Read Time: 5 min 04 sec | Reading Level: 7th Grade
─────── July 30, 2026 ───────
Happy Thursday!
It’s International Day of Friendship, which means now’s the perfect time to tell your friends why you’re grateful for them. We’ll start…
We’re grateful for your commitment to staying informed and Christ-focused. Thanks for being here, friend 😊
This week’s Decaf is brought to you by this helpful homeschooling geography set and our piano-playing friends at flowkey.
Today’s story was taken from The Pour Over’s July 27 and 29 emails and rewritten at a 7th-grade reading level.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“All of us would be wiser if we would resolve never to put people down, except on our prayer lists.”
D.A. Carson
READ | REFLECT | RESPOND
WORLD NEWS
Wildfire Weather
France and Spain are battling the largest wildfires their countries have ever seen.
Weeks of back-to-back heat waves and drought meant dangerous fire conditions. An unknown spark lit the fires that have now killed at least five people and forced more than 330,000 to evacuate.
In Spain, fires are burning in two main areas. One is blazing outside Madrid, and the other is on the east coast (see maps). At least one person has died. In France, a fire on the west coast is burning an area four times the size of Paris. Four firefighters have died while on duty.
Firefighters are working around the clock, but the weather is working against them. Temperatures kept climbing this week, with no rain in sight. Plus, the fire in France is making its own weather. The flames built a massive black “fire cloud” (aka a pyrocumulonimbus). That’s a thunderstorm created by extreme fire conditions. The storm’s wind and lightning further feed flames (read our explainer here).
Wildfires burned across other parts of Europe and in North America over the weekend. Fires charred over one million acres in Oregon. Major highways closed and thousands of people were told to evacuate. In Canada, lightning strikes ignited new fires in British Columbia. Prime Minister Carney said it’s been one of the worst wildfire seasons on record for Canada.
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ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Tragic weather events and natural disasters remind us that the whole world is not how it should be. In light of this, Christians are called to pray, mourn, and hope for an eternity where there’s redemption not just for people, but for creation itself.
“For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly, but because of him who subjected it — in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.”
Romans 8:20-21 (CSB) (read full passage)
READ | REFLECT | RESPOND
What do I want to make sure my kids know in light of this story?
God’s world is both good and wild.
In a speech in Job 40-41, God talks with pride about two magnificent but dangerous creatures: Behemoth and Leviathan. God doesn’t pretend they’re tame, and He tells Job they’re part of His good creation.
Chaotic weather fits the same category. There are good parts of God’s world that can also be untamed: the same fire that heats to warm, feed, and power our lives can also destroy. But God’s promise is to one day defeat the danger: “The Lord… will bring judgment on Leviathan, the fleeing serpent... He will slay the monster that is in the sea” (Isaiah 27:1 CSB).
What gospel lesson can be taught through this story?
Trials are like a fire.
The apostle Peter compares suffering to gold being purified in a fire: “You rejoice in this [hope], even though… you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7 CSB).
The burning doesn’t feel good. But as crazy as it sounds, the Bible tells us to “rejoice” because we know what’s waiting on the other side of suffering: a holier version of ourselves (James 1:2-4) and a future with Jesus more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
READ | REFLECT | RESPOND
Do some creation care: When we only think about creation through the lens of tragedy, it can twist our perception. Though the natural world is wild and unpredictable, it is also a beautiful and gracious gift. Do something this week to care for God’s creation: pick up some trash, tend to a garden, plant a tree, etc.
Memorize James 1:2-4, “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (CSB).
Pray for the land and people affected by these fires: God of the Displaced, gather the French, Spanish, and North American people to Yourself. Wrap Your loving arms around them, providing for what’s been taken and healing where they’ve been hurt. The road to recovery is long; this wildfire has left an angry wound that may take years to heal. Shore up first responders, weary from the battle, to continue fighting flames and searching for the missing. Spur Your people to radical love and hospitality. For those with nothing left to rebuild, may Your church be a refuge and stronghold, offering safety to the suffering and hope to the hopeless. Amen.
CREAM AND SUGAR
Gen Z Word of the Week: I’m finna love God with all my heart, soul, and strength, and love my neighbors as myself today.
Family Fun: Got wiz kids? Test their knowledge with these fun science quizzes.
Whipped Cream on Top: A groovy whale for your Thursday…
RECOMMENDED
How We’re Teaching Geography
Using Masterbooks*
Quick! Can you name every state capital? 🤨 Did you sing the song? (Are you singing it now?) Rote memorization without critical thinking is only so helpful. Masterbooks wants to take students deeper.
This full-year, 1-credit social studies course helps students tackle the real-world issues, demographics, and economics they’re probably already hearing about in the headlines from a biblical perspective. Think: The Pour Over if it were a geography homeschooling curriculum for 9th to 12th graders.
Help students see God’s design for the world as they study it. Check out Masterbooks’ World Geography and Cultures set and use code TPO for 10% off through 8/15.
What I’m Running Back This Year
My piano goals, thanks to flowkey*
My 2025 New Year’s Resolution was to play 52 hours of piano. My goal for 2026? Well, it stayed the same… except this year, I’ve got flowkey.
It’s awesome. They’ve got so many tools, like an extensive library with songs across genres and step-by-step lessons, that hitting 52 hours (and maybe even more) will be easy. It even uses my iPad’s microphone to give me real-time feedback when I miss a note.
My three-year-old hasn’t shown signs of being a musical savant yet, but I’m excited to upgrade to flowkey’s Family Plan when she’s older.
Decaf readers get 60% off any plan using code POUROVER60.
Jason Woodruff | Founder
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