I’m planning on shooting this as a special, as well as releasing a book of the transcript with extra materials, a workshop surrounding the show, as w…

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The Enemy attacks you hardcore.

I’m performing my new hour on Saturday and I know I’m barely going to make it there, because that’s how its gone every single time I’ve performed this new hour of stories and jokes.

However, telling this story has been the surest way to combat the loneliness epidemic which has held hostage so much of my life, as well as taken the lives of countless others.

In the pursuit of finding those I’ve lost along the way, I’ve connected with some people I never thought I’d speak to again.

I’m struggling to send this email because I keep writing and rewriting it over and over again to sound less desperate and more “value-driven”.

I’m working on finding a way to include everyone else in my story and do things collaboratively. In the meantime, I’m working out my salvation in fear and trembling by confronting the very fear which has held my tongue from speaking His Truth.

I only have 25 seats available because the show relies heavily on projection and so we can only seat people in the living room. I’m going to livestream it to YT hopefully: https://www.youtube.com/@nateprays/streams

Tickets here:

Nathanael Comes Home

“Paraprosdokians” are how I make sense of this crazy life I live. I hope they help you make sense of yours. Here’s one I’ve been re-evaluating recently.

“I write today so that tomorrow I remember yesterday.”

I didn’t write that.

Well, I wrote it down, but I didn’t think of it. Someone else gave it to me and it sums up why I write.

I write to remember and I write to forget. Because if I don’t write that which I’m called to remember, the idea will play in my head on repeat, forcing me to forget everything else except that which I’m called to remember.

Until I relinquish the responsibility of remembering to the eternal page, the prophetic utterance bequeathed to me by my sensitive mind will plague me until I write it down or say it to someone else. Some call this brilliance, others call it insanity. I call it being a writer.

I’ve never known it any other way. It’s probably why I aced all my tests. I write down everything. It’s also why I sometimes get “tunnel vision” as my exes have called it. Nothing else matters except the idea. Because the idea is the only way I can get back to the present by forgetting the future. I need to write it down. It’s like breathing.

“I write today so that tomorrow I remember yesterday”.

I don’t remember the name of the person who gave me the quote. I wish they wrote it down anywhere else besides just their business card, which I lost years ago. I also can’t find it anywhere on the internet.

It was at an open mic at the Last Bookstore in DTLA called, “The Speakeasy”. The “Speakeasy” was a unique monthly open mic series where artists of all kinds would share their work and then during a brief intermission, an artist would be interviewed by the wonderfully magical Lady Basco, also known as Lady B. Lady B is an open mic aficionado/ extraordinaire/ creative alchemist, someone who can take pieces of art and self-expression and amalgamate them into something you’ve never seen before, something uniquely you.

“Mutations happen in the genome and they can either be mistakes or adaptations, depending on if they work out or not,” the artist being interviewed that night explained, “Artistic evolution is much the same. We try to copy the artists who came before and fail, because we can’t be anyone else but ourselves. Sometimes those mutations are dead ends, other times, they’re the very thing which sets us apart and gives us a unique style.”

The yesterday before this particular today a mutation occurred, a potential dead end: the day before I had a profound bomb.

Starting out in stand-up those profound types of bombs would happen every few months: deep, catastrophic, potential dead ends.

They still happen. These days, the profound bombs are mostly off stage, the lingering failures of trying to fit myself into someone else’s vision, only to end up right back at the drawing board with my original dreams staring right back at me. These days they’re happening a lot more frequently. Maybe I’m onto something, maybe I’m hitting a dead end, maybe most of the time, a breakthrough happens immediately after a profound bomb.

The day before The Last Bookstore, I had performed at the Lyric Hyperion, a cafe and theatre in Los Feliz where the cool kids would perform, or at least the cool kids of the alternative comedy scene. It was the place where hipsters and cigarette-flicking jaded cynics would go to wax poetic about their nihilistic take on why the world was broken and why they alone could funnily fix it, the place where I would profoundly bomb the first Sunday of the New Year.

That night, almost everyone was bombing, because the room was filled with New Years comics: those who had made it their resolution to get back out there and perform however many times they had designated on their list of things to be resolved this year.

I performed to a full room of blank stares. Everybody was there and nobody wanted to listen. And I bombed. So did almost everyone else. But I wasn’t trying to be like everyone else, I was trying to outshine the pack, be the cream who rose to the top. Everybody else, also wanted that as well. So, I was trying to be like everybody else.

And so in my putrid stench of pure inauthenticity, I bombed profoundly, the type where you question everything and anything that you think you might be.

The following day, I got back up and went up to perform at the Last Bookstore, looking forward to the redemption of performing in front of musicians, poets, other artists, away from the comedy scene.

I got up there, knowing the truth, that I was a liar, steeped in pure inauthenticity, one who didn’t belong.

The Last Bookstore would have anywhere from 60-80 people show up, not just artists but patrons and audience members. I did my set in front of a packed crowd, remembering two things: my jokes and my yesterday, reveling in the humiliation of being so painfully out of place, holding onto the stupid hope maybe today would be different.

After I got off stage, another comedian was called up after. In the middle of his set, he said, “I can’t follow that,” then got off stage mid-set, walked over to me, shook my hand and said, “Yo man, that was really good. I couldn’t perform after that, I had to come and tell you how great that was. Thank you.”

My profound bomb was the setup for a profound breakthrough. It always is.

Every single laugh I got during that set came from a place of knowing that yesterday I was lying and that any laughs I got didn’t make sense, because “Don’t they know who I am? I’m a complete fraud. Why are they laughing?”

I guess I was performing my jokes by remembering the truth of yesterday: the truth that I was a liar, and today all I’m doing is telling you that I am.

Another poet went up there and spit a heater of a poem and I spoke to them afterwards. I’m pretty sure their name was on the business card they gave me, but I lost the card.

On the back it said:

“I write today so that tomorrow I remember yesterday.”

I never lost that quote, because I wrote it down. Over and over and over again.

I wrote it on the headboard of my bed, posted it on a piece of paper on my ceiling, sharpied it on pieces of clothing, put it in my one man show, and etched it deep within the recesses of my mind, soul, and heart.

It became a core belief: “I write today, so that tomorrow I remember yesterday.”

It's one of the original reasons I began to write poetry. I had a notebook resting on the right side of the headboard of my bed and anytime I would feel difficult emotions I would turn to the notebook in order to write thoughts down cryptically in a way I’d have to decipher later. It didn’t need to make sense now, but maybe if I was truthful enough about my pure inauthenticity, I’d have to do the honest work of making sense of it later.

I would oftentimes go back through the notebook in chronological order, starting at the latest entry. Over time it would start to serve as a map of where I’d been. It was a reminder that today was going to become a yesterday I had gotten through and tomorrow, today would be another one down in the books.

I’m currently coming off a profound bomb on the back of many, many more. These days it feels like profound bombs are happening every other day. I question everything every time they happen, then every other day it feels like I’m surfing, king of the waves, back on the court hitting my stride. The next day it feels like I’m drowning once again.

Maybe it's because I’m on the verge of so many breakthroughs that the entirety of who I am is collapsing. Maybe it’s because my life has been built on so many lies that every other day, my soul stinks of pure putrid inauthenticity, only to have a tomorrow filled with flowers.

In the past few weeks, I’ve had to re-evaluate nearly all of my creative partnerships, cancel my tour, I re-sprained my knee playing basketball, my job as a substitute teacher ended for the summer, and yet for some reason I keep getting back up, because I know that today if I write and tell the truth, then tomorrow, I’ll remember how much I wanted to give up on yesterday, but got through to today on pure faith.

God always gives me just enough to keep going, and it's always, only, just today. He never gives me tomorrow.

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” - Matthew 6:33-34

I write today so that tomorrow I remember yesterday and yesterday I had completely given up on tomorrow.

So now, I write today so that I can forget tomorrow and live for God’s perfect timing.

His timing is perfect, which means complete, not “how I like it”. It means just enough for today.

I write today to forget everything but His Kingdom with My today, His righteousness, for His tomorrow.

Here’s last weeks’ paraprosdokian:

https://www.ppdkproductions.com/p/week-22-why-i-havent-killed-myself

Where I’ll Hopefully Be Headed This Week:

Lately I’ve been on a mission: tell the story of my life or die trying. Despite innumerable setbacks, I made my way from Los Angeles to New York and finally Orlando, Florida—where, stumbling through grief and growth, I developed a new hour of jokes and stories about what it means to “die trying.”

