Saturday, February 14, 2009

Are You A Mama's Boy?

In January, at the first quarterly meeting of our Alabama INNUA Chapter, I was privileged to hear a fantastic speaker by the name of Scott Swedenburg. Scott spoke to us from the writings of his book Lessons from a Mama's Boy. Scott speaks sincerely and from the heart about the life lessons he has learned from his parents and more specifically from his mom.

We should have listened to our parents more when we were kids. I mean, after all, they really are trying to teach us how to live our lives right. We don't always see it that way as kids and our parents are the meanest creatures on the planet (something I am learning from my own 6 year old daughter). 'Don't run with scissors' and 'Eat your vegetables' are just a couple of things your mom tried to teach you. Lessons is filled with little tidbits we all have heard and we all really know down deep inside but it is a healthy reminder to help us recall the things our parents have taught us.

In his book,Lessons from a Mama's Boy, Scott takes a much deeper look into the real life lessons our parents are trying to transfer to us to help us become successful in business, relationships and life in general. Our parents really are our biggest fans and they support us no matter where we are in life. The Bible tells us in Exodus 20:12 to "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." God gives us a promise of long life if we will honor our parents; the first commandment with a promise. So, whether you are 8 or 80 or any where in between, if your parents are still around, show them how much you honor and respect them for taking the time to teach you lifes lessons. Perhaps one or both of your parents have gone on to be with the Lord and you never really showed them honor; you can still ask for God's fogiveness and begin to teach your children so that they understand the benefit of honoring THEIR parents.

Scott, thanks for sharing your mom and her lessons with us. Your presentation and your book are wonderful. For those of you needing a speaker, I highly recommend that you give Scott a call. Or, if you are just looking for a good read, pick up a copy of Lessons from a Mama's Boy. I am sure you will find his thoughts very enlightening, just as I did. This one definitely makes my 2009 reading list.