The other day Amanda and I were on our Thursday morning breakfast date. She was telling me about her frustration with a common phrase that we’ve all used. As she was telling me about this, I looked at her and said, “That’s a blog post. You need to guest post on my blog!”

She thankfully agreed so here you go. Wisdom & authenticity from Amanda Katherine Hampton. . .

It’s the thought that counts…

A couple of mornings ago while I was getting ready, I was going over things on my ever constant to-do list in my mind.  One of them was to call a lady I know to commission her to make some wedding gifts for us. See, over the past 6 months, Bill and I have been to 4 weddings and the same scenario happens every time we are walking up to the ceremony.  Bill says to me, ” Babe, did we get them a gift?”  And immediately my heart sinks in the midst of the beauty of the moment and I realize I have completely failed.  The answer is a sad, truthful…no.

Somewhere in the lapse of time from when we get the wedding invitations and the time of the actual wedding, I am forgetting to get each couple a gift.  I simply think I’ll remember where everyone is registered and I’ll remember when I’m out picking up children that it will run past my mind and I’ll go pick them out.  Wrong.

So back to the other morning as I was thinking about these wonderful friends we want to celebrate with by giving them a wedding gift and just as I am feeling the depth of my failure in this area, I hear a voice in my mind…
“It’s the thought that counts.”
And in the split second that it came across my mind and gave me a moment of feeling not-so-bad about myself, I almost literally shook my head NO!  That is a lie!  I had a flash of my thought life over the past, say 20 years, and wondered where in the world did I first hear this cop-out statement and why has it been something that almost allows and approves failure in some sort of pitiful way.

I moved positions in my mind and wondered how many times I have accepted mediocrity out of fear for admitting that I dropped the ball in a certain area.  For if the thought was really all that counted, then my loved ones would never hear me SPEAK my love for them, they would never see me DO things for them, and they would never FEEL me show them how much I care.

Seems to me it is the ACTION of the THOUGHT that counts.  Taking the bold step to move forwards out of my brain and into the act of…writing a thank you note that will mean so much, baking some pumpkin bread for our friends, tipping the waitress a little extra because it seems like she has had a hard day, giving money to a charity we believe in to help provide beds for orphans, surprising my kids with a treat they love, calling a friend who is going through a hard time, volunteering with my dog at the hospital, and yes, even buying a wedding gift.

See, it would’ve been seemingly easy to let myself off the hook because the weddings are over and it feels uncomfortable admitting we completely missed this.  However, this is important to us.  We want to bless our friends in their marriages.  It isn’t too late.  SO, I made the phone call on Friday and am following through.
The action of my thought is what truly matters.

What about you?? Have you believed this lie one too many times?  Challenge yourself to stop thinking old thoughts!