Turns out, the best way to tell the story of your life is to stop trying to prove it matters—and start believing it does. Not because someday somebody will care, but because one day, you realize that somebody is you.

Now, I’m telling a new story: the story of what it looks like to come home:

“Nathanael Mosher is a Winner (Loser?)” is the new hour from award-winning (losing?) comedian Nathanael Philip Mosher, exploring the grief of losing a peer — and the gift of gaining a friend. Discover what it means to lose yourself in endless comparison, only to find yourself face-to-face with the greatest friend you’ll ever know.

I’m performing my new solo show in the comforting sanctity of my own living room:

***there are only 25 tickets available due to the intimate nature of the show; other times/ dates will be added***

After the show, there will be a brief Q&A followed by a reception. This event will be filmed and recorded for future release. Registration includes the potential to appear on camera—please notify us at check-in if you wish not to be included.

Get your tickets here:

NATHANAEL COMES HOME

More live shows will be added soon so stay up to date here:

LIVE SHOWS

Follow PPDK Productions on all social media (mainly Insta and YT) @ppdkproductions and my personal Instagram @nathanmosherisgoodenough to see snippets from all the series I’ve been working on.

PPDK on Insta

Nathanael on Insta

If you want to watch every series I’ll be putting out, go to ppdkproductions.com. It’ll be the one stop shop for everything “Paraprosdokianist”

PPDK PRODUCTIONS

I also have a series I’ve been waiting on sharing called “Nathanael Has Thoughts and Prayers”. It’s a daily stream of consciousness vlog ending with a prayer inspired by the morning pages practice of the artist’s way. I’ve been performing standup the same way where it’s completely freestyled. It’s going okay.

Nathanael Has Thoughts and Prayers

Subscribe to get weekly updates, and eventually the paid will have some exclusive perks, for now everything’s free until I figure that out.

Subscribe now

Sincerely Yours,
The Paraprosdokianist

"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner turn of phrase joke lyric proverb parable quote wise saying piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion

Let all of My Story be used for His Glory/ Let all of My Pain be used for His Purpose/ Let all of my Name be used for His Fame/ Let all of my Work be Turned into Worship

A “paraprosdokian” is the Greek term for “one-liner” and it means “against expectation”. It’s a unit of meaning where the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, revealing perspective.

Here are 5 one-liners which got me through the week, the stories behind them, and a tag. A tag is an extra line a comedian will add to a joke, sending you further into the new direction you’re now unexpectedly headed. I’ll call this series, “Weekly Wit and Wisdom”. I also love alliteration. I literally love it.

“Paraprosdokians” are how I make sense of this crazy life I live. I hope they help you make sense of yours.

Pain (Life Lessons)

Comedians committing suicide is like a DJ Khaled song:

“Anotha one”

They keep on coming and I want it to stop.

Turns out the hardest thing you can do as a comedian is not kill yourself. Whether it’s drugs, self-loathing, or general self-destructive behavior, many of the greatest clowns to be took their lives at the top of the trapeze, letting go of their handle on life.

Starting out in standup, Jak Knight was the guy, the prom king, the 1st round draft pick, the one, and while I was out in London performing my first solo hour about overcoming suicidal thoughts, Jak Knight killed himself.

That’s right, he stole my bit, that thief!

Well, he finished it. I never committed fully. He was the better comedian.

“Anotha one”

I want it to stop.

+ Patience (Life Lesson Prep)

It’s important to get triggered because you need to find out where you’ve been hiding the bullets. Resentment will kill you.

Comedy was too “triggering”, so I left.

My psychiatrist ended up diagnosing me with imposter syndrome imposter syndrome. That’s where you’ve been given the opportunity to be an imposter but you don’t think you’re good enough to fake being good enough.

Stand-up comedy is like professionally faking being good enough. Right when the audience thinks they’re on the verge of something great, something truly serious, you’re like, pull my finger *fart noise*.

You fake it til you make it, then when you finally make it, and think, “I’m finally good enough,” you realize it’s so much more fun to play make believe.

So take my hand, pull my finger, and let’s go on this journey together *fart noise*.

/People (Life Offering)

When you reach your dreams, you realize your arms are a little bit longer now, just long enough. And your jump is a little bit taller, a little bit higher, just high enough. And you're just a little bit taller, just tall enough. When you reach your dreams you’re just a teensy weensy bit wiser, but you’re wise enough.

My dream since I was 17, watching Demetri Martin’s “If I” on Youtube, thinking about one day becoming a comedian despite my ambitions of medical school, was to do an autobiographical one man show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and three years ago, I did it. In 2021, I premiered the show at the Orlando Fringe Festival, where I sold out 5 out of 7 shows. The next year I was headed to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the mountain I was finally tall enough to reach.

Days before I did my first show in London, Jak Knight shot himself.

“Anotha one”

When you reach your dreams, now that you’re just a little bit taller, a little bit stronger, oh so slightly wiser, you can eat cookies whenever you want and you can devour them because they are undeniably yours. And now, all you have to do is worry about feeling just a little bit, just a teensy weensy bit, just a tad bit too full.

It’s important to get triggered, because you need to find out where you’ve been hiding the bullets.

x Purpose (Life Teaching)

Last time I came back to standup, I was coming off the tail end of a year long depressive episode. At one point, I had a personal therapist, a family therapist, a group therapist, and a psychiatrist. I felt like a rapper, because I had this team of people that made sure other people don't mess with me.

Rappers always like, “You don't mess with me and my team.”

I'm like, “You don't mess with me and my self-esteem team. We won't mess you up, but we will talk about you later confidentially. I won't hurt you, but I will set better boundaries for myself next time.”

^ Perspective (Life Preaching)

At one point I sincerely had the thought, “Maybe I should give up and become a teacher.”

That's an insane thought to have - Maybe I should give up and then tell other people what to do.

Here's a hot take: I think you should have to like your life before you teach anyone anything at all.

My favorite teachers were authentic, passionate, they cared. I don't remember what they taught me. I had this one seventh grade English teacher, at the end of every class if we were well-behaved, we’d play Simon Says.

At the end of every Simon says game, he’d go:

Simon says, “Don't smile.“

Then he'd make silly faces and we’d all break out laughing.

That guy was my English teacher. I still don't know how to read.

But I know how to smile and follow directions, and that’s how I got into UCLA.

I also know how to write. I’m pretty sure he was a failed comedian.

= Paraprosdokian (Life of Prayer)

What if nothing’s funny anymore, because you’ve been built on a false premise?

What if giving up is the way to find the life you like?

What if the life you’ve been living wasn’t authentic in the first place and the only way to like it again is to give up?

I became a substitute teacher.

So I haven’t given up completely yet.

I set a better boundary for myself called Jesus. He wants me to give up my life, so it can finally begin.

He wants me to get triggered so that one by one, we can get rid of all the bullets.

—> Tag (Life Renewal)

This year, I wrote a new show about Jak and all the men I’ve compared myself to, and all the ways I’ve been held hostage by imposter syndrome imposter syndrome.

I just came back from performing that show at the Orlando Fringe, where despite many setbacks I was able to get through performing 8 hours of stand-up comedy. It was a triumph of surrender, and a return to a place I once called home, the stage.

Sheng Wang, a comedian I admire for not only his chill Zen long hair, but his midrange jumper, one whom I play basketball with on Thursdays with a rag tag group of randos at a park in Culver City once told me, “We don’t do this cause we want to, we do this cause we have to.”

I don’t need to make money at this anymore, but I do need it to live. I also need money to live. So it’s with a heavy yet relieved heart that I announce I am cancelling the rest of the tour dates to Winnipeg and Victoria. It’s far too expensive to keep trying to be funny on a false premise. I gotta go back to doing it solo, but it doesn’t mean I’m doing it alone. Jesus is my boundary.

I’m going to focus on coming back home, coming back to the stage, and getting rid of all the bullets. I’m going to do it in the comfort of my own home with my family and those who have supported me. I’m learning I don’t need to go anywhere anymore to prove myself. I just need to come back home.

Turns out working on liking my life is the best way to teach people not to give up on theirs, or at least surrender themself to the one who gives life back.

What’s stopping you from giving up?

