Holly's Highlights: Faith, Hope & Purpose for Everyday Life

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When you call 911, everything feels like it happens instantly—but what actually takes place in those first critical minutes before help arrives?

In this powerful episode of Holly’s Highlights, we sit down with Sandy City Fire Chief Ryan McConaghie, a 25+ year fire service veteran, paramedic, and leader who has responded to emergencies at every level—from firefighter and paramedic to battalion and deputy chief.

Together, we go behind the scenes of 911 emergency response, firefighting, and EMS systems in the United States to uncover what most people never see—but absolutely need to understand.

You’ll learn:

• What actually happens the moment you call 911
• How EMS and firefighters respond to over 40 million calls a year
• What bystanders should do in the first 60 seconds of an emergency
• The truth about CPR, survival rates, and response times
• Common misconceptions about firehouses and EMS work
• How first responders manage the emotional weight of life-and-death calls
• Leadership lessons forged in high-pressure, real-world crisis situations
• Simple ways everyday people can be more prepared and save lives

Chief McConaghie also shares powerful real-world insight from nearly three decades in service, including what it means to lead when every second counts—and how ordinary citizens can become critical links in the chain of survival.

This conversation is especially timely as we honor International Firefighters’ Day and National EMS Week, recognizing the men and women who run toward emergencies while others are running away.

Whether you're a parent, leader, student, or simply someone who wants to be more prepared, this episode will change the way you think about emergency response—and your role in it.

Because readiness doesn’t start when first responders arrive.
It starts with you.

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Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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In this powerful episode of Holly’s Highlights, we sit down with leadership from the Sandy City Police Department for an honest and meaningful conversation about trust, transparency, and what modern policing looks like in a growing community along Utah’s Wasatch Front.

Joining the discussion are Interim Chief Jeff Nigbur and Sergeant Mike Olsen, Public Information Officer for Sandy PD. Together, they share their personal journeys into law enforcement, pivotal moments on the job, and what community policing truly means in practice—not just as a concept, but in everyday interactions with residents.

We explore how trust is built (and sometimes broken) between law enforcement and the public, how departments are using tools like body cameras and training in de-escalation, and what challenges officers face behind the scenes that most people never see. The conversation also dives into local issues affecting Sandy City, including traffic safety, pedestrian concerns, and the rise of e-bikes, as well as community-driven initiatives like #SlowDownSandy and #SandySecure.

Beyond policy and operations, this episode focuses on connection—how residents can engage with their local police department, simple ways to strengthen neighborhood safety, and what it takes for the next generation to consider a career in law enforcement.

We close with reflections on service, community responsibility, and a reminder that public safety is built together—through awareness, relationships, and everyday actions.

Whether you live in Sandy or any community navigating growth and change, this conversation offers a grounded, behind-the-scenes look at policing today—and the shared responsibility of building safer, more connected neighborhoods.

This episode brought to you by C.O.P.S. (Concerns of Police Survivors).
Connect, donate and learn more at www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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What if the very thing you’re hesitating to step into… is where God is already working?

In this special episode, I’m celebrating three years since the release of Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches—and reflecting on what happens when you choose to say yes, even when you don’t feel ready.

Because the truth is, I didn’t feel fully equipped when I wrote the book.
And honestly… I still have moments where fear, doubt, and “not enough” thoughts try to creep in.

But I’ve learned this:
You don’t have to feel ready to be obedient.
And you don’t want to miss what God has in store because you were waiting for certainty.

In this episode, we talk about:
– Why courage often comes after you take the step
– What it looks like to trust God in seasons that feel stretching or uncertain
– Navigating fear and imposter syndrome while still moving forward
– How one step of faith can open doors you never could have planned

I also share a personal update—Face-Lift is currently in the process of switching publishers, and there are new opportunities unfolding that feel both exciting and honestly a little terrifying. I’m not ready to share all the details yet, but I would truly appreciate your prayers—that God would guide each step, keep me grounded in His will, and be glorified through it all.

This episode is a reminder to stop waiting until you feel “ready”…
and start trusting that God will meet you in the step.

Don’t miss the miracle because you hesitated in the moment.

If this episode encouraged you, here are a few simple ways to share that hope:
– Leave a copy of Face-Lift at a local women’s shelter
– Place one in a community coffee shop
– Start a book club with friends

(A portion of all proceeds supports the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.)

Want to stay connected and hear about what’s next?
Join my monthly email at www.hollycurby.com

Thank you for being here and being part of this community. I’m cheering you on—always.

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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We live in a world that tells us happiness comes from things, but research and real life tell a different story. In this episode, Holly explores why experiences—not possessions—are what truly shape our joy, connection, and impact. From everyday moments to intentional acts of generosity, she shares personal stories and insights on how to create experiences that leave lasting impressions on the people around you.

Discover:

• Why memories of shared experiences outlast the thrill of material things
• How creating moments for others boosts happiness, connection, and even health
• Simple, practical ways to turn your time, talents, and resources into meaningful experiences
• Stories that inspire—from touring Homeboy Industries to driving a John Deere tractor

Whether it’s a shared meal, a thoughtful gesture, or a surprise moment of inclusion, Holly shows how intentional experiences can transform lives—for others and for you. Learn how to lead, live, and love in a way that people will never forget.

Inquire about booking Holly as your speaker at a future event, conference, panel, retreat or as your emcee. Connect with her at www.HollyCurby.com.

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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In this inspiring episode on Holly's Highlights podcast, we sit down with Mayor Natalie Hall of Bluffdale, one of Utah’s fastest-growing cities, for a powerful conversation on leadership, confidence, courage, and community impact.

If you’ve ever felt called to lead but questioned whether you’re ready, this episode is for you.

Mayor Hall shares her journey into public leadership, how she navigates criticism and tough decisions, and what it really takes to lead with integrity when not everyone agrees with you. From managing rapid city growth to protecting family life while serving in a demanding role, her insights are both practical and deeply encouraging.

You’ll learn:

• How to step into leadership before you feel ready
• How to handle criticism and public pressure with confidence
• Why vision must be stronger than fear
• The importance of boundaries and surrounding yourself with strong teams for sustainable leadership
• Real-life leadership lessons you can apply in your business, family, or community

Whether you’re leading in your home, workplace, church, or community, this conversation will equip and inspire you to lead with greater intention and confidence.

✨ Ready to grow even more in your leadership journey?

Each month I send out a FREE leadership worksheet to help you grow with clarity and intention. Join at www.hollycurby.com.

If this episode encouraged you, would you please share it with someone stepping into leadership—and come connect with me on Instagram @hollycurby or Facebook @hollyshighlights. I’d love to hear where you’re being called to lead.

Keep showing up. Keep growing. And keep leading with intention.

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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May the Road Rise Up to Meet You: Courage, Purpose, and Leadership Lessons from St. Patrick

St. Patrick’s Day is more than parades and green decorations—it’s a powerful reminder of courage, purpose, and resilience. In this inspiring episode of Holly’s Highlights, we explore the life of St. Patrick and uncover timeless leadership lessons that apply to everyday life.

From overcoming hardship and fear to leading with conviction and creativity, St. Patrick’s story shows us how ordinary people can make extraordinary impact. You’ll hear reflections on the beloved Irish blessing “May the road rise up to meet you” and what it means for leaders, parents, professionals, and anyone walking a challenging road today.

This episode blends storytelling, scripture, history, leadership insight, and practical takeaways to help you:

• Lead with courage even when the road isn’t easy
• Discover purpose in ordinary moments
• Build resilience through uncertainty and change
• Create meaningful impact through small, intentional actions

Whether you’re navigating leadership at work, at home, or in your community, this St. Patrick’s Day episode will encourage you to grow into the person ready to meet the road ahead.

🍀 St. Patrick’s Day Special:
This episode also includes a message of hope and kindness inspired by Holly’s book, Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches. If you’re looking for a meaningful way to share encouragement this season, the book is available through local bookstores and online at Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble. Proceeds are donated to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. If the book has encouraged you, please consider leaving a rating or review on Amazon to help it reach more hearts.

