The Joy of the Lord is my Strength

Last night I was given the opportunity to dine with many wonderful women, and an amazing missionary from Haiti.  The evening was uplifting and encouraging.  Hearing her story of trials and faith, with a trust in the Lord that is mighty.  Leaving late that night, my heart had been restored with love for God, and a peace that is only from the Lord.
I tell you this because today was a doozy.  I was helping my husband, Dallas, feed cattle this morning.  We had a small ice storm last night, with some lightning in the middle of the night.  Not sure what spooked the cattle, but a group of about 36 head of new cattle had decided to demolish a gate and scatter themselves across the country side.  We followed tracks down the road finding groups of them randomly in hay meadows and fields.  The farthest group being about 7 miles from home.  For anyone that does not know, cattle running  that distance in freezing rain usually ends in sickness.  We spent most of the morning searching for them, and hauling them home.  Needless to say my husband was thrilled and I will call that FUN #1.
FUN #2 came when I needed to go to the bathroom.  I am sorry if this is TMI, but it happened and I'm sharing.  Like I was saying, I needed to go, so Dallas assures me it will be okay to just go at the pasture gate.  No problem, except that as I am, my neighbor (neighbor meaning he lives 4 miles away from us) comes driving down the road and sees me.  Can you say MORTIFIED!!!  I am almost 99% certain I will be avoiding him the rest of my life, due to embarrassment.  
Lets move on to FUN#3.  We have a cow that is sick, and she needs to be roped and doctored.  We need to finish feeding first, but will get to her later.
Poor Dallas continues on with the day, and FUN #4 occurs.  A tree has fallen on a fence and more cattle are out.  He is able to get them all back in, fix the fence and move on to more fun times.
To my surprise FUN #5 comes in the bundle of energy named Cooper.  He is our 2 year old son.  He tells me he is tired this afternoon, so I tell him to go lay down in my bedroom, and take a nap.  I go in to check on him, and  find him asleep in a laundry basket full of clean clothes, that I have chosen not to fold for two days now.  As you all might have already guessed, he peed his pants, and I washed a load a laundry.
FUN #6 and FUN #7 were had by my brother-in-law, Klint, and Dallas.  They had a heifer that was sick, and still needed to doctor the cow from earlier in the day.  The heifer was caught and doctored with ease, but the cow was a slightly different story.  We will say that the cow doctoring was a bit of circus show, and to preserve their pride, we will leave it at that.
Through all the FUN times we had today, I was able to laugh, and have joy in all the frustration.  We are blessed beyond what we deserve.  Our trials, things just simply not going the way we want, are little bumps compared to the mountains of spiritual warfare occurring daily.  God didn't create me so that he could make my life easy and comfortable.  He created me for His glory, so when days are tough and trying, know that the Joy of the Lord is your Strength.