Whether you're living in marital bliss or struggle, we all have room for improvement inside of our marriages. Marriage is a vocation and a call to holiness, and sometimes that call really is going to be a challenge for us to live up to. This week, I'm sharing four simple (not easy!) ways to improve your marriage that you can get started with right now. After you listen, be sure to let us know what you think. Share your ideas, what works for you, or what you struggle with. We can use your feedback on a future show. Pay more compliments. Can you think of a time when someone said something critical of you and it cut you to the core? Can you think of a time when someone complimented you and you felt over the moon? Words have real power and are an important tool we can use build up those we love … or tear them down. Do something active together. What do you and your spouse do after the kids have gone to bed or whenever you have downtime together? There is nothing wrong with television or independent projects, but you have a unique opportunity to replace these things with shared activity that will feed your marriage and nurture your relationship. Shared goals and common activities bring you closer and foster a cooperative spirit in your marriage. Soak up the sacraments. We Catholics have such a great gift in the sacraments! Because he loves us, Jesus gave us the sacraments as a means of attaining the grace we need to do God’s will every day. The sacraments feed our souls, heal us, and fill us with God’s own life. Do more than your share. Do you nitpick and keep track of who does what around the house and how often? When you share living space with another grown up, it’s only human to feel unappreciated on occasion and get annoyed with what sometimes feels like an unfair division of household chores. But let's challenge each other to be better than that. Cheerfully aim to do “more than your share” of household tasks and daily drudgery.

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