How Did We Get Here?

How did a rural Wisconsin girl and a suburban Michigan boy end up together in the Keweenaw Peninsula? Short Answer:  The Lord! 

I was widowed in 1989 when my first husband was killed by a drunk driver. My marriage was a good one, and I didn't ever want to settle for something less special than what I had previously. I told the Lord that if He wanted me to marry again, He was going to have to bring the man to me; I wasn't going to go looking for one. I was working in the school office at Community Baptist Church and Christian School in Saginaw back in 1999 when Mr. Cut Off came walking in with his youngest son on the first day of school. I had seen Mr. Cut Off in church, but we had never talked. Toward the end of that school year, a friendship blossomed, and we began dating in the fall of 2000. The picture above was taken on our first date. Friendship led to love. Love led to marriage - a really good marriage! I have been blessed with a wonderful, kind, loving man who loves the Lord with all his heart.

Of course, none of that history really explains how we got here. Mr. Cut Off was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and had spent all of his life in that area. He used to own a 2nd house in Moran, a small Upper Peninsula village about 15 miles from the Mackinac Bridge. He had always wanted to live in the U.P. full time. I had always wanted to move back to "the boonies." We took a trip around the U.P. in 2002, and we both fell in love with the Keweenaw Peninsula. Neither of us had ever been here before. Mr. Cut Off didn't have to talk me into loving it here, and I didn't have to talk him into loving it here. Our feelings were mutual. 

During the summer of 2003, we came here again to look for property and to look for a church. Both things were important to us. We knew we needed to find a Bible-believing church to attend if we wanted to live here, and we hoped we could find one within 50 miles. That trip led us to some land near Eagle Harbor and to a church about 35 miles away.  By that time, we had spent almost a year researching the area, and we were confident this is where we belonged. 

8 more years passed before we were finally able to move in October of 2011. We suffered the loss of several family members and the housing market collapsed, but we never lost faith that God wanted us here. We began construction on our new home in 2013 while living nearby in Calumet, Michigan. 

The acquisition of our first home in Calumet is described on the page, "Greatly Loved & Gently Used." 


Julie