Six years later when I took it again, I was surprised to find the MBTI saw different personality preferences in me. In reading my new profile I thought, "This is me!" I began to soak up books on temperament and personality types and made a huge jump forward in my self-understanding and why I approach life the way I do.

As much as these "aha" moments cause opportunities for personal growth, our willingness to dive into the mystery that is our own soul can be the most frightening experience we ever face.

During our recent Pastor's Conference, speaker Jim Herrington talked of our problem with habitual disobedience. About 30% of ourselves is so comfortable justifying the way we defy God that we are unable to see the sin within. Unfortunately the process of spiritual transformation, of becoming more like Christ, requires cleaning out the closets of habitual disobedience.

As much as we don't want to face our shortcomings and sinful tendencies, the process of self-discovery is also a time of seeing the joy that God finds in us. Like a parent or grandparent who revels in every accomplishment, God celebrates the uniqueness of who we are without demanding anything else in return.

God sees you as beautiful, gifted, intelligent, intriguing, and worth every minute that you spend together. How do you see yourself?

Then I read this short (110 pages) and, I believe, life-changing book, "The Gift of Being Yourself." David G. Benner, a psychologist by training and practice, explains how spiritual transformation requires self-understanding and discovery and how in the process "as we become more and more like Christ we become more uniquely our own true self."

Most of the book focuses on how in contrast to living our true selves, we all have created a false sense of self, an idealized self, the one that we show to the world instead of becoming more authentically true to who and how God has created us. (And how easy this is for pastors as we start living to other's expectations of us.)

Benner writes, "Initially the masks we adopt reflect how we want others to see us. Over time, however, they come to reflect how we want to see our self. But by this point we have thoroughly confused the mask and our actual experience. Our masks have become our reality, and we have become our lies."

Yet we're not without hope as we work towards becoming our true selves, the true self as God has created us. "Spiritual transformation does not result from fixing our problems," Benner notes. "It results from turning to God in the midst of them and meeting God just as we are. Turning to God is the core of prayer. Turning to God in our sin and shame is the heart of spiritual transformation."

If nothing else, I found the included spiritual exercises to be refreshing and extremely helpful as a way to move beyond the "I need to pray and read my Bible more" guilt that we all can experience.

Our Pastor's Sabbath Weeks (June 17-22 or July 8-14) provide the time and space you need to get away for extend time with God and family to experience rest and renewal among the redwoods.

You and your family are invited to stay at Siden Conference Center for up to one week for the unbelievable price of $25 (per room). It's not $25 per night, but $25 per room for your entire stay. That is our gift to you.

Take a walk in the woods. Sit by the pool. Visit the beach. Spend the day in Santa Cruz or Half Moon Bay. Read. Relax. Do what you need to do, to be the person God created you to be, and allow God to restore your spirit as you re-discover who you are in Christ.

Meals will be served at Smith Dining Hall. We ask that you make a love gift donation based on the meals which you request and enjoy. A limited number of rooms are still available: June 17-22 and July 8-14. Click on the link below to reserve your room via email. More information is available on the Meta website.

Redwood Glen is located in the Santa Cruz mountains just 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean. We are an hour drive from the San Francisco and San Jose airports. For more information on our 2007 summer programs and facilities, check out our website at www.redwoodglen.com.

If you are interested in having someone from Redwood Glen or Metamorphosis staff provide pulpit supply, please email us at meta@redwoodglen.com.

Previous editions of our Metamorphosis e-newsletters may be found on the Redwood Glen and Metamorphosis websites.