The question at the end of Weekly Wit and Wisdom will be answered in another series called “The Paraprosdokianist”. Here’s last weeks:

https://www.ppdkproductions.com/p/week-22-why-i-havent-killed-myself

Where I’ll Hopefully Be Headed This Week:

This week I’ll be launching the event for next house show (probably July 12) where I’ll be performing the new hour I just got done from performing in Orlando. It’s called “Nathanael Mosher is a Winner (Loser?):

Stay up to date here:

LIVE SHOWS

Follow PPDK Productions on all social media (mainly Insta and YT) @ppdkproductions and my personal Instagram @nathanmosherisgoodenough to see all the series I’ll be working on

PPDK on Insta

Nathanael on Insta

I have a series I’ve been waiting on sharing called “Nathanael Has Thoughts and Prayers”. It’s a daily stream of consciousness vlog ending with a prayer inspired by the morning pages practice of the artist’s way. I’ve been performing standup the same way where it’s completely freestyled. It’s going okay.

Nathanael Has Thoughts and Prayers

Subscribe to get weekly updates, and eventually the paid will have some exclusive perks, for now everything’s free until I figure that out.

Subscribe now

If you want to watch every series I’ll be putting out, go to ppdkproductions.com. It’ll be the one stop shop for everything “Paraprosdokianist”

Sincerely Yours,
The Paraprosdokianist

"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner turn of phrase joke lyric proverb parable quote wise saying piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion

Let all of My Story be used for His Glory/ Let all of My Pain be used for His Purpose/ Let all of my Name be used for His Fame/ Let all of my Work be Turned into Worship

Someday somebody will care—and that somebody will be you. 

I wrote that at 21, thinking of me at 17, hoping the work I hadn’t done yet would be worth it. I started writing poetry at 16, a cryptic language for my future self to decipher. Over the next decade, my life shattered across the world—from San Francisco to New York, Edinburgh to the Philippines—until someone helped me piece it all back together.

I haven’t written a newsletter in a while because New York was a crucible, as it always is. It’s one of the hardest places to exist in, and even more so expensive, but yet it refines one and gives a them a grit, tenacity, and wherewithal to resiliently go forth and suck a little less.

I got sick during my stay there, and had to perform anyways, because when you don’t know if anyone’s gonna show up, the one thing you can count on, is you showing up. It was rainy and windy and I was in bed all day, and yet I trudged forward through the mean weather with my co-producer Sean.

I got on stage around 1050 PM and performed my testimony, despite feeling as if I would fall asleep at any moment. It was our first show that only included non-believers, and I didn’t feel like I was connecting. Of course, I could make the excuse that I was sick and tired, but intimacy is not dependent on good feeling.

I knew there was a deeper place to go with the story I was telling and that I was missing the mark. And so I rewrote the show, which usually happens when the story isn’t compelling, and when it ceases to be true. While the story I was telling may have been true within the walls of the church, the question I was no answering was something deeper than, “Why Jesus?”

It became, “Why keep telling jokes at all?”

Our show is called, “Faith in the Hope of the Absurd,” which is a reference to Kierkegaard and the idea that infinite resignation moves into the realm of the absurd, which defies logic. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice the miracle that Lord provided is only made more profound/ ironic when coupled with the fact that “Isaac” means “laughter”.

Here I was, ready to sacrifice the thing most dear to my heart, stand-up comedy.

And I was ready, because I had left it time and time again, and honestly, had no idea how to continue moving forward and having faith in the hope of the absurd.

Sean and I also bonded over our shared readership of “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which posits, “obey and faith will follow”. And so I continued to obey the call of the Lord, which meant rewriting the show despite my tired sickness, and telling the truth of why I keep going back to stand-up comedy.

I talked about the years of comparing myself to others which culminated into the idolization of my peers, behemoths created by a mind searching for connection, waiting to be torn down by the God who loves me more than I can ever love myself. I talked about the tragic death of someone I looked up to, put on a pedestal, only to see them torn down, leaving me in the wake to continue forward without a competitor to copy moves from.

I’ll never be able to compete with the man I thought was the funniest, the friend I thought was coolest, or the mentor I was thought was smartest, because we we’re all on the same team. I was just too busy comparing myself to notice.

Someday somebody will care—and that somebody is Jesus. You’ll never love yourself as much as He does. You don’t have to.

PPDK is going through a massive rebrand. The main rebrand is that I’m the brand, or at least, the one who needs to carry the torch until we become a collective. I’m continuing the rest of the tour alone, and I’m returning back to UCLA tomorrow, in order to present a 10 year retrospective on a deep and abiding question, “Why keep telling jokes at all?”

RSVP to UCLA

Let all of my story be used for His Glory/ Let all of my Pain be used for His Purpose/ Let all of my Name be bringing Him Fame/ Let all of my Work be Turned into Worship

Servants of God must stand so much alone that they never know they are alone. In the first phase of Christian life, disheartenments come. People who are bright lights for us flicker out; those who stand with us pass away. We have to get used to this—so used to it that no matter what happens, we never feel we are standing alone.

“Everyone deserted me… But the Lord stood at my side” (2 Timothy 4:16–17). We must build our faith on the light that never fails, not on the light that fades. When “great” men and women go, we are sad— until we see that they were meant to go, and that the only thing that remains is looking on the face of God for ourselves.

• Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost”

Next up: UCLA, Orlando, Winnipeg, Florida.

I also have lots of live shows and rebranding coming up.

Find out more here, and see some of our past work:

SEE US LIVE

Follow me on all social media: @ppdkproductions

I’ve been hashing a lot of new concepts and brainstorming with the team about how to move forward.

If you want to support the tour, consider making a one time contribution here:

buymeacoffee.com/ppdkproductions

You can also make a recurring donation by subscribing to PPDK Productions, which you’re currently reading. We’re telling stories about how to live a life well-lived.

PPDK PRODUCTIONS

Live To Tell The Tale. Tell the Tale To Live. Press Play on Your Purpose.

Here are four Google Docs containing four full length scripts to shows I've performed:

1) My Hilarious Testimony - https://docs.google.com/.../1FnlQpTnDLsFxL43nVaip.../edit...

2) Nathan Mosher is Injured - https://docs.google.com/.../1b6xnYulzWMESLXI8VCfq.../edit...

3) "Who Would You Be if You Weren't Afraid of Suffering?" - Ep. 1 of Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends - https://docs.google.com/.../1fxF4C5K7XjvWMOoreYFg.../edit...

4) "What is Fun To You?" - Ep. 2 of Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends - https://docs.google.com/.../1rC8DiWiZREIoViBawmtk.../edit...

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Sincerely Yours,

Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher

AKA The Paraprosdokianist

"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner or turn of phrase, joke, lyric, proverb, parable, quote, wise saying, or piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion.

We want your story. Please connect with us. If you want to see a collection of stories we’ve told, go to our website: ppdkproductions.com

Dropped out from engineering to become a comedian.
Sunk $10,000 into a 10 year goal of doing the Edinburgh Fringe.
No money made.
Lived to tell the tale.

Became a substitute teacher.
Sunk $10,000 into buying the tech so I can
tell stories online.
No followers gained.
Living to tell the tale.

Kept friends, gained new ones.
Getting ready to perform in New York, Orlando, Canada, 
and tell so many others’ stories.
No money saved.
Telling the tale to live.

“We’re not gonna be losing for much longer” -
Shai Gilgeous Alexander

“Trade your worldly wealth to gain friendships among men so you’ll be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” -
Jesus, Dale Carnegie, Tony Robbins, Alex Hormozi

“It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”
Miyamoto Musashi

I didn’t lose anything. Only gained an army. At least I know who’s ready to fight now. Luckily my savior is a warrior and a gardener. He’s also the vine and the giver of Life. And he’s sending me to war and to plant seeds. He’ll water them. All he’s asking me to have is faith. 

"For sale, baby shoes, outgrown." - Nathanael Philip Mosher and a little Ernest Hemingway

The Lord will take you where you don’t want to go when you don’t want to fight and make you rest when you just want to go and fight, fight, fight. Hence, I’m in New York writing this, missing the calm, quiet, streets of Culver City, yet knowing that the most exhilarating thing I can do is to continue to obey the call of the Lord.