🎧 Listen Next:

• Lessons from the Leprechaun — Season 2, Episode 7
• As Luck Would Have It: Including the Challenges of Prayer — Season 3, Episode 5

If this episode resonates with you, please subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. Your support helps Holly’s Highlights continue spreading encouragement, purpose, and hope.

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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In this powerful and hope-filled episode, we sit down with Nicole, Director of Bridle Up Hope, to explore how equine-assisted learning is transforming the lives of women and girls struggling with anxiety, self-doubt, low confidence, and emotional overwhelm. Recorded during Women’s History Month and in recognition of International Women’s Day, this conversation honors women’s resilience while addressing the very real mental and emotional challenges they face today.

Research shows that girls experience confidence gaps and anxiety at an early age, often carrying those struggles into adulthood. Nicole shares how Bridle Up Hope was created to meet women and girls exactly where they are — offering a safe, non-clinical, heart-centered approach to healing, personal growth, leadership development, and emotional resilience through equine-assisted experiential learning.

Unlike traditional talk therapy, Bridle Up Hope uses Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) to help participants build self-awareness, emotional regulation, trust, and self-worth by working alongside horses. Nicole explains why horses are such powerful teachers, how their intuitive nature helps participants reconnect with their inner strength, and why this approach is especially effective for those who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected.

In this episode, we dive into:
• What Bridle Up Hope is and who it serves
• The inspiring origin story behind the organization
• What a typical experience looks like for girls vs. women
• How equine-assisted learning supports mental health and confidence
• How the 7 Habits come to life through experiential learning in the barn
• Emotional and confidence shifts participants experience
• Stories that capture the heart of Bridle Up Hope’s mission
• Why scholarships and accessibility are essential to their work
• How parents, mentors, and leaders can support women and girls
• What “hope” truly means in the healing journey

Nicole also shares deeply personal insights from watching women and girls rediscover their voice, courage, and worth — reminding us that healing is possible at every stage of life. For anyone silently struggling with anxiety, self-doubt, or the pressure to hold it all together, this conversation is a powerful reminder that you are not alone — and that hope is closer than you think.

✨ Connect with Bridle Up Hope:
Listeners can learn more, get involved, volunteer, donate, or explore upcoming programs by visiting Bridle Up Hope online and following them on social media. Community partnerships, donor support, and shared stories are all vital to expanding their mission of hope and healing for women and girls.

📘 Recommended Resource:
Check out Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches, a powerful book for anyone walking through grief, transition, or personal growth. The book is available through online retailers including Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Whether you’re a parent, educator, coach, leader, or someone seeking confidence, emotional healing, or personal growth, this episode offers encouragement, insight, and practical hope.

If this conversation inspired you, please rate, review, and share it with someone who could use a little hope today. What you do today truly becomes someone else’s tomorrow.

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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February is often called the month of love—but this conversation explores a different kind of love: the kind that holds people accountable, demands commitment, and believes in transformation even when it’s hard.

In this episode, we sit down with Clay Josewski from The Other Side Academy, a long-term residential recovery program in Salt Lake City, Utah, helping men and women overcome addiction, criminal behavior, and homelessness—without therapists, medications, or short-term treatment models.

Unlike traditional rehab, The Other Side Academy (OSA) is built on radical accountability, peer-led structure, meaningful work, and a 2–3+ year commitment to change. Residents take responsibility for daily operations, resolve conflict face-to-face, and rebuild trust, dignity, and purpose one day at a time.

Clay’s own journey reflects the power of this model. Once a high-achieving student whose drug use escalated into years of addiction, DUIs, and criminal charges, Clay entered OSA as an alternative to prison. What began as a two-year commitment became 4.5 years of transformation. Now 8 years clean, Clay serves as a full-time staff member, helping others find the same hope and restoration he did.

