A Day Without Shoes

21 posted on July 21, 2008

POSTED IN: Authenticity, Culture, Makes You Think, Social Justice, Videos

Yesterday for my day of the 40 Day Fast I decided to fast from my shoes for the day. I walked all day with nothing to protect my feet and even managed to sneak into a Big Boys. Although I did cheat and slip my flip flops on when I went in the restroom.

A few things I learned…

I have really wimpy feet.
I spend a lot more time looking down when I’m walking without shoes.
I’ve taken so many little things in life for granted.
People look at you funny when you walk into restaurants and stores without shoes. Remember, I live in Indiana not Alabama
I have so much to be thankful for.

They say you can’t really understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. In the case of the 300 million plus children around the world who have no shoes, we need to shed ours to understand what they deal with every single day.

Here’s a little video I put together.
click here if you can’t see the video

Here’s a few ideas you might consider for your family, church or youth group:

Set a date for a “shoeless day” where your family spends an entire day without shoes (you may need to get permission from your employer ahead of time). During this day educate yourself on some of the humbling stats about how many shoes are produced every year but how millions still go without.
Host a “1 Mile Shoeless Walk“ to raise awareness and money for those without anything on their feet. This could be a great opportunity to take the issue public and get local media to help tell the story.
Host a TOMS Style Your Sole party for your friends, church or youth group. It’s a great time for you and your friends to get together, express yourself through your own designs and support a good cause. Whether it is the theme of your party or a community building activity, you will be putting shoes on children’s feet somewhere around the world. Wear your originally designed TOMS and tell the story!
Buy a pair of TOMS for yourself or a friend!

What are you doing with your time, talents and resources to make a difference?

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 9:01 am and is filed under Authenticity, Culture, Makes You Think, Social Justice, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

14 Comments

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July 21, 2008

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1 Mandy said:

I am totally doing this with my Girl Scout troop this year. =)

Mandys last blog post..40 Day Fast
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July 21, 2008

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2 Adam said:

Thanks for the great ideas Brad. Sometimes I have a hard time trying to figure out what I can do to help others… But you have given some practical ways to make a difference.

Adams last blog post..Stats Stink Sunday…
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July 21, 2008

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3 Nate said:

hey, that’s an awesome idea. “walk a mile in their shoes” which happen to be…none
that would definitely turn some heads in the suburbs of D.C.
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July 21, 2008

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4 Laura Carney said:

I totally hear you on trying to reconcile our western lifestyle with what most of the world calls “normal” every day. My prayer is that our family will learn more and more of the heart of God on this matter. I look forward to seeing more of what you do! Was great to see you and Lisa yesterday…Dan and I always feel very encouraged.
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July 21, 2008

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5 Tyler said:

Awesome ideas Brad, thanks. How did you find this organization TOMS? I hadn’t heard of them till you posted about it.
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July 21, 2008

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6 Brad Ruggles said:

@Tyler – I first heard about TOMS when Blake spoke about it at the Catalyst conference a couple years ago. He showed the video of their first shoe drop and it was really inspiring.
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July 21, 2008

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7 CJ Mills said:

Dude – you need some RAIN around your parts!
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July 21, 2008

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8 Jesse Phillips said:

You look really, really cool in those shades, and that black shirt!
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July 21, 2008

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9 nate said:

speaking of shoes…

http://www.nikao.ws/2008/07/21/all-i-need-justice/

nates last blog post..Theological Journeys
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July 21, 2008

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10 Devon Groner said:

Great post man! Miss you. Sorry I have been so scarce lately. What’s new?

Devon Groners last blog post..The Day
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July 22, 2008

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11 tam said:

awesome, inspiring, humbling (in a much needed way)

thank you brad!!!

tams last blog post..So christians DO enjoy sex!
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July 25, 2008

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12 Jason Ruggles said:

Keep up the good work!
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July 25, 2008

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13 40 Day Fast update – 7/19 through 7/25 said:

[...] | Day Without Shoes | Child [...]
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July 26, 2008

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14 Crystal Renaud said:

one of the finest and clearest memories i have from my first mission trip to South Africa, was seeing these teenage boys wearing shoes that were too small for them. so small in fact, that they cut the tops of them off and walked around with their toes sticking out. the little children not wearing shoes at all, and if they did, they didn’t match. AND ME — i brought more than one pair and wore a different pair on different days of our visits with them. a very convicting sight.