I don’t always want to, but then again I did pray and pray and pray that one day I’d become a comedian. And here I am, a comedian. That’s all I have right now as my potential source of revenue this month, and I’m deeply afraid, and yet I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I haven’t been able to keep up with the continual content schedule we’ve been putting out these past three months, as I’ve been under prime duress managing the impending tour dates of New York, UCLA, Orlando, Winnipeg, and Victoria. I’ve been sinking my teeth into the idea that jokes aren’t embellishments, but welcome relief on a hard and well-deserved journey.

And so the jokes will come, but the hard and well-deserved journey, that’s just getting started. I care about story and telling the truth. Living a life centered around living a good story is only possible by yielding to the Truth itself, the one who leads me beside still waters and restores my soul.

PPDK is going to look a lot different very soon because it’s becoming what it was originally intended to be: a storytelling collective centered around putting the story of one’s life in the light of Truth, pointing to the fact that life itself is much bigger than you.

I love telling stories and I’m learning the main reason I do it is because it gets other people to tell me theirs. I sat and listened to my friend Tim Limbrick recount to me the tale of how he dealt with the tragic loss of his Father, and learned to assume the responsibility his Father had always known he was able to grasp and steward. It’s such a wonderful feeling to listen to someone be authentic and find their faith in a previously precarious position they knew nothing about how to get out of.

The past three months have been a whirlwind of overwhelming stress, excitement, transcendent awe, followed by backbreaking labor only to finally find rest in the arms of a good, good Father. And every time I think that all is lost, someone comes to tell me that they see what I’m doing, and they’re ready to tell their story too.

Last week I humbled myself and finally told my Mom, “You’re the most financially savvy person I know, and yet I listen to you the least. Can you be my de facto Chief Revenue Officer until we have enough for you to be CFO?”

Of course, she said yes because she’s my Mom, only the biggest investor in my entire career and not to mention life itself. That 10,000 dollars came from her + some crowdfunding and it was meant for me to pursue a lucrative career in something like medicine. And even though I didn’t, she still let me lose it altogether. And she still loves me.

It’s time for me to accept the help and realize that even though people respect me as the guy who makes things happen, I don’t need to focus so much on being the guy who makes money, or the guy who knows how to market, or the guy who knows how to sell. I will have to learn and do all of those things, but just like telling stories, I only do it so that other people have the courage to come along and try it for themselves.

PPDK is going to be a collective and we already have our starting 5. It’s Nathanael Philip Mosher, Nehemiah Williams, Levi Williams, Tom Bajoras, and my Mom, Loida Mosher as the one who’s going to coach us on how to accept money so that we can fund the darn thing without so much shame and guilt.

I’m doing a show with my friend Sean Conrad, and he’s getting out there and telling his story and confronting the embarrassment and shame we sometimes feel calling ourselves Christians out there in the world when we know the blatant hypocrisy that it might trigger in someone’s fragile and fearful mind. And yet we’re just the same. I’m scared to follow Christ into dark comedy clubs where sometimes the nihilism runs so deep it drives those to suicide. And yet he wants me to go there, because he sent me there and he wants me to fight. He also wants me to plant seeds. It’s just not me who’s going to water them.

He’s the gardener. He’s the king. He’s the fiercest warrior to ever live. He’s the vine. He’s the giver of Life. He creates all things.

I make jokes. It doesn’t mean I need to be so precious with them that I stifle them silly with all my trembling anxiety about how they’ll be received.

I’m the guy who makes things happen. I’m not the Creator. And I’m not the guy who makes money.

I have my Mom for that now.

Here’s a little taste of what PPDK is going to look like moving forward:

PPDK 3.0

If you want to support our tour, consider making a one time contribution here:

buymeacoffee.com/ppdkproductions

You can also make a recurring donation by subscribing to PPDK Productions, which you’re currently reading. It’s is a production company built around other people telling their life story. The reason it’s not under my name is because it’s not supposed to be just me posting everything. Right now, that’s just how it is, because some of the team members are going through some difficult times. It’s not easy putting your heart out there, and I know with time I won’t be the only one doing it. Until then I keep writing and trying.

PPDK PRODUCTIONS

Live To Tell The Tale. Tell the Tale To Live. Press Play on Your Purpose.

Here are four Google Docs containing four full length scripts to shows I've performed:

1) My Hilarious Testimony - https://docs.google.com/.../1FnlQpTnDLsFxL43nVaip.../edit...

2) Nathan Mosher is Injured - https://docs.google.com/.../1b6xnYulzWMESLXI8VCfq.../edit...

3) "Who Would You Be if You Weren't Afraid of Suffering?" - Ep. 1 of Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends - https://docs.google.com/.../1fxF4C5K7XjvWMOoreYFg.../edit...

4) "What is Fun To You?" - Ep. 2 of Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends - https://docs.google.com/.../1rC8DiWiZREIoViBawmtk.../edit...

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Sincerely Yours,

Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher

AKA The Paraprosdokianist

"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner or turn of phrase, joke, lyric, proverb, parable, quote, wise saying, or piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion.

We want your story. Please connect with us. If you want to see a collection of stories we’ve told, go to our website: ppdkproductions.com

Well, here goes:

My name is Nathanael Philip Mosher and I'm a comedian. Don't ask if I'm funny, you be the judge. Don't ask me to tell you a joke, my life is one.

Delivering my testimony (in Christian-ese this means "story of your life and how you found God") has been one of the single most intense experiences of my life. It's like ripping your chest open and holding your heart out for auction. At the end, everyone comes together to sew you back up and hugs you into a new level of compassion, praying that your story can now uplift others the way it has them. The heart that gets put back in is much, much bigger than before. It also feels a whole lot more. It also loves a little bit better.

Once you come to from the unconscious revelry you had to enter into to do something so scary, vulnerable, and yet deeply meaningful, you find out your heart is worth more than you can ever quantify, because the price people were assigning to it kept going up, until a Man in the back raised his hand and said, "Stop the bidding. No one can pay what I will pay for this man's heart, because this man's heart is priceless."

Today, I received news that Sean Conrad and I have been taken off the waitlist in order to perform our testimonies at the Orlando Fringe Festival. It's some of the best stand-up I've ever written. I cried a lot while writing it, which is how I know it's hilarious. It's dedicated to Jak Knight, who was someone I always felt like I was competing with, rather than a human being who needed compassion and love just like all of us.

We'll now be doing the NY Fringe in April, Orlando in May, Winnipeg in July, and finally Victoria again in August. And the way these things have gone in the past, people are gonna ask us to do more. I'll also be finally taping my solo show, "Nathan Mosher is Injured" (Orlando Fringe 2021, Edinburgh 2022, Vancouver 2022) at the Hero Workshop in Culver City on April 26, as well as UCLA on May 3rd. I'm in the process of creating the event as we speak.

I have absolutely zero idea how I'm going to accomplish any of this, not to mention fund it all. I have enough to fund the operation just barely, but have to call in a lot of favors, and have zero marketing budget. I have put my full faith and trust in God that He will come through. I know He will, because the Man in the back of that room is Jesus himself, and he's paid for my heart with his own more times than I can count.

The truth is, I don't have 50 dollars to give away to every single person reading this post in order to bet on making you laugh. Here's what I'll do. I'll give you my heart in the form of a story.

Here are four Google Docs containing four full length scripts to shows I've performed:

1) My Hilarious Testimony - https://docs.google.com/.../1FnlQpTnDLsFxL43nVaip.../edit...

2) Nathan Mosher is Injured - https://docs.google.com/.../1b6xnYulzWMESLXI8VCfq.../edit...

3) "Who Would You Be if You Weren't Afraid of Suffering?" - Ep. 1 of Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends - https://docs.google.com/.../1fxF4C5K7XjvWMOoreYFg.../edit...

4) "What is Fun To You?" - Ep. 2 of Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends - https://docs.google.com/.../1rC8DiWiZREIoViBawmtk.../edit...

If at any point you think my heart was worth anything, you can send a donation here:

buymeacoffee.com/ppdkproductions

You can also make a recurring donation by subscribing to PPDK Productions, which you’re currently reading. It’s is a production company built around other people telling their life story. The reason it’s not under my name is because it’s not supposed to be just me posting everything. Right now, that’s just how it is, because some of the team members are going through some difficult times. It’s not easy putting your heart out there, and I know with time I won’t be the only one doing it. Until then I keep writing and trying.

PPDK PRODUCTIONS

Live To Tell The Tale. Tell the Tale To Live. Press Play on Your Purpose.

