A wonderful way to improve your playing is by practicing scales. This is a video that will show you how to play a couple 'C' scales. The first if just one octave. Everyone can start with this one. When you can play it with ease, try the second scale with two octaves. If you would like to follow along with the music, it's here.

Enjoy the video…

This year I’m reading through the ‘New Spirit Filled Life Bible’ translation. There are so many great versions of the Bible. I love reading all the commentaries from each one. In Psalm 99:5 it says, 

“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool-—He is holy.”

In a commentary box in this Bible translation, it points out that worship, shachah, means to bow, to stoop. The primary meaning is “to make oneself low.” What a great picture.

Was meditating on that picture of humbling ourselves before God. Worship is an attitude of reverence from our hearts.

On the next page there is a commentary box about praise, tehillah. Praise is a word that means a celebration, a lauding of someone praise worthy, the praise or exaltation of God.

Praise is celebrating and exalting God, where worship is coming before Him with a humble, bowed down spirit. Look at all the references in Scripture of falling and bowing down before God. That’s worship. Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes in Acts 14 when the people of Lystra tried to worship them.

Worship is reserved for God alone. It’s OK to praise fellow workers, pastors, and your friends. It’s good to praise God for making them too. But we are never to worship anything or anyone but God.

I love the picture that the ground is flat at the foot of the cross. Jesus alone is to be exalted above every name, every person. It even says in Scripture that every knee will bow at the Name of Jesus.

Are you already in Facebook? I just posted a page there for Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class{TM.} Would love to have you become a ‘fan,’ Facebook is a great way to keep in touch and there are many people joining it every day. Click the blue link in this paragraph and when you get to the new URL, click the 'Become a fan' text in the upper right corner. You'll need to be logged in at Facebook to see this option.

Currently there are a few videos up, but I'll be adding more content as time goes by.

For those of you who love to read, there’s a new book out by my good friends Dottie Adams and Marion Wells, with their friend Connie Fleishauer.

It’s called Purr-ables from Heaven, Devotions for Cat Lovers.

On Page 71, Dottie talks about her friend Jean, a songwriter, worship leader and guitar teacher. I’m the Jean, it’s me.

Dottie is a teaching director for a Community Bible Study class. I was her worship leader for many years. You can listen to some of her teaching at DottieAdams.com.

Dottie, Marion and Connie are all wonderful writers and this book will encourage you in your walk with Christ. I highly recommend their new book. If you love cats and love to read… you'll especially adore this book.

To the left of this article is a link to order their book from Amazon.com, for your convenience.

On the back cover of Purr-ables from Heaven it says:

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In deep gratitude John Newton wrote ‘Amazing Grace’ over 200 years ago. Ex-slave trader turned preacher, John knew first hand God’s amazing grace!

Later, John Rees wrote the last verse, which is my favorite verse:

When we’ve been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun. There’s no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.

I’ve made a video for you with 3 arrangements of ‘Amazing Grace.’ Quite a few little kids are using my kids guitar lessons program and I didn’t want to leave them out. The first arrangement is super simple for kids to play.

Here is the music for the arrangements of Amazing Grace. Below is the video. 

I just finished reading the book of Ruth again. What a wonderful woman! Ruth had such a commitment to Naomi, her mother-in-law. She was loyal, a hard worker and humble. At the end of the book, the woman of Bethlehem told Naomi:

“May he (the son of Ruth & Boaz) be to you a restorer of your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, and is better to you than seven sons, has born him.”

The whole town saw Ruth’s love and beautiful traits!

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At the end of one of my worship guitar classes, Vicki wanted to quit. It was just the first lesson but she was discouraged that she couldn’t even understand how chord charts worked. It just seemed much harder than she thought!

I asked her, "Didn’t you sign up for the class because you wanted to learn to play the guitar?" She replied yes, but didn’t think she would be able to. It was just a 6-week class and I told her to at least complete the first 6 weeks. It was too soon to quit.

She agreed. By around the third week she came into the class with a big smile. She finally understood how chord charts worked. The 6 weeks passed and Vicki stayed in the class.

She not only stayed, but also became one of the best players in the class! I shared her story in a Newsletter several years ago. It’s a story that needed to be on this blog.

It’s too soon to quit. Do you have a dream? Does it honor God? Learning to worship Him with a guitar certainly does. Let me encourage you, like Vicki, it’s too soon to quit!

Want to learn like Vicki? Worship Guitar Class Lessons