White Pass

White pass 

Blue sky 

Family 

Mountains, snow

Memories 

Fresh air

Summit lodge 

Speed 

Laughter

Rivers 

Volcanic mountains 

Wind in the pines 

Fireside

Creation and Creator

"Was I on Your mind?

What was the joy set before You?

Was my heart Your prize?" *

"I couldn't tell where heaven stopped, and the Earth began -so beautiful

 Millions of sparkles on the river

"It looked like two skies on top of one another"

About this poem: White Pass is a poem about a visit to White Pass and Packwood, WA and spending time with our oldest son Matthew and our grandchildren Ethan and Adelaide. We enjoyed three blue sky, sunny days skiing. Great times at lunch in the lodge. Mt. Rainier in the background, the Cowlitz river, and sunsets. Great pizza, fireside times together with family- so good. -Joe Holuta

*Lamb, Elevation Worship

Winter Aylin

Winter Aylin

Winter Aylin* arrives

The longest night- her hair is raven black 

yet the Moon was bright 

Borrowed light and a halo around 

God formed her beating heart

Breathing life into her spirit 

Today she breathes for the first time 

And gives us life as well 

Beautiful days

Grateful lives 

The journey, the joys 

A glimpse of love that bonds sisters' hearts and father and mother to daughter 

The family, a starling now flying as part of a murmuration- together 

Dad and mom look on the sweet loves

Bonds that only grow more secure

All encircled by radiance of Winter Aylin

Oh, what love, oh what a love 

“Just how deep and just how high”

The love 

Winter - your mother loved you first - soon you will see "summer's light" in December

About this poem: Winter Aylin is a poem about our youngest granddaughter's birth on 12/22/25 during the longest night on the year. She breathed life - so very quickly this night. A dream few weeks before that the baby had very dark hair- and she does. We are so grateful for Winter and look forward to many, many, beautiful times together. Her family  and her cousins will be sure that she enjoys this "one beautiful, amazing life" we have to live. - Joe Holuta

*Aylin is a popular Turkish girl's name meaning "moon halo" or "one who belongs to the moon," derived from the Turkish word "ay" (moon) with a feminine suffix. It evokes poetic imagery of the night sky, symbolizing femininity and intuition.

Lay It all Down

 

Lay it all down 

Lay it all down 

      Under the 🌲 tree

       Gifts wrapped 

             Anxious thoughts

                   Dreams and forgotten ones

Lay it all down 

        Your burdens, your questions

               And rest, quietly, softly 

                   Like the shelter

                 At the base of a towering pine 

Lay it all down

          Yet wanting to pick it up time and

                  time again

                        Blue sky, pines wavering         

                             Wind blowing the trees

                                Waiting, waiting,     

                                  trusting timing is 

                                          Right

   

About this poem: Lay It All Down is a poem about waiting and when we don’t see the full picture to wait with hope.“Waiting is part of the human experience. We wait for healing, for answers, for breakthroughs. But Christmas shows us that God doesn’t waste the wait. He is near in it. And his timing, though mysterious, is always right. God will be faithful to you.” - Joe Holuta

Portraits

Portraits 

Walls of honor and legacy

Shadows and portraits 

Days that have past and dreams to come

Ancestors from years and years and years ago 

Children, and children’s children of today 

I scan the wall and am revived by their memory and  their portraits 

“What is my life?”

“What is your life? 

a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” 1

If a portrait made eye contact somehow 

Oh to see the Joy and Life in their eyes?

Or feel their touch or see warmth of expression

Or hear that encouraging voice

A shadow surely of the people that came before and now heard after them

At first glance, you think those in the  portraits are still

But they continue to narrate life

“We really did have everything, didn’t we? When you think about it.” 2

We will see one another again in such vivid color and expression

O, Ancient of Days 3

Overwhelming at times, the love and joy 

And the experience and recollection of family 

Portraits hang in grand galleries, and the grandest homes and ornate buildings 

But none so beautiful as those I see so closely

A wall or honor, a family's heirloom without question 

About this poem:Portraits is a poem about the experience felt inward when you see portraits of family that meant so much to you or current photographs of family that are living today within the shadow of the ancestors that came before us. 

The voices, gestures, and love still narrate our lives behind the scenes in many ways. So grateful for family!  - Joe Holuta 

1 “..yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

James 4:14 ESV

2 "We really did have everything, didn't we? When you think about it."

Leonardo DiCaprio in movie Look Up.

3 The Ancient of Days Reigns

 “As I looked,

thrones were placed,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
    and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
    its wheels were burning fire.

A stream of fire issued
    and came out from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
    and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
    and the books were opened.”

(Daniel 7:9-10 ESV)