Share this with anyone who struggles to give their heart way, especially if they're feeling heart broken. Let them know their heart isn't broken, it's only broken when they can't feel anything at all.

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

No matter what, I’m going to keep giving my heart away, because it was never mine to begin with.

Sincerely Yours,

Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher

AKA The Paraprosdokianist

"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner or turn of phrase, joke, lyric, proverb, parable, quote, wise saying, or piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion.

We want your story. Please connect with us. If you want to see what we’ve been up to this week, go to our website: ppdkproductions.com

From Work to Worship is a podcast where we explore how people’s calling becomes their calling card, how vocation fuels occupation, how “to work” can be to worship when we understand who we were made for.

This was just a prayer months ago. Nehemiah brought up the idea of proposing to Brittney at the cafe him and his brother work at. Little did we know that she also was praying that he would propose to her there. And so we made it happen.

Before the show I prayed, “Lord, blind Brittney to the proposal, let her not see it coming. Well, at least put some sunglasses on her.”

Let’s just say she had a hunch, but she didn’t know. We filmed the entire show and it’s finally out in its entirety. You can watch it on our Substack here:

Or as always, subscribe to our YT Channel (tell people about us!): PPDK PRODUCTIONS ON YOUTUBE

“Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends” is a podcast available here on Substack, but also on Spotify, and Apple podcasts. You can watch/ listen to it there as well!

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Here’s another prayer that was answered: my Lola reached 90 years old and is still dancing and living it up. I recently posted the speech about her I presented at her 90th bday celebration. It’s one of the best things I’ve written:

We also posted another episode of From Work To Worship which you can find on Spotify, Apple and at our website From Work To Worship. It’s part 3 of my testimony (Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher).

We want to reach out to more people for their testimonies because ultimately we want to listen to your story and turn it into a performance that can touch the hearts and minds of people and hopefully lead them to a life filled with purpose.

Please reach out to us. I’m looking to interview as many people as possible and work on as many projects as the Lord will provide. Every new piece of technology goes a long way and so we know have the capability to come to you and make a podcast (you don’t have to release it if you’re uncomfortable). We’ve already taped 3 live shows and have 3-4 more in the pipeline. Want to make as many specials special as humanly possible especially with the help of humans living in the grace of God walking with purpose. AND THAT MEANS YOU =)

Leave a comment

One last thing:

I have a prayer. I need help. Right now I’m doing most of this on my own and next month I’ll be in New York performing my testimony at the NY Fringe. I’m spending everything I make as a substitute towards making the vision the Lord has put on my heart a reality. Sometimes I act selfishly and forget that this vision is about uplifting other people’s stories. I’m just starting with my own because sometimes that’s what shows other people it’s possible.

You can support me (and everyone I’m collaborating with) by becoming a paid subscriber. Even 5 dollars a month goes a long way.

Subscribe now

If you’d like to make a one time payment to contribute you can also help here:

Buy Me a Coffee

Another way you can support me is by coming to my upcoming shows:

IThis photo is going to be shown in Times Square in April. My friend Sean Conrad and I are delivering our testimony through jokes and music for the New York Fringe. We’ll be in Canada too in July and August again.

If you are in New York, know anyone in New York, know any churches, or people interested in laughing about the foibles of trying to walk in faith:

We’d love to see you or anyone you know there.

You can get tickets here:

FAITH IN THE HOPE OF THE ABSURD NY

The event’s not up yet, but I’ll be taping my award winning one man show, “Nathan Mosher is Injured” in Culver City on April 26th and again at UCLA on May 3rd. Stay tuned for updates.

Here’s an old trailer for the last time I performed the show:

Oh and finally, we have hats for sale (well mockups at least):

They have our logo and say Press Play on Your Purpose and they have a blue bill. I have to figure out how to put them online for sale and such but I got a small amount for 17 per so that I could change the design and make it better with time.

Anyways, if you want a hat (we have 20 left and I’m going to be ordering more), just comment: I want a hat!

Leave a comment

I’ll email you back and we can figure out payment and such and getting you the hat. I promise, all of this “business” stuff, I’ll get better at. Especially when I get more help (LOL)…

or maybe I just need more faith!

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Sincerely Yours,

Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher

AKA The Paraprosdokianist

Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends is a show where Nathanael introduces you to his talented, wonderful, thoughtful, and engaging friends. Each show is moved forward by an intention in the form of a question, shaping the material presented. This show's question was, “What is fun to you? This month's guests were Terrence Rutledge, Shon Williams, Kalle Pascal, Nehemiah Williams, Brittany Wilson, and yours truly.

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From Work to Worship is a podcast where we explore how people’s calling becomes their calling card, how vocation fuels occupation, how “to work” can be to worship when we understand who we were made for.

- poetry, or gibberish depending on how you feel

This is Mt. Mayon, an active volcano in the Philippines. Its first recorded eruption happened in 1616. I’ve been seeing it in dreams and visions ever since I was 23. I’m 29 now. And I recently visited the Philippines for the first time as an adult (last time I went was when I was 2 years old).

I went with my dear mother to re-engage with my culture, heritage, history and to answer two redeemingly intimate questions that are integral to my future development as a human being, storyteller, and child of God:

“Who am I”

and

“Where do I come from?”

I had a frighteningly stark thought a few years back trying to tackle what was next and begin to plot out the seedlings of a sequel to my debut one man show. That thought was, “I can’t afford to know where I came from.”

In grappling with that question, “Where do I come from?” I realized I couldn’t answer that question without visiting the Philippines, my Mom’s home country, because much of my behavior, values, and the way I was raised is informed by who my Mother is.

I couldn’t answer the question, “Who am I?” without answering, “Who is Loida Rosario Abad?”

I couldn’t answer the question, “Where do I come from?” without going there.

And so began the journey to the Philippines.

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I didn’t go to Mt. Mayon when I was 2 years old. I don’t fully understand how I can explain to you that I’ve been seeing this exact landscape in dreams and visions for the past 6 years.

When I was 23 in the midst of a destructively debilitating depression the likes of which many around me had never seen, I came out of it a humbled man ready to surrender to the Lord who created me. That’s a more beautified way of putting it. Simply put, I was frustrated with being created at all, and I was ready to grapple with what it means to be alive at all.

And so I shouted to God as I believed in him then and said, “You know what God, I give up! Have it your way!”

— my prayers are sponsored by Burger King —

And so that Sunday I stayed up to go to church and the Sunday after that (I’m jumbling the dates here), I went to a listening prayer.

A friend invited me to a listening prayer, where through silent meditation and prayer you find out what God is communicating to you. 5 people who I don’t know are praying for me, silently, seeing if they get any answers and one of them says they hear the words, “Work, routine, and don’t laugh away the pain.” I was like, “How do you know I’m an unemployed, sad comedian?”

• A piece from my one man show, “Nathan Mosher is Injured” - stay tuned for April 26th when I’m performing it live in Culver City

“Work, routine, and don’t laugh away the pain.”

That actually came to pass many years later. It’s called PPDK Productions, and you’re currently reading it.

“Work, routine, and don’t laugh away the pain.”

I’m writing this while currently substituting an AP Chemistry Class and I’m telling you the story behind the jokes.

The other vision I saw during that listening prayer was a stark landscape. There was a crystal clear, icy path that developed before me. On both sides it was surrounded by pure desolation. Everything was ashy black, burnt to a crisp. I knew that if I strayed off the crystal clear path, I would succumb to that desolation. At the head of the path it led to a dark black mountain. At the top of it was a volcano erupting lava and spewing out heat and ash.

I later learned that volcano is and was Mt. Mayon.

I’ll tell you how I found that out. It’s a crazy story, but these days I’ve suspended disbelief because my life is much more than “crazy”, it’s unbelievable, just like the view from Mayon.

As I began to rehabilitate my broken life, I began to work with kids, write again, and continue to explore prayer and meditation, delving into deeper and deeper states of stillness, eventually getting to the place where I could maintain stillness for up to 2 and a half hours. At that point I was exploring yoga and meditation through an Indian yoga teacher named Sadhguru. This was before I knew who Jesus really was. I was able to be guided in these states by the Holy Spirit thanks to the fact that I was baptized and had surrendered to Christ. I don’t recommend messing around with occult and New Age, although I didn’t know this then.

I recommend a writer I’ve been corresponding with named Kate Orson, because she came from the New Age and writes about how it can be ultimately dangerous. I’m not going to explain it here, but I’ll refer you to her Substack.

