go Philip Mullen that you were disparate that Yahweh for the Florida site yet that's what you know I will let you through succulent at least 1/2 bottle rocket fights between all of the liner without the country we let up across the street rocket city to totally wanted to have a BB gun before one year your front.

When you have your own.

Because my 12-year-old.

I recall an eight-year-old. Therefore, you're the part that he wanted a BB gun and I should know why not your brother. They can't defend itself quickly figure so you guys can go see. Can't you go to my father fighting like as good. Yeah, my dad called me since I get error BB gun. I go my way when I tell you what you find. BB gun get his brother set a glass I of that date can't defend himself and that's different.

That's what effectively.

I will my brother if you didn't shoot your brother and all your for psychiatric evaluation like this so many times you told her husband are cellulite you will need to know I got four brothers and yeah BB guns were part of our lives it. Unfortunately, I get to be because I got a shirt with a target on it and that's that's it at it when you talk about the six I grew up this way. I mean we were out the country of South Carolina safety was you know that I have. I looked at my Mike children is able to spend time with grandparents and Gracie's dad is very safety conscious.

Gracie's mom good.

My dad okay my mother forget it. As I was five years. Where are you right now I'm at home your home okay you're going back out and are you going be out this weekend.

Now I'm not affect my wife and I take a vacation it's got a working vacation booked, I had to go to Dallas for their fellow go online and home on Thursday and I will leave Friday for Scotland for 10 days and on my list of things almost 40 years now. Third, in my 20s I wanted to go to Scotland play those great golf courses to make sure I was still walking when I got you doing your acting Scotland because I don't know that they can understand what a good thing about comedy clubs there that you work at one and you how to translate. I told my wife when I finally watch a couple of movies might forget.

Are your will. In the last couple minutes know a lot of folks elicit the show are dealing with really brutal circumstances and I heard a great quote from an entertainer once he said look, I'm not here to talk politics about here to get to work at my stuff.

I'm here to entertain you.

I can't cure cancer, but I can make you forget about it for about an hour and 1/2 and I love that and I thought talk a little bit about your philosophy of what you doing to speak to the guilt everybody needs laughter.

We've got to have that pressure valve relief and we gotta have it.

This is what you've chosen to do is your profession to go out there and speak joy and laughter and in an amusement to people's hearts to light them up a little bit take about two or three minutes just talk about how that affects you and what your philosophy is and what why why you have such a passion for what I like what your brother character and I know what it's like for six months. It took over our lives look over it like a stranger moving to your house and you can't get rid of the stranger, how you talk about stranger that the topic of every discussion you have in the cable point where I look to Tammy after for five months and I could babe I can't do it anymore. I need to start living general and you look for the distraction heartbeat take you away from from the pain of it in the end, and just the awareness of non-that's kinda what I look at myself I would distraction and we need those who were lucky we live in a country free like we are and wealthy.

We are people can go out and distract themselves.

I've had a number of email in the last five or six years from people who came out were bought out didn't want to go to the show and laughed for the first time in months, sometimes years and laughed that hard years and there's so many healing benefits. The laughter that it can't be. It has to be by design from God.

There's too many healing benefits for endorphins which is the body's natural painkiller are released when you laugh all you know it's animals that this but it would've been kinda cool somewhere. The Scripture Jesus. What I thought I would do without it.

And sometimes we wait we find ourselves laughing and awkward awkward and opportune time for me right when my mother was going through half we were laughing so much, mom story for the heart that the verse. Try to keep it down a little bit you know we all walked and fed her goodbyes tomorrow and we spent almost 7 days at the hospital dealing with that and the final phase about 126 talk about mom and remember the joy that she brought us the collapse collectively cried. You know it was so appealing it really is you, but you have to get out out of yourself from time to do that so well and that is always looking you can't do it by yourself. You going to have taps out of all people help you. And that's which isolation isolation double tool, I cannot agree more that anytime you isolate that we are a communal dog. We were met with the literature. Jeff, you are part of the healing for a lot of people and thank you for taking time to call in the show. I went on will thank you Jeff. Jeff Allen comedy.com you want Jeff to come to your event.

Your corporate event your church event and you don't have to hold your breath wonders this guy gonna say the things that offend people know he's going to say things that are going to help people heal up and live a calm or healthier and even more joyful life, which is what were all about on the show. Jeff, thank you very much. Thank you that I can go on a website for