Meet “Tanya Jackson”

I am Tanya Jackson. I live in Arkadelphia and I worked at Ouachita Baptist University for 15 years with the international Education Dept. We recruit international students to study here at OBU. I am a widow.

I have 4 adult children; 6 grandkids; two have graduated from High School; one has graduated from college; two are homeschooled. My children’s first names are Jerusalem, Joshua, Jemimah & Judea.

Even though I was raised in a Presbyterian Church, I realized I was not a believer or saved in Christ. When I did trust in Jesus my whole life changed, as you might have guessed my children’s names were given after becoming a believer.

My husband was in the military, then OBU and seminary. We lived in Texas, California, New Jersey, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Alaska. We decided to move back to Arkansas. We have lived in Arkadelphia for over 20 years.

I love the Word of God, and I am always amazed when reading a new section. God has preserved the scriptures so we can know Him. That thought always strikes me as Wow! I know there are other writings that are old, but God has showed he will preserve His Word so we Can know Him.

How blessed are we to be able to read the Word of God!! I am always amazed at that thought. “In the beginning was the WORD!”

 

Tanya’s Faith Story

 

I grew up in a Presbyterian Church in my hometown of Little Rock, AR. My Mother had not been consistent in a church as she was growing up. My Dad’s Mother was a penticostal and we loved her but we were in a different state. My mom and Dad began attending the Presbyterian church in our neighborhood.
I was always involved in the church and the activities we had and loved being in our church.

My Dad had a heart attack when I was in 5th grade and he began to stay away from our church. I graduated from High School and started college. I married my High School Sweetheart.

My husband was drafted in the military during the Vietnam War. We moved to Texas, California,
then New Jersey where he was based. Because he was low on the totem pole so to speak we had to find our own housing so we rented a bungalow from a Jewish man and woman.

We began to be a part of the church’s body. Most of the people attending were miliary and it was a wonderful experience.

One day when my husband was out on flights, I came into the bungalow and I began reading the Bible
out loud. There were all kinds of noises, and I felt as if I couldn’t move. But, I sensed that something or
some entity was trying to make me stop reading the Bible. So I said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus”
which wasn’t something I would have done on my own.

All of a sudden there was a lot of racket as if someone was packing up and leaving and then no noise.
I call that experience my conversion because I knew then that the Lord was with me.

Before we were married, my soon to be husband wanted to make sure I was a believer. I said the right things and I did mean it, but looking back I can see that even knowing about Jesus was not enough. God has been gracious with me. There is no other God like our God.