Kate Orson

Seeking Truth, Finding God.

I digress…

Every time I would get into these suspended states of consciousness, stillness, in deep dreamlike reverie and prayer, this landscape would emerge.

There are many, many episodes that have emerged out of this landscape, and the unfolding story could become an entire book, but I’ll fast forward to one in particular, because this will illuminate the pathway to how I ended up at the Mayon Volcano itself.

One weekend, Sadhguru was in town, in Los Angeles, in person, doing his “Inner Engineering” workshop at the Los Angeles Convention Center. In lieu of attending I decided to fast and pray the entire weekend.

While in deep meditation, I ended up back at this landscape. By this point, I had been back here many times. When my therapist and I had done visualization exercises about health and wellness, namely visualizing a future of “perfect health”, this landscape emerged, except it wasn’t desolate, it was thriving with green vegetation, yet completely deserted of any human life.

In a previous episode of this unfolding landscape, I climbed up the mountain, jumped into the active volcano, went through a metamorphosis and ended up a butterfly, only to fly above the desolate landscape and see the overwhelming destruction, yet from a place of transcendent beauty.

This time however, I’m there and there’s a thriving village, thriving green, and everybody’s jovially alive. I look forward and I see a man, who I can only describe as my brother, because in the vision, that’s who he was to me. Call it a past life, call it a memory in the spirit, I’m not exactly sure how to contextualize these things within the veracity of biblical interpretation, but in this dream, he’s my brother. All of a sudden the village gets raided and a war breaks out.

All of a sudden, the village begins to get attacked. People are taken out. Things are burning. I see my brother get shot with an arrow straight to the heart. Everybody’s running and screaming and I run to his aid. I hold him in my arms and he breathes his last breath. He tells me, “Run.”

Now keep in mind, my body is currently in a state of complete stillness and all of this “memory” is happening in a dreamlike state of reverie in a prolonged state of prayer and meditation. I just want to pull you back real quick so that you’re not like, “Wait, Nathan, that happened to you?”

I don’t know if it happened to me, but I know it happened. Here’s how I know it happened.

Shortly after my “brother” died, I cried a deep wail and shouted, “I have nothing and I am nothing!” And in this dream, I felt everything. The cry for my “brother” was as real as the cries I had for my ex last February when we broke up. This felt as real as any other emotional response I’ve felt to real loss.

He said, “Run” and so I did. I ran quickly to the coast and boarded a wooden raft and set sail. And I didn’t come back til years later. When I came back to the village as an old man, the entire village was destroyed with volcanic ash, and it was completely desolate.

In the interim, I set sail and ended up at a small island off the coast of India, studied under a guru (who somehow has some relationship to Sadhguru), started a family, and decided to end my life back at the the place where I ran from, which I now know is Mt. Mayon.

All of these episodic additions to this “story” or “past life” or “memory in the Spirit”, or whatever this crazy tale is, have unfolded in dreams and visions over the past 6 years through deep states of prayer, meditation, and an unfolding relationship with the Holy Spirit.

I’m sure I’ll end up revealing more about what this all means as I learn what the heck it actually all means.

But I’ll tell you this. I know when I hear from Jesus because he addresses me directly as “My Son”. About two years back in the midst of a season of depression and rebuilding I asked him, “Lord, how do I know it’s you?”

He said, “From now on I will address you as my son.”

You can refer to my testimony if you want to know more about how I came to know Jesus.

After reeling from this memory of seeing my “brother” get killed right in front of my eyes, the Lord said, “My son, this is a real place in the Philippines.”

I said, “Where?”

He said, “Look up active volcanoes that have destroyed populations in the Philippines in the 1600’s”

So I did. Mayon’s first active eruption was in 1616. It killed about 1200 people. I looked up a photo it.

It was the exact place I had seen in dreams and visions. It was and still is.

Just about two weeks ago, I went there with my Mom and some of her friends. It looks exactly as I had seen in dreams in vision.

There’s a Franciscan church that they rebuilt which got destroyed when Dutch pirates raided the village in 1535. It got destroyed again when the volcano erupted in 1616. And they kept rebuilding it. It’s been rebuilt and destroyed many times. It’s remnants are at the Cagsawa ruins, right at the base of the mountain.

I went there the first day. I didn’t plan the itinerary, a local did. As I was facing the church, I realized I had seen that building. It was to left behind my “brother”, as he got shot. In the dream, after he died and I quickly decided to run to the coast, I turned left, because the coast was to my left.

So, about four hundred years later, not in a dream state, in the current year 2025, I, Nathanael Mosher, not, whoever this was in the dream whose brother got shot, pulled up Google Maps to see where the coast was.

I’m sure you can guess, it was to my left.

I had been here before.

Or at least, my “Spirit” had been, or I had been here in a “past life”, or honestly I don’t completely know yet.

I’m still learning what this all means. But I’ll tell you this:

Going to Mt. Mayon and the Philippines brought me closer to my Mom, taught me about “where I come from”, “who I am”, and most of all, something about “teaching people to write from the heart”. That’s another dream I had right before I left to Bicol, and maybe I’ll speak about that later.

Every time I go to a place the Lord has shown me in visions I become a better person, a better storyteller, I get closer to Him, and I learn a little bit more about what it means to be human. I don’t always understand it, but I obey anyways.

I can’t make this up. Or maybe I can. I am a storyteller after all. I really don’t know. I’m just telling you the truth of what I’ve experienced even if it doesn’t make sense to me.

Anyways, I need to wrap this up because I need to go hand a souvenir to the chemistry teacher I was substituting for back in January before I left to the Philippines.

Last year, the Lord also showed me another vision in a dream. It was an old performance space in Westwood that I used to perform at weekly called “The Improv Space”, except it was rebuilt and on the bottom floor there was a coffee shop. On the top floor there was a performance space.

That place is real. It’s called “The Paraprosdokianist” and it’s a venue where we house storytelling in all genres and spoken word forms centered around testimony.

It’s not “real” or “built” yet. It’s just a dream.

Well, I should say. I know it’s real. I know it’s real because the Lord already showed me. I just have to build it. And go where he calls me. He’s made so many of my dreams a reality time and time again. So I follow.

PPDK Productions is just a dream. And we’re just getting started making it a reality. But let me tell you something, it’s already real. You just haven’t experienced it yet. I have.

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In lieu of a traditional content recap, I wrote this instead, because we haven’t posted anything all month. I’m starting my personal channel too and we’re gonna get back into the swing of things full steam ahead. I’m performing my testimony in New York with my friend Sean Conrad. You can get tickets here.

FAITH IN THE HOPE OF THE ABSURD NY

I want to get to know my readers/ listeners/ the people who have supported me in the past. I want to get to know your story. Leave a comment/ send me a DM if you’re interested in sharing some of your life with us. It might not make sense, but I know for a fact it’s interesting.

Leave a comment

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

I’m starting a personal YouTube channel as well because PPDK PRODUCTIONS is centered around collaborations.

It’s going to be @nateprays on all social media platforms. That’s all.

Sincerely Yours,

Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher

AKA The Paraprosdokianist

When we get back we’re going to finally be able to implement much of the wonderful/ constructive feedback we’ve received in these past 6 weeks of putting our story out there. Thank you to all who have given us feedback and led us deeper on this journey of learning what it means to be a storyteller in the kingdom.

To all those who have unsubscribed (you wouldn’t see this if you unsubscribed lol), thank you. Unsubscribing or unfollowing has done us a favor of learning who is not resonating with our storytelling. At first it hurt, but eventually I have come to realize it is a gift, because I would rather have 100 people listening intently, yearning to help us on our journey, than 1000 waiting for us to fall.

Stories we have told so far...

Every story told below can be found on our website, ppdkproductions.com:

PPDK PRODUCTIONS

Live To Tell The Tale. Tell the Tale To Live. Press Play on Your Purpose.

or on our YouTube Channel PPDK PRODUCTIONS. Our podcasts are on Spotify, Apple, Substack and we also have music on Spotify as well. Search “PPDK PRODUCTIONS”.

Here’s what we’ve been up to and how we want to improve:

Last Saturday we told our testimonies through the spoken word art forms of stand-up comedy, music, and poetry. We performed it live and taped it with the help of a wonderful audience. It will be out soon. It was called “In Pursuit of Awe”.

