Love Him in the Morning: Reflections on God's Faithfulness [Hardcover]

John Fischer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thirty years after John Fischer wrote "The All Day Song," it is still sung at evangelical churches and youth campfires around the country. Here, he reveals the genesis of that song at the dawn of the "Jesus Movement," and says that while the ditty’s early phrases about loving God in the morning and evening came naturally, the later injunction to love God "when you feel the pressure coming" was more like an intuition of the future, because he wrote those words at the most carefree time in his life. Like the song itself, the book is superficially simple-Fischer uncovers hidden layers of depth and meaning in a down-to-earth and appealing way. His chapter on evening, for example, remarks upon regret and its importance as a catalyst for trusting in God’s mercy, while the chapter on worry teases out the subtle balance between faith and action.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 89 pages
• Publisher: Revell (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800718585
• ISBN-13: 978-0800718589
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,988,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Fischer is senior writer for PurposeDrivenLife.com, specializing in a daily devotional that reaches an audience of over 230,000 people five times a week. John's career spans over 30 years, first as a singer/songwriter, recording artist, and pioneer of Jesus Music, then as a best-selling author, and currently as a nationally popular speaker at conferences, retreats, churches, and colleges/universities. John's body of work includes 12 albums, 15 books, and numerous articles for a variety of publications. His early songs, such as "Love Him in the Morning" ("All Day Song") and "Have You Seen Jesus My Lord?" have become standard youth and camp favorites. His books include the best-selling "Real Christians Don't[crossed out] Dance" and his popular novel "Saint Ben." For over 23 years, he was a clarion call for the growing Christian music industry from his regular award-winning monthly column in "CCM" (Contemporary Christian Music) magazine. In addition to his writing with PurposeDrivenLife.com, John also writes for Chuck Colson's Breakpoint.org and is a regular columnist in "Relevant" magazine. "Confessions of a Caffeinated Christian" is John's first book with Tyndale House Publishers. John graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, in 1969. He studied the ministry under the leadership of the late Ray C. Stedman at Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, California, during the 1970s, and has served as artist in residence at Gordon College, Seattle Pacific University, and Baylor University. He now resides with his wife, Marti, and their son, Chandler, in Laguna Beach, California. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. For more information, visit John's Web site at www.fischtank.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and inspiring reflections on "The All Day Song", September 3, 2004

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Him in the Morning: Reflections on God's Faithfulness (Hardcover)

John Fischer, one of the few genuine poets in the Christian music industry, penned one of the most memorable contemporary Christian songs some 30 years ago. "The All Day Song" is a deceptively simple song, made to look all the more simple by the addition of the hand signs Fischer teaches to his audiences --- and not just to his younger audiences. Granted, as he writes, "Hand motions are a staple for camp songs, and I often joke about where old John Fischer songs go to live out their days: They go to camp." But they also go to drug and alcohol rehab centers, where tough and world-weary recovering addicts play right along and experience a joy often missing from their lives.

In this slim gift book, Fischer displays his considerable skills as a writer in six reflections that mirror the six thematic elements in the lyrics of his best-known song: morning, evening, in-between times, God's love, worry, and the circular "so" --- a word that becomes drawn out in the singing and fleshed out in the writing, "making a big deal of it on purpose," he writes. "It's what wraps the song around itself and keeps it singing all day." Throughout the book, Fischer weaves anecdotes about the writing of the song and the impact it has had, and offers thoughtful insight into how the lyrics apply to our everyday lives.

What's striking at times is the way the lyricist himself has discovered new levels of meaning in the words he wrote three decades ago. One line in the song refers to the pressure that comes in the in-between times of our day --- all that happens between the moment we wake up and the moment we settle down for the night. "I just realized recently that this is not about pressure but about pressure on the way. We're on the verge of it. It's right around the corner. It's coming...It's about the anticipation of something bad about to happen." The song continues to reveal new truth to the songwriter.

Likewise, Fischer has gained years of insight into the line about "remembering" God's love and his promise to stay --- a line he admits he had doubts about all those years ago. In the intervening years, though, he has taken notice of the many times scripture admonishes God's people to remember --- remember his love, remember his miracles, remember his faithfulness, remember his history of coming through for them. "This is not an exercise in nostalgia...When you feel pressure coming, remembering that God loves you and will be with you always is something you apply to the fear like a tourniquet," he writes. "You stop the bleeding with the truth and wait on God for further instructions."

Fischer brings it all together in a lovely and wonderfully told story about the only time his six-month-old son would meet Fischer's 89-year-old mother. That alone is worth the reading. LOVE HIM IN THE MORNING may be a little book, but there's nothing trivial in its content.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Little Book Ever, October 23, 2009

By 

Denise E. Dean (Wallace, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love Him in the Morning: Reflections on God's Faithfulness (Hardcover)

Love Him in the Morning is the best little book ever. The simplicity but profound insight renews your faith as no other words can except for God's Word. John Fischer is a blessing!!!