🍀I used to be half Irish!🍀
How’s that for an attention-getter, if one stops to think about it?
💚Happy St. Patrick’s Day!💚
Instead of the “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” button to wear on March 17th, as a child I always thought they should make one for us Eurasians saying “Kiss Me, I’m Half Irish”… Ok, maybe not a market for that?😘 (I thought my red highlights came from being HALF Irish)
Yes, I “used to be” half Irish… Let me explain…
Growing up, I was told my Dad was Irish and my mom was Korean, therefore, I was half of each. Simple mathematics—50% of each. However, when I went to my grandmom’s (Dad’s mom’s) funeral, I learned that my grandpop’s (Dad’s dad’s) mom was part Cherokee Indian and “White Quaker”. So, that changed my world. I was no longer “half-Korean and half-Irish”. I guess I didn’t think about what “White Quaker” meant, assuming it was just their religion as Quakers, so being mathematically minded, I would then tell people if asked that I was half-Korean, 3/8th Irish, and 1/8th Cherokee Indian. Those who know me know how detail-oriented I am, so,… 🇺🇸🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇰🇷 🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷
That made sense for a while…until I started tracing my family tree. My grandpop’s mom, Julia Whitacre (various spellings for the last name over the years), who was supposed to be half or part Cherokee Indian, was the ancestor I thought I would find the least information about in her family tree. However, her lineage is the one I can trace the most, back into the 1600s! Fascinating! I have not been able to trace any Cherokee in her tree, however. I know sometimes Native Americans were labelled as “white” in the census. So, this is still a mystery to me. My DNA tests do not show any Native American. I’m not sure how reliable or easy it is to trace that though.
🧬So with DNA tests, as of today, I am even less than 3/8th Irish.
Per 23andme, I am 27.1% British and Irish (so what even is the IRISH component?)
Per AncestryDNA, I am 21% Irish.
I know over time that these percentages will change as these companies update their testing, etc.🧬
I just really love genetics and ancestry, so thought I would share a little about my Irish heritage on St Patrick’s Day. As a result of these tests, I’ve been able to connect with an Irish cousin (second cousin once removed, supposedly) from my grandmom’s side who lives in Australia. 🌏 Pretty cool! I’m his closest matched DNA relative on these sites. I love how he will check in with me every now and then…reminds me that I need to reach out to him!
(My grandpop and grandmom’s graves. God bless their sweet souls.)
Have you ever stopped to think about how MANY ancestors you have? (Wow!)
We are genetically related to far more people than we can even imagine. (So cool!)
We all really are brothers or sisters, or, cousins of some sort. (Lovely!)
Families are the center of love—or should be. (Absolutely!).
🎶 ”We are family…I got all my (siblings) with me…” 🎶
Whether or not you have any Irish in your genes today, please remember that
🌟WE ARE ALL A FAMILY! 🌟
Let’s truly love. Put away judgments and criticisms of others. You never know who might be “family”! (Everyone, maybe?)
And on that note, until we truly love ourselves, I believe we will continue to be critical and judgmental of others. (Really, what fun is that?) We must work through our own darkness—do some shadow work—to love ourselves truly! (Necessary work reaping awesome results!)
Love first. Always. Forever. No question.
There was a wonderful man (who was also part God!) who showed us how to love. (Thank you, Jesus!)
The greatest command revolves around LOVE. We are to love God. We are to love others. If you’ve read that Bible verse, it also says we are to love others as we love ourselves…so that implies and tells us that we must love ourselves! 🤟
💞What are you doing to love yourself better today? (This is something I’m working on.)
💞The things you say to yourself—would a trusted loved one say those same things to you?
💞The way you judge your appearance—would your loving God who created you think that about you?
💞You have never been, and never will be, a mistake. You were fearfully and wonderfully made!
💞Were you a result of an unexpected pregnancy? That does not make you less worthy.
💞Did your parents fight constantly and divorce? You are not the cause of that.
💞Did someone you loved dearly abandon you? You are not unimportant because of that.
💞Were you constantly compared to an unreachable goal of perfection? You are valuable as you are!
💚 Your scars and wounds from your life make you who you are today.
💚 You cannot change the past.
💚 You can only change your thinking and mindset for the present, which will shape your future.
Any bad programming inflicted upon you from someone who did not know better—
Any self-criticism or self-loathing inflicted upon you from yourself who did not know better—
This can change! You can decide today to give yourself the love you need, deserve, desire, want.
💪🏼Make a small change today to love yourself better, and the trajectory will steer you to a wonderful place in life in the future. Change a bad habit of criticism of yourself and replace it with something you desire to hear—practice some affirmations. Remember, whatever is lovely, think on these things.
❤️ YOU are lovely! ❤️
❤️ You are LOVED! ❤️
🌟Feel free to copy and paste these affirmations so you can repeat these often and see these often. Put these on your phone, your desk, your mirror… Come up with some of your own!🌟
• I am fearfully and wonderfully made
• I am loved
• I am worthy
• I am enough
• I choose to feel love
• I choose to feel peace
• I choose to feel joy
• I choose to forgive myself and others
• I have unconditional love for myself
• I have unconditional love from God, my creator
• I have unconditional love for God’s creation
• I have unconditional love for people
• I allow myself to heal
• I allow myself to relax
• I allow myself to not be perfect
• I allow myself to love
• I am thankful
• I am joyful
• I am calm
• I am loving
☘️I had no idea I would go from St Patrick’s Day to self-love, but it is an important message!
🙏🏼 I will pray for you all to find more love, and especially self-love, today and always! 🙏🏼
💖Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8-9 (The MSG) ***Ooooh—I love the word “harmonies”***
💖Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.‘ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks these.” Mark 12:29-31 (The MSG)
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