We hope that we can do more shows like this with other collaborators. We want to help you tell your story with you in the Light of Truth.

From Work To Worship is our flagship podcast where we explore how people’s calling becomes their calling card, how vocation fuels occupation, how “to work” can be to worship when we understand who we were made for. So far we have explored Nehemiah’s story as well as begun to explore Nathanael’s. We hope to interview many more artists, storytellers, visionaries, and those who wish to see how they can serve the kingdom and tell their story. We released a new episode every week.

When we get back we’re going to delve deeper into many other people’s stories. We hope to release a Substack exclusive episode where the interviewee goes in depth into their artistic, technical process so that viewers can learn about what it takes to become a storyteller.

Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends is a live show where Nathanael introduces you to his talented, wonderful, thoughtful, and engaging friends. Each show is moved forward by an intention in the form of a question, shaping the material presented. First we answered the question, “Who would you be (your character) if the fear of suffering were taken away from you?” Next we answered, “What is fun to you?” Nehemiah proposed to his now fiance Brittney at this show (this spoils the surprise at the end, but it doesn’t make it anymore incredible). We released a new episode every week.

Next we’re answering the question, “All your dreams have been fulfilled, now what?”

On "My Father's Office" two men strive to cultivate mastery over two skills: chess and music (and now Pokemon). Watch as they practice performing and perform the art of practice, learn how to teach and teach how to learn, and most of all learn how play their purpose with the only tool that really matters, their own striving for authenticity. We livestreamed once a week on YouTube and put out an episode every week.

While away, we’re going to have a guest storyteller explore the world of video gaming and purpose.

The Process of the Paraprosdokian is a podcast about patiently enduring the pain of life with the help of people, discovering your purpose, sharing your perspective, and living to tell the tale. Learn tools to cultivate patience and engage with your purpose. We put out new episodes and are beginning to retool what this will look like in March.

When we get back Nathanael will go deeper into what it means to be a storyteller.

The Paraprosdokianist: A journalist column of: paraprosdokians:

"Paraprosdokian + journalist" = "Paraprosdokianist" Or: one who pens journalistic columns of paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokian: Greek for "against expectation" a rhetorical device in which the second part of the phrase makes you re-evaluate the meaning of the first, otherwise known as a one-liner turn of phrase joke lyric proverb parable quote wise saying piece of life itself summarized in the shortest unit of story resulting in: one's expectations being upheld, subverted, affording one a renewed perspective and sense of compassion.

We want to figure out how to make everything more collaborative and let this be more of a group effort/ collective. Our end goal is artist development. We’re starting with ourselves so we can blaze a path forward and discovering the pitfalls that come along the way. Then hopefully we can take you along.

We’ve been messing around with Notes or little blurbs and thoughts related to storytelling.

Hopefully we can figure out a better way to serve and engage those out there.

Overall, when we get back our goal is to launch a new podcast called “Flipping Failures” which revolves around learning to become a better storyteller, exploring a monthly piece of reading, and living to tell the tale. We’re going to be putting out lots and lots of music down the line on all the respective streaming platforms. We’re going to keep doing live shows, putting our films and specials, eventually releasing books as well.

Most of all, when we get back, we’re going to start reaching to those who wish to live to tell the tale and tell the tale to truly live. We have a workshop in the works and an idea of how we’re going to start developing storytellers into those who aren’t afraid to be as vulnerable as they are strong. We know you’re out there and we can’t wait to meet you.

Let us know what we can do better.

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This has been a PPDK PRODUCTIONS. We invited you to Press Play on Your Purpose.

Yours Truly,

The Paraprosdokianist

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends is a show where Nathanael introduces you to his talented, wonderful, thoughtful, and engaging friends. Each show is moved forward by an intention in the form of a question, shaping the material presented. This show's question was, “What is fun to you? This month's guests were Terrence Rutledge, Shon Williams, Kalle Pascal, Nehemiah Williams, Brittany Wilson, and yours truly.

The fourth guest on this week’s episode is Nehemiah Williams and his girlfriend (her “title” changes in this episode), Brittney Wilson. In this episode, Nehemiah presents his original music and explains how relationships are fun. New episodes every Friday.

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From Work to Worship is a podcast where we explore how people’s calling becomes their calling card, how vocation fuels occupation, how “to work” can be to worship when we understand who we were made for.

We’re flipping failures

We hit it out of the park

We making major

Moves come outta the dark

Peel back the layers

We may be missing the mark

But we got flavor

Chef be our savior

We’re flipping failures

We turn a wayward son back to his maker

Yo, we blow up the farts

Word to the mayor

Turn up the bass on a Karen

We takin’ takers

Come make us cayer

We fly like Merry Poppins cause we got it in the bag

We full like Christmas stocking you know we got it like that

You must’ve missed us rockin

Too busy being hard hat

You need to step up, lock in

Our building never falls back

We pulling weeds cause we get it out the dirt

We planting seeds cause our morale can’t be hurt

We calling sheep to the fold we put in work

We called to lead you gon learn how we get turnt

Alert the Neighbor’s

Evacuate all the places

That house the fakers

Our URL is an IRL of a hater

Don’t trust the government

They gon wreck it, Ralph Nader

Receive this prayer

Lord, have mercy

you rain the same on the wicked and on the fair

We know the devil’s a liar and he’s a player

He rigs the rules of the game in his secret lair

Prince of the air

Lord

We know you care

You hear the cries of the righteous when we come near

You hear the shouts of your children when we’re in fear

We know the path is uncertain but always clear

We know you hear

Lord

We turn our ears

Please God speak to us tell us what’s in this year

Seems like you’re coming back tearing veils with your sheers

You’re the shepherd, the lamb, only top tier

Please God appear

See there’s nothing more controversial than Christian

This that workaholism which cures addiction

This that worship time free with conviction

Go ‘head, count the cost, but can you dig it?

Rather grandstand benches virtue signalin’

On our moral high ground, sowin’ division

No touch heals the nation, palms itchin’

Walk this Christian walk and stop trippin’

No you not with us when you witchin’

Don’t play defense now, Scottie Pippin’

Don’t you crash out now and be chicken’

Final box scores’ in and Christ winnin’

See our Christ the GOAT, sacrifice his soul

Only boast the most when we’re weak

Stop this JumpMan worship when you know you hurtin’

When we know the faucet Diddy leaks

Hold on, what’s the matter?

Stop this idle chatter

Hear the Son of Man come and speak

Do you love me so

Do you love me now

If you loved me then

Feed my sheep

Hear the words of prophets days gone by

Lord came chimney down with holy fire

You best not mock the Lamb who paid the price

The meek inherit the Earth

He said meek, not nice

And so Pokemon, chess, music, and the Gospels is where I’ll begin.

One of the joys being a long-term substitute teacher has been connecting with the kids around the new Pokemon Mobile Game, chess, and life in general.

In this episode, I listened to Jordan Peterson and a panel organized by the Daily Wire discuss the Gospels, while playing Pokemon, chess, and messing around with music. This is what is known as “the play cycle” and it’s dang fun.

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What childhood joys do you want to get back in touch with?

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I gotta say, this was super duper fun. This game is awesome and I can’t wait to keep playing it and improvising and playing music and being overall a silly human being.

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This has been a PPDK Production and we invite you to Press Play on Your Purpose.

Sincerely Yours,

The Paraprosdokianist

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Today I got the news that my business partner, accountability buddy, and more importantly friend, Nehemiah Williams, lost his father. I’ve heard much about who Nehemiah’s Dad was to him and I can only surmise the gravity of this loss by multiplying the weight of greatness his Father has imparted to him.

Please pray for the Williams family during this time. Any words of encouragement you have will be greatly appreciated and I will relay them to him during this trying time.

Most of all, this is the exact time that we will praise louder because Nehemiah’s father was a massive influence on his musicality and who above all, investing in his skill, as well as took the time to let him know that it was possible for him to have a future in music if only he would work hard and believe in the power of God.

He was a man of faith and will be in Heaven proudly looking upon his family. We will continue to redeem our gifts through mutual accountability and raise up young men to engage with their purpose. Nehemiah’s calling is music and we will take this time to worship the Lord who has taken his servant back today.

We can’t wait to rock out to some Motown jams with you in Heaven Mr. Williams.

