Arlan - Hofstad from Northwest Minnesota

My Story

This is was my home from 1996-2023.

The original location of the home where Hofstads landed in 1904.

This one was built in 1958.
We finally got the house maily maintence free on the exterior in 2019-2020.

I used to enjoy my spot in this "end of the road" spot where lots of fun was had with no bother!
I built a tiny house and was in Bozeman, MT for a while and then spen the winter (2023 2024) in El Cajon, CA. Now I live in Custer, SD.

I participated in Deer Hunting in November on the farm

Several of our family and neighboring friends hunt our corner of the township

From our Home Page find the Hunting link in the middle of the page to see how our yearly hunt turned out.

Aerial view of the farm in the winter

Why in the world did we chose a winter picture?

We do have a lot of winter in northern Minnesota. A lot has changed since this picture was taken in March of 2009. We upgraded a bit I suppose.

The Fiscal Cliff Simplified and Explained - Jan. 2013

Some of our wild government financing problems

U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000

Let's now remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget:
Annual family income: $21,700
Money the family spent: $38,200
New debt on the credit card: $16,500
Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
Total budget cuts so far: $38.50

Lesson # 2:
Here's another way to look at the Debt Ceiling:

Let's say, You come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup in your neighborhood....
What do you think you should do ......
Raise the roof and ceilings, or remove the shit?

Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?

I never noticed this.... The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. . The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin. Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!' Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side. Was that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes! In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.. Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm finished.." But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because.......... The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"

A Story Of Grace

There was a man by the name of Fiorello LaGuardia who was the mayor of New York City during those dark days. LaGuardia seemed to have a genuine heartfelt love for the common man, especially the down trodden. One time, during a newspaper strike, he spent his Sunday mornings reading the funny papers over the radio, and with all the appropriate inflections. Why? He didn? want the children of New York to be deprived of that little bit of enjoyment. He was well- known for his blustery outbursts against the bums that exploited the poor. He was completely unpredictable and full of surprises.
One night he showed up at a night court in one of the poorest wards of the city; and that? where this phase of our story begins. He dismissed the presiding judge for the evening and sent him home to his family. Then the mayor himself took over the bench. As it happened on that bitterly cold night, a tattered old woman stood before the bench, accused of stealing a loaf of bread. You must understand these were desperate times. A lot of people were going hungry.
With quivering lips and tear filled eyes, she admitted to the theft. But, she added, my daughter? husband has deserted her, she is sick, and her children are crying because they have nothing to eat.
The shopkeeper, however, refused to drop the charges. It? a bad neighborhood your honor, she? guilty, he shouted. The law must be upheld, she? got to be punished to teach other people a lesson. LaGuardia knew that her accuser was right. The very office that he swore to uphold required that he enforce the letter of the law. LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the old women and said, I?e got to punish you; the law makes no exceptions. He then pronounced the sentence. The old woman shuddered when she heard the words, ten dollars or ten days in jail. But already the judge was reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a ten-dollar bill and threw it into his hat. Here? the ten-dollar fine, which I now remit. Furthermore, I? fining everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.
Sitting in that courtroom that night were about seventy petty criminals, a few New York policemen, and her accuser, a fuming, red-faced, storekeeper. The bewildered old grandmother left the courtroom with $47.50. This was enough to buy groceries for several months.

That's a very good story and it's a true story, but how is that relevant to us today.
Let's review the event and see what really took place that cold winter evening.

 1.   Was the storekeeper correct in his accusation?  Yes.
       The old woman had committed a crime. 
 2.   Was guilt confessed?   Yes.  She admitted the theft.
 3.   Did her reason for stealing make any difference to the law?  No.
       The law can make no exceptions.
 4.   Was the judgment decreed and sentencing pronounced?  Yes.
       The old grandmother was found guilty and sentenced to a fine she could not pay. 
 5.   Was justice carried through, thus satisfying the law?  Yes.
       The fine was paid in full.
 6.   Was grace extended?  Yes.
       The guilty party walked out of that courtroom completely free and her penalty paid.
 7.   Did the guilty party do anything at all to deserve or earn the grace received?  Not a thing.
       It was free, and there for her to accept.
 8.   Was the law done away?  No.
       The law is still intact; and it? still against the law to steal bread in New York City.
       The law was neither changed, adjusted, sidestepped nor done away.  
 9.   Having received grace, is the grandmother now free of the law to go steal again?
                                       As Paul would say, God forbid.
 10.  Could we therefore conclude, that: 
      a.  The law was fulfilled,
      b.  Justice was done,
      c.  Her accuser silenced,
      d.  Compassion won out over the law,
      e.  Yet the law is still intact.

Little Girl On A Plane

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."
The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"
"Oh, I don't know," said the atheist. "How about why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?" as he smiled smugly.
"OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps.
Why do you suppose that is?"
The atheist, visibly surpised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."
To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death, when you don't know crap?"
And then she went back to reading her book.