Photos by: The Bearded Bousman Photo Co.

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July yesterday! Since we are celebrating America's freedom this week, I thought it'd be the perfect time to introduce a new series that I've been thinking about for a couple of months. After a lot of thought about what I want to talk about in this series I decided on the title "To Live Free." This phrase kept popping into my head and I just couldn't shake it, so I'm going with it!

"To Live Free" is all about living with intentionality that frees you up to do the things you love. To give you an idea of what I mean. I want to give you examples of the three freedoms I've been seeking in my own life lately:

Free Time

Scheduling your priorities and naming the day you will tackle those priorities increases the chances that it will actually get done.

It's important to me to schedule my time wisely. I want the a majority of my time to be exactly that - mine!

For example, I have it written in my calendar, every Thursday, after work to call my mom. I do not schedule anything on Thursday nights because I know that time is carved out for catching up with her. Of course, sometimes important things comes up so that either one or both of us can't talk. However, most Thursdays we spend that quality time on the phone building our relationship.

Stress Free Relationships

Recognizing your needs and being brave enough to ask for them can heal your relationships with other people, but most-importantly with yourself.

It's difficult for me to be joyful, to be someone's friend, or to serve someone else's needs when I haven't first taken care of myself. I know that I'm going to be super grumpy, unproductive, and overwhelmed, if I don't get enough sleep. I know I'm going to be short-fused when I haven't spent the morning reading the Bible. I know I'm going to continue to build up hurt and anger when I don't ask for an apology, show forgiveness, apologize myself. When I do these things, my days are so much sweeter - and so am I!

Financial Freedom

Having good relationships and free time, can be affected severely if you are not watching your money. Finding fun ways to make more money or to save what you are making can make all the difference in living a freedom-filled life.

When people see or hear the word "budget" we all let out a universal groan. I hear you! Budgeting seems boring and restricting, but budgeting is just like a exercise plan for your money. What happens when you walk into the gym without a plan? I know what happens to me! I walk on the treadmill for five minutes and then decide to leave. A Budget is your plan of action, it shows you how to reach your financial six-pack. It frees you up by giving you choices and options - which is another way of being: free.

I can't wait to dig into each of these topics in future blog posts. You'll know I'm talking about these topics when you see the words "To Live Free" in the title.

Let me know what you want to read about in comments below or email me directly at hollycanonblog@gmail.com ! I'd seriously love some guidance on this! Can't wait to dig in :)

Thanks for stopping by!