Sincerely Yours,

The Paraprosdokianist

Listen to Nemo’s life story, testimony, and find out who his Father was here:

Every Saturday we’ll be releasing a read only excerpt from this week’s episode. This will be one of many pieces of content exclusive to Substack. We’re also exploring what bonus content we’ll offer subscribers. We’ll post the video accompanying said excerpt on our YouTube Channel. Please subscribe and follow us on YouTube below, this would vastly help us out.

PPDK ON YOUTUBE

Here is some of our interview with Nathanael Philip Abad Mosher.

Nathanael

So my name is Nathanael Philip Mosher.

Nehemiah

Take us back to your earliest memory in life. What was that like?

Nathanael

I actually went into a deep dive, trying to figure out what my earliest memory was, and it was an image.

It was a Mega Blocks castle at Tara Hills where I grew up in a condominium, and that's all I remembered. So I'm like, why do I remember this? And actually I had been going back to early childhood memories because I was tackling pornography addiction, and I thought, well, this wasn't always a part of who I was, but it had hit me at such an early age, like eight or nine years old that for me to go back to find out who I was before it, I had to go that far back.

So I thought of what are those things I was into? Like I was into yo yo and chess and Random hobbies and games and all these different things reading a lot. So I remembered that memory and I have been practicing stillness, like prolonged stillness and also tackling pornography addiction and reading this book called “Unwanted” by Jay Stringer.

So I kept trying to go back to that memory. And this is about two years ago now, uh, I was on medication for four years and I got off the medication and all of a sudden I'm in a deep, deep depression, just debilitating, crippling. I can't leave the bed and it's like three days. I can't leave the bed. It's on New Year's.

I cancel all my plans. My, uh, ex at the time was out of town, so I wasn't seeing her. Actually, I was living in Westchester, and I had left. So we're in the loft of my parents house –my house, I don't know, I’ll inherit it, so they're still here.

Nehemiah

What are you, the prodigal son? Trying to get your inheritance early?

Nathanael

100%. Oh, shoot.

Nehemiah

Watch out for this one.

Nathanael

Oh, wait. Uh, I'm not trying to get it early. I missed that.

So, I was living there and it was this big 18 by almost 20 feet garage that they had converted into a space and I thought, Oh, I'll take this studio and go there and have more space. And it was a bad deal because there was leaking in the foundation and then it rained the most it's ever rained in like five years in LA.

And so I'm in that studio and there's a couch there and I sort of had that space to myself so I could just be alone there in this house where I'm living with like five people. So I was just depressed. Just stay in there. Just. Couldn't get out of bed and, uh, praying and trying to get deep, you know, feeling a lot of pain and emotional or physical.

What you said last week about that, there's five layers, right? There's the spiritual underneath and the emotional, then the mental and the physical, then the material. So, I had sort of started to understand that these were started to get away from detaching myself from the emotional part and start to see that it's physical and then understanding through meditation and prayer and community and just different ways to weather the physical pain.

But there was a physcal uniquely physical part which is that my mental, my emotional and my physical were just completely disparately dissected and separate. So my mental says, get up. My emotional says, I don't know, I want to, I want physical relief from this pain. And then, and then my nervous system is just, I can't move.

So I'm like, get up. I want to get up. Nothing's happening.

So I'm sitting there. I'm, I'm down there. I can't get up. It's like two, three days. And, uh, I decided to, to binge, listen to Think and Grow rich because someone had talked about it. So I was taking that time to just sit there and finish that book. So I did, I did. But at the end of that, the Lord took me to that memory and I'm in that memory.

And, uh, I see the Mega Blocks castle and it starts to Zoom out and I see my Dad's over here. My mom's over speaking to him. And over here is my sister. And I start to cry. I look at my Mega Blocks castle. It's like broken or something. I'll look over there. My sister's crying. So I'm crying. I'm like, she's crying.

Wow. This is broken. What's happening? Uh, and then I look over and my parents are arguing and I'm crying. I'm crying. I'm crying. My Dad looks distraught. I told my mom, I said, did Dad lose a job? When I was like three, he's like, oh yeah, he was on thin ice. So they're stressed about stuff. They're stressed out.

They're talking and then all of a sudden they notice my sister's crying. So they're freaking out because she's crying. So they're tending to her and they don't recognize me. I'm crying crying and mind you I can feel Everything in this memory Like on a deep visceral level full body every level of experience.

I can feel it. I'm in it And, uh, I'm crying. I'm crying. I'm crying. And then all of a sudden, everything just goes dark. Everything shuts off. And I recognize that this isn't working. Like they don't know I'm here. It's not working. So, like, this is pointless. Like this castle stupid anyways, like starting to pick it back up and I realized that's what would happen when I would sink into depression.

It would be tremendous physical anxiety and pain and just like overwhelming sensation, crying, crying, crying, freaking out, fear, trembling. Shut off and then that shut off what happened, it severed what I wanted and what my physical like nervous system was like, we're off.

– Praise, praise Jesus. I pray that the tech in this room does not get overwhelmed and shut off while I'm saying this, by the way, we need to invest in a fire extinguisher ASAP –

So I realized that that was depression. Like that, that's exactly what would happen. And I had not seen that that was the physical manifestation and representation of this pattern that was happening throughout my life. And I was on mood stabilizing medication called Depakote. And I had been starting to do research about what it was doing.

And it shuts off neural activity. It has to do with salt and electrolysis and how, how, you know, the chemical, I don't know. Someone's going to comment, be like, you don't know nothing, whatever. Um, but I'll get back to that.

That's what was happening. So I'm in this memory, it shut off. I'm like, screw this castle. All of a sudden in the memory, I see a hand reach out. It says, take my hand and I go, okay. And he picks me up and I leaped out of bed and I went and wrote a song immediately at the piano. Yeah.

Nehemiah

And so it seems like you were able to go back on your earliest member memory and see that there was a lot of chaos. But you also had a helping hand.

Nathanael

Yea.

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You can listen to the full episode of part 4 here:

IN PURSUIT OF AWE

We’ll be releasing the pieces of the show on a new podcast series called “In Pursuit of Awe”. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the livestream to work properly, but next time we’ll put it out on YT! Stay tuned for updates!

Here’s how our week went:

MONDAY, JANUARY 27:

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1:

Everything is also up on our YouTube channel. There’s also previous content from past shows (before PPDK PRODUCTIONS was a duo). Subscribe here:

PPDK PRODUCTIONS OFFICIAL YOUTUBE

We’re focusing on Substack and YouTube as we develop consistency and style. Hopefully in the coming weeks/ months we’ll be doing more on other outlets.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2:

What’s coming up on this week at PPDK PRODUCTIONS…

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3:

Livestream Ep. 5 of “My Father’s Office” on YT Live:

PPDK PRODUCTIONS ON YOUTUBE

Catch Nathanael and Nehemiah document the process of mastering a skill and all the lessons they learn along the way live on Twitch.

Nathanael’s on his way to becoming a chess expert while applying those lessons to life and business. Nehemiah’s on his way to redeeming his first love, the piano, while becoming a musician who’s practice is performance. Join us as we learn what it means to teach and teach what it means to learn.

Mondays are for music. Most likely Wednesdays will be for chess/ business. Livestream starting at 730 PM until we’re tired.

We’ll also hopefully be putting out some transcripts/ snippets of “From Work To Worship” and “Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends”, but no guarantees, Nathanael is teaching chemistry at the same time currently and it’s been difficult to juggle responsibilities.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4:

A short snippet of what we streamed from the prior week (music). It’ll be posted here at: MY FATHER'S OFFICE and at our YT Channel: PPDK ON YOUTUBE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5:

A short snippet of what we streamed from the prior week (chess, pokemon, business). It’ll be posted here at: MY FATHER'S OFFICE and at our YT Channel PPDK ON YOUTUBE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6:

Ep. 6 of “From Work To Worship”: Part 2 of Nathanael’s testimony: From Work To Worship

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7:

The third episode Nathanael Philip Mosher Has Friends.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8:

• Nathanael will be delivering his testimony at Cornerstone. Watch an older version here:

• Written transcript and snippet from Ep. 6 of “From Work To Worship”.

SUNDAY: FEBRUARY 9:

“The Paraprosdokianist”, a column of written articles featuring original true stories from those who wish to live to tell the tale and tell the tale to live.

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This has been a PPDK PRODUCTIONS. We invited you to Press Play on Your Purpose.

Yours Truly,

The Paraprosdokianist

Get more from PPDK PRODUCTIONS in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app