Two Years + Beyond: Our New Focus for 2020

We can become anyone we want to become.  It takes focusing on the aspect of ourselves we want to change and reflecting on the beliefs that cause us to act in ways that are counter to the change we seek.  –Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I’ve been blogging at Coffee + Camo for two years.  That’s hard to believe.

In the Spring two years ago, I was sitting in a hotel room in Arizona, waiting on Husband to finish at work.  Curled up in the one armchair, with my laptop precariously balanced on my knee, I watched one of Ruth Soukup’s free video series on how to start a blog.

Having started and abandoned three previous blogs (at least), I had been sitting on the idea for another one for a while.  I felt I had something to say, although I wasn’t entirely sure what.  After polling an audience of close family and friends (can any other Enneagram 6’s relate?), I’d settled on a name.  After more waiting, I finally bought the web address and began working on a logo.  I remember feeling both anxious and excited about the start of a new venture.

(A trip down memory lane, at least for me.  Check out these early test logos!)

Looking Back

In the last two years, the focus of Coffee + Camo has shifted slightly.  Initially, I wanted to write about military life, and how vastly different it was from my civilian experience.  Our first few years of marriage were hard, for many reasons, and I was feeling lost.  I wanted to offer hope and advice to other new military spouses.

But, for many reasons, that focus didn’t seem to fit.  I (still) feel unqualified to offer advice, especially related to the military lifestyle.  Branches are so vastly different, and so is everyone’s experience.  I didn’t feel knowledgeable or “seasoned” enough to try to help anyone with making the best of the hard parts of this life.  We were still newlyweds.  What did I know about the hard parts of military life, anyway?

Then, in April two years ago, we moved to Japan.  I pushed “publish” on my first post for Coffee + Camo and I started down the winding and bumpy path of writing on the internet.  I’d done it before, but this time felt different.

When we moved, I naturally started writing about our travels.  I wanted to share all we were seeing and doing to stay connected with family and friends back home.  But reading about five coffee shops in Japan to keep coming back to holds little interest for those not planning to travel.

While I enjoy offering recommendations and helping spouses stationed here to feel connected both on and off a military base, this focus didn’t seem like a good long-term fit.  After all, we won’t always live in Japan.

It feels fitting that now, during the month of the blog’s two-year “anniversary,” I talk about my next shift in direction.  Having had numerous internet writing platforms, I knew that finding a niche would be hard for me.  Honestly, I’m still trying to figure it out.  I have lots of things to say, but only a few of them are worth reading.

Coffee + Camo is a place where I can freely move my focus around a bit, test things out, and see what works.  For those of you who have hung on for the ride – thank you.  I hope you’ll continue to join me here as we move (yet again) in a slightly new direction.

Looking Forward

As I’ve been contemplating a new focus, I’ve been asking myself two questions:  what do I like to write about?  And, where can I help others?  While writing is part of who I am, something I’ve always done and will continue to do, I also want it to be of benefit to my readers.  As I mulled over those questions for weeks, I came up with some thoughts.

Travel is very much a calling on my life, and very close to my heart.  I’ve had dreams of visiting far off places since childhood, and I’m thrilled to be able to make some of those dreams a reality.  I still plan to offer travel-related stories, tips, and insights, but I’m also finding myself pulled to write about faith, home, and community.

I discovered a passion for forming partnerships in my nonprofit work before we moved to Japan.  Each agency excelled in something and was able to fill a gap for a neighbor.  No one can do all the things, and we need each other.  In that same vein, I want to bring people together and help you grow your community no matter where you are.

At this duty station, I’ve learned a lot about hospitality and flexed friend-making muscles that have laid dormant since college.  Husband has been a significant player in helping me retrain those muscles.  Although at times, exhausting, I appreciate his extrovertedness and love watching him connect with both friends and strangers.

Finding our community in Japan and helping to grow and strengthen those connections here has been such a joy.  We love hosting people in our home, ensuring others feel welcomed and supported, and introducing people to each other.  Hospitality and connecting socially are skills and, like any other, takes practice.  But, I’ll admit, it’s becoming one of my favorites to practice!

Lastly, I wanted to bring faith into the conversation more often.  While I grew up in a Christian household, much of my education in that area was unstructured.  It wasn’t until college that I started to delve into theology and the liturgy of the Christian faith.  My newfound curiosity was mostly in response to my major in art history – so much art revolves around Bible stories and history, and there was so much I didn’t know.  My faith became central, although a private part of my life.  It shapes much of my world view and, as a cornerstone of my life, deserves to be brought up more often.

A New Focus

So, with those things in mind, here’s the new focus for Coffee + Camo: I want to inspire you to find your place in the world by encouraging you to explore your faith, invest in your home + local community, and connect with yourself + the world through travel.

Explore.  Invest.  Connect.

I know this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, especially if you came here primarily for “things to do and see” travel writing.  While there will still be some of that, especially while we’re living abroad, it won’t be the primary focus.  I appreciate you spending some of your time with me, but there are no hard feelings if we need to part ways here.

If you’ve signed up for my newsletter previously, you’ve probably already started noticing a few changes there.  My Instagram and Facebook are also slowly beginning to reflect my new focus.  Soon, you’ll see an updated logo, new about me page, and some updated navigation on the website.

If you haven’t already, I invite you to sign up for my monthly email.  Common Ground (gotta stick with the coffee theme) is a bit more conversational, and I share some thoughts and ideas I don’t put on the blog.

To join, click on the photo above and drop your email.  I promise never to spam you, sell your information, or overload your inbox.  If it’s not for you, you can unsubscribe at any time in the footer of any email.

What do you think about the new direction of Coffee + Camo?  What are you most excited to see on the blog?  As always, I invite you to send me all your thoughts!