lately

the fact that God loves me is crazy.

He loves my sinful, selfish, undeserving self. 

not only that, but He sent His Son to die for my sins so that I could have a relationship with Him. 

WOW.

today the weight of this has been laying on my heart. in all honesty, it should weigh on me everyday and should constantly bring me to my knees. however, my own selfish thoughts get in the way time and time again. and yet, despite my own fleshly ways, God still loves me and lavishes His grace upon me. 

the reality of this is incredible. the God of the universe who created everything loves me and wants to have a relationship with me! another awesome truth to this is that He views EVERYONE on Earth this way!! we should jump up and down in the streets and sing praises to Him because of this!!

anyways, I just felt like sharing these happy realities with you all today :)

in other news: I graduated from college this past week (!!!!!).

it seems like it was just yesterday when I moved into my dorm at The University of Tennessee; and now my undergraduate years there are finished! my, how time flies!

these past four years have been full of adventure, laughter, friends, tears, joys, sorrows, loneliness, thankfulness, growth, maturity and probably every other emotion or description available. and I am so thankful for every single moment.

I have so enjoyed my years at UT and will definitely miss them and the experiences and opportunities I had while there. 

 the dearest friends. 

 my freshman roommate.

dear sister.

the best and most supportive parents.

YAY GRADUATION!

 even though it is bittersweet to leave, I am also beyond excited for the next adventure God has for me!

in September, I am making the big move to....WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Lord has opened the door for me to be a part of the Falls Church Fellows Program, which I cannot believe! as the time moves closer, I will expand on that more.

big things are happening people! 

until next time...

returning

so it's been a while, blog world. 

I attempted to do the "blog everyday for a month thing," which obviously didn't work out.  I'm not going to lie, it's hard to write everyday when you're in school and not too much is going on.  

however, that is changing now because I'm officially finished with my college career (except for one exam, but that really doesn't count).

I cannot believe it though!! no more undergraduate classes or anything. my time here at The University of Tennessee is coming to an end. 

(hence why this post is entitled change--because a lot of changes are happening)

going back to blogging: many things have come up to make me want to restart my blogging days.  

for one: I have more free time to write.

two: I read so many blogs and love writing so I thought I would have my chance again to be a part of this blogging world. 

three: I want to document all of the events, feelings and whatnot that will be occuring in my life from now on. 

I love to journal, but I think it's fun to document on a blog. 

therefore, I'm restarting this blog.

another change is the title! I have been reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts and y'all, it's incredible. she is such an amazing and real writer and hits on so many things that I can relate to. I just love it. but one of the frequent themes throughout her book is the word "eucharisteo."  so I'm taking that from her (hopefully with her permission) and using it in my title.  I will post an explanation on it sometime :) 

anyways, all of that to say that I'm back and so excited to see where this blog will take me!

I hope you stick around to enjoy, whoever you are lovely readers :)  

fear

the last time I felt afraid was when I was on the plane about to land in a new place, not knowing a single person, or the native language.

back in January, I flew by myself to Rome to study there for 4 months.  I went not knowing anyone else and not having any clue what I was in for. I knew I was about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life, but getting to that point was daunting.

I was not nervous at all until the pilot said (in Italian), "flight attendants, please prepare for the descent." 

*cue panic attack*

I immediately regretted my decision and thought that I was straight up crazy for doing this.

But I started praying and the Lord just brought a peace around me and I knew everything was going to be okay.

Sure, it was hard adjusting and there were times when it wasn't easy, but I wouldn't trade those 4 months for the world. 

I learned so much about myself, the world, and other people.

I met some incredible people, saw some amazing things, and ate delicious food (the best part). 

So even though I was scared out of my mind when flying into the adventure, flying home, I was crying because I had to leave. 

sometimes it's good to be afraid because that is when you see what you are made of.

the view at my favorite spot.

the door into my beloved apartment. 

laughing at my roommate. what a good day this was...

until tomorrow.

-kf

a weekend in Paris

my last trip while I was abroad was to Paris for the weekend.

it was probably the most perfect weekend you can have in Paris.

my dear friend Kelsey and I were constantly on the go and were loving every second. 

Paris is just a dream.

the metro, the food, the people, the Eiffel Tower. 

I love it and cannot wait until I can go back.

looking back at all the pictures from this weekend and from my semester in general, I am just in awe that I was given the opportunity to do this. I have so many reasons to be thankful.

until next time. 

"the five lands"

so I'm home in America! I cannot believe it. 

I miss Rome and my way of life there, but I am happy to be home for the summer. I have a great internship that I'm excited about and seeing old friends again has been so nice. 

but I wanted to share with you all my last few trips I went on before my time in Europe was complete.  

the first weekend in April (which seems like forever ago), I met up with some friends from home that were/are also abroad. we met in Cinque Terre which means "The Five Lands."  it is five little towns situated on the coast with the most breathtaking views of the water. I highly recommend everyone go there if you visit Italy.

 it kind of blew our minds that we were able to meet up for a weekend in Italy together. you can't say that everyday.

it was a short trip, but so worth it. we hiked, ate, laid on the beach, and just talked about how unreal our lives are and how beautiful this place was.

Cinque Terre might is one of my favorite places in Italy. 

it is on another level of beautiful. 

I loved every second of that weekend and every single person I was with.

it was the perfect weekend with good friends. 

take me back please.