Someone once said, “A good day starts with the perfect shoes.”

And as a Pastor, I’m the type of person who tries to put myself in everybody else’s shoes.

I need to remember that we all have the same dirt under our shoes as everybody else.

And, as I try to put myself in others people’s shoes, I need to remember that if something hurts me, it probably hurts that other person as well.

Speaking of shoes, Oprah Winfrey, referring to her humble beginnings said, “I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes!”

Supposedly Marilyn Monroe said, “Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”

Oprah, and Marilyn before her, love their shoes.

The right pair of shoes can change your life. Take Cinderella for instance; she had a pair of glass slippers that she wore to a ball, then she lost one, but Cinderella gained a Prince.

Dorothy inherited a pair of ruby red slippers in the Land of Oz, and they brought her back home to Kansas.

Elvis danced and sang around the stage in a pair of blue, blue, blue suede shoes. And that changed that Mississippi boy’s life.

Fred Astaire danced into the hearts of people around the world in his fancy tap shoes.

Former first-lady of the Philippines, and “billionaire-on-other-people’s-money,” Imelda Marcos, had amassed over 3,000 pairs of shoes, and thought she was on-top-of-the world.

She is still alive, and at 93 is a convicted felon. I suppose she believed Marilyn Monroe, “Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”

But, Marilyn died sad and penniless, without shoes on her feet.

Somebody, somewhere said, “To be happy, it first takes being comfortable in your own shoes.”

Years ago, I stopped by a shoe store, and I saw a poster that read, “Life is short buy the boots.”

So I bought a pair of beautiful ostrich skin boots.

Ohhhh! Those boots were made for my feet, and they fit like a glove… I mean “they fit like a boot.”

Nancy Sinatra sang “these boots are made for walking,” but mine were made for strutting!

And then one day our adopted puppy chewed the ostrich skin right off those beautiful boots.

In anger I threatened to make a pair of boots from that dog’s hide. So, to save that dog’s life (and hide), my dear wife found that ostrich-eater a new home.

Now, many boots and shoes later… I have granddaughters.

My granddaughters love their shoes too; the fancier the better.

We can’t keep shoes on Kori and Jojo’s feet though. They are usually running around barefoot, indoors and outdoors. And on their tiptoes. I guess they’re practicing for those 5 inch, stiletto-heeled fancy “glass-slippers” later in life, which they’ll use to snag their handsome Prince.

I have always liked a good pair of shoes.

I have numerous black pairs; brown and tan pairs; gray pairs; blue ones; orange ones; and I even have a pair of multi-colored Reebok running shoes.

I am not a runner, but I sure do like those shoes; comfortable to the extreme; and colorful.

When Jojo has to go out of the house and has to wear shoes, she has shoes that light up and blink every time she takes a step.

She love those fancy shoes, and she’ll keep those shoes on her feet longer than any others.

Shoes come in all kinds of styles.

I was almost run over one day by a boy at Walmart who had wheels in the heels of his shoes.

He came whizzing by me, much to his mother’s chagrin. She apologized profusely for her son with the zooming footwear.

I thought for just a few fleeting seconds, “I wonder if I can find those shoes in my size?”

In the movie, Forrest Gump, Forrest explains to his girlfriend, Jenny, about his special footwear that was developed for him by a doctor to correct his curvature of the spine and his pronounced limp.

Forrest said, “Mama says they was my magic shoes; they’d take me anywhere.”

And that sure did happen for Forrest. He traveled around the world.

As a preacher, the footwear that I’m most concerned about is what the Apostle Paul refers to in Ephesians 6:15, as “having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

In Isaiah 52:7, the prophet said, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”

As a preacher, it is my responsibility, my privilege, and my honor to tell people about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And as long as I have on a good pair of shoes I have “beautiful feet.”

One of my granddaughters’ and my favorite movies is an animated delight called “Happy Feet,” in which the Emperor penguins find their life companions by singing.

One of the young penguins, a male by the name of Mumble, is not much of a singer, but he is quite the tap dancer.

And of course, Mumble won the heart of a sweet little penguin girl with those “happy feet.”

The girls and I loved to watch Mumble dance with his “happy feet,” and I loved to watch my girls dance along with him.

When I stand in the pulpit, there are many times that I develop “happy feet,” too.

Sometimes I feel like “cutting a rug” and dancing across the platform with my beautiful feet.

But, much to my wife’s relief, I generally contain myself. My feet, knees, and back ain’t what they used to be,

But, my inner happy feet are dancing up a storm.

My feet are not as nimble as they once were, and I now wear shoes more for comfort than for flash.

One of the common benedictions I share at the close of a service goes something like this, “Lord, here are our mouths, speak through them; here are our hands, touch through them; Lord, here are our feet, move through them. Use us to reach our world.”

Austin O’Malley said, “Practical prayer is harder on the soles of your shoes than on the knees of your trousers.”

I believe that we need to put our prayers for the World into action. First pray it, then, put on your shoes and do it.

Our beautiful feet need to be happy feet. And we need to put on our shoes and go!