Hi guys I have developed a interest in Linux and Open Source Technologies I wish to develop my skills further and to become more productive in my spare time and actually learn some stuff.
I am pretty comfortable using the command line and am willing to get my hands dirty. The first area of interest is Shell Scripting, Now I am not a programmer I don't think like a programmer or have the programmers godlike mentality Variables? For? Loops? it currently all goes over my head

So for somebody who knows nothing about scripting or programming concepts how do you begin to learn to script? am I out of my depth here? is there a suitable beginners course or tutorial or book out there? which starts you off with the basics i.e hello world and takes it a step further with introduction of variables etc.
Other Main Area of interest is Server Administration I have some spare hardware in which I was thinking of setting up File Server ( Sharing with win7 Host) FTP, Apache, and learning about advanced stuff like SElinux I will be using Centos.
How did you guys start with Linux? what kind of projects did you start with and how much time do you need to dedicate to it to develop a solid understanding.
Thanks for the help appreciate the insight