It's the Thought that Counts, or is it really so?

Thoughts do not and never will justify inaction
For a sufficiently long period, I kept telling myself that I wanted to go for a jog, but life got busy, things got squeezed out from the to-do list, and running, unfortunately, was one of those. I had that thought, but what good is a thought if it never translates into action. My fitness never improved, intended weight-loss never took place, the excess fats continued to linger, and the run continued to be a thought. Well, at least I thought... James 2:14-26 dedicated a substantial portion of the book to talk about faith being dead if it's not being accompanied by works, or rather faith is considered dead if it does not result in works. 
Good thoughts do not exempt us from taking responsibility for our bad actions
Have we ever had a birthday celebration or an unfulfilled favor whereby what was intended for some reason did not come to past? Recall that time when a surprise was spoilt, or when a birthday gift turned bad. And what was the most common response? Don't worry, it's the thoughts that count. No doubt there are rooms for such, and these are all appropriate occasions for a well-meaning mistake of sort. Why so serious? But things get annoying when "it's the thoughts that count" take on a whole new meaning- in our relationships, in our ministries, or even in our walk with God. 
I learnt it the halfway. In communication, more often than not, it is not what is spoken but what is heard, much less what is intended. It takes one to go beyond self to acknowledge the implication each of the actions that we have taken. The thoughts are the a good place to begin, but it takes efforts and even submission to hone the remaining of the skills. In our walk with God, many people had good thoughts. When the 3 people who counted their cost when called to follow Jesus, all of them had reasonably good thoughts, but they could not follow up with their actions. 
Other times, we say we need to look at the heart of the person. On other occasions, we even called for people to seek the heart of God. Once again, in hearts birth thoughts, and with thoughts cause actions. What then is genuinely the heart of God? It certainly does not stop at just having the right intentions.