In this conversation, we explore:

• What makes The Other Side Academy different from traditional recovery programs
• Why long-term recovery is essential for lasting change
• How peer accountability and real responsibility fuel transformation
• What it looks like when someone becomes “someone new”

Whether you’re struggling yourself, supporting someone who is, or simply drawn to stories of hope, redemption, and second chances, this episode is a powerful reminder: people can change when they are loved enough to be held accountable.

As Clay often says, “Saving lives is the new drug.”

🎧 Listen now to learn how recovery, responsibility, and belief can help people cross over to the other side of their story.

Connect with The Other Side:

https://www.theothersideacademy.com

Purchase a copy of Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches through your local bookstores, on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

https://www.amazon.com/Face-Lift-Embracing-Hope-through-Heartaches-ebook/dp/B0BW7V1ZHP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=RAUIL7X1YC1J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-Ve__Zl40SyAjR7COFwSag.BaJdzjKkt7eAe3N4yn60R7d1cjWnRqJ9HTi9mAQTi0E&dib_tag=se&keywords=face-lift+by+holly+curby&qid=1770239421&sprefix=face-lift+by+holly+curb%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1

Related Episodes:

Season 2 Episode 19 - Breaking the Chains of Addiction

Season 3 Episode 27 - New Year, New You, New Years Resolutions with the Home Boys Industries

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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Leading With Love: A Valentine’s Day Episode on Faith, Leadership, and Influence

Discover how God’s love can transform the way you lead—at home, at work, and in every relationship. Practical stories, faith-filled insights, and leadership lessons you can apply today.

Leadership begins with love — and the way we understand God’s love shapes how we lead at home, at work, and in our faith.

In this Valentine’s Day–themed episode, we explore what it looks like to lead from a place of identity, faith, and intentional love. Through real-life parenting stories, biblical truth, and practical leadership insight, this conversation invites you to rethink influence, presence, and purpose.

You’ll hear about:

• Modeling God’s love for our kids in tangible ways
• Teaching generosity and compassion through anonymous acts of kindness
• Why leadership starts with who you are, not what you do
• What Jesus shows us about servant leadership
• How love rooted in faith changes the way we lead others
• A clear and hope-filled explanation of the Plan of Salvation

This episode is for parents, leaders, and anyone who wants to live and lead with more purpose, faith, and heart.

💗 If this episode encouraged you, please consider rating and reviewing the podcast. Your reviews help others discover this message and grow alongside our community.

Purchase your copy of Face-Lift Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches from your local bookstores as well as online retailers such as Amazon, Target, Walmart and Barnes and Noble. This month, all proceeds will benefit Huntsman Cancer Foundation. Thank you for sharing the love.

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.

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Healing After Trauma: How Beauty from Ashes Ministries Restores Hope
Season 7, Episode 2 of Holly’s Highlights — A faith-based conversation on recovery, redemption, and rebuilding after abuse.

In this episode of Holly’s Highlights, Holly interviews Beauty from Ashes Ministries in Utah, a faith-based nonprofit helping survivors heal after trauma and abuse through Christ-centered recovery and restoration.

This conversation dives deep into what real healing after trauma looks like—emotionally, spiritually, and practically. We talk about recovery after abuse, the long road of restoration, and how God brings beauty out of even the deepest pain. Whether you are a survivor yourself, love someone who is healing, or want to understand trauma-informed, faith-based recovery, this episode offers hope, truth, and encouragement.

You’ll hear:

• How Beauty from Ashes Ministries supports survivors of trauma and abuse
• Why healing is possible—even when the past feels overwhelming
• The role of faith, community, and compassion in long-term recovery
• How God redeems pain and restores hope after trauma

This episode is for anyone searching for healing after trauma, faith-based recovery, or stories of redemption and restoration. It’s also a must-listen for those interested in Christian nonprofits, trauma recovery ministries, and survivor advocacy.

🎧 Listen now to be reminded that trauma does not get the final word—and that hope can rise from the ashes.

If this episode speaks to you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who may need hope today. Your support helps Holly’s Highlights reach more listeners who are searching for healing and restoration.

Connect with Beauty from Ashes: 

www.BeautyfromAshesMinistries.org

